BLOOD FOR DRACULA | ANDY WARHOL'S DRACULA @ 50

Released on March 1st, 1974, Blood for Dracula (aka Andy Warhol's Dracula) is commemorating its golden jubilee today at an astoundingly undead 50 years old. Though the connection to Warhol is little more than a loose association thanks to Factory regulars, director Paul Morrissey, and star, Joe Dellasandro, the outrageously funny and grotesque adaptation of the Gothic icon followed hot on the heels of the 3D Flesh For Frankenstein feature released the year before. In fact, production of both films was done consecutively, with filming for Dracula commencing within a day of completing shooting for the Frankenstein film. Both were shot on location in Italy, utilizing many of the same cast, including Udo Keir in the leads as both Dracula and Dr. Frankenstein.

The plot of the film follows a desperate and anemic Count Dracula as he relocates from his native Transylvania to Italy, in search of the virgin blood he is so desperate to find in order to maintain his vigour. With Italy being predominantly Catholic, his theory is that this must be the best place to find virgins for his prey. Little does he realize what sluts those Catholic girls really are, and the results of his dining become nothing less than literally stomach turning! It's all played for high camp value, landing well in line with the eras other classic midnight movie treats like Pink Flamingos.

In 1973, Paul Morrissey and Joe Dallesandro came to Italy to shoot a film for producers Andrew Braunsberg and Carlo Ponti. The original idea came from director Roman Polanski who had met Morrissey when promoting his film, "What?", with Morrissey stating that Polanski felt he would be "a natural person to make a 3-D film about Frankenstein. I thought it was the most absurd option I could imagine." Morrissey convinced Ponti to not just make one film during this period, but two, which led to the production of both Flesh for Frankenstein and Blood for Dracula. One day after the principal shooting for Frankenstein was completed, Morrissey had Udo Kier, Dallesandro and Arno Juerging get shorter hair cuts, as filming for Blood for Dracula began immediately.

Initial release of the film was under the title of "Andy Warhol's Dracula" though Warhol had zero actual involvement with the production, beyond maybe offering a suggestion or two during post production. The name association was strictly for promotional purposes. The film opened to mixed reviews, though the production design received numerous compliments. It didn't do too well at the box office either, but it has become a cult favourite over the years. I first came across it in the mid 1980s during the heyday of video rentals and immediately fell in love with it. I'd already seen a theatrical revival of Flesh for Frankenstein a few years earlier, presented in all its glorious 3D grandeur. I must say that, at the time, it was the best looking 3D movie I'd ever seen, with the visual effect coming across as crisp and clear, where other films I'd seen had annoying double-vision artifacts. The print I saw used a polarizing technique, rather than the red/blue colour separation that was more common at the time. In both cases, I was fully entertained by both movies, immediately falling in love with Udo Kier, an appreciation that has sustained itself for decades, whenever I've had the pleasure of seeing him on the screen. I consider both of these films as essential viewing when it comes to cult movies, right up there with any of the works of John Waters.

SPARKS - NO. 1 IN HEAVEN @ 45

 

Marking its 45th year on the shelves today is the eighth studio album from Sparks, their collaboration with Italian electronic disco pioneer, Giorgio Moroder, No. 1 In Heaven, which was released on March 1st, 1979. Both a stylistic departure for the Mael brothers and a career shot-in-the-arm in terms of chart success, it was nonetheless mostly ravaged by critics, though it has, retrospectively, been revered as an influential essential in the history of synth-pop.

By 1978, the Mael brothers were struggling with their sound and lack of success on the heels of two commercially disappointing albums in a row. After some success in the UK, which the group had made their home in the mid 1970s, they'd returned to the US and LA, only to find their forays into breezy "West Coast" rock creatively unsatisfying and commercially lagging, both in the US and the UK. But their fortunes were about to change thanks to a comment in an interview with a German journalist, who they told of their admiration for the work of Giorgio Moroder on Donna Summer's smash disco hit, I Feel Love. This journalist turned out to be a friend of Moroder's, and he facilitated introductions, setting the ball in motion for the collaboration. Once production on the album began, the group quickly discarded the usual "bass, drums, guitars" rock band configuration of their previous albums, and dove headlong into the world of synthesizers and electronics, with drummer Keith Rorsey keeping the beat. Moroder's trademark pulsing synth sound dominated the album and echoed his groundbreaking work with Donna Summer.

