Thursday 29 November 2018

Nu metal - a quick look




(Head banging and vomiting in progress...watch out for flying axes and the odd bit of grind..)


A quick look at nu metal as several bands on 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die are nu metal.

Definitions


Wikipedia:

Nu metal (also known as nü-metal and aggro-metal) is a subgenre of alternative metal that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial and grunge. Nu metal bands have drawn elements and influences from a variety of musical styles, including multiple genres of heavy metal. Nu metal rarely features guitar solos; the genre is heavily syncopated and based on guitar riffs. Many nu metal guitarists use seven-string guitars that are down-tuned to play a heavier sound. DJs are occasionally featured in nu metal to provide instrumentation such as sampling, turntable scratching and electronic backgrounds. Vocal styles in nu metal include singing, rapping, screaming and growling. Nu metal is one of the key genres of the new wave of American heavy metal.
Nu metal became popular in the late 1990s with bands and artists such as Korn, Limp Bizkit, and Kid Rock all releasing albums that sold millions of copies. Nu metal's popularity continued during the early 2000s, with bands such as Papa Roach, Staind, and P.O.D. all selling multi-platinum albums, and came to a peak with Linkin Park's diamond-selling album Hybrid Theory. However, by the mid-2000s, the oversaturation of bands combined with the under-performance of a number of high-profile releases led to nu metal's decline, leading to the rise of metalcore and many nu metal bands disbanding or abandoning their established sound in favor of other genres.
During the 2010s, there has been a minor nu metal revival; many bands that combine nu metal with other genres (for example, metalcore) emerged and some nu metal bands from the 1990s and early 2000s returned to the nu metal sound. Many heavy metal fans have criticized nu metal, and do not regard it as "true heavy metal". Many nu metal musicians have rejected the nu metal label, and some have also rejected being labeled as heavy metal...

Revolver:

With the exception of Eighties glam, no hard-rock subgenre has been more critically reviled — or found more chart success — than the nu-metal that dominated the airwaves during our most recent millennial shift. Fusing Nirvana's trademark dynamics with influences from rap and electronic rock, nu-metal was brash, funky and free of the hand-wringing guilt that kept flannel's most visible flag-flyers from embracing their stardom. Though it was eventually toppled by skinny jeans, screamo and a resurgence of more traditional-style metal, much of music that came out of the movement — and these 20 records, in particular — stands the test of time. It makes sense, then, that the sound is having something of a resurgence of its own today, at the hands of rising groups like Vein and Cane Hill for whom it served as the gateway to sonic excess.

....

Let's face it: "Nu-metal" will never be "cool," if only because of its associated rave-ready fashion choices, but a lot of bands thrown under its umbrella are pretty damn great, groups that catalyzed a generation and served as a gateway to even heavier and/or more nuanced sounds. With a new breed of musicians currently mining the nu-metal aesthetic in exciting ways, we recently put together our somewhat-controversial list of 20 Essential Nu-Metal Albums, and then we asked you to pick what you consider to be the scene's single greatest recorded offering

Kerrang:
People love to scoff at nu-metal, but that’s a little unfair. The in-your-face sub-genre’s importance in revitalising interest in heavy music in the dreary post-grunge mid-nineties cannot be overstated. Let’s be real, purists: most of you (all of you) wouldn’t be into heavy music today were it not for the on-ramp provided by Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit and their myriad of goatee-d cohorts back in the day. Nu-metal was heavy music’s gateway drug, and while today you might only listen to first pressings of Sunn O))) records and Darkthrone demos, we know - and you know - that at one point in your life you were sure that Mudvayne invented music and Osiris D3s were the only shoes available.


VMP:


Few movements in music were as successful as they were polarizing. A rather nebulously defined catch-all term, nu metal managed to amass an enormous audience while simultaneously infuriating a huge cross section of metalheads. Directly preceded by and evidently drawing influence from mid-1990s alternative and groove metal, it came into existence by fusing together heavy guitar music with hip-hop, electronica and grunge, to name a few. Notably, these bands and records that emerged around the millennium broadly appealed in ways more streamlined and templated metal forms did not. Though there’s considerable sonic and stylistic differences between Coal Chamber, Godsmack and Linkin Park, much like the Supreme Court’s definition of pornography, you know nu metal when you hear it.


