Bronski Beat

Another remaster of a classic – there actually were some good albums in the eighties!

My memories of the original release are mixed.
It was ubiquitous – everyone was playing it – so many people’s systems were incapable of doing justice to Jimmy Somerville’s voice, making him sound like a castrato.
But this time around I have listened on a number of different media and the quality of his voice finally comes through as nature intended and it is remarkable how wide a tonal variation he manages.

From the opening ‘Why?’ the electro beat takes you along. It is irresistibly danceable, a real throwback to days of dubious pharma and all night sweaty discos and those wonderful horns punctuating the constant throbbing rhythm and then you get Somerville’s vocal – possibly a perfect single even at 35 years remove.

‘Smalltown Boy’ really digs deep into the emotions with the combination of swirling keys and a haunting vocal from Somerville – the song tells a story that was all too common in the eighties, a young man escaping to live his life out and proud and heading straight into danger.

The Jazz covers here are still as amazing as ever – ‘It Ain’t Necessarily So’ and ‘Heatwave’ – neither of them really a part of the Bronski Beat sound but standing up very well to the treatment they get here. Their version of Donna Summers ‘I feel Love / Johnny Remember Me’ takes on a totally different feel to the original when lifted up from Summers soul style to Somerville’s but the electro beat could as easily be by Giorgio Moroder and as a club standard it was a monster dancefloor filler.

The package includes 12” versions of ‘Why?’, ‘Smalltown Boy’ and ‘It Ain’t Necessarily So’ and you get a second CD of outtakes and session versions so as a pack, well worth while.

This was an iconic album for the gay community, an album that proudly stood up and proclaimed the whole movement but listening now it is possible to judge it purely on its musical merits and it stands up – a great album and a worthy remaster.