A total of four singles were released from the album, with The Number One Song In Heaven being the biggest hit for the band, peaking in the UK top 20, their first hit single since 1975. Beat the Clock did even beater, pushing into the UK top 10, but despite the success on the singles charts, the album barely scraped the bottom of the top 100, peaking at 73 for a week, which was certainly better than the group had done with their previous two albums, but still less than they'd hoped for.

The critics of the day were mostly disparaging of the record upon its release. Reviewer Ian Penman said, "Moroder's production is essentially irrelevant", and found that the album was "neither a comedy album nor an experimental album, but it possesses the near instant redundancy of both." Melody Maker panned the album concluding, "the most pathetic thing of all is that they seem to think you'll want to dance to it". Record Mirror said that the album was "a complete frustration from beginning to end."

There may have been a preponderance of naysayers for the LP, but there were a few of the hipper voices in the music press who heard something different in this music. Sandy Robertson wrote that "the band have found in Moroder the best filter for their ideas since Rundgren" and qualified the album as "icy sharp and fresh". Trouser Press' Bruce Paley found that the songs were "solid, innovative and exciting". The New York Times called the album a "fascinating fusion disk, blending rock, disco, progressive rock and avant-gardism ... in a most unusual, appealing way."

Opinions of the album, retrospectively, have evolved a long way from those original scathing critiques, however, and the album's legacy has been affirmed by other artists who were inspired by it, most notably the members of Joy Division. They cited "Number One Song in Heaven" as a primary influence during the recording of "Love Will Tear Us Apart". Joy Division's drummer Stephen Morris stated: "When we were doing 'Love Will Tear Us Apart', there were two records we were into: Frank Sinatra's Greatest Hits and 'Number One Song in Heaven' by Sparks. That was the beginning of getting interested in Giorgio Moroder." It's clear that influence would extend well into the work of New Order as well.

For me, I must confess to being very late to this party. Sparks was always this band that I saw peripherally on the music landscape as mildly intriguing, but also confusing enough that I never felt compelled to delve into their works. That changed when I got to see the 2021 biographical documentary by Edgar Wright, The Sparks Brothers, after which, I immediately added No. 1 In Heaven to my music library. It certainly qualifies as a critical piece of the techno-pop puzzle from the era. sustaining its relevance to contemporary ears.

QUEEN - THE WORKS @40

Celebrating its 40th anniversary today is the eleventh studio album from Queen, The Works, which was released on February 27th, 1984. After the mixed reaction to what many considered the band's most disappointing LP, Hot Space, The Works made a concerted effort to redress some of the concerns expressed by fans and critics, while continuing to retain some of the new creative ground that had been cultivated on what was, frankly, a misjudged and under appreciated prior album.

1982's Hot Space had taken Queen into a new, synth-heavy soundscape that many fans felt was a betrayal for a band who spent the previous decade proudly proclaiming "NO SYNTHS" on all their albums. The focus on dance oriented soul and R&B funkiness also seemed out of character and the band's tour across the US included incidents where Mercury flatly scolded audiences for their impatience with the band's new material. To add insult to injury, US broadcasters reacted harshly against the cheeky drag imagery of the video for I Want To Break Free, all of which contributed to the band's decision to cease touring the US for the remainder of their career while Mercury was still fronting the band. It's a decision that would cost them some sales in America during the decade, though the band's status elsewhere skyrocketed after the release of The Works.

After the end of the Hot Space tour, the band felt a need to take a break, a situation that was erroneously portrayed in the Bohemian Rhapsody movie from 2018 as a "break up". There was never any intention to pack it in as a band, though most of the group were looking forward to doing some solo work, or collaborations with other people. Brian worked with Eddie Van Halen on a project, while Roger and Freddie each got stuck in on solo albums. There was some talk about returning to South America to tour after the spectacular success of their last stop there, but those plans fell through. By August of 1983, they were all ready to reassemble and start putting together a new album, which would be released through a new label after their deal with Elektra in the US, Canada, Australian and Japan was nullified. The new album would be their first to be released on EMI and its US affiliate, Capital Records.

The bulk of the recording sessions would take place at LA's Record Plant, which would be the only time the group ever recorded in the US. The final mixing and overdubbing would occur in January of 1984 at Musicland studios in Munich, Germany. While Queen had been quite self sufficient on their albums throughout the 1970s, by the time they were recording The Works, they were also relying a lot on live session keyboardist, Fred Mandel, who contributed synth and other keyboard parts to several tracks on the album. Also, regular engineer, Reinhold Mack, was helping out with sampling on the then unfamiliar Fairlight CMI.

