( Murphy died in 1989.)Ĭonsidering the poor quality of the songs on Staring at the Sun, the sluggish performances are perfectly understandable. The usual awe-inspiring musicianship displayed on the band's previous releases is non-existent here. Veteran session musicians Alan Murphy (guitar) and Gary Husband (drums) joined Level 42 the year Staring at the Sun was released while their talent and capabilities are obvious, the lifeless performances on the album suggest a severe lack of chemistry and direction. Level 42 would never fully recover from the loss of the two key players their departure severely affected the band's sound. Founding members Phil and Boon Gould, the band's primary songwriters, left the group prior to the making of Staring at the Sun. Level 42's most visible members had always been bassist/vocalist Mark King and keyboardist/vocalist Mike Lindup. success was short-lived Staring at the Sun, released in 1988, tanked, for an obvious reason: the album just isn't good. success by 1986 with the albums World Machine and Running in the Family.
STARING AT THE SUN LEVEL 42 ALBUM SERIES
But Level 42 distinguished itself by combining R&B and jazz influences ( Earth, Wind & Fire, Stanley Clarke, Average White Band) with a strong pop sensibility, churning out a series of successful albums and Top Ten singles. Something About You – U.S.In the early 1980s, most newly successful British bands like Duran Duran and Depeche Mode were knee deep in the synth pop/new romantic/new wave/post-punk/whatever movement.Two Solitudes (Everyone’s Love In The Air).The Complete Polydor Years: Volume 2 (1985-1989) is a great way to collect the Level 42 albums from the most commercially successful period of the bands career, and is an 80s music fans dream.īuy Level 42 – The Complete Polydor Years Volume Two on Amazon My personal highlights from these tracks include one of my favourite 80s 12″ mixes, Something About You (Sisa Mix), World Machine (Shep Pettibone Remix), the very much of it’s time, drum-less Heaven In My Hands (Guitarpella Mix), the surprisingly effective “funky drummer” take of Take A Look (Remix) and the 2nd version of Starchild (Remix) on disc 9, that clocks in at nearly 8 minutes.
STARING AT THE SUN LEVEL 42 ALBUM PLUS
The final five discs round up b sides, 7″ and 12″ mixes plus live tracks from the period. Key tracks include the top 30 single Take A Look (what a chorus, by the way), the addictive Silence and the rare later period instrumental Gresham Blues. Staring at the Sun feels very different from earlier Level 42 albums, with a shift towards a more pop/rock sound. Sting guitarist Dominic Miller also features on the album. I love Alan Murphy’s guitar style, particularly from his work with Kate Bush as well as his strong contributions to this album, sadly his only appearance with the band, as he died in 1989. Heaven in My Hands was the biggest hit from the album, peaking at No12 in the UK single charts. Guitarist Alan Murphy (Kate Bush / Go West) and drummer Gary Husband joined for Staring at the Sun, the last studio album in this collection, which appears on disc five. Known for the massive hit singles – Something About You (a truly great pop song) and Leaving Me Now, other highlights include the sublime arrangement of the title track, the percussive Coup D’etat and the Rhodes driven Lying Still, with some wonderful Steely Dan sounding harmonies. World Machine saw the band start to move away from their signature style, towards a more electronic pop sound.
Highlights include a crowd-participating Turn It On and the flawless second disc, with six killer tracks in a row, including a powerful version of Hot Water. I spent my teenage years in Woolwich, but had moved away and so missed this tour, that included a show at The Coronet in Woolwich, one of the gigs featured on this album, along with tracks recorded at The Hexagon (Reading) and Goldiggers in Chippenham.Ī Physical Presence captures the band at their jazz-funk peak, before the more mainstream success that followed with the next few albums. The collection kicks off with the 1985 live album A Physical Presence on the first two discs.
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