Thomas Dolby - The Flat Earth (1984)

Note: this release was originally purchased as a LP, later replaced by a CD. The CD I listened to was not the 2009 remastered "Collector's Edition" reissue.

I loved The Golden Age of Wireless and at some point placed it at #5 on my list of the Top 82 Albums of 1982. To call this follow-up "highly anticipated" is an understatement and when it finally hit my turntable, I was underwhelmed. The writing just wasn't as strong. Sophomore slump? Perhaps. This album was more moody and I just wanted to dance? More likely. For what it's worth, I like it better now than I did in '84 but I had a lot going on then (see below).

Press of the time:

• Billboard: "Richer vocal and orchestral details attest to a broader palette"
• Smash Hits (5 out of 10): "A real disappointment" 
• CashBox: "vocals are as haunting as they are compelling."
• Rolling Stone (★★★★): "Dolby clearly has the talent and the technical know-how to make music any shape he wants it."
• Stereo Review: "elusive, exceedingly busy, and largely unapproachable"
• Robert Christgau (C+): "his passion for texture subsumes what small knack he has for cruder, more linear devices."
• High Fidelity: "Dolby's new songs seem flawed"

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #35
• Billboard Rock: #40
• CashBox: #20
• Rolling Stone: #20

Tracks:

1. Dissidents - I just can't wrap my head around the dichotomy here: is it a funk tune or an experimental synth tune with lots of production tricks? If it's supposed to be both, it doesn't really succeed for me. Matthew Seligman's bass steals the show here, as it does throughout the album.
2. The Flat Earth - I dig the groove here and the focus seems to be on songwriting (with a just a touch of world music) rather than effects. I would have picked this as a subtle album opener, but they didn't ask me. 
3. Screen Kiss - The verse has an ear-catching chord progression but the chorus doesn't have a discernible hook. This track is more about atmosphere than anything.
4. White City - This energetic tune has always been my favorite track on the album. In fact, it's one of the few tunes I ever "purchased" from iTunes (I say "purchased" because, like many iTunes purchases, it eventually disappeared from my account after about 5 years. Don't get me started) Anyhoo, I like everything about this one, from the syncopated yelling going into the chorus, the bridge, even the silly monologue. And, of course, Seligman's work.
5. Mulu The Rain Forest - pass
6. I Scare Myself - a cover of a tune from Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks is pretty faithful to the original in everything but instrumentation. Also, Dolby has a better voice than Hicks. Didn't care for it much back in '84, but now I think it is one of the better tunes on the album (I'd rank it 3rd, maybe). Tasteful work by Dolby on piano and by Peter Thoms on Trombone.
7. Hyperactive - chasing the chart success of She Blinded Me With Science and who could blame him? I think it's the second-best song on the album, but I imagine most teens figured Science as a one-off novelty tune which might explain why this follow-up only reached #62 on the Billboard Hot 100. Seems very out-of-place on this album, an afterthought. But now I get to dance. :)

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I probably bought this album in or around April 1984, during the spring of my senior year in high school. At 17, I had the world on a string - warm weather, college scholarship, attractive prom date, successful academic and fine arts competitions/performances, steady work making $3.35/hour at Burger King, lots of senior parties, spring break trips, good health, great friends, and, ultimately, high school graduation. There's no way I could have hated any album I purchased around that time. Didn't listen to much? Yes. Hate? No way.

Previously revisited for the blog:
A Map of the Floating City (2011)
The Sole Inhabitant (2008)
12 x 12 Original Remixes (1999)
Retrospectacle: The Best Of (1994)
Astronauts & Heretics (1992)
Aliens Ate My Buick (1988)
The Golden Age of Wireless (1982)

Thomas Dolby - Astronauts & Heretics (1992)

Note: this release was originally purchased as a cassette tape, later replaced by a CD.