The title for the album came about because of an off-the-cuff comment by Roger that was a response to the backlash against the previous album. He suggested the group "give 'em the works" for the next album, meaning that they should give fans a bit of everything the band were able to muster. And that's pretty much exactly what they did. While they'd return to some of the hard rock sounds of their earlier career, they didn't give up on the electronics heavy music they'd explored on the controversial Hot Space album, and ended up creating one of their most iconic songs in the process.

Radio Ga Ga had been inspired by a bit of toddler prattle from Roger's son, which inspired Taylor to write the song, ironically utilizing keyboards and drum machines. Roger had initially been against such devices, but was now embracing them. John Deacon helped out with a bass line, while Freddie came in and radically reassembled it with his own take on the arrangements. The result was a song that not only provided a hit single & video, but one of the band's most engaging moments when played live. The distinctive "clap clap" chorus, with hands held straight in the air, became a unifying moment of audience participation, even rivalling the "stomp-stomp-clap" of We Will Rock You. The sight of throngs of fans all performing the motion in unison became one of the most breathtaking moments of their massive stadium live shows during the 1980s, at least while the band were still able to tour with Freddie.

The other song on the album that created quite a stir was I Want To Break Free, another ear catching classic written by John Deacon. The ruckus over this all came down to the video and the US market's aversion to anything that smacked of "gender-bending". The fuss was ridiculous, however, because the "drag" that was incorporated was so utterly ludicrous. The concept was another flash of inspiration from Roger, who suggested the group do something of a parody of the UK soap, Coronation Street. The concept went down a treat for fans who were familiar with the series, but the US market were clueless and simply didn't get the joke or the reference. For those that did, seeing them in such outrageous attire was a laugh-riot, with Brian and John looking dowdy and stern, while Taylor chewed bubblegum as a saucy teen temptress and Mercury tough-dragged out with moustache firmly in place while he vacuumed in his red leather miniskirt. It remains one of the band's most memorable videos, next to Bohemian Rhapsody.

Upon its release, it took off on the charts, though its success was muted in the US by the band's refusal to tour there. Though it just missed the number 1 slot in the UK, it set the record for any Queen studio album by lingering in the charts for an astonishing 94 weeks! My relationship with the album is somewhat distant, however, as it came out at a time when Queen were simply off my radar, so while I appreciated the humour of something like I Want To Break Free, the music on the album has not quite developed much of a relationship with me, beyond a few tracks. Maybe one day I'll be able to embrace it more, but I do appreciate that it became a key piece of the band's history, critical in establishing their legacy, which continues to sustain fan interest over three decades after Freddie Mercury left this world. 

DEAD CAN DANCE @ 40

 

Released on February 27th, 1984, the debut eponymous LP from Dead Can Dance is turning 40 years old today. Though its style is less representative of the direction their music would take on subsequent releases, the essence of their style was coming into bloom.

The group began life in Melbourne, Australia in 1981, initially taking shape as a fairly conventional four piece band, complete with bass, drums and guitars. The group migrated to the UK in May of 1982 and, once settled, managed to secure a contract with 4AD Records, who were just beginning to establish themselves with Gothic "dream pop" bands like Cocteau Twins, a sound that was very much in line with Dead Can Dance's initial manifestation.

The musicians who performed on the album were Brendan Perry (vocals & guitar), Lisa Gerrard (vocals & percussion), Paul Erikson (bass), Peter Ulrich (drums & percussion), James Pinker and Scott Roger. The most exotic instrument used was Lisa's yangqin, which is a Chinese stringed instrument similar to a hammer dulcimer. Though the group were labelled "Goth" by the press based on the perception that they were preoccupied with macabre themes, the label was denied by the band, who had conceived of their name as a far more positive symbol of bringing life to the inanimate, infusing their work with an energy of renewal. This, however, didn't stop critics from labelling their debut "as goth as it gets."

After their debut, the group would pair down to the core duo of Perry & Gerrard, with any additional instrumental duties the duo weren't able to perform themselves being provided by session players and guests. Their sound would also move away from any vestigial connections to "rock" music, incorporating elements of classical, folk and a variety of world music influences to create their distinctive, evocative sounds.

