Customer Reviews

Colossal Youth

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A handful of remarkable groups got lost in the shuffle of first UK post-punk invasion of 1979-81. The short lived Young Marble Giants are among the groups whose influence has long outlasted their short lifespan. The Welsh natives Young Marble Giants performed together for two years (1979-1980) and their body of work consists of one EP ("Test Card") and this astounding full length album, "Colossal Youth". It stands with Public Image Ltd.'s "Metal Box", Gang of Four's "Entertainment" and Au Pair's "Playing With A Different Sex" as landmark albums of the post punk movement. The sonic dissonance of PIL's "Poptones" or Gang of Four's "Anthrax" stood in marked contrast to chief songwriter Stuart Moxham's devotion to well crafted music, in this song cycle about love and betrayal, in the time of cynicism. YMG's embrace of traditional pop music structures proved to be visionary. In hindsight, the dense soundscapes and sonic experiements of the Young Marble Giants' post-punk peers lost their resonance by the mid 80s, but "Colossal Youth" endures as a powerful statement on tainted love among the ruins of the Reagan/Thatcher era.

YMG were devotees of the minimalist school with two instrumentalists; Stuart Moxham on guitar and organ, and his brother, Phil Moxham on bass. Instead of a drummer, the Moxhams preferred to employ the metronome-like precision of drum machine for percussion. The production values are of the one-take, no frills variety, but there is a warm analogic glow that bathes every track with a sharp, crisp fidelity. Stuart Moxham's music shared a greater affinity with some of the moody atmospheric pop of the Velvet Underground, rather the "crash and burn" anthems favored by the first wave punk generation in the UK. "Colossal Youth" may well be the earliest post-punk experiment with down-tempo music. YMG used a twist of irony and an avant garde sensibility to subvert pop tradition to their own ends. Allison Statton sang in a winsome and waif-like soprano. Stuart wrote clever double-edged lyrics that contained deeply troubling observations about the fragility of human relationships, and the loss of innocence. Moxham's trained eye for compelling imagery in his lyrics, is not unlike that of his fellow Welsh native son, poet Dylan Thomas. Allison's sunny/rainy moods and meandering vocals are a startling contrast to Stuart's dark lyrical content.

Each song on "Colossal Youth" is a well constructed pop song layered with multiple meanings. Allison's deceptively serene lilt was a well calculated counterpoint for the haunting sense of alienation that Stuart Moxham's songs often conveyed. She often tossed off Moxham's bittersweet lyrics with a sing-song detachment of a world weary child. The rewards are many for the listener who probes beyond the polished veneer of songs like; "Credit In the Straight World", "Searching For Mr. Right" and "Man Amplifier" . It appeared that YMG was deconstructing their own music and challenging the listener to unmask the truth lurking between the lines. Therein lays the genius of YMG, and the reason why they still have a cult of fans nearly 25 years after their break-up. Indeed, Allison Statton's short lived collaboration with the Moxham brothers was one of those rare moments when popular music meets high art. Each individual member of YMG worked on highly praised projects when the group disbanded, but none have recaptured the magic of "Colossal Youth."

YMG a single US tour of a half-dozen east coast cities in 1980. I saw them at CBGB's in New York and their performance was riveting. There was once a commercially produced VCR tape of the CBGB/Mudd Club performance on the market. The last time I saw it for purchase was in a well known music chain store in the late eighties. I wish I would have bought the tape then, but I didn't own a VCR, at the time. YMG broke up shortly after that US tour, and perhaps "Colossal Youth" was the only statement they ever intended to make. It would have been nearly impossible for YMG to improve upon the gorgeous austerity of this album on any subsequent studio outings. Maybe that's why they elected to call it quits early in the game. Groups like Saint Etienne, Portishead, the Cranes, Massive Attack, Aimee Mann and even Bjork have all acknowledged a debt to our hopelessly obscure heroes of YMG. This is an essential album for anyone who is a collector of punk and post-punk artifacts. This album goes out of issue frequently and was unavailable for over 10 years domestically. My tip is to buy it while it's available, because it's near impossible to find "Colossal Youth" when it's out of issue, and sellers demand a huge price for YMG rarities.

