Customer Reviews

True Colors / World Machine

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Then this is a MUST HAVE

2 of their best albumns for a low price and remastered to boot!

True colors sports the bands best lyrical albumn and world machine thier most popular (barring RITF)

Truly a great combo!

This twofer of Level 42's fifth and sixth albums presents the band deep in a transitionary period,not that they were shy about exposing their transitionary periods as the years went on.Both 1984's 'True Colours' and 1985's blockbuster album 'World Machine' represent significant musical changes for the band.By this time Level 42 had adbandoned their long held tradition of electric bass heavy jazz-funk instrumentals in favor of more cleverly crafted songs.Using newfound elements of Afro-Latin percussion and modalities embellish tunes such as "The Chant As Begun" and the dynamic "Kouyate",while the latter sports a very intruiging melody."Kansas City Milkman","A Floating Life" and "Seven Days" have a gentle R&B delicacy that finds them moving headlong toward a new sound.In the meantime the pulsing "Hot Water" and "True Believers" still have the old funkiness to them.
Now 'World Machine is altogether different.The title cut alone opens with the percussive title cut but like much of the rest of the album is far slicker then any of Level 42's previous music.The haphazard American version of this CD contains songs from both these albums but this original mix makes alot more sense.The tracks left off the US version such as the wonderfully rhythmic "I Sleep On My Heart","Dream Crazy" and "Coup D'Etat" are this albums main linkage of the bands classic sound with their funky rhythms and bass lines."Something About You",their big radio hit for which they will be remembered in the US most is the obvious culmination of the bands previous developement.And from here on Level 42 would aim not for the funk clubs but the pop charts.
As for the bonuses the skeletal funk of "Free Yourself" on Disk 1 is the most impressive there.On the next disk the extended sisa mix of "Something About You" is far funkier and more instrumental then the hit.One thing this set did is forever change my opinion of 'World Machine',the US version of which led me to believe the band had turned into total sell outs.The version heard here is mixed and arranged more in context with their vision and sounds far more like a genuine album.Heard in this manner both of these albums sound alot more coherant and purpuseful then they did apart and as an important point of departure for this foursome who were already going down this path before but never made it this far.And by the second CD presented here they did.

I discovered Level 42 in 1986 with the single Lessons In Love. I was stunned with the music from the early Jazzfunk to the catchy popsongs in the second half of the eighties. The album True Colours was White Funk of a different class. World Machine has been the turning point for them in commercial way. They deserved it. In 1991 I saw a Level 42 concert in Amsterdam, what a quality of live music. They were the best.

By C.S.

The double disc combo of "True Colours" and "World Machine" mark a period of independence and re-assessment for the four piece Brit group.
Seeking to create their own masterpiece without the aid of high profile producers Larry Dunn and Verdine White of Earth, Wind, And Fire fame on "Standing In The Light", the material on 'True Colours is a hybrid of dark tones and hard synth funk . The idea of using tactics similar to that on "Standing" while still simultaneously playing in a loose and improvisational fashion proves to be a difficult juggling act

The two hit singles off the album "Hot Water" and "The Chant Has Begun" which were later released on the North American version of "World Machine" some two years later,blunt some of the excitement in the early listening stages.

However,when the band strike they strike brilliantly with tracks such as "Kansas City Milkman" with it's wicked bass and synth effect,"My Hero" where King carries the tune with his virtuoso slap bass .Even at their best the band's opprtunities to play more freely are minimal with Boon Gould's screaming guitar solo at the intro of "True Believers" being a being a prime example along with the a collective jam session at the bridge of "A Floating Life".
Interstingly enough,on the demo version of the song which is one of six bonus tracks included on the re- mastered version of this album, King's bass line is extemely heavy and as are Gould's drums and suggests in a strong manner that the studio polish took a little off a bit of the rough and raw edges displayed here
> The slower material on "True" give the album some much needed validity.
"Hours By The Window" features King masterfully using the combination of warm bass and high- pitched tones that sound guitar- like over a dark and somber backing track, while Lindup marries the modern synth with standard piano work on "Seven Years" . High pitched tribal tones mixed with a loud sax solo fuel the mid- tempo paced "Kouyate", which assists in covering up some tatical mistakes made on "True Colours".
Though the loose and fronetic funk is somewhat absent here versus prior releases,the overall picture reveals "True Colours" to be a pretty solid if not perfect record, thus the three and a half stars.
When it came time to go back to the drawing board to record "World Machine" there was no question the group wanted to seize the commercial market- a move that rendered short term benefits, but helped to facilitate long-term creative conflicts and the departure of the Gould brothers after the "Running In The Family" campaign ended in 1988.
Nevertheless "World Machine" broke into more markets (particularly North America) than any of their previous albums chiefly off the success of the singles "Something About You" and Leaving Me Now".
In assessing the remaining material on the record,the band employ some Moog bass to add some bulk to King 's standard playing on the title track and open the sound-waves with an ambience on "A Physical Presence" featuring Boon Gould's flamingo like guitar tones and a clarity due to the open -air technique that allows Phil Gould's drums to breathe versus the tight technique used on "True Colors" that deadened the harmonics and depleted the heaviness.
This back to basics approach sprinkled with Level flair works masterfully on the funky "Good Man In A Storm" where Lindup swwops in with a soaring synth and King drops in with the four string kryptonite, and offers a lounge chair live quality on the slow to mid- tempo "Lying Still". The buildup allows Gould to shine with an array of cymbal crashes, drum rolls and snare drum pops that melt deliciously on Lindup's keys.
"I Sleep On My Heart" particularly the remixed version, stands quite tall amongst the trees as Boon turns the amps up a couple of channels with a ear shattering guitar solo against the arsenal of punchy effects, heavy bass lines and heavy hitting drums.
In the concious pursuit of financial freedom that was the making of "World Machine (though it wasnt literally that concious)there will be pain and suffering. Tracks like "Coup D' Etat",It's Not The Same For Us",and the Dream Crazy" are weakened versions of the aformentioned strong tracks and help draw the final conclusion in rating "World Machine" a four star record, but only by the narrowest of margins.
As a result the "True Colours / World Machine" collection has enough quality material to recieve four stars.

C.S.
1-27-04