Download this album for unlimited listening.
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
Another year and another label for Marc Almond, along with a newly stripped-down band, La Magia, with Willing Sinner vets Annie Hogan, Billy McGee, and Steve Humphreys on drums. Even more so than Stories of Johnny, this is Almond with an eye and ear on making a commercial record while still being himself, and the result is much better than expected. Bob Kraushaar's production feels much lighter and brighter in general than Mike Hedges' past efforts, and the songwriting often matches it -- the sprightly opening title track, followed by the tenderly passionate "These My Dreams Are Yours," makes for what has to be the most upbeat start to a Almond album yet. Similar moments crop up throughout the record, including "Bitter Sweet," with a killer sweeping chorus, the sparkling, slightly jazzy "The Very Last Pearl," which gives pulsing nightlife one of its best makeovers ever, and a triumphant, everything-and-the-kitchen-sink version of Gene Pitney's "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart," replaced on later versions of the album with the U.K.-chart-topping duet with Pitney himself. That said, it's still an Almond album through and through -- the lighter songs still have his sweet purr in the vocals (and Hogan's keyboards and instrumental arrangements remain uniformly excellent), while moodier and expectedly dramatic numbers still turn up in abundance. The forceful duet with Nico, "Your Kisses Burn," calls to mind prime Lee and Nancy, with masses of strings to boot; elsewhere, "The Sensualist" acts as his clearest statement yet on the many erotic joys life has to offer. Perhaps most surprisingly of all, "Tears Run Rings," his most overtly political number to date, became a minor U.S. hit.
© Ned Raggett /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From £10.83/month
Marc Almond, Composer, MainArtist - Annie Hogan, Composer
© 2021 Cherry Red Records Ltd trading as Strike Force Entertainment ℗ 1988 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Marc Almond, Composer, MainArtist
© 2021 Cherry Red Records Ltd trading as Strike Force Entertainment ℗ 1988 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Marc Almond, Composer, MainArtist
© 2021 Cherry Red Records Ltd trading as Strike Force Entertainment ℗ 1988 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Marc Almond, Composer, MainArtist - Annie Hogan, Composer
© 2021 Cherry Red Records Ltd trading as Strike Force Entertainment ℗ 1988 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Marc Almond, Composer, MainArtist
© 2021 Cherry Red Records Ltd trading as Strike Force Entertainment ℗ 1988 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Marc Almond, Composer, MainArtist
© 2021 Cherry Red Records Ltd trading as Strike Force Entertainment ℗ 1988 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Marc Almond, Composer, MainArtist
© 2021 Cherry Red Records Ltd trading as Strike Force Entertainment ℗ 1988 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Roger Cook, Composer - Roger Greenaway, Composer - Gene Pitney, Vocals, MainArtist - Bob Kraushaar, Producer, Arranger, Produced by - Marc Almond, Vocals, MainArtist
© 2021 Cherry Red Records Ltd trading as Strike Force Entertainment ℗ 1988 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Marc Almond, Composer, MainArtist - Annie Hogan, Composer
© 2021 Cherry Red Records Ltd trading as Strike Force Entertainment ℗ 1988 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Marc Almond, Composer, MainArtist - Bill McGee, Composer
© 2021 Cherry Red Records Ltd trading as Strike Force Entertainment ℗ 1988 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Marc Almond, Composer, Producer, Featured Vocalist, MainArtist - Annie Hogan, Composer - La Magia, Producer
© 2021 Cherry Red Records Ltd trading as Strike Force Entertainment ℗ 1988 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Marc Almond, Composer, MainArtist - Bill McGee, Composer - William McGee, Composer
© 2021 Cherry Red Records Ltd trading as Strike Force Entertainment ℗ 1988 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Marc Almond, Composer, Producer, Featured Vocalist, MainArtist - Dave Pine, Mixer - Annie Hogan, Composer - La Magia, Producer
© 2021 Cherry Red Records Ltd trading as Strike Force Entertainment ℗ 1988 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Marc Almond, Composer, Producer, Featured Vocalist, MainArtist - Dave Pine, Mixer - La Magia, Producer
© 2021 Cherry Red Records Ltd trading as Strike Force Entertainment ℗ 1988 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Marc Almond, Composer, Producer, Featured Vocalist, MainArtist - Steve Reece, Mixer - La Magia, Producer