No big hits on this one, but it's still the best thing Dolby has done since The Golden Age of Wireless. I'm particularly taken by the melodic songwriting here. When he worked previously with Dolby's Cube and George Clinton, Dolby was heavily influenced by funk. For this album, he put aside the funk in favor of mellow pop & soft rock. So it's right in my wheelhouse, but the record label marketed the singles to adult contemporary stations, who didn't know what to do with Dolby who was still "that guy who did She Blinded Me With Science." Unfortunate.

1992 Billboard magazine review

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart:  Did not chart

Tracks:  Not a stinker among these nine tracks (making it Dolby's most consistent album), but my faves are Cruel (with Eddi Reader), Eastern Bloc, Close But No Cigar (with Eddie Van Halen), and Neon Sisters.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD:  The years 1989-1993 were an odd transition to adulthood for me, a four year period when I was married but not yet a parent. My life focused on my job and improving my social standing in my small, rural town (neither job nor social standing is a current priority in my life). These days, it's difficult to remember a time when I wasn't a parent, but this album reminds me of those four years. In 1992, the cassette got plenty of play in my charcoal gray truck; today the CD gets an occasional play in my white truck, the Vanilla Thrilla.

Previously revisited for the blog:
A Map of the Floating City (2011)
The Sole Inhabitant (2008)
12 x 12 Original Remixes (1999)
Retrospectacle: The Best Of (1994)
Aliens Ate My Buick (1988)
The Golden Age of Wireless (1982)

Thomas Dolby - A Map of the Floating City (2011)

Due to a long absence and the lackluster album Gate To The Mind's Eye, I had long given up on new music from Mr. Dolby. But these tracks were gradually released through a series of EPs and compiled on this album in 2011. It's no Golden Age of Wireless, but how could it be? Still, there are enough good tunes here to make us long-time fans happy; there's nothing here that would have been out of place on 1992's Astronauts And Heretics album. This was designed to be a concept album and doesn't work as such, but I guess that doesn't matter much. Metacritic has it rated at 73/100. For my taste, there are too many ballads on this one, but 73 sounds about right to me.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks:  My favorite tracks are Nothing New Under The Sun, A Jealous Thing Called Love (the chorus is the highlight of the album for me), Road To Reno, and Simone.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
The Sole Inhabitant (2008)
12 x 12 Original Remixes (1999)
Retrospectacle: The Best Of (1994)
Aliens Ate My Buick (1988)
The Golden Age of Wireless (1982)

Thomas Dolby - The Golden Age of Wireless (1982)

Note: this release was originally purchased as an LP, later replaced by a CD, later replaced by the 2009 Collector's Edition which includes 10 bonus tracks and a DVD.

A fantastic album - way ahead of its time. Musician magazine supposedly called the album "the best damned synth-pop record ever, period," although I can't confirm that was ever written anywhere. [Update 4/10/2016: the actual quote, attributed to "Freff" a.k.a. Connor Cochran, appears below]

Musician, December 1982, p. 90

Even rock-oriented Rolling Stone magazine called the album "one of the most impressive debuts" of the year (see below). Even so, the album didn't even make that magazine's list of the top 100 albums of the decade. This album was released many times in the early '80s with varying tracks, sequencing, and album artwork. I don't feel like recapping that for you, but if you're interested, there's always wikipedia. What sets Dolby apart from other early synthpop pioneers is his musicianship. He's a better keyboard player than most and seems to have quickly developed a working knowledge of harmony and theory. And Dolby's pop songwriting skills aren't to be overlooked, either. The 2009 remastering was overseen by Dolby himself and the package includes good liner notes in which Dolby gives us a song-by-song breakdown.

She Blinded Me With Science update: the ubiquitous, catchy single appears on both the CD and DVD here, which are the eighth and ninth times that particular song has appeared on this blog. It's also on Retrospectacle, Ultimate New Wave Party 1998, Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits of the '80s, Vol. 8, 12 x 12 Original Remixes, 80's Hits Stripped, and twice on The Sole Inhabitant. And I don't think we're done yet. [update 1/30/2022: we're up to eleven now]

Press of the time:

• Rolling Stone (★★★½ ): "as irresistibly melodic as Paul McCartney's work"
• Stereo Review: "highfalutin' jive"
• CashBox: "an enjoyable brand of compu-rock"
• Billboard: "Dolby has more range and musical subtlety than many of his rivals"
• Smash Hits (6 out of 10): "Not, I repeat, true instant whip, but perhaps all the better because of it."
• Trouser Press: "intellectually satisfying and emotionally touching."

