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The Bolshoi|Friends

Friends

The Bolshoi

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A best-of compilation from the Bolshoi appeared in 1999, but Friends is the real deal. Friends is the group's 1986 debut album, and it summarizes all of the band's strengths. Although not as goth-inflected as the Bolshoi's Giant EP, Friends is still very dark. Trevor Tanner's lyrics unflinchingly relate tales of hypocrisy in "Away" and "Sunday Morning." In "Away," a family tries to hide that they once forced their daughter to work as a prostitute: "Money's scarce/But family honor/Brings it home, brings it home/And down the shop, the tongues they snicker," Tanner sings with empathy. "Sunday Morning," like XTC's "Dear God," is a scathing attack on organized religion. However, Tanner's target isn't God; it's going to church. "I remember when I was young/Feeling sick on Sunday morning," Tanner reminisces. While it may seem blasphemous to some, "Sunday Morning" offers a realistic perspective; Tanner sounds like a bitter former altar boy, disillusioned by the façade of innocence of the people around him. Paul Clark's moody, nostalgic piano paints the images described by Tanner's words. "Romeo in Clover" and "Books on the Bonfire" revisit the glum, whirling guitars of the Bolshoi's past, echoing the Psychedelic Furs and Bauhaus. While Friends is far from a perfect record -- the Bolshoi were too derivative to make anything that was flawless -- it's certainly much sharper than 1987's uneven Lindy's Party or Away...Best of the Bolshoi, the latter featuring an emasculated version of "Sunday Morning." If Friends/Giant, the CD combining Friends with the Giant EP, isn't within reach, this is the Bolshoi LP to get.

© Michael Sutton /TiVo

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Friends

The Bolshoi

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1
Away
00:04:56

Mick Glossop, Producer, Engineer - Paul Clark, Composer, AssociatedPerformer - Universal Music Publishing Ltd, MusicPublisher - The Bolshoi, MainArtist - Harry Fox Agency, MusicPublisher - Jan Kalicki, Composer, AssociatedPerformer - Nick Chown, Composer, AssociatedPerformer - Trevor Tanner, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Momentum 3 Music, MusicPublisher

1986 Beggars Banquet Records Ltd 1986 Beggars Banquet Records Ltd

2
Modern Man
00:05:39

Mick Glossop, Producer, Engineer - Paul Clark, Composer, AssociatedPerformer - Universal Music Publishing Ltd, MusicPublisher - The Bolshoi, MainArtist - Harry Fox Agency, MusicPublisher - Jan Kalicki, Composer, AssociatedPerformer - Nick Chown, Composer, AssociatedPerformer - Trevor Tanner, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Momentum 3 Music, MusicPublisher

1986 Beggars Banquet Records Ltd 1986 Beggars Banquet Records Ltd

3
Someone's Daughter
00:03:54

Mick Glossop, Producer, Engineer - Paul Clark, Composer, AssociatedPerformer - Universal Music Publishing Ltd, MusicPublisher - The Bolshoi, MainArtist - Harry Fox Agency, MusicPublisher - Jan Kalicki, Composer, AssociatedPerformer - Nick Chown, Composer, AssociatedPerformer - Trevor Tanner, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Momentum 3 Music, MusicPublisher

1986 Beggars Banquet Records Ltd 1986 Beggars Banquet Records Ltd

4
Sunday Morning
00:06:35

Mick Glossop, Producer, Engineer - Paul Clark, Composer, AssociatedPerformer - Universal Music Publishing Ltd, MusicPublisher - The Bolshoi, MainArtist - Harry Fox Agency, MusicPublisher - Jan Kalicki, Composer, AssociatedPerformer - Nick Chown, Composer, AssociatedPerformer - Trevor Tanner, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Momentum 3 Music, MusicPublisher

1986 Beggars Banquet Records Ltd 1986 Beggars Banquet Records Ltd

5
Looking for a Life to Lose
00:04:44

Mick Glossop, Producer, Engineer - Paul Clark, Composer, AssociatedPerformer - Universal Music Publishing Ltd, MusicPublisher - The Bolshoi, MainArtist - Harry Fox Agency, MusicPublisher - Jan Kalicki, Composer, AssociatedPerformer - Nick Chown, Composer, AssociatedPerformer - Trevor Tanner, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Momentum 3 Music, MusicPublisher

1986 Beggars Banquet Records Ltd 1986 Beggars Banquet Records Ltd

6
Romeo In Clover (Call Girls)
00:05:39

Mick Glossop, Producer, Engineer - Paul Clark, Composer, AssociatedPerformer - Universal Music Publishing Ltd, MusicPublisher - The Bolshoi, MainArtist - Harry Fox Agency, MusicPublisher - Jan Kalicki, Composer, AssociatedPerformer - Nick Chown, Composer, AssociatedPerformer - Trevor Tanner, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Momentum 3 Music, MusicPublisher

