Alphaville Afternoons In Utopia CD

Alphaville: Marian Gold, Bernhard Lloyd, Ricky Echolette.
Additional personnel: Janey Klimek (vocals); Phil Palmer, Jimmy Ripp, Gustl Luetjens (guitar); Phil Todd (saxophone); Guy Barker, Stuart Brooks (trumpet); Neil Sidwell (trombone); Dave Lebold, Wolfgang Loos, Robin Smith, Peter Walsh (keyboards); Andy Brown, Carmine Rojas (bass); Alan Childs, Bob Jenkins, Roger Linn (drums); Turhan Geza, Jimmy Maelen, Frank Ricotti (percussion).
Producers: Peter Walsh, Steve Thompson, Michael Barbiero, Wolfgang Loos, Peter Walsh.
Engineers: Stephen Chase, Michael Barbiero, Wolfgang Loos.
Recorded at Media Sound Studios, New York, New York; Studio 54 & Hansa Studios, Berlin, Germany between September 1985 & May 1986.
Alphaville's second album, produced for the most part by Peter Walsh, found the group creating something close to a concept record, in overall atmosphere and structure if not in specific storyline. That Alphaville wanted to aim high can be gauged from the credit list -- the three core members "composed" the album, while no less than 30 musicians and singers helped perform it. Certainly the opening track, "IAO," a brief a cappella piece with Gold backed by a heavenly children's choir, finds the group reaching just enough and getting away with it. While at the time Afternoons in Utopia got lost in a welter of mid-'80s Euro releases with airbrushing and bad synth playing galore, in retrospect it's actually a successful endeavour, perfectly evocative of a mainstream style long vanished while containing its own artistic worth. "Dance With Me" and "Red Rose" were the much more conventional singles which got released in America, the former benefiting from some great U2-inspired guitar and the latter a reasonably sassy pop number that's one of various chances for Gold to exercise his Bryan Ferry fascination. The true character of the album, though, appears on most of the other songs, such as the sweeping passion of "Fantastic Dream" (Yes goes synth-pop, only this time without Trevor Horn) and the gentle pace and sci-fi scenario of "Carol Masters." "Jerusalem," which was the final single from the album released in Germany, is the secret highlight, with a wonderful chorus and an inspiring, just epic enough atmosphere. Other winners include the sweetly sung title track, which musically sounds like Enya some years before her own big splash with Watermark, and the Pet Shop Boys-reminiscent "Universal Daddy." At points things are just bad yup-funk for wine bars, but a couple of misfires aside, Afternoons in Utopia holds up well. ~ Ned Raggett
Named after Godard's 1959 science-fiction masterpiece and heavily influenced by '80s synth bands like Depeche Mode, Alphaville was the Munich-based trio of Marian Gold, Bernhard Lloyd and Frank Mertens. Beginning and ending with brief, atmospheric synthesizer instrumentals, their second album AFTERNOONS IN UTOPIA investigates somber but catchy synth-pop not unlike late Ultravox, including the title track and "Red Rose." These are counterbalanced by more peculiar fare like the impenetrable "Carol Masters" and the intriguing, seven-minute "Lassie Come Home." The singles "Dance With Me" and "Fantastic Dream" were club hits, but by the time of this album's 1986 release, synth-pop was no longer a chart concern, and Alphaville quickly faded from sight.