I know there are enough reviews here raving about this album, but I wanted to share this story. I received a copy of this album on a cassette tape from a friend when I lived in europe. He had gotten a copy from some friends of his who had escaped Poland during the upheaval more than a decade ago. They had left Poland literally with the clothes on their backs and a handful of items. One of those items was this album. If that isn't a testiment of how hooked on this music you can get, I don't know what is. When still living in europe I made a couple of copies of this tape so the original wouldn't wear out. I didn't have the money to buy the CD or the player to play it on. I was going through some stuff the other day and came across the forgetten tape and had that "Just got to get the CD" feeling and can't wait for it to arrive.

As a teenager growing up in Cardiff in the 1970's I was privileged enough to see YMG performing live on several occasions. They were extremely important to all of us then and they have remained so for me ever since. Apart from the music, which has never been bettered by a Welsh band (including Super Furry Animals), it was their politics and what they 'stood for' that really mattered to us. At the time when Britain voted Thatcher in and took delivery of cruise missiles, we needed YMG. Their power of delivery belied their understated music.

Incredibly (and tragically) they are now virtually forgotten in their home town. This CD is not on sale in any of the major music outlets and when I have asked about it in Cardiff music stores it is quite obvious that the assistants have never heard of them. This is a disgrace.

It would also appear that the CD is now either deleted or being produced in very low numbers: Virgin Records only had 2 copies available in all their stores in the UK in August!

The time has come to speak out. With the rise of Welsh bands in popular music during the 1990's, these people and their unique contribution to the genre has become completely forgotten. Even the best efforts of various members of REM, Nirvana, Hole etc. have gone unnoticed. Certainly their influence is more widely acknowledged in the US - well done!

I am about to start a one-person crusade - this music must be heard again and especially by the youth of their home town. After all, there's only so many times you can listen to Stereophonics without barfing!

Re-release of the infectious, quirky YMG's only album (1980), with an instrumental E.P. and a few more songs tacked on - the starting point and swan song for this Welsch trio in slightly under an hour. This is one of those desert island discs that you never get tired of hearing. Mostly short, bouncy, tweaked arrangements carried along by organ and guitar. The rhythm section, combined with Alison Statton's lilting vocals, would be fitting on a David Lynch soundtrack were there more sunshine in his films....or maybe a Wes Anderson film.

The instrumental songs, in particular, have these catchy riffs that resonate with the listener, and would put to shame the disposable pop that characterized the next decade - it's dance music for music geeks (like myself). Since it would be a waste of time to ponder the imagined output of YMG had they stayed together, this disc should find its way into a time capsule for a future generation of electronic and sample-heavy enthusiasts, who will wonder at the novelty of people actually playing instruments and churning out austere, cheerful nuggets of sound.

I have to admit I was completely unfamiliar with this band prior to this reissue and came to it via a recommendation. This is an excellent presentation of the music, as, rather than squeezing all the material on to two CDs as you might expect, we get: Disc 1, the immaculate album: Disc 3, the immaculate Peel session tracks: Disc 2 the variable quality other releases and demos, some essential, some not.

I decided to play Disc 3(Peel session) first as I figured it might be the most likely 'first point of contact' at the time of the original release. By the time its five 'short' tracks had finished I was hooked. The album(disc 1) is even better and is a 'proper' album i.e., good as the tracks are in their own right they are so much more when heard together.

The thing I find the most striking about the music is its deceptive simplicity, the driving force behind the music is the interaction between the Moxham brother's guitar and base, yet even the songs that rely solely on these instruments never feel lacking for it, in fact the spaces between the notes appear to have been chosen with as much care as the notes themselves.
The vocals and synth sounds aren't quite as strikingly unique(which is no criticism)since they have been so widely adopted by others since, but mesh perfectly with the sinuous rhythms to superb effect.

A lot of so-called influential/revolutionary music can seem primitive or to have dated but this really does sound as if it could have been released last week and would still trounce the opposition.

Although it was exactly what I expected, the first time I heard this record, I thought it was "pretentious music for pretentious people". And yet, after a second listen, I was completly hooked. Nothing sounds like Colossal Youth, and yet when you hear it, you feel it's completly logical. It's different from everything else, but somewhat you know it does make sense.
Don't expect to hear rock anthems or beautiful melodies : it's more like a very hypnotic album, and you may find yourself listening to it for years.

