Atomic Lullabies - Very Best of The Blow Monkeys

Infobox Album
Name = Atomic Lullabies - Very Best of The Blow Monkeys
Type = compilation
Artist = The Blow Monkeys


Released = 1999
Recorded = 1984-1990
Genre = glam / jazz / punk
pop rock
new wave
funky
dance
Soul
ballad
UK garage
Length = 123:17 (total running time):
61:35 (disc 1);
61:42 (disc 2)
Label = BMG / Camden Record Label Deluxe
Producer = Dr. Robert
Adam Moseley
Peter Wilson
Michael Baker & The Axeman
Stephen Hague
Juan Atkins
Paul Witts/Egor
Hector
Reviews =
Last album = "Blow Monkeys The Masters" (1997)
This album = "Atomic Lullabies - Very Best of The Blow Monkeys" (1999)
Next album = "" (2008)

Atomic Lullabies - Very Best of The Blow Monkeys is a double compilation from British band The Blow Monkeys, released by BMG, in 1999, collecting all the group's greatest hits, in the first disc, and gathering most of their numerous B-Sides, taken from the singles that they released during their period of activity, from 1984, the year of release of their first album, the critically acclaimed and commercial failure "Limping for a Generation", to 1990, when they split up, soon after their last album came out, entitled "Springtime for the World".

It is the third greatest hits collection from the band, following the very first, the classic "Choices - The Singles Collection" (also released as a VHS video compilation), in 1989, and "Blow Monkeys The Masters", in 1997, the latter including the rare cover of Curtis Mayfield's "Superfly" (originally a B-Side to their 1986 flop single, "Don't Be Scared of Me"). The first part of the title to the double album takes its name from the plural form of the title to their first single ever, the glam / jazz / punk ballad called "Atomic Lullaby" (so defined by the band's singer, guitarist, piano player, lyric-writer and leader, Dr. Robert, whose real name is Robert Howard).

The first disc basically reproposes the same track listing as 1989 "Choices - The Singles Collection"', only omitting "It Pays to Belong" and "Some Kind of Wonderful", and adding "Heaven Is a Place (I'm Moving to)", from their most successful album ever, 1987 "She Was Only a Grocer's Daughter", as well as two of the three singles taken from 1990 "Springtime for the World", that is the title-track and the Balearic-sounding "La Passionara", excluding instead "If You Love Somebody", the very last track ever promoted by the group. The latter was released in an EP gathering the last three singles altogether, collectively titled "Springtime for the World", as the album, also including a vocal remix to "La Passionara", besides the title-track, and "If You Love Somebody" itself, which featured there in two remixed versions.

The second disc is quite interesting, for four reasons, at least. First of all, two new tracks are presented here, "I'm So Glad" and "The Higher Ground", which were previously unreleased before. While the former, more new wave sounding, in general, must belong to the early raw period, the latter was probably composed after the band's dance turning point had already been reached - it would perfectly fit on the last album, indeed, "Springtime for the World". Secondly, most of the many B-Sides from The Blow Monkeys are collected in here, either previously released or unreleased, which, especially the oldest ones, kind of continue to follow the style set up by "Limping for a Generation". Dr. Robert himself, who writes a brief musical biography of the group in the booklet to Atomic Lullabies - Very Best of The Blow Monkeys, either says about the debut album and the B-Sides: "Our early music was raw. The first album, "Limping for a Generation", has some of our best stuff on it. The B-Sides show us at our most relaxed and spontaneous, and give a more rounded picture of what was really the most important thing to us... the music". Most of the B-Sides came out with the singles, but a number of them were also included on the 12" maxi singles as extra B-Sides. Some of them, namely, "The Love of Which I Dare Not Speak" and "The Other Side of You", had already been inserted onto the related CD editions of the later two albums. Thirdly, this second disc includes a live cover of "It's Not Unusual", which is just one isolated jewel, but shows how good the band were at playing live, and that in fact they could, because they were really able to do it. Last but not least, the extra disc contains an alternative version of album-track, "Beautiful Child", soulful ballad closing the chart-busting "She Was Only a Grocer's Daughter", here performed in one more duet with Soul legend Curtis Mayfield, already with the band in "Celebrate (The Day After You)", recorded for the same album; and, most of all, maybe the best thing on both discs, "I Backed a Winner (in You)" is here reproposed (same album, again), an almost completely a cappella track, consisting of Dr. Robert's heartfelt voice, his barely audible guitar, however giving the necessary rhythm to the whole thing, and The Demon Barbers' ensemble choir, by which the song and the whole record reach new unexpected heights.

