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Soundtracks of Our Lives week ending 13 October 2018 CE
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flashbackcaruso
1054 posts

Edited Oct 15, 2018, 13:17
Re: Soundtracks of Our Lives week ending 13 October 2018 CE
Oct 15, 2018, 13:13
Monganaut wrote:
flashbackcaruso wrote:
Thomas Dolby - The Golden Age Of Wireless


I've got a massive soft spot for that record. I remember buying it when it was first released and I was still at school and being massively disappointed that every track didn't sound like 'Windpower'. Though, only owning about 10 records, I had no choice but to keep spinning it, eventually it got under my skin. I guess I thought it all sounded a bit 'adult' to my teen ears, y'know, like my older sisters Bill Joel or Joe Jackson albums. Love the bombast of 'Cloudburst of Shingle Street'. When we visited Suffolk several years ago, whenever we hit those pebble expanses they call beaches, the track was forever going around in my head. Also the B-side of 'She Blinded Me with Science' 12" single has 'One of our Submarines', which is just about my fav' Thomas Dolby record.
Interesting tale behind the track here....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_of_Our_Submarines


The first copy I had was the re-jigged tracklisting version which added 'She Blinded Me With Science' and 'One Of Our Submarines' and dropped 'Wreck of the Fairchild'. When I eventually got a first pressing I discovered that the original sequencing flowed much better from one track to another, with most of side 2 linked by the radio signals which fade in out of nowhere on the later compilation. I also have the US version on Harvest Records with another entirely different tracklist, adding first single 'Urges' and its marvelous B-side 'Leipzig'. I also love the spooky 'Therapy/Growth' from the Europa 12". Possibly my favourite song on the album is 'Weightless'. What a beauty that is.

That's an interesting article on 'Submarines'. I knew he occasionally performed with the Thompson Twins in their earlier incarnation, but didn't know he wrote that song for them. Also interesting to watch BBC4's re-runs of Top Of The Pops and see Dolby make guest appearances with other artists (playing 'Johnny' in the video of 'It's My Party' by Dave Stewart & Barbara Gaskin, and performing with Lena Lovich) before finally appearing in his own right doing 'Windpower'.

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