Taking the electronic synth and drum sound from their first album (the non-US album Penthouse and Pavement) the trio added strings, horns and piano to the formula making a good thing even better. HERC must have listened to this album a thousand 100 times or more before he got his mitts on the original British release from the Imports section at the local record emporium a few months later. In the storied tradition of the Capitol butchering the earliest Beatles albums, it featured a different tracklist than its US counterpart.
Not that HERC hadn't already heard all of the songs as they had appeared on the self-titled US album released in 1982, which featured totally rad 80s pastel artwork (above) and three songs from the UK version of The Luxury Gap. [To keep things confusing, the Spotify playlist at the top of this post is the US track listing of the album.]
Released months before the album, the first single was "Let Me Go". It was released so early that it was included on their self-titled American debut, released late in 1982, as discussed above. The song is a brilliant, bubbling down-tempo song that holds up well even today. This is HERC's favorite Heaven 17 track and their lone entry on the Hot 100 chart.
"Temptation", the second single outside of the United States, was released the same day as the album. It features powerful counter-vocals from Carol Kenyon although she does not appear in the accompanying video. The song remains their highest-charting single on the UK charts.
The second single from The Luxury Gap in the US was "We Live So Fast". A 12" single featuring it along with "Temptation" made it to #34 on the Dance chart. "We Live So Fast" is the b-side on the original UK "Temptation" single which was also released as a picture disc as were the next two singles.
A beautiful song until you listen to the lyrics and watch the video, which place it alongside the Benny Mardones song "Into The Night" as a creepy older guy obsessing over a teenage girl song, "Come Live With Me" was the third single spun off of The Luxury Gap in June 1983.
The final single release from The Luxury Gap was the album's opening track, "Crushed By The Wheels Of Industry". Released almost six months after the album, the song was available in several different mixes in both the States and England.
The playlist below is HERC's recreation of the 1982 self-titled compilation released in the United States featuring most of the songs from the trio's debut album and a couple from The Luxury Gap.
For a more in depth, track by track review HERC recommends Martin's View: Heaven 17 - Heaven 17 / the Luxury Gap
The CD Project has extensive reviews of several Heaven 17 albums including the ones HERC featured today.
The CD Project has extensive reviews of several Heaven 17 albums including the ones HERC featured today.
Crushed By The Wheels is one of my favorite '80s tunes. I could listen to it over and over and over. And have done that.
ReplyDeleteHeaven 17 at The CD Project
Sadly, most of Heaven 17's tracks were pulled from Spotify after this post.
ReplyDeleteMy most repeatable H17 song is "...and that's no lie" Love it through headphones or in the Blueberrry.