Marking its 45th anniversary this month is the debut LP from Magazine, Real Life, which was released in June of 1978. After showing the punks how to write catchy pop songs with The Buzzcocks, Howard Devoto stepped up his game by hooking up with some top notch musical co-conspirators, producing an album which continued to push boundaries as "post-punk" dropped the artifice of three chord grinding affectation and set about creating some truly original and effective music.
Along with Devoto, the band featured some truly remarkable musicians who would soon become major influencers in a variety of other bands. First there was guitarist John McGeoch, who would become one of the true innovators along with the likes of Keith Levene in terms of finding new tones and textures for the instrument. He's find his way into influential albums not only with Magazine, but with Siouxsie & The Banshees, Visage and even Public Image Ltd after Levene's ouster. Then there was the bass work of Barry Adamson, who would also be part of Visage before going on to be part of Nick Cave's Bad Seeds. Then you had the keyboard wizardry of Dave Formula, who brought in layers of synthesizers to help push the band's sound into the fringes of modernism. It all combined to make a sound which was forward looking and innovative, setting a standard for bright, insightful and intelligent pop music.
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