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Various Artists - Jon Savage Presents... Dreams Come True: Classic 1st Wave Electro 1982-87 (Domino)
Jon Savage is the acclaimed author of 'England's Dreaming', his history of the Sex Pistols and punk music. He's also been the curator of many a compilation; the most recent was 'Queer Noises - From The Closet To The Charts', an anthology of gay themed pop music from both before and after the legislation that decriminalised homosexuality in the 1960s. Now Savage turns his attention to electronic music from the early to mid 1980s. What's interesting is how diverse and fresh his track listing is. Most similar compilations are frustrating in their preference for choosing the most obvious and popular artists and tracks of the day; the likes of Depeche Mode, Soft Cell etc. From a cursory glance at this track listing, the only artist you're likely to know is Yazoo, and even then the track used is 'Situation', which was a B-side. The remaining tracks are all unfamiliar to most and this is the album's strength. Highlights include 'When I Hear Music' by Debbie Deb, which sounds like something from another planet, with vocodered vocals and space age, futuristic synths. 'Dirty Talk' is a hypnotic instrumental piece that sounds like something any of the current minimalist crowd from Germany might come up with today. The entire record evokes a period when electronic music was still in its infancy but had the scope to be inventive and dynamic, and there's plenty of new material here to be discovered and enjoyed. Kevin W.

Review originally published by CMU Music Network www.cmumusicnetwork.co.uk


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