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200: #13
• Billboard Rock: #13
• Billboard R&B: #45
• CashBox: #13
• Rolling Stone: #8

Tracks/bonus tracks:  It's going to be hard to pick favorites here, but here goes - Flying North, Europa And The Pirate Twins, Airwaves, Radio Silence (both versions), and Urges. I know I'm in the minority of Dolby fans when I say this, but never liked One Of Our Submarines. That's a shame because, on my LP, that song was the next to last track, so I would just pick up the needle at that point. This meant I always missed the final track, Cloudburst At Shingle Street, which is a good cut I would have enjoyed if I'd had any patience. For the most part, the demos included are interesting, but not really worth multiple listenings.

DVD:  This was originally released on VHS in 1983 with the title "Live Wireless," recorded at the Riverside Theatre Studios, London.

It's a good concert video, but it's still just a concert video. There's also a weak attempt at an overarching narrative that features Dolby himself as a projectionist at the theatre where the concert is taking place. Those scenes are shot in artsy black-and-white, natch. Dolby is backed by a 3-piece band and some prerecorded tracks. Lene Lovich makes an appearance to sing New Toy. Fortunately, there's not a lot of chatter between songs. I remember renting the VHS copy of "Live Wireless" at Galaxy Video Rental on Avenue F when I was in high school. This began a love-hate relationship with long form concert videos that continues to this day. I'm glad I've got the opportunity to see this again, but I'm unsure if I'll ever watch it again.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD:  For a good 18 months after its release, this album was played often not only at home, but also in the Markmobile. I was Dolby fan from the get-go, but that enthusiasm only lasted until his follow-up, 1984's The Flat Earth which, I thought at the time, only had two good songs (Hyperactive and The White City).  He would then go on to score the forgettable movies Howard The Duck and Toys before coming back strong with Aliens Ate My Buick.

Of course, the sound clip of Magnus Pike saying "SCIENCE!" throughout She Blinded Me With Science is imitated fairly frequently around our house.  Example:

Me: Do you have any tests tomorrow?
Son: Yeah, in science.
Me (with index finger thrust skyward): SCIENCE!

Finally, my friend Scott and I each purchased copies of the LP when we were in high school. However, they were different releases with different songs. Most notably, we each owned a different version of the song Radio Silence (he had the "guitar version," I didn't), so we would needlessly argue about which was the better version. I actually prefer the guitar version, mainly because of the spoken lyric about 3 minutes in: "Trytothinkofnothing. Trytothinkofnothing. Trytothinkofnothing..."

Previously revisited for the blog:
The Sole Inhabitant (2008)
12 x 12 Original Remixes (1999)
Retrospectacle: The Best Of (1994)
Aliens Ate My Buick (1988)

Thomas Dolby - The Sole Inhabitant (2008)

Note: this is the two disc Deluxe Edition CD+DVD package.

Cheesy synthpop goodness - I love it. In 2006, Thomas Dolby toured for the first time in more than 15 years and he did it as a solo act. Just him and his synths, sequencers, drum machine, and Mac G5 using Logic Pro, layering and looping, playing his best music from the '80s and early '90s. A few of these live performances were recorded and released (in addition to this CD+DVD package, a video podcast series is available). The CD was recorded in Chicago in May, 2006 and the DVD was recorded in Boston in September of the same year. So, unlike most live CD+DVD sets, we're treated to two different concerts. However, the setlist is the exact same for both concerts. Vocally, Dolby hasn't lost a step - he sounds just as he did 25 years earlier. My only complaint about the one man show is that having to jump around from machine to machine affects his phrasing both vocally and instrumentally.

