ALAN VEGA - SATURN STRIP @ 40

 

Marking its 40th anniversary this month is the third solo album from Suicide’s Alan Vega, Saturn Strip, which was released in January 1983. It was produced by Ric Ocasek of The Cars, who also contributed guitar & keyboards. Ric was a longtime champion and fan of Suicide and he turned this album into a passion project. The album also featured contributions from fellow Cars member, Greg Hawkes, and Al Jourgensen of Ministry & Revolting Cocks fame.

Ocasek had previously handled production duties on Suicide’s 1980 sophomore release, Alan Vega - Martin Rev, where he managed to bring a more accessible polish to their minimalist style. He did the same with Vega’s solo LP and succeeded in finding a perfect balance between his stripped down ’50s tinged rock-a-billy style and Ocasek’s tightly crafted pop sensibilities. Indeed, the album gleams like a chrome accented cross between a ’57 Corvette and a Star Wars flyer, fusing nostalgia and futurism into a precision music machine. The production carefully integrates enough ventilation into the sound to allow each instrument space to shine through, making it sound sleek and minimal even when it's concealing numerous layers. And Vega's vocal performances are the very embodiment of cyber-psycho-billy. The future and the past of rock 'n' roll extend off into the horizon on this skyway. Each song offers a sleek monotone drone with a back-beat that you can't resist.

After 40 years, it has stood the test of time in terms of remaining listenable and relevant and is some of Vega’s best and most accessible solo work outside of Suicide. It offers both edgy energy and mainstream sophistication.