Fourth Wall [Import]

Flying Lizards (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 21, 1996)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Phantom Sound & Vision
• ASIN: B00000E1O0
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,237,318 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's hard not to underestimate the value of David Cunningham's FOURTH WALL., March 15, 2007

By 

Sambson (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fourth Wall (Audio CD)

(David Cunningham's) Flying Lizards - Fourth Wall (1981)

1. Lovers And Other Strangers

2. Glide/Spin

3. In My Lifetime

4. Cirrus

5. A-Train

6. New Voice

7. Hands 2 Take

8. An Age

9. Steam Away

10. Move On Up

11. Another Story

12. Lost And Found

It's hard not to underestimate the value of "Fourth Wall," but here goes.

Any John Oswald or Negativland fans simply must have all of David Cunningham's output. Sometimes Bri Eno-esque (6), sometimes Phil Glassian (8), sometimes just plain; Kate Bush meets Toyah Wilcox & Nina Hagen for a disco moment (10). In fact, all the Patti Paladin voiced tunes here, are quite premontory of what was quickly becoming New wave. Tunes like "A-Train" are easily on par with other white electro-funk of the time, like Talking Heads. But maybe more importantly, Cunningham's position as Beck Hansen's secret mentor is shown in such wonderfully skewed 'Pop' songs like "Hands 2 Take", where the sped-up, electronic solo goes beyond syncopation and into the realm Hansen would occupy 25 years later. And what about the "Intergalactic"-style vocal bit in "Steam Away", the Beastie Boys would resurrect in 1998. One might imagine Arling & Cameron having teenaged wet dreams to "Another Story"; as Cunninghams's oevure invented the term "obsessively pan-eclectic" before they were even born; literally. (Check "Glide/Spin."). But wait, A&C claim all the Japanese kitsch-pop deconstructionists of the early 1990's as their early inspiration, so what does that say about Cunningham's influence on say; Fantastic Plastic Machine!? If all this obscure referencing is making your head spin, wait til you hear "Fourth Wall" for yourself. (P.S. - Oh yeah; Robert Fripp is on tracks 2&12.)

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rich and varied experimental music, March 27, 2007

By 

Pieter "Toypom" (Johannesburg) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Fourth Wall (Audio CD)

This follow-up to the Fling Lizards' eponymous debut album of 1979 provides more of the same quirky charms. It is more consistent than the debut although it lacks the brilliant highlights like TV and Der Song Von Mandalay. Some impressive guests contribute their talents, like Robert Fripp on guitar on Glide/Spin and Michael Nyman on piano on Hands 2 Take.

Most of the vocals are by Patti Palladin whilst the instruments include keyboards, bass, guitar, bass, drums and ocassionally sax, horn, trombone, piano and violin. It is the tapes, voices and arrangements that make the sound so unusual and appealing. The mix works well, creating a rich texture of layered sound. The track New Voice with its beautiful keyboards concludes with a sample of flute music from New Guinea.

Hands 2 Take with its plethora of instruments is one of the highlights of this remarkable album, whilst the minimalist deconstruction of Curtis Mayfield's Move On Up is also quite memorable. Some tracks, like An Age, are evocative instrumentals that would be suitable as soundtracks for the appropriate kind of movie.

Comparisons are difficult: one the one hand, one is reminded of 1970s pioneers like Cabaret Voltaire and Psychic TV, and on the other of 1990s bands like Laika. The music has aged surprisingly well, but if I had to choose, I'd go for the debut album because of its aforementioned gems plus the Flying Lizards' versions of Summertime Blues and Money (That's What I Want).

The Flying Lizards