DVD: there are a number of interesting camera angles as cameras are mounted on a few of the keyboards looking up at Dolby and one attached to Dolby's headset. There's also some extra non-concert footage every now and then (searchlights during Leipzig is Calling, clouds during Flying North, etc.). All that extra stuff is to add a little visual interest as Dolby standing in one place in a trenchcoat isn't all that captivating, no matter how many knobs he twiddles. That's a shame because it is obvious that what he is doing is very difficult and he's working hard. So while the visuals are interesting at times, they get old pretty quick, but the music is good.

Best cuts are Flying North, Windpower, Europa And The Pirate Twins, and Airhead. The most interesting part of the video is watching Dolby build the sequencing for The Flat Earth from scratch. It's not my favorite Dolby tune by a long shot, but seeing him put all that together is interesting for those of us musicians who haven't kept up with available technology. If he could do that in 2006, I can't begin to imagine what the technology allows now. Dolby's interactions with the audience between numbers are informative and entertaining, almost charming.

The concert part of the video is about an hour and 26 minutes long, but there are also a few bonus features, including a 33 minute interview, a bit of a lecture at Boston's Berklee School of Music where Dolby introduces us to his equipment, and a snippet from a TED 2006 lecture in which he shows how he layers his tracks. Like most bonus features, these are interesting enough to watch once, but there's nothing that I need to see again.

CD: Even though they were recorded at different concerts four months apart, the songs are performed on the CD in much the same manner as on the DVD, except the sound mix is much better and there are subtle changes here and there. There's almost no between song patter, so we're left with just the music here. That's fine with me. Musically, Dolby's May performance (CD) is noticeably better than the September performance (DVD).

As of this writing, the two versions on the CD and DVD are the sixth and seventh times that the song She Blinded Me With Science has appeared on this blog. The other five are Retrospectacle, Ultimate New Wave Party 1998, Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits of the '80s, Vol. 8, 12 x 12 Original Remixes, and 80's Hits Stripped. And we're not done yet. I'm betting SBMWS appears in my collection more than any other song. Naturally, it appears on a lot of Dolby discs and seems to find its way on to most '80s compilations.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: Although the CD got a lot of playing time in my truck when I first received it in 2008 (particularly the song Flying North), this is only the second time I've watched the DVD, and, to be honest, I probably didn't watch the whole thing the first time. If one is available, I just can't pass up a bonus disc.

Previously revisited for the blog:
12 x 12 Original Remixes (1999)
Retrospectacle: The Best Of (1994)
Aliens Ate My Buick (1988)

Thomas Dolby - 12 x 12 Original Remixes (1999)

UK Import

The 12 x 12 in the titles refers to the fact that this compilation has 12 tracks, most of which appeared on 12" singles in the '80s. Singles here were originally released 1981-1988. Surprisingly, I didn't have any Dolby 12" singles back in the '80s, so this is the first time I've heard many of these mixes. Good stuff. In addition to this release, EMI also issued 12x12 CDs for Talking Heads and Talk Talk. I should probably hunt those down.

Tracks:

	Year	Time
Europa And The Pirate Twins (Extended Version)	1981	4:02
Windpower (High Power Extended Play)	1982	5:51
Flying North (High Altitude Extended Play)	1982	5:36
She Blinded Me With Science (Extended Version)	1982	5:09
One Of Our Submarines (Extended Version)	1982	7:14
Get Out Of My Mix*	1983	8:00
Hyperactive! (Heavy Breather sub-version)	1984	5:05
Dissidents: The Search For The Truth (Part 1)	1984	7:17
May The Cube Be With You (3D Mix)*	1985	6:49
Airhead (Francois Kevorkian Mix)	1988	7:05
Hot Sauce (Extended Mix)	1988	7:00
My Brain Is Like A Sieve (Extended Version)	1988	5:37
*credited to Dolby's Cube

Among Dolby fans, I'm in the minority that doesn't care for One Of Our Submarines or Dissidents, so 7 minute versions aren't doing much towards changing my opinion of those songs. The best remixes belong to Flying North, Hyperactive!, and Airhead. Of course, there's also the extended version of She Blinded Me With Science. So far, this is the fifth CD on the blog that contains a version of that ubiquitous song and there are still more to come.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Retrospectacle: The Best Of (1994)
Aliens Ate My Buick (1988)

Thomas Dolby - Aliens Ate My Buick (1988)

Note: this release was originally purchased as a cassette tape (twice), later replaced by a CD.

