Hipsway
– Hipsway 30th Anniversary Edition (Hot Shot Records)
Deluxe
CD
Out
Now
8.5
/ 10
Scottish pop funk-rock band give the deluxe
treatment to their debut album.
Hipsway should have been HUGE. Their unmistakable sound – a fusion between
pop, funk, jazz and Indie guitar twang – had all the ingredients to make them
massive, and they were close, so close.
From the ashes of Altered Images, bassist Johnny McElhone roped in
ex-Kites members Harry Travers and Grahame Skinner, and together with Pim Jones
on guitar formed Hipsway and things it would seem started to happen
quickly. A quick deal with Mercury saw
them recoding their debut album and releasing singles both in the UK and in the
USA to mixed responses.
The band’s first two singles The Broken Years and Ask The
Lord were chart fodder for 1985 if ever it was heard. Sadly they both climbed to just number 72 in
the UK charts. Consistent yes, but not
really what was expected. The sounds of The
Broken Years were as immediate as immediate could get, it’s crystal clear
opening guitar riff had the listener on edge within seconds and the vocals of
Skinner, whilst reciting lyrics which were often avant garde to say the least,
were strong and very Bowie-esque. Ask
The Lord was catchy too and a couldn’t fail to have a foot tap, it’s chorus was
strong and the production by Gary Langan (Spandau Ballet, ABC, Art Of Noise)
was clinical and direct.
Album opener, The Honey Thief provided the band with their
only major chart success. Sneaking into
the Top 20 at number 17 it also gave them a number 19 hit in the US Hot 100 and
ensured their album also had some success.
A hit in several countries worldwide it potentially marked the coming of
a great band and, had their name at the time been Duran Duran would have
probably ensured enormous success for them.
As it was, the follow-up was a slightly misinformed release of an updated
Ask The Lord where The Broken Years would maybe have been more suitable, the
former stalling at number 50. Hindsight
is a wonderful thing.
A fourth single, Long White Car was produced by Paul Staveley
O’Duffy (Swing Out Sister, Lisa Stansfield, Amy Winehouse), who also produced
the remainder of the album, and his expertise helped maintain the high quality
of sound throughout. Long White Car
slows the pace somewhat and whilst it too was addictive enough, its ballad-type
approach failed to capitalise on the success of The Honeythief.
The success of Hipsway the album was not purely down to the
singles, in fact the remaining five tracks were as equally impressive. McEwans Lager famously used Tinder on one of
their TV adverts which undoubtedly helped maintain the albums impressive 23
week run in the UK chart.
With many an anniversary release comes a bonus disc of
material and Hipsway is no exception. It
does differ somewhat in that there is no filler involved. Extended versions and remixes are joined by
b-side and bonus tracks in the shape of the brilliant Pain Machine, Wild
Sorrow, Are You Ready To Listen and Ring Out The Bell in an impressive fifteen
track disc. The superb Galus Mix of The
Honeythief also rubbing shoulders with various dance and ‘dub’ versions. The inclusion of the odd live track may have
been nice given the bands reputation on the circuit which has seen them only
last month perform two sold-out nights
at the O2 Academy in Glasgow.
For an album that is thirty years old it has aged
surprisingly well with little sounding dated, in fact the production of Langan
and O’Duffy still sounds crisp to this day making it a must have from the
time. Containing twenty-five tracks it
is testament to a great band who could have reached even greater heights given
the smallest of breaks. As it is, it
remains one of the best albums from the era.
.
Grahame Skinner website
Grahame Skinner Twitter
Grahame Skinner Facebook
Published on Louder Than War 8/12/16 - here
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