LouderSpeed: 
Love it or hate it, without the revitalising effects of nu metal in the post-grunge late 90s, the metal would sound very different today. Splicing the musical approach of rap-metal superstars such as Faith No More and Rage Against The Machine, the self-laceration of grunge and the dark innovation of alt-rock heroes such as Tool, it was a breath of fresh air in an otherwise stale time.
Who sowed the seeds of nu metal will forever be debated, but Korn can stake a claim to ushering it into the mainstream metal scene with their self-titled debut album. Within two years, it had taken hold, and in Korn’s wake, bands such as Deftones and Coal Chamber rode the nu metal wave. Suddenly, grunge’s plaid shirts-and-distressed denim uniform had been replaced by oversized trousers and wallet chains. Tours such as Family Values and Ozzfest helped legitimise it for mainstream metal fans, while Florida upstarts Limp Bizkit helped make the scene omnipresent in the late 90s.
Nu metal’s success continued into the early 00s thanks to the likes of Linkin Park and Papa Roach, though its glory days were numbered. Within a few years, the masses had turned their attention to My Chemical Romance and their ilk and nu metal was yesterday’s scene. But no matter – its job had been done.


Damnation: 
Nu metal is a sub-genre that often gets scoffed at and even fully disregarded when looking at metal as a whole. It is a genre that began to develop in the early to mid-1990’s and gained tremendous popularity at the tail end of the decade. Now, it is somewhat difficult to nail down exactly what characteristics make a band nu metal. Partly due to the fact that the genre is characterized as a one where the melding of influences was expected, with bands merging sounds from metal, hip-hop, funk, grunge, industrial and goth. So, in order to quell the potential arguments that this or that band doesn’t belong, we are going to simplify this, any band whose shirt looked good with your JNCO’s in 1999 is officially nu metal


LAWeekly: 


The term "nu-metal" began as an insult, but it's since become an umbrella term to describe the collective wave of late-’90s and early-2000s bands that created a sound blending the worlds of alternative rock, heavy metal and hip-hop. This music was usually bass-heavy and dark, with demonic or demented vocals and distorted, down-tuned riffs. But let’s not kid ourselves and pretend that "nu-metal" is any type of perfect classification system. Some bands had darker images; some relied more on a fusion of hip-hop and heavy rock, some on traditional thrash metal. But most created art that comes from a place of personal anguish and, ultimately, the search for some kind of redemption.

Best album / band  lists






1.   Korn -  Korn  1994

2.   Slipknot - Slipknot  1999

3.   System Of A Down - System Of A Down   1998

4.   Deftones - Around The Fur  1997

5.   Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory  2000


7.   Machine Head - The Burning Red   1999

8.   Soulfly - Soulfly 1998
9.   Coal Chamber - Coal Chamber  1997
10. Static-X -  Machine  2001








1.  Deftones -  Adrenaline  1995

2.  Soulfly - Primitive    2000

3.  Skindred - The Union Black  2011

4.  Korn  - The Untouchables   2002

5.  Sevendust - Black Out The Sun  2013

etc


Damnation: Top 29 Nu Metal Albums




1.   Static-X - Winsconsin Death Trip  1999
2.   Korn -  Korn  1994
3.   Slipknot - Slipknot  1999
4.   System Of A Down - System Of A Down   1998
5.   Deftones -  Adrenaline  1995
6.   Limp Bizkit - Three Dollar Bill Y'all $  1997
7.   Coal Chamber - Coal Chamber  1997
8.   Hed PE -  Broke  2000
9.   Soulfly - Soulfly 1998
10. Machine Head - The Burning Red   1999

etc


LouderSpeed: Top 10 Essential Nu Metal Albums



Korn -  Korn  1994
Deftones - Around The Fur  1997
Limp Bizkit - Three Dollar Bill Y'all $  1997
Coal Chamber - Coal Chamber  1997
Incubus - S.C.I.E.N.C.E.  1997
Hed PE - (Hed)Pe  1997
Spineshank - Strictly Diesel  1998
Soulfly - Soulfly 1998
System Of A Down - System Of A Down   1998
Slipknot - Slipknot  1999


VMP: 10 Best Nu Metal Albums



Sepultura - Roots  1996
Korn  - Follow The Leader   1998
Staind - Dysfunction  1999
Static-X - Winsconsin Death Trip  1999
Crazy Town - The Gift of Game  1999
Kittie - Spit  2000
Mudvayne - L.D. 50   2000
Slipknot - Iowa  2001
Disturbed - Believe  2002
Evanescence - Fallen   2003


Kerrang  21 Greatest nu metal albums




1.   Korn -  Korn  1994
2.   Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory  2000
3.   Papa Roach - Infest 2000
4.   System Of A Down - Toxicity   2001
5.   Slipknot - Slipknot  1999
6.   Deftones - Around The Fur  1997
7.   LimpBizkit – Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavoured Water 2000
8.   Static-X - Winsconsin Death Trip  1999
9.   Mushroomhead - XIII (2003)
10. Soulfly - Soulfly 1998
12. Mudvayne - L.D. 50   2000
17. Sevendust - Sevendust  1997



Revolver: Fan poll - 5 Greatest nu-metal albums




1. Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory  2000
2. Slipknot - Slipknot  1999
3. Korn  - Follow The Leader   1998
4. Mudvayne - L.D. 50   2000
5. Deftones - Around The Fur  1997


