The Golden Age of Wireless

Infobox Album
Name = The Golden Age of Wireless
Type = Album
Artist = Thomas Dolby


Released = March 1982
Recorded = 1981
Genre = New Wave
Length = 42:29
Label = Venice in Peril, Capitol-EMI
Producer = Thomas Dolby, nowrap|Tim Friese-Greene
Reviews =
* [http://wm06.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:difyxqt5ld6e All Music Guide] Rating|4.5|5
* [http://trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=thomas_dolby Trouser Press] |

Last album =
This album = "The Golden Age of Wireless"
(1982)
Next album = "The Flat Earth"
(1984)

"The Golden Age of Wireless" is a 1982 album by Synthpop pioneer Thomas Dolby. The album is notable for containing the pop hit "She Blinded Me with Science" in its later resequencings (see below). Following the album's overall theme of radio are the songs "Airwaves", "Commercial Breakup", and "Radio Silence," along with songs about the modern world ("Windpower", "Flying North", "Europa and the Pirate Twins"). At the time of the original US release, the moody and cinematic tone--a major departure for most synthesizer-driven records--prompted Musician magazine's reviewer to declare it "The best damned synth-pop record ever, period." Fact|date=February 2007

Release History

The album is notable in that it was released a total of five times. All five releases appeared on vinyl and cassette (though the cassette release for the fifth version is unconfirmed), but only the third and fifth resequencings appeared on CD, with each changing the order of the songs, replacing the album mixes with extended or single mixes and even adding and removing entire songs. In the case of "Radio Silence," a completely different recording with prominent guitars was the version used on the early US incarnations.

The first US version, issued by Capitol-EMI's Harvest imprint, excised the instrumental "The Wreck of the Fairchild" (loosely based on the 1972 Uruguayan plane crash) and added the two sides of Dolby's first single, "Leipzig" and "Urges." Additionally, Capitol swapped the original synthpop version of "Radio Silence" for a much more rock-oriented version that had previously only been available as a single b-side in the UK. Capitol also opted for the single edit of "Airwaves" and abandoned the original UK "comic book" cover in favor of a shot of Dolby on a stage during the production of Bertholt Brecht's "Galileo."

When Dolby released the single "She Blinded Me with Science" backed by "One of Our Submarines" in late 1982--complete with a music video for the a-side--Capitol saw a golden opportunity. They removed "Urges" and "Leipzig," added the extended version of "Science" (also know as the "U.S. Mix") and "Submarines" and changed the album's cover art back to its original "comic book" design. Capitol also swapped the full-length version of "Windpower" for the single version (with an edited intro and outro). The strategy worked, as "The Golden Age of Wireless" sold better and "She Blinded Me with Science" became a major hit, with constant radio and MTV airplay.

In 1983, the UK followed suit and reissued the album with a similar track listing to the second US version. They opted for the short single version of "Science" but retained the full-length versions of "Airwaves" and "Windpower" and the original synthesizer-driven version of "Radio Silence," just as all three had appeared on the first UK edition. This is the edition that is widely available on CD to this day, on both sides of the Atlantic.

The successive resequencings occurred largely because different territories preferred different mixes of songs to others; for example, the extended mix of "Science" was the version that became a hit in America and thus the American cut of the album was swiftly resequenced to accommodate the tastes of that particular territory.

On June 11, 2008, Thomas Dolby wrote on his blog that "... I recently agreed terms with EMI to re-release my first two albums! Looks like they will be in some sort of ‘enhanced’ format, possibly including alternative mixes and B-sides. This should happen early in 2009."

First UK Track Listing (Venice in Peril VIP 1001)

# "Flying North" - 3:50
# "Commercial Breakup" - 4:15
# "Weightless" - 3:45
# "Europa and the Pirate Twins" - 3:18
# "Windpower" - 4:20
# "The Wreck of The Fairchild" - 3:30
# "Airwaves" - 5:12
# "Radio Silence" - 3:43
# "Cloudburst at Shingle Street" - 5:45

* Note: the original UK track listing is the only place one can hear the progression of "The Wreck of the Fairchild" into "Airwaves." "Fairchild" concludes with the sound of various electronics, including a wave computer, which segues into the intro of "Airwaves" with no break. One can still hear the remnants of this transition at the beginning of the full-length version of "Airwaves."

First US Track Listing (Harvest ST-12203)

# "Europa and the Pirate Twins" - 3:18
# "Flying North" - 3:50
# "Weightless" - 3:45
# "Leipzig" - 3:52
# "Windpower" - 4:20
# "Commercial Breakup" - 4:15
# "Urges" - 3:39
# "Airwaves (Single Edit)" - 3:35
# "Radio Silence (Guitar Version)" - 4:32
# "Cloudburst at Shingle Street" - 5:45

econd US Track Listing (Capitol ST-12271)

# "She Blinded Me with Science (Extended Version)" - 5:09
# "Radio Silence (Guitar Version)" - 4:32
# "Airwaves (Single Edit)" - 3:35
# "Flying North" - 3:50
# "Weightless" - 3:45
# "Europa and the Pirate Twins" - 3:18
# "Windpower (Single Edit)" - 3:56
# "Commercial Breakup" - 4:15
# "One of Our Submarines" - 5:11
# "Cloudburst at Shingle Street" - 5:45

* Note: a third US version restores the original electronic version of "Radio Silence."

econd UK Track Listing (Venice In Peril/EMI VIP 107 607-1)

# "She Blinded Me with Science" - 3:42
# "Radio Silence" - 3:43
# "Airwaves" - 5:12
# "Flying North" - 3:50
# "Weightless" - 3:45
# "Europa and the Pirate Twins" - 3:18
# "Windpower" - 4:20
# "Commercial Breakup" - 4:15
# "One of Our Submarines" - 5:11
# "Cloudburst at Shingle Street" - 5:45

Personnel

* Thomas Dolby - vocals, drum programs, wave computer, backing vocals, synthesizer, piano, monk voice, kalimba

* James Allen - backing vocals
* Kevin Armstrong - guitar, backing vocals
* Dave Birch - guitar, monk voice
* Bosco - percussion
* Les Chappel - backing vocals
* Judy Evans - backing vocals
* Lesley Fairbairn - backing vocals
* Mark Heyward-Chaplin - bass guitar
* Justin Hildreth - drums
* Simon House - violin
* Tim Kerr - violin
* Mutt Lange - backing vocals
* Simon Lloyd - leadline brass, flute
* Lene Lovich - backing vocals
* John Marsh - shipping forecast
* Daniel Miller - synthesizer
* Guido Orlando - Chilean translations, distress, grace
* Andy Partridge - harmonica, percussion
* Dr. Magnus Pyke - voiceover
* Matthew Seligman - Moog bass
* Miriam Stockley - backing vocals
* Bruce Woolley - backing vocals, monk voice
* Akiko Yono - Backing vocals

External links

* [http://www.tmdrfan.com/tmdr/discography/albums/tgaow/ Entry in The Unofficial Thomas Dolby Discography] , including track listings and catalog numbers of all five releases
* [http://blog.thomasdolby.com/?p=544 Thomas Dolby blogs about re-release of Golden Age of Wireless and Flat Earth]