I would even say it doesn't matter if you like it or not : it's something every rock fans should dig.

I believe....actualy I KNOW this album is one of the BEST albums ever recorded!!!!!! It is extremely addicting, but that is a good thing. Thick, chunky guitar sounds but,quiet and soft sounding at the same time. Allison's vocals are extrordinary......... peaceful, energetic,happy, sad, clever, melodic, harmonic.........blah blah blah............THE'RE GOOD!The songwriting is so so so so good!!!!! The bass fits in there too.......like a glove. The lack of drums means nothing and it just goes to show you the power in the natural beat and groove in the songs and the way they are played. Colossal Youth is a very rich album with much to offer, that never gets boring.I love Colossal Youth with my whole heart and I respect and admire the people who made it. So if you are thinking of buying this album, and I hope that you will,than take my word for it
(I'm just a music fan with nothing better to do.)So buy this album put it on, turn it up and take it for a walk with you.thank you.

I bought this album on vinyl in a second hand store not long after it was first released. Guess someone didn't like it. A few years later I sold my records to travel, and yet the dancing baselines and sweet ethereal vocals still lift me from time to time. No music I have ever heard has quite struck this blend of muscles and fragility. One song, "Salad Days", has just two lines of vocal. It is a bassist's record, made jagged by angled six-string chords, sweetened by Alison Statton's extraordinary voice. I still don't know what half the songs are meant to be about, but "Wurlitzer Jukebox" will be the song (I hope) that is playing in my head when I die. A sad, lost, secret classic. From Tracey Thorn to Portishead, Radiohead to - even - Natalie Merchant, there are debts owed here even if they never know it.

"Colossal Youth" may well be the finest album of the 1970's and the progenitor of legions postmodern electronic groups like Portishead, Everything But The Girl, St. Etienne and Stereolab. This album was orginally released in 1979 when the punk music movement began it's tailspin and morphed into the commercially viable and often insipid New Wave music. "Colossal Youth" has minimalist production values, Eno-like electronic ambience, and dark lyrical grace framed by deceptively sunny melodies. The group represented a 3rd stream that was neither punk or new wave. Allison Statton's cooly detached waif-like vocals provided a exotic counterpoint to Stuart Moxham's cynical, world weary lyrics. Musically, Stuart Moxham alternated between playing a power chorded guitar and a keyboard which sounded like a parody of the inane pipe organ player at a sporting event or a church social. Stuart's brother, Phillip added simple and percussive bass lines which often carried most of the melodic content of the song. There were no drums, except the insistent beat of a drum machine ticking time like a metronome.

The songs like, "Searching For Mr. Right" and "Man Amplifier" contain clever subtexts that expose the transparency of modern sexual relations. "Getting Credit In The Straight World" is a skillful subversion of our conventional understanding of success and warns of the pitfalls our acheivement oriented culture. "The Final Day" may be the most eloquent statement on disarmament ever recorded. Many of the songs capture the banality of modern living and veneer of artifice we maintain to function in a cruel and uncaring world.

The Young Marble Giants played a short tour of east coast, headed back to England and unceremoniously disbanded having produced only one album, an E.P. length record and tantalizing VHS tape of a performance it New York (which remains out of print). "Colossal Youth" is the story of a band who came into our lives, and disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving behind a tiny jewel of immeasurable value. (Allison Statton's vocals can be heard on 3 CDs by Allison Statton and Spike. My favorite is "The Shady Tree").

The is one of the great one-offs in music history. According to one of the Moxham brothers, they never recorded a follow up because they knew they could never improve on it. Collecting additional EP's and hard to find tracks, this is the definitive reissue. Some of the demo material is of historical interest only but nothing can blight the wondrous achievement of YMG. If you can imagine the sound of a melodic bass combined with guitar or organ and a handmade, metronomic drum machine with naive yet deadpan vocals, you will be nearing the territory they explore on this album. No one has over come to join them in the unique world they created but we will always have this masterpiece. A must have.