Heaven 17 Penthouse And Pavement CD

An offshoot of the British post-punk band the Human League, Heaven 17 were influenced in equal parts by disco, David Bowie, and a keen awareness of the political and social winds of change blowing in early 1980s Britain. Though their debut album is packed with early gems of electronica, tracks like "We Don't Need This Fascist Groove Thing," "Play to Win," and "Let's All Make a Bomb" also reflect the social turmoil, as well as the threat of nuclear annihilation, that formed the roiling background to their music's shiny hedonism. This remastered reissue also contains two bonus tracks.

When synthesists Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware left the Human League in 1980, the decision seemed iffy; after all, the League appeared on the way up and would achieve global fame the very next year with Dare!. The first album from Heaven 17, Marsh and Ware's new trio with singer Glenn Gregory, wasn't greeted with quite the same commercial kudos when released in 1981, but it turned out to be an important outing nevertheless. Picking up where Kraftwerk had left off with The Man Machine, the group created glistening electro-pop that didn't skimp on danceable grooves or memorable melodies. What set Heaven 17 apart was the well-deep vocals of Gregory, who managed the difficult trick of sounding dramatic without seeming pretentious, and an overtly left-wing political outlook best expressed on the debut single "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang." Other standout combinations of witty lyrics and whiplash electro-grooves include "The Height of the Fighting" and "Play to Win," while the funky title track draws on American R&B for its popping bassline. Despite the catchy material, chart success proved somewhat elusive; the group didn't score a major hit until their next album, 1983's The Luxury Gap. Nevertheless, Penthouse and Pavement stands as one of the most accomplished debuts of the '80s. [Note: As part of the apparent effort to clear up some of the confusion between the band's British and American releases, the 1997 Caroline reissue adds a pair of bonus tracks. The remastered version released in 2006 has a slightly different arrangement with the bonus tracks.] ~ Dan LeRoy

2006 digitally remastered edition of the debut album by the group that was originally an ancillary project of the "British Electrical Foundation" of BEF, formed as a result of a rift in The Human League. Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware had separated from Phil Oakey (who retained the Human League moniker) and recruited vocalist Glenn Gregory, who not surprisingly sounded very similar in style to Oakey. Their objective was the give the synthesizer a more soulful sound. The trio's first single "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang" became the first of a log string of UK hits, not at all suffering from a BBC ban due to the title in Lady Thatcher's reign. It was followed by "Play To Win", "The Height Of The Fighting" and "Let's All Make A Bomb". This edition adds the 12" tracks of "Are Everything" (a Buzzcocks cover), "I'm Your Money" and the b-sides of BEF tracks "Groove Thang", "Decline Of The West" and "Honeymoon In New York".

Includes liner notes by Gerard Talbot.

Heaven 17: Glenn Gregory, Ian Craig Marsh, Martyn Ware.

Personnel: Glenn Gregory, Josie James (vocals); John Wilson (guitar, guitar synthesizer); Ian Craig Marsh (saxophone, synthesizer, percussion); Martyn Ware (piano, synthesizer, percussion, background vocals); Steve Travell (piano).

Audio Remasterer: Donal Whelan.

Liner Note Author: John Gill.

Heaven 17: Glenn Gregory (vocals); Martyn Ware (synthesizer, piano, percussion, background vocals); Ian Craig Marsh (synthesizer, saxophone, percussion).

Additional personnel: Josie James (vocals); The Boys Of Buddha (synthetic horns); Steve Travell (piano); John Wilson (bass, guitar, synthesizer).

Uncut (p.86) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[They] defined new pop ambitions with PENTHOUSE AND PAVEMENT, a steely state-of-the-art, state-of-the-nation address..."