— Neil Tennant
I must say it's rather nice to be blogging about Neil Tennant as a Smash Hits critic after having just posted the sixth and possibly final Single of the Fortnight for the Pet Shop Boys. As I have written before, being a valued member of the Hits staff and then a pop star of more than some "note", he was bound to factor into the story of this top pop mag. Having pumped out his fair share of synthy classics, it's cool to see how he rates a synth-pop number of old. Well, sort of.
The Associates have often been cited as purveyors of synth pop along with the likes of The Human League, Soft Cell, Blancmange, Yazoo, Depeche Mode, New Order, Erasure and, yes, ver Pet Shops. I've said it before and I'm not alone. Simon Price in his liner notes to the essential Sparks compilation Past Tense lists them as part of the trajectory of synthy duos that came along in the aftermath of the late-seventies/early-eighties' success of the Maels (I don't have my copy of it handy but, in addition to many of the groups mentioned above, he may also have brought up Eurythmics and Tears for Fears). They appear as a pair on many of their album and singles covers (though that's not the case in their videos).
The duo aspect is difficult to ignore but I'm not so sure it's a synth-pop dynamic so much as it is the classic charismatic vocalist with moody instrumentalist pairing at work. Yes, the Maels seemed to operate in this fashion and so, too, did Tennant and Lowe and Lennox and Stewart and Alf and Clarke but this type of relationship existed outside the fairlight synths and Linn drum machines. Morrissey and Marr remain arguably the definitive singer-instrumentalist pairing and they did indie rock jangle. What's more, they were part of a quartet, The Smiths. As for The Associates, when Johnny Black inquired about how many members they had, he was only given the vaguest of answers. "Somewhere between two and nine people," was singer Billy McKenzie's best guess.
Synth-pop or not, duo or nonet, "Party Fears Two" is so outstanding that McKenzie and Rankine would struggle to better it. They came close, particularly with much of the Sulk album that would be released two months' later, but even otherwise solid singles like "Club Country" and "18 Carat Love Affair" pale in comparison. Their early indie work hints at something special to come, while their later, post-Rankine material manages to sound like McKenzie was having considerable difficulty recapturing what they once fleetingly had. To describe them as a 'flash in the pan' smacks of being derogatory but it's a label that fits.
In any case, who cares if they never came close because "Party Fears Two" is simply a perfect pop song. Though frequently knocked for his vocal histrionics (Fred Dellar, in an otherwise positive review of Sulk, says they "mar and jar") McKenzie's singing suits their material. Anyone who is so over-dramatic in real life would of course be a nightmare to deal with but these people frequently make the best pop stars (no wonder he and Morrissey got along so well, at least for a time). I have to think that Tennant is thinking of "Dancing Queen" when he brings up the "Abba-style piano" but the keys twinkle even more delightfully here. (Having trusted what I saw in the video, I credited the "fetching" Martha Ladly with the piano part but it seems it was Rankine's all along; perhaps they just wanted her there so they could have someone the camera loved just as much as McKenzie)
Sadly, we are now living in a world in which both of the core Associates are no longer with us. Luckily, they remain fondly remembered. McKenzie was said to have been the inspiration for The Smiths' "William, It Was Really Nothing" (which prompted an eventual reply song "Stephen, You're Really Something" recorded during a brief McKenzie-Rankine reunion in 1993). Rankie would go on to lecture at Stow College in Glasgow where he would play a vital role in the formation of Belle & Sebastian. Most of all, they put together "Party Fears Two", a number that borrowed from elements of the seventies but managed to point the way forward for many in the eighties. Simon Reynolds called them the "great should-have-beens of British pop" but at least they were all that this one time.
Rest in Power, Billy and Alan.
~~~~~
Also Reviewed This Fortnight
Shakatak: "Nightbirds"
Shakatak have released thirty-three albums? Seriously? I don't think this English jazz-funk group has ever been dubbed an institution but if anyone deserves the label, it's them. Chances are they've recorded at least a couple dozen songs that rival "Nightbirds" and it behooves me to seek them out pronto. I wonder if their only other Top 10 hit "Down on the Street" measures up to this sleek and effortless bit of wonderment. Or what about near-miss hit "Feels Like the Right Time" from when they were wet behind the ears? Or the much more recent "All Around the World Tonight"? So much for me to explore. And, hey, if the remainder of their vast discography happens to be a disappointment, then at least they'll always have the incomparable "Nightbirds" which would end up being their very own "Party Fears Two", right down to the identical chart peak. "Me, I love it," Tennant concludes. You and me both, Neil.
(Click here to see my original review)
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