© 2021 Cherry Red Records Ltd trading as Strike Force Entertainment ℗ 1989 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
DISC 2
Marc Almond, Composer, Producer, Featured Vocalist, MainArtist - Annie Hogan, Composer - La Magia, Producer
© 2021 Cherry Red Records Ltd trading as Strike Force Entertainment ℗ 1995 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Marc Almond, Composer, MainArtist
© 2021 Cherry Red Records Ltd trading as Strike Force Entertainment ℗ 1988 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Marc Almond, Composer, MainArtist
© 2021 Cherry Red Records Ltd trading as Strike Force Entertainment ℗ 1988 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Bob Kraushaar, Producer, Mixer - Marc Almond, Composer, Producer, Featured Vocalist, MainArtist - Annie Hogan, Composer - La Magia, Producer
© 2021 Cherry Red Records Ltd trading as Strike Force Entertainment ℗ 1989 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Marc Almond, Composer, Producer, Featured Vocalist, MainArtist - La Magia, Producer
© 2021 Cherry Red Records Ltd trading as Strike Force Entertainment ℗ 1995 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Justin Strauss, Remixer - Marc Almond, Composer, MainArtist
© 2021 Cherry Red Records Ltd trading as Strike Force Entertainment ℗ 1988 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Marc Almond, Composer, Producer, Featured Vocalist, MainArtist - The Extra Beat Boys, Mixer, Remixer - La Magia, Producer
© 2021 Cherry Red Records Ltd trading as Strike Force Entertainment ℗ 1988 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Marc Almond, Composer, Producer, Featured Vocalist, MainArtist - Annie Hogan, Composer - La Magia, Producer
© 2021 Cherry Red Records Ltd trading as Strike Force Entertainment ℗ 1995 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Marc Almond, Composer, Producer, Featured Vocalist, MainArtist - Bill McGee, Composer - La Magia, Producer
© 2021 Cherry Red Records Ltd trading as Strike Force Entertainment ℗ 1988 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Bob Kraushaar, Mixer, Remixer - Marc Almond, Composer, Producer, Featured Vocalist, MainArtist - La Magia, Producer
© 2021 Cherry Red Records Ltd trading as Strike Force Entertainment ℗ 1988 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Roger Cook, Composer - Roger Greenaway, Composer - Marc Almond, Vocals, MainArtist
© 2021 Cherry Red Records Ltd trading as Strike Force Entertainment ℗ 1988 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Album review
Another year and another label for Marc Almond, along with a newly stripped-down band, La Magia, with Willing Sinner vets Annie Hogan, Billy McGee, and Steve Humphreys on drums. Even more so than Stories of Johnny, this is Almond with an eye and ear on making a commercial record while still being himself, and the result is much better than expected. Bob Kraushaar's production feels much lighter and brighter in general than Mike Hedges' past efforts, and the songwriting often matches it -- the sprightly opening title track, followed by the tenderly passionate "These My Dreams Are Yours," makes for what has to be the most upbeat start to a Almond album yet. Similar moments crop up throughout the record, including "Bitter Sweet," with a killer sweeping chorus, the sparkling, slightly jazzy "The Very Last Pearl," which gives pulsing nightlife one of its best makeovers ever, and a triumphant, everything-and-the-kitchen-sink version of Gene Pitney's "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart," replaced on later versions of the album with the U.K.-chart-topping duet with Pitney himself. That said, it's still an Almond album through and through -- the lighter songs still have his sweet purr in the vocals (and Hogan's keyboards and instrumental arrangements remain uniformly excellent), while moodier and expectedly dramatic numbers still turn up in abundance. The forceful duet with Nico, "Your Kisses Burn," calls to mind prime Lee and Nancy, with masses of strings to boot; elsewhere, "The Sensualist" acts as his clearest statement yet on the many erotic joys life has to offer. Perhaps most surprisingly of all, "Tears Run Rings," his most overtly political number to date, became a minor U.S. hit.
© Ned Raggett /TiVo
About the album
- 2 disc(s) - 26 track(s)
- Total length: 02:24:46
- Main artists: Marc Almond
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: SFE
- Genre: Pop/Rock Pop
© 2021 Cherry Red Records Ltd trading as Strike Force Entertainment ℗ 2021 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group company
Improve album information
Why buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.