The Blow Monkeys had indeed the unluck of forming and becoming famous during the Eighties, a decade which was notoriously criticized for its superficiality, excessive attention to exterior matters, as well as lack of musical care and skills. As Dr. Robert himself writes in the booklet: "The Eighties weren't the greatest time to be making music - things got too shiny, too glossy, too big. Big shoulders, big hair, big production and, until the money ran out, big budgets. We played our part too." But these B-Sides here do not follow the mainstream development that brought the band "from being a glam jazz obscurity", as Dr. Robert puts it, in the above mentioned booklet, to the pop rock, Soul funky and especially dance garage sound, with which they attained fame later.

For the sake of completeness, it must be said that, even though such an overview here gives quite an overall picture of the singles and B-Sides style, on the whole, some of both are in fact missing. As concerns the singles, the following are omitted: the 1984 debut single, "Go Public"; the 1986 flop single "Don't Be Scared of Me"; the 1987 lowest-charting single "Some Kind of Wonderful"; the 1988 version to "This is Your Life", and the only 1988 single which didn't chart, that is "It Pays to Belong". As regards instead the B-Sides, here is the list of exclusions: "Sweet Obsession" and "Huckleberry", from 1987 "Some Kind of Wonderful" 12" maxi single; "Let the Big Bad Dog Eat it", from 1988 "This Is Your Life" second 12" maxi single; "Hingway!", from 1988 "It Pays to Belong" 12" maxi single; "Oh Yeah!", from "Choice?" 7" single; "What's That?", from "Slaves No More" 7" single; and "Superfly", originally appeared as the B-Side to the "Don't Be Scared of Me" 7" single, but that was a cover version of a famous song by Dr. Robert's own musical hero, Curtis Mayfield, and it was actually already included on the second compilation album from The Blow Monkeys, the 1997 "Blow Monkeys The Masters".

In particular, the first three tracks on disc 1 of Atomic Lullabies - Very First of The Blow Monkeys come from 1984 "Limping for a Generation"; tracks 4 to 6 are taken from 1986 "Animal Magic"; tracks 7 to 10 are included on 1987 "She Was Only a Grocer's Daughter"; tracks 11 and 12 are taken from 1988 "Whoops! There Goes the Neighbourhood" (even though both tracks were released as singles, in early 1989); tracks 13 and 14 were the two previously unreleased songs added to "Choices - The Singles Collection" (again, out in 1989); and, finally, tracks 15 and 16 are contained on the very last album from The Blow Monkeys, 1990 "Springtime for the World".

Track listing

All music and lyrics written by Dr. Robert

Disc 1

#"Atomic Lullaby" - 3:36 (1984)
#"He's Shedding Skin" - 4:03 (1984)
#"Wildflower" - 3:00 (1985)
#"Forbidden Fruit" - 4:06 (1985)
#"Digging Your Scene" - 4:05 (1986) [UK Singles Chart: Number 12; USA Billboard Hot 100: Number 14; USA Hot Dance Club Play: Number 7; Germany: Number 25]
#"Wicked Ways" - 3:34 (1986) [UK Singles Chart: Number 60]
#"Heaven Is a Place (I'm Moving to)" - 4:05 (1986)
#"It Doesn't Have to Be This Way" - 4:02 (1987) [UK Singles Chart: Number 5]
#"Out with Her" - 4:41 (1987) [UK Singles Chart: Number 30]
#"(Celebrate) The Day After You" - with Curtis Mayfield - 3:39 (1987) [UK Singles Chart: Number 52]
#"Wait" - Robert Howard & Kym Mazelle - 3:09 (1989) [UK Singles Chart: Number 7]
#"This is Your Life" - Remix - 5:11 (1989) [UK Singles Chart: Number 32]
#"Choice?" - featuring Sylvia Tella - 3:24 (1989) [UK Singles Chart: Number 22]
#"Slaves No More" - featuring Sylvia Tella - 3:38 (1989) [UK Singles Chart: Number 73]
#"Springtime for the World" - 3:23 (1990) [UK Singles Chart: Number 69]
#"La Passionara" - 4:59 (1990) [UK Singles Chart: Number 69]

