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.
