Level 42 (album)

Infobox Album
Name = Level 42
Type = Studio album
Artist = Level 42


Released = 1981
Recorded =
Genre = Pop, Funk, Jazz.
Length =
Label = Elite
Producer =
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=&sql=10:g9fuxql5ldae link]
Last album = "-"
This album = "Level 42" (1981)
Next album = "Strategy" (1982)
Misc =
extra cover1 =
extra cover1 upper ="Level 42" was the debut album released in 1981, by the british pop/rock musical group Level 42. The album was re-released in 2000 along with "Early Tapes" album on a 2CD set. In 2007, "Level 42" is re-released as a 2cd "Deluxe Edition".

It's best known for the track "Love Games," which became a successful jazz/funk and dancefloor hit for the band (reaching number 38 on the UK pop charts). It has figured in both L42's and bassist Mark King solo live appearances to this day. Also gaining substantial dance airplay on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean was the track "Starchild," with Lindup on vocals.

The second single, "Turn it On", released in United Kingdom, Spain, France and Canada [ [http://www.ultimatelevel42.com/media/cds_list.php?mastertable=groups&masterkey1=10 The Definitive Online Level 42 Collectors Resource: Media ] ] , had peaked in #47 in the UK single charts.

The third single, "Starchild", has been released in six countries beyond the United Kingdom (peak position: #57), including the United States of America [ [http://www.ultimatelevel42.com/media/cds_list.php?mastertable=groups&masterkey1=11 The Definitive Online Level 42 Collectors Resource: Media ] ] , where it entered the Club Play Singles at #60. In 2001, it was re-released by the label Peppermint Jam Records in the United Kingdom and Germany.

Track listing

#"Turn It On" (Badarou, Gould, King) – 5:36
#"43" (King)" – 7:02
#"Why Are You" Leaving?" (Gould, Lindup) – 4:34
#"Almost There" (Gould, Gould, King) – 5:42
#"Heathrow" (Badarou) – 4:43
#"Love Games" (Gould, King) – 7:25
#"Dune Tune" (King) – 4:50
#"Starchild" (Badarou, Gould, King) – 6:42

*2000 reissue bonus tracks
#Forty-Two (Gould, Gould, King, Lindup) – 6:39
#Beezer One (Badarow, King, Gould, Lindup, Gould) – 7:09
#Foundation & Empire (King) – 8:27
#Dune Tune (live) (King) – 5:03
#Goodbye Ray Schmidt-Volk – 2:07

*2007 reissue bonus tracks
#Heathrow (Live, Regal Theatre, Hitchin 1983)
#Turn It On (Live, Regal Theatre, Hitchin 1983)
#Starchild (Long Version)
#Love Games (Live, Ryde Theatre, Isle Of Wight 2000)
#Why Are You Leaving? (Live Ryde Theatre, Isle Of Wight 2000)

Credits

* Mark King – Bass, Vocals, Percussion
* Mike Lindup – Minimoog, Acoustic/Electric Pianos, Vocals, Percussion
* Boon Gould – Guitars
* Phil Gould – Drums, Glockenspiel, Timbales, Backing Vocals, PercussionPlus:
* Wally Badarou – Prophet 5, Korg Polyphonic, Minimoog, Vocalising (courtesy Barclay Records)
* Leroy Williams – Congas, Bongos, Percussion
* Gary Barnacle – Electric Sax Solo on "Heathrow"
* Dave Chambers – Tenor Sax Solo on "Why Are You Leaving"

2007 Re-issue:
* Gary Husband - Drums (Tracks 4 & 5)
* Nathan King - Guitars/Vocals (Tracks 4 & 5)
* Lyndon Connah - Keyboards/Vocals (Tracks 4 & 5)

Trivia

* The Princess portrait on the cover of the L42 album has become an unofficial emblem of the group. It appears in silhouette on the "Strategy"/"Early Tapes" EP from 1982; and in outline on the backs of "Standing in the Light" in 1983 and "True Colours" in 1984. A modified version appears on the cover of 2006's "Retroglide". The Princess also adorns the cover of the band's 1982 single "The Chinese Way" and 1983 single "Out of Sight, Out of Mind." In 2002, Status Graphite, a maker of custom basses and a company associated for more than two decades with Mark King, issued a "Princess" version of its KingBasses with a color rendering of the famous logo.

Charts

Album charts

ingle charts

References