SEX PISTOLS - THE GREAT ROCK 'N' ROLL SWINDLE @ 45

Released on February 26th, 1979, the soundtrack to the Sex Pistols movie, The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle, turns 45 years old today. While it's hard to call this a proper album by the group, among the clutter and confusion, there are some genuinely amusing punk gags and a few nasty bits of ephemera worth the price of admission.

Before the group imploded at the end of their chaotic 1978 US mini-tour, Malcolm McLaren had been working on the idea of a feature film for the band, initially titled, "Who Killed Bambi?". With Johnny Rotten unceremoniously dumped after their San Francisco gig in January of 1978, the prospect of putting together a feature film, let along the film's soundtrack, seemed rather slim. Yet McLaren was determined to push this project past the finish line, even if he had to run it on fumes, including resorting to hiding cameras in bushes to try to film Lydon while on vacation in Jamaica & scouting reggae bands for Richard Branson. It was fortunate then that Malcolm managed to come across a forgotten 1976 tape of the band rehearsing.

The demo contained recordings of the band performing a number of cover songs, many of which were part of their live set at the time. These included The Monkees' Stepping Stone, The Modern Lovers' Roadrunner, Chuck Berry's Johnny B Goode and The Who's Substitute. An early demo version of Anarchy in the UK was also uncovered. None of these recordings had ever been released before, so Malcolm came up with the idea of doing a bit of recycling in order to have a few building blocks upon which to structure some sort of soundtrack. Unfortunately, the demos were not of the best recording quality, being only 4 track roughs, but the vocal and bass parts were salvageable, or rather had to be as both Johnny and Glen were no longer in the band. At minimum, he could re-record Steve's guitar and Paul's drum parts again, to help freshen up the sound and allow him to claim the album contained actual Sex Pistols songs that were not previously released.

To fill out the rest of the double LP capacity, McLaren assembled a pastiche of odds and ends, firstly by having the remaining band members record some new material with lead vocals either being provided by them or by guest vocalists. Sid recorded cover versions of My Way, Something Else and C'mon Everybody, artifacts that would become his only proper studio appearances before his tragic death. Paul & Steve each provided lead vocals on a couple of tracks which were essentially prototypes for their post-Pistols project, The Professionals. Edward Tudor-Pole provided vocals for several tracks as well, but the most controversial guest was exiled "Great Train Robber", Ronnie Biggs, who provided vocals for Belsen Was a Gas and No One Is Innocent. That inclusion drew a lot of criticism because of Biggs' violent history and the impression that the appearance celebrated those heinous crimes.

The rest of the album is patched together with a handful of novelty songs, such as the disco medley by a fake studio band, The Black Arabs, and some French street performers were used on a parody of Anarchy in the UK. Malcolm took the task of crooning the saccharine, sentimental, You Need Hands. Other than the salvaged demos from 1976, Johnny Rotten had nothing whatsoever to do with the production of the album, completely disavowing it and the film upon their release and asserting they were NOT legitimate Sex Pistols products, but merely another of Malcolm's cons.

Taken as a whole, the album is a hodgepodge of occasionally amusing relics and random moments of ecstatic excess. Sid's rendition of My Way, for example, has gone on to become his signature statement of nihilistic self-destruction. The Pistols demos capture the band in a state of raw good humour, having a laugh before it all became too fucking crazy. Even the disco song is an amusing poke in the eye to the punks who clung to pretensions about what the movement was. In the end, the record does what it says on the tin. It's a total "swindle", but fun enough if you're in on the joke.
 

QUEEN - SEVEN SEAS OF RHYE @ 50

 

 

Marking it's golden jubilee today is Queen's third single, Seven Seas of Rhye, which was released on February 23rd, 1974 and became their first UK hit, peaking at #10 on the charts after the band performed it on Top of the Pops two days before the single's release.

The song was originally used to close off the group's debut album, albeit in a simplified instrumental form. The original intent was for their follow up album to feature the full version as the opening track, but that plan was changed after the "black vs white" concept came into place for Queen II, where it was ultimately used to close the second album, morphing into a sea shanty at the end of the song. It was a theme that was picked up on the beginning of the third album, Sheer Heart Attack, which opens with a similar refrain before breaking into Brighton Rock.

