RFI-The Human League

Second choice - Dare. All the BIG hits and more. Greater than great - and you should be able to pick it up for a few quid anywhere.

Third - Travelogue. The 'old' Human League - a bonkers fusion of northern soul, industrial, disco, sci-fi and glam. I think.

One of the best 5 bands ever.

For a curveball and knowing Ronan's taste being dance oriented I'd suggest Love and Dancing, one of the first (the first?) remix albums.

Do or Die(dub) features on the ace Playgroup mix cd, which is well woth checking out too.

...and HL in disguise - The Men's 'I Don't Depend On You'/'Cruel'.

All wonderful stuff!

Reproduction, Secrets, even Hysteria, the troubled follow up to Dare, are all fine albums, but you've got to go with the classics when starting out.

(HL news - next months sees the release of a comp of v.v.early Human League/The Future stuff compiled by Sean from London synth band Ex-Rental and Richard X from Girls On Top, I think the launch party is at next month's Fanclub)

Human League: Remastered Dare 21st Special with bonus remix CD and a separate 77-79 Early Rarities CD

DrownedinSound remind us that two Human League related albums are on the way:

Digitally Remastered Dare/Love & Dancing

Includes a 32 page booklet, and a special remix CD Love & Dancing - to be released October 14th.

'The Golden Hour Of The Future',

a compilation of 20 previously unreleased recordings dating from 1977-99

Richie X has confirmed to the Secrets Forum that the final tracklisting for his Future/League project should look something like this:

1 Dance Like A Star
2 Looking For The Black Haired Girls
3 4JG
4 Blank Clocks
5 Cairo
6 Dominion Advertisment
7 Dada Dada Duchamp Vortex
8 Daz
9 Future Religion
10 Disco Disaster
11 Interface
12 The Circus of Dr Lao
13 Reach Out (I'll be there) (Instrumental)
14 New Pink Floyd
15 Once Upon A Time In The West
16 Overkill Disaster Crash
17 Year Of The Jet Packs
18 Pulse Lovers
19 King Of Kings
20 Last Man On Earth

More details at Human League News

As for The Future recordings - wow, at last!

I'm with you on the KFF synth riff - even a kazoo would have sounded better - and I thought 'Open your Heart' was a waste of electricity too, but I like almost all of Oakey's singing (again 'Open Your Heart' being a major exception)
What is it that you can't stand? Does he sound off key or flat to you, or does the timbre grate, or is it something about his delivery/phrasing? I think the first 2 albums have *loads* of great singing (and some of the hit singles do too) - when he gets half-talkish he sounds a bit poncey-teacher, but he can sound croony without being a crooner, and can do loud or quiet without sounding too timbrally different at either end. I still find his performance on the track 'Morale...', from the first album, deeply moving and quite amazing.
Will definitely buy the '77-'79 CD - but is it going to be available through 'Normal Channels' or is it some special mail-order-only thingy?

Ahem. I was a peculiar child.

Tim, you were into Travelogue as a nipper? That is very cool, "Ashes to Ashes" was about as underground as I went then.

music which will appeal to kids = a bad thing in what way?

Ha, I've been thinking of starting a thread on that.
It's not a 'bad thing' in any absolute way - but as a first stab I s'pose I would expect it to be somewhat analogous to books/films/TV that would appeal to kids - less sophisticated, less ambiguous, less possibility for 'difficulty' or 'dissonance', just less likely to hold adult attention (unless it's being regarded in a meta-way). (And I know the 'kids' word is far too vague and broad, I'd probably limit the defn to 9-12 yrs for discussion puposes.) It's interesting that these differences aren't as powerful or relevant in pop music though - maybe because there's shorter perceptual units, there's more direct perceptual reward in the patterning, there's more investment of meaning by listener in semi-abstract form....or maybe it's just a childish form anyway?
(I have just remembered there was a thread about discussing music with single-figure-age children - I'll check it...)

I think my feelings at the time were driven by a sense that HL had lost the eccentric mix of elements which, while making them veer into goofiness at times, had also allowed them to produce songs of intriguing oddness and occasional beauty (eg Dreams Of Leaving). Instead, I felt that they had stuck some brightly coloured feathers up their arse and started to wiggle it - simultaneously becoming more user-friendly and simple and 'childish' musically (albeit beneath accomplished production), while also primping themselves up into a more 'grown-up' smooth and shiny and hedonism-cocktail image, in line with the way the 80's were turning.

This isn't an ideology of (relatively unsuccessful = good) and (very successful = bad) - though that happens often enough for it not just to be a bloody coincidence - there are bands who go through a phase of getting better as they get bigger (eg Japan, maybe Devo)
I just don't think HL were one of them (in spite of really liking *some* of the singles).

I recently picked up "The Golden Hour Of The Future" and that shit was just plain TERRIBLE. Really, really ugly disappointment there. Haven't heard 'secrets'.

I like 'Dignity Of Labour Part 3' - gonna buy that old Reproduction re-issue on this basis

^^^the rest of the album isn't as good, but if you really dig that tune, check out (if you already ain't):

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/62/Muziqtangonvectif.gif/200px-Muziqtangonvectif.gif

I seem to recall "(Keep Feeling) Fascination (Improvisation)" on the Fascination! EP ending with the line "If it seems a little time is needed" cut off, right after "time" IIRC. But the mp3 I have fades out. I don't have my vinyl around to check. Was it another version of "(Keep Feeling) Fascination" which gets cut off? Or is this mp3 mislabeled?

There was a (imho superior) version which was the dub version. The first 75% were all the really great dance parts isolated, EQ'd for the dancefloor, edited, chopped, awesome -- you know, a classic 80s extended dub dance remix.

And then they managed to get much of the original song in order stuffed at the last 25% of the song albeit with an early fade-out. Maybe this is what you heard?

I recently picked up "The Golden Hour Of The Future" and that shit was just plain TERRIBLE. Really, really ugly disappointment there. Haven't heard 'secrets'.

Wow, well, I guess early League may not be your thing. I mean, it's not all brilliant or anything, but "Clocks" and the cover of "Once Upon a Time in the West" are pretty great.

The divide between pre-Dare League and the rest is almost as stark as pre-Virgin Cabaret Voltaire and the rest, respectively.

"Does anyone here like the Human League?"

60 minute documentary (Young Guns Go For It) on BBC4 at midnight tonight (along with Synth Brittania)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0077p6d

> I recently picked up "The Golden Hour Of The Future" and that shit was just plain TERRIBLE

coincidently this turned up from amazon yesterday and is stunning. Radiophonic in all the right ways (Dr Who backgrounds, Quatermass...).

ok whoa @ "Morale...You've Lost That Loving Feeling", really outstanding: that tinkling sound! Synthy covers of classic pop tunes sounds like just my thing, actually.

This whole album is outstanding and I wish I'd heard it sooner.