Sade at the movies (for Beginners)
Various Artists – Absolute Beginners - The Musical (Songs From The Original Motion Picture)
EMI America – SV-17182
Vinyl, LP, US, 1986
info
Sade fans aren't impatient. The group's first four albums came out within about 8 years, between 1984 and 1992. After that though, they pumped the breaks and slowed their album release schedule to roughly once per decade. Their last studio release was 2010's Soldier Of Love and, although I think they're still officially an active group, I've never heard news, leaks, or promises of a new record coming despite the twelve year gap. I don't read enough interviews or music news to have a clue whether that's attributed to perfectionism, semi-retirement, writer's block or what, but they don't owe me anything and I appreciate their (very high) quality over quantity. There's been the occasional "best of" compilation or vinyl reissue, but we haven't even seen "deluxe edition" cash-ins packed with demo tracks and no compilations collecting the 12" edits, official remixes or non-album B sides that are out there. Closest thing I can think of is this almost 30 year old Japanese compilation EP that pulled together a handful of those tracks from the band's early years. (I actually can't believe the CDs of their studio albums haven't even gotten a rerelease with the singles and b sides as bonus tracks.)
Over the group's almost 40 years (40 years?!? Is that really possible?), a handful of movies managed to score non-album Sade recordings for their soundtracks. Some are real gems, so I have a few posts planned to share them. Maybe you'll get to discover a Sade song that you've never heard to help hold you over until the next album in 2030 or so?
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I've never seen Absolute Beginners. From the little I know about the 1986 movie, a bunch of UK musical stars lent their voices to (and appeared as actors in) this full on showtune musical set in 1950s London. The one image I remember seeing from it before featured David Bowie singing and dancing his way across the keys of a gigantic typewriter. (Pretty sure I didn't make that up.) So do with that as you will, I don't have any advice on whether the film is worth your time. What I do know is that the movie managed to pull together a soundtrack album that was probably just as quirky, definitely enjoyable and potentially far more memorable than the film.
Despite the wide cast of contributing artists, Absolute Beginners avoids being the average "throw a bunch of popular bands onto the same record to sell some soundtrack albums" kind of affair. Maybe it's to be expected that it would be coherent than that being that it's made of the songs from an actual musical, but it has something holding it together as an album even better than whatever story originally strung these tracks together: Gil Evans. The great jazz arranger and bandleader was brought in to orchestrate much of the music, adding instrumentals credited to him as the bandleader and horn arrangements for contemporary artists in the mix. Evans is best known for his work on a early Miles Davis recordings, so he brings a little bit of period authenticity and "jazz coolness" to the project as he contributes to backing tracks for David Bowie, Jerry Dammers, the Style Council and, of course, Sade.
This is one of those rare occasions where "Sade" isn't actually referring the to entire band, as this track features singer Sade Adu performing alongside an entirely different set of partners. In fact, while the horn arrangements on Killer Blow come from Gil Evans, Sade's collaborators in writing and performing the song are actually Larry Stabbins and Simon Booth from Working Week. So we've mid-80s, pre-house music Working Week in full jazz mode, fronted by Sade and supported by Gil Evans... but somehow the track has never shown up anywhere other this soundtrack album?! Sade's own performance is wonderful of course and you can catch her slipping in a line about the "the kiss of life" years before that reference would be reworked into a very different song (that you're far more likely to know) from 1992's Love Deluxe.
The album has some other winning moments as well: David Bowie's title track is a pretty great piece of bombastic pop. Style Council's track isn't exactly my cup of tea, but Weller and co. are clearly enjoying enjoying the hell out of getting to play up their jazz/pop/soul chops alongside some musical heroes. (I read somewhere that Paul Weller was a fan of the original Absolute Beginners novel and their track is directly followed by a song from mod icon Ray Davies from the Kinks.) I've shared my appreciation for Working Week before and Rodrigo Bay is no exception. Bowie's tribute to the seven deadly sins that kicks off side 2 is rescued from being too over the top for me by the interesting guitar, bass, and brass work throughout the cut. And while the arrangements might not be enough to completely save Riot City, Jerry Dammers' eight and half minute show stopping closer, from it's melodrama, the song is still a pretty interesting snapshot of where the former Specials/Two-Tone organist and musical lead was headed. This was less that two years out from In The Studio With The Special AKA and besides, I'm always happy to hear funky flute tracks. (Yes, serious.)
There was also a 2 LP version of the Absolute Beginners soundtrack released in the UK that was only recently reissued as a double CD set, 25 years later. The most notable additions from the extra album were a few more performances by Evans and his orchestra (including a couple Mingus compositions), an appearance from early ska singer Laurel Aitken (who immigrated to the UK two years after the musical's 1958 setting), and maybe the strangest collaboration in a soundtrack full of them: the Miles Davis classic So What is reworked into an upbeat vocal version with lyrics dancehall DJ Smiley Culture, apparently playing narrator for the film.
But obviously, the main event is Sade's Killer Blow, so here's my copy of the US vinyl LP.
Tracklist
A1 David Bowie – Absolute Beginners
A2 Sade – Killer Blow
A3 The Style Council – Have You Ever Had It Blue?
A4 Ray Davies – Quiet Life
A5 Gil Evans And His Orchestra – Va Va Voom
B1 David Bowie – That's Motivation
B2 Eighth Wonder Featuring Patsy Kensit – Having It All
B3 Working Week – Rodrigo Bay
B4 Slim Gaillard – Selling Out
B5 Jerry Dammers – Riot City
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Pretty little thing... She held all the FLAC (download zip file):
https://mega.nz/file/pTo23DyR#-3H1FcBOd91VBNjuWjAJLxk7LAGJNDuFMG6-JwedfGc
Never thought she'd have to go, never thought she'd MP3 (stream or download):
Thank you. Thank you.
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