1986 Beggars Banquet Records Ltd 1986 Beggars Banquet Records Ltd

7
Books on the Bonfire
00:04:59

Mick Glossop, Producer, Engineer - Paul Clark, Composer, AssociatedPerformer - Universal Music Publishing Ltd, MusicPublisher - The Bolshoi, MainArtist - Harry Fox Agency, MusicPublisher - Jan Kalicki, Composer, AssociatedPerformer - Nick Chown, Composer, AssociatedPerformer - Trevor Tanner, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Momentum 3 Music, MusicPublisher

1986 Beggars Banquet Records Ltd 1986 Beggars Banquet Records Ltd

8
Pardon Me
00:04:37

Mick Glossop, Producer, Engineer - Paul Clark, Composer, AssociatedPerformer - Universal Music Publishing Ltd, MusicPublisher - The Bolshoi, MainArtist - Harry Fox Agency, MusicPublisher - Jan Kalicki, Composer, AssociatedPerformer - Nick Chown, Composer, AssociatedPerformer - Trevor Tanner, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Momentum 3 Music, MusicPublisher

1986 Beggars Banquet Records Ltd 1986 Beggars Banquet Records Ltd

9
Fat And Jealous
00:04:11

Mick Glossop, Producer, Engineer - Paul Clark, Composer, AssociatedPerformer - Universal Music Publishing Ltd, MusicPublisher - The Bolshoi, MainArtist - Harry Fox Agency, MusicPublisher - Jan Kalicki, Composer, AssociatedPerformer - Nick Chown, Composer, AssociatedPerformer - Trevor Tanner, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Momentum 3 Music, MusicPublisher

1986 Beggars Banquet Records Ltd 1986 Beggars Banquet Records Ltd

10
Waspy
00:05:13

Mick Glossop, Producer, Engineer - Paul Clark, Composer, AssociatedPerformer - Universal Music Publishing Ltd, MusicPublisher - The Bolshoi, MainArtist - Harry Fox Agency, MusicPublisher - Jan Kalicki, Composer, AssociatedPerformer - Nick Chown, Composer, AssociatedPerformer - Trevor Tanner, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Momentum 3 Music, MusicPublisher

1986 Beggars Banquet Records Ltd 1986 Beggars Banquet Records Ltd

11
A Funny Thing...
00:03:53

Mick Glossop, Producer, Engineer - Neil Brockbank, MixingEngineer - Paul Clark, Composer, AssociatedPerformer - Universal Music Publishing Ltd, MusicPublisher - The Bolshoi, MainArtist - Harry Fox Agency, MusicPublisher - Jan Kalicki, Composer, AssociatedPerformer - Nick Chown, Composer, AssociatedPerformer - Trevor Tanner, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Momentum 3 Music, MusicPublisher

1986 Beggars Banquet Records Ltd 1986 Beggars Banquet Records Ltd

Album review

A best-of compilation from the Bolshoi appeared in 1999, but Friends is the real deal. Friends is the group's 1986 debut album, and it summarizes all of the band's strengths. Although not as goth-inflected as the Bolshoi's Giant EP, Friends is still very dark. Trevor Tanner's lyrics unflinchingly relate tales of hypocrisy in "Away" and "Sunday Morning." In "Away," a family tries to hide that they once forced their daughter to work as a prostitute: "Money's scarce/But family honor/Brings it home, brings it home/And down the shop, the tongues they snicker," Tanner sings with empathy. "Sunday Morning," like XTC's "Dear God," is a scathing attack on organized religion. However, Tanner's target isn't God; it's going to church. "I remember when I was young/Feeling sick on Sunday morning," Tanner reminisces. While it may seem blasphemous to some, "Sunday Morning" offers a realistic perspective; Tanner sounds like a bitter former altar boy, disillusioned by the façade of innocence of the people around him. Paul Clark's moody, nostalgic piano paints the images described by Tanner's words. "Romeo in Clover" and "Books on the Bonfire" revisit the glum, whirling guitars of the Bolshoi's past, echoing the Psychedelic Furs and Bauhaus. While Friends is far from a perfect record -- the Bolshoi were too derivative to make anything that was flawless -- it's certainly much sharper than 1987's uneven Lindy's Party or Away...Best of the Bolshoi, the latter featuring an emasculated version of "Sunday Morning." If Friends/Giant, the CD combining Friends with the Giant EP, isn't within reach, this is the Bolshoi LP to get.

© Michael Sutton /TiVo

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