Music For New Romantics

数え切れないほどの80年代ポップシーンの顔を生み出したニューロマンティックムーブメントに迫る好コンピ！
ロンドンのWAG、マンチェスターのPIPS、バーミンガムのRUM RUNNERなど、70年代後半から80年代前半にかけて伝説的なクラブで演奏された音楽─ニューロマンティック─を称える3枚組CDセット。1970年代のグラム、ロック、プレパンクから、シンセポップ、パンク、ファンク、ディスコ他のグルーヴィーでダンスフロアフレンドリーな楽曲が満載。IGGY POP、LOU REED、ROXY MUSIC、DONNA SUMMER、JAPAN、GARY NUMAN、HUMAN LEAGUE、OMD、GRACE JONES、SPANDAU BALLET、TOM TOM CLUB、VISAGE、A CERTAIN RATIO、NEW ORDER などなど！クリス・サリバン (BLUE RONDO A LA TURK、HELL DJ、WAG CLUB のメインマン、創設者) と協力してコンパイルされ、広範なエッセイとアーティストの経歴と回想が含まれるブックレット付き。コンパイルには「MUSIK MUSIC MUSIQUE」シリーズや「Shake The Foundations (MILITANT FUNK & THE POST-PUNK DANCEFLOOR 1978-1984)」の制作チームも協力。

"It was all about creating something new and fresh that broke the rules without being crass," writes Chris Sullivan (Blue Rondo a la Turk) in his liner notes for Music for New Romantics, Cherry Reds deep dive into the style and culture of Britains late-70s underground nightclub scene. In 1978 and 1979, at clubs like the Wag and the Blitz, a subset of Englands youth had moved on from punk, ditching its harshness while borrowing its D.I.Y. ethos to help foster a wild "anything goes scene that embraced fashion, frivolity, and fun. The New Romantic movement, as it was later dubbed, merged facets of glam rock, disco, funk, and electro pop into fashion-forward music that was creative, stylish, and danceable. Anthologized here over three heaping discs, Music for New Romantics segues from mid-70s forebears like David Bowie and Roxy Music onward through the artful club sounds of Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder and finally into the movements early-80s peak when impressively coiffed synth pop acts like the Human League, Japan, and Heaven 17 notched mainstream hits. Lodged in between the flagship artists are more niche players like the Normal (Daniel Millers brittle early version of "Warm Leatherette"), Flying Lizards (their delightfully daft take on the 60s Motown classic "Money"), and Glaxo Babies (the thin and funky "Shake [The Foundations]"). While Britain may have birthed New Romanticism, there is plenty of Stateside representation here, including Tom Tom Clubs classic "Genius of Love" and Lipps Inc.s international smash "Funkytown." More of an attitude than an outright genre, Music for New Romantics brings together a seemingly disparate crew, from ABC to Alice Cooper, who valued style as well as (and sometimes in place of) substance. It doesnt hang together quite as well as some of Cherry Reds myriad compilations, but there is a lot of fun to be had inside this box. ~ Timothy Monger