Section 25

I just got Section 25's "From the Hip" in the mail yesterday. Since I had never heard anything but "Looking From A Hilltop" I was keen to listen to other tracks.

Findings:

As 13 out of 15 tracks were either produced or co-produced by Barney and he's credited with helping write 2 songs, there are definitely common threads.

I hear some JD, I hear some NO, I hear some DM. What I don't hear is a quality male vocal lead. I don't know if it's Larry or Vin Cassidy, but whoever it is sounds like he's a tone impaired Dave Gahan. Regardless, this album is a great slice of 80's style and experimentaion. "The Breakfast Club" was on late the other night and watching brought back many memories, fond and otherwise. This album does the same thing.

I have the 12" vinyl of "Looking From A Hilltop". It's one of the first "imports" I purchased as a young DJ. I think the second was "Male Stripper", but that's another story...........

Michael

I'm going to take this opportunity to agree with you Michael. I actually just picked this CD up a few weeks ago at Tower Records. They also have another album instock but this is the one with "Looking...Hilltop" so i grabbed it even though it was ridiculously priced at $17.99. The drums on the first track really remind me of In A Lonely Place and other early NewOrder/JoyDivision songs. The male singer is horrible though and renders most of the tracks totally unlistenable. An interesting piece of the pie but nothing on the album comes close to Looking From A Hilltop. Oh well, i would have wasted that $20 on something else (like food) anyway.

The first single was produced by Ian Curtis and Rob Gretton and the first album 'Always Now' was produced by Martin Hanett and bears some similarities to Joy Division, not as instant as 'From The Hip' but has some fine stuff on. I used to play 'Looking From A Hilltop' in my DJing days and it always got a fabulous response (I too used to play 'Male Stripper' - that is aslo a different story). The CDs were issued on LTM (http://www.ltmpub.freeserve.co.uk/ltmhome.html)and are currently available at £10 each I believe.

"From The Hip" is probably the most popular Section 25 album ... I now have no less than FOUR different formats of this album now - the original Factory Vinyl edition (crackly as hell cos I found it secondhand from Mark's legendary - now sadly extinct - Record Peddlar back in 1991), the limited Factory Box Cassette edition issued in 1985 (bought from HMV of all places in 1997 for a mere £7), and TWO different CD versions both on Les temps Modernes - the first version was issued in 1992/1992 and features the extra tracks:

Beating Heart Back To Wonder Crazy Wisdom (an absolutely TOP single and almost as good as "Hilltop") - and it's two B-sides: Dirty Disco 2 Guitar Waltz Looking From A Hilltop (Megamix)

and of course, the currently reissued version of the first reissue (!!) which has a different tracklisting yet again but now omits Crazy Wisdom cos this was now included on the LTM reissue of their final album "Love & Hate" in 1988.

The best way to describe Section 25's trajectory over the years is: Early Pink Floyd –> Can –> Joy Division –> Public Image Limited (Metal Box era) –> New Order –> 80's Old Skool Electro.