The song was written by Freddie Mercury, beginning life as far back as 1969, though Brian May contributed some elements in its final form, but was not given writing credit at the time it was published. At that time, Queen were of the habit that the principal songwriter was always given full credit for their song, an arrangement that wouldn't change until much later in their career, when they began to share writing credit among the band members more equally.

The theme of the song was based on an imaginary kingdom Freddie and his sister had dreamed up as children, the land of Rhye. This fairytale kingdom would also be referenced on the band's next album, in the song, Lily of the Valley, and would ultimately become an integral part of the Queen jukebox musical, We Will Rock You (2002), as a place where the Bohemians are taken after they are brain-drained by Khashoggi.

The song is exemplary of Queen in all their grandeur, highlighting their fiery guitar histrionics and vocal harmonies, and driven by a rapid-fire piano arpeggio by Mercury. It's the kind of pomp and pretense that only Queen could pull off with credibility. When Mercury commands, "Bring before me what is mine!", you don't question it, you get the man whatever the fuck he wants.

The B-Side of the single was a rare non-LP track, See What A Fool I've Been. The single release predated the release of their 2nd album by a few weeks as delays held up the LPs production.

TANGERINE DREAM - PHAEDRA @ 50

 

On this day, half a century ago on February 20th, 1974, the future of electronic music would receive one of its most important foundation stones, as Tangerine Dream released their fifth studio album, Phaedra. It was an album that would introduce one of the most crucial components to the production of synthesizer based music, with the step sequencer taking centre stage on this most influential album.

As well as introducing music fans to the mechanical, hypnotic bass pulse of the step sequenced modular synthesizer, this was the first album by the group to be released on Richard Branson's burgeoning Virgin Records. Branson had heard a set of recordings Edgar Froese and Christopher Franke had made earlier in 1973 at Skyline Studios in Berlin, and was impressed enough to sign the group to his label and invite them to come to the UK to record. They set up camp at The Manor in Shipton-on-Cherwell during November of 1973 and spent just under six weeks to complete the album.

Initial production did not go smoothly, however, as the group and studio engineers wrestled with a seemingly endless string of technical issues. Things began to change with a breakthrough recording by Edgar Froese, assisted by his wife, Monique. Froese recalled the session.

"Phaedra was the first album in which many things had to be structured. The reason was that we were using the Moog sequencer (all driving bass notes) for the first time. Just tuning the instrument took several hours each day, because at the time there were no presets or memory banks. We worked each day from 11 o'clock in the morning to 2 o'clock at night. By the 11th day we barely had 6 minutes of music on tape. Technically everything that could go wrong did go wrong. The tape machine broke down, there were repeated mixing console failures and the speakers were damaged because of the unusually low frequencies of the bass notes. After 12 days of this we were completely knackered. Fortunately, after a two-day break in the countryside a new start brought a breakthrough. 'Mysterious Semblance' was recorded on Dec 4th. Pete (Baumann) and Chris (Franke) were asleep after a long day's recording session so I invited my wife, Monique, into the studio. I called in the studio engineer and recorded it in one take on a double-keyboarded Mellotron while Monique turned the knobs on a phasing device. This piece is on the record exactly as it was recorded that day. And this practice was to continue for the rest of the session."

The title track was originally based on an improvisation recorded in the studio, and unintentionally exhibits one of the limitations of the analog equipment used at the time. As the equipment warmed up, some of the oscillators began to detune (they were highly temperature-sensitive), which was responsible for some of the changes in the music towards the end of the piece. Both the title track and "Movements of a Visionary" rely on Franke's use of the Moog analog sequencer as a substitute for bass guitar.

With the release of the album, Tangerine Dream were suddenly thrust onto the world stage as the premier ambassadors of the new German "Krautrock" scene, even though, ironically, Phaedra did rather poorly in Germany, selling a mere 6,000 units. But the story was very different on the international markets, as it reached gold record status in no less than seven countries. This was all with virtually no airplay and sales only being pushed by word of mouth by fans. In the UK, the album peaked at #15 on the LP charts!

Its effect on the trajectory of electronic music was incalculable. The sound of precision, pulsing step-sequencer synth-bass became ubiquitous within techno pop music as the decade progressed, becoming foundational to iconic, groundbreaking works by the likes of Kraftwerk and Giorgio Moroder. Phaedra has since gone on to be acknowledged as one of Tangerine Dream's most essential and respected albums, defining the group's career from that point forward.