Disc 2

All music and lyrics written by Dr. Roberts, except track 8 by L. Reed/G. Mills & track 16 by Howard/Kiley/Anker/Henry

#"I'm So Glad" - 4:42 (previously unreleased)
#"The Higher Ground" - 3:33 (previously unreleased)
#"Rub-a-Dub Shanka" - 4:10 (1984; B-Side to "Go Public" 7" single) [Usually, but not necessarily, the previously unreleased B-Side featuring on a 7" single, also re-appears on the related 12" maxi single; for further details, see Dr. Robert's Official Website below.]
#"Resurrection Love" - 3:17(1984; B-Side to "Man from Russia" 7" single)
#"Slither" - 3:36 (1984; B-Side to "Man from Russia" 12" maxi single)
#"My Twisty Jewel" - 3:42 (1984; B-Side to "Atomic Lullaby" 7" single)
#"Kill the Pig" - 5:25 (1984; B-Side to "Atomic Lullaby" 12" maxi single) ["Kill the Pig" also re-appeared on the second 12" maxi single to "Forbidden Fruit", in 1985.]
#"It's Not Unusual" - 3:12 (live)
#"My America" - 4:08 (1985; B-Side to "Forbidden Fruit" 7" single)
#"The Optimist" - 3:06 (1985; B-Side to "Forbidden Fruit" 12" maxi single)
#"I Backed a Winner (in You)" - 2:41 (1986; B-Side to "Digging Your Scene" 7" single) ["I Backed a Winner (in You)" was also an album-track, included on 1986 "Animal Magic".]
#"Walking the Bluebeat" - 4:14 (1986; B-Side to "Wicked Ways" 12" maxi single) ["Walking the Bluebeat" was also an album-track, included on 1986 "Animal Magic".]
#"Beautiful Child" - featuring Curtis Mayfield - 3:50 (1987; B-Side to "The Day After You" 7" single) ["Beautiful Child" originally featured on 1987 "She Was Only a Grocer's Daughter", without Curtis Mayfield vocal contribution.]
#"This Day Today" - 3:27 (1988; B-Side to "This Is Your Life" 7" single)
#"The Love of Which I Dare Not Speak" - 4:03 (1988; B-Side to "It Pays to Belong" 7" single) ["The Love of Which I Dare Not Speak" was also included on the CD edition of the 1988 album "Whoops! There Goes the Neighbourhood".]
#"The Other Side of You" - 4:36 (1990; B-Side to "Springtime for the World" 12" maxi-single) ["The Other Side of You" was also included on the CD edition of the 1990 album "Springtime for the World".]

Credits

Band members

*Dr Robert: lead vocals, piano, guitar, music, lyrics, booklet
*Mick Anker: bass guitar
*Tony Kiley: drums
*Neville Henry: saxophone

Musicians

*Curtis Mayfield: co-lead vocals disc 1, track 10; disc 2, track 13
*Kym Mazelle: co-lead vocals disc 1, track 11
*Sylvia Tella: co-lead vocals disc 1, tracks 13-14

Production

*Dr. Robert
*Adam Moseley
*Peter Wilson
*Michael Baker & The Axeman
*Stephen Hague
*Juan Atkins
*Paul Witts/Egor
*Hector

Personnel

*Michele Siedner: live photographs

Other staff members

For the other musicians, producers and staff in detail, see The Blow Monkeys' five studio albums and their first greatest hits collection:

*"Limping for a Generation" (1984)
*"Animal Magic" (1986)
*"She Was Only a Grocer's Daughter" (1987)
*"Whoops! There Goes the Neighbourhood" (1988)
*"Choices - The Singles Collection" (1989)
*"Springtime for the World" (1990)

Notes

Release details

External links

* [http://www.drrobert.net Fencat Online] : Dr Robert's Official Website.