A 4 year wait followed the release of 1984's so-so Dolby album, The Flat Earth. That doesn't do much to help build a fan base, but I don't think Dolby was ever particularly interested in that. This album has better songs than that The Flat Earth, but they are all over the place in terms of style. In other words, this is not a very consistent release, but it has moments of great songwriting. As you might guess, technopop from the late '80s is overproduced, but to his credit, Dolby uses real drums, guitar, and bass instead of the synth versions of those instruments, so that the music doesn't sound dated especially when compared to other pop music of the time. Not Dolby's best effort, but far from his worse.

Smash Hits, April 20, 1988, p. 73

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #70 (July 2, 1988)
• Rolling Stone: #38
• Billboard Pop CD: #17
• CashBox CD: #20

Tracks: The good tunes are The Key To Her Ferrari, Airhead, My Brain Is Like A Sieve, and Budapest By Blimp. While I like Dolby's version of George Clinton's Hot Sauce, no one would accuse Dolby of being particularly funky. Best skipped are Pulp Culture and May The Cube Be With You.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: Another "summer" album - this one reminds me of the "Lost Summer Of Mark" in 1988. I remember buying the cassette at a Sound Warehouse in Mesquite. Because I forgot to lock my car one evening, that cassette was stolen out of my '85 Olds. I was bummed, but my girlfriend at the time took pity on me and bought me another copy. Dolby is an acquired taste so I would have loved to have seen the look on the thief's face when he first gave this cassette a listen.

I always tell my sons that "Hot Sauce" was my nickname in college (it wasn't) and sing the first few lines of that song for them.

For more information on the brief life of the CD longbox,
go visit The Legend of the Longbox.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Retrospectacle: The Best Of (1994)

Thomas Dolby - Retrospectacle: The Best Of (1994)

GREATEST HITS WEEK (JANUARY 17-23, 2011)

For better or worse, Thomas Dolby will mainly be known in the US as the one hit wonder who sang She Blinded Me With Science. I'm sure that one song has provided him with a very comfortable life. I always felt that Dolby was underrated as a musician and songwriter (except for his lyric writing, which is mainly incoherent gibberish). Overall, these 16 songs are representative of all of the various music phases Dolby passed through during his early career, skipping over his soundtrack work for the 1986 movies Gothic and Howard The Duck.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: This CD introduced me to Dolby's early singles, Urges and Leipzig, both of which are very good. I was disappointed that he (or his label) didn't include White City from 1984's The Flat Earth. I haven't heard the songs from The Flat Earth in quite a while; the track Screen Kiss is much better than I remember it being. I've never been a big fan of ballads, but I've always thought that Airwaves is one of the best ballads of the 80s and maybe Dolby's best song. Also good is Hyperactive and Windpower. My least favorite cut from The Golden Age of Wireless, One Of Our Submarines, is also included here.

Singles Chart	Year	UK	US
Europa And The Pirate Twins	1981	48	67
Urges	1981
Leipzig	1981
Windpower	1982	31
Airwaves (7" version)	1982
She Blinded Me With Science	1982	49	5
One Of Our Submarines	1982
Screen Kiss	1984
Hyperactive!	1984	17	62
I Scare Myself	1984	46
The Flat Earth	1984
Pulp Culture	1988
Budapest By Blimp	1988
Cruel	1992
Close But No Cigar	1992	22
I Love You Goodbye	1992	36

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None for this particular CD, which has pretty much been replaced over the past 17 years with purchases of the individual CDs to replace my old Dolby LPs and cassettes.