Revolver: 20 Essential nu metal albums




 1.  Korn -  Korn  1994
 2.  Sepultura - Roots  1996
 3.  Deftones - Around The Fur  1997
 4.  Incubus - S.C.I.E.N.C.E.  1997
 5.  Sevendust - Sevendust  1997
 6.  Limp Bizkit - Three Dollar Bill Y'all $  1997
 7   Orgy - Candyass 1998
 8.  Fear Factory - Obsolete  1998
 9.  Soulfly - Soulfly 1998
10. Spineshank - Strictly Diesel  1998
11. Slipknot - Slipknot  1999
12. Static-X - Winsconsin Death Trip  1999
etc

Ranker: Best Nu Metal Bands


Korn

1.  Korn
2.  Slipknot
3.  System Of A Down
4.  Deftones
5.  Disturbed
etc


AllMusic: Nu Metal Highlights

Bands

Korn
Limp Bizkit
Coal Chamber
System Of A Down
Staind
Disturbed

Albums

Korn -  Korn  1994
Slipknot - Slipknot  1999
Coal Chamber - Coal Chamber  1997
Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory  2000
Limp Bizkit - Three Dollar Bill Y'all $  1997
Papa Roach - Infest  2000


Articles


* Decibel: The Rise And Fall of Nu-Metal (Aug 2015)
"The intro is long. Nearly 50 seconds without tipping its hand. A new band should be terrified to open a record like this, worried that potential listeners will get bored with a lone ride cymbal and high, jangly guitar chord. And it’s certainly not something a discerning producer is going to throw on the radio. But then comes that growl—Are you reeeeeaaaady?!—and you hear a musical revolution being born…Which then died, less than a decade later.
Emerging with Korn’s “Blind” in 1994, and ending around the summer of 2003, when Limp Bizkit was forced from a stage in Chicago by an audience hurling garbage and chanting, “Fuck Fred Durst,” nü-metal remains one of the most maligned and despised genres since the dawn of rock ‘n’ roll. Despite certain bands having weathered the backlash—Korn still headlines music festivals; Linkin Park’s The Hunting Party debuted at #3 on Billboard last year—the legacy of nü-metal is now considered a gimmicky fashion show, rife with faux aggression, simplistic songwriting and arrhythmic rapping.
Hatred for it grew far and wide enough to spawn a successful pop song mocking it, Ben Folds’ “Rockin’ the Suburbs,” but unsurprisingly, the most vitriolic rhetoric came from the metal community: musicians, label heads and fans who saw their beloved genre both overshadowed and perverted. Nü-metal not only usurped its predecessor in popularity, but it also began to corrupt some of their own; the DJ scratches were coming from inside the house.
This article began as a quest to look at nü-metal from the perspective of those who at least had one foot in the regular metal community; those who could tell us, now 20 years later, what the true impact had been. But I found out very quickly that opinions on nü-metal’s significance are far from universal and, aside from a few key players and elements, no one is quite sure why it started, how it gained traction so quickly, and what put the stake through its heart....."

* MetalDescent: Nu Metal (2013)
"The term “nu metal” was used to describe the metal movement that was happening in the time between 1995-2002. Originally called the “new heavy metal,” it was shortened to nu metal by the media. Korn and Deftones were the definitive leaders of the nu metal movement, paving the way for Limp Bizkit, Papa Roach, Snot, Sevendust, Saliva, Staind, Adema, Coal Chamber, Cold, Slipknot, Soulfly, Methods of Mayhem, Linkin Park, and P.O.D. Other bands that are often lumped in as “nu metal” but are not stylistically congruent are System of a Down, Static-X, Disturbed, and Godsmack...."
* Firstpost: The rise, dominance and fall of nu-metal (2016)

* The Guardian: Goodbye Oasis...Hello Slipknot and Limp Bizkit  (2000) 


"Fasten your seatbelts, dudes. This is your moment.
The beginner's guide to Nu MetalThe bands: Limp Bizkit. Slipknot. Korn. Rage Against the Machine. Deftones. Amen. Static-X. System of a Down. At the Drive-In. Snot. Orgy.
The music: Loud and heavy guitars, big crashing drums - a bit like old metal (Metallica, Anthrax etc), but with hip-hop and dance rhythms, and often with rapped vocals. No guitar solos.
The fashion: Multiple piercing, sometimes with chains. Tattoos and bodypaint. Baggy shorts. Trainers. No leather, spandex or long hair.
The influences: Nu metal fans are generally unaware that music existed before 1991. Their Beatles are Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Eminem.
The lyrics: Angst-ridden and filled with doom and bitterness. Lots of swearing and generalised swipes at the 'system'. Very little sex, no satanism.
"


***

Observation


It appears from those lists and articles that nu metal is not respected, but was highly popular - probably the most popular heavy metal genre. It was mainly a genre liked by young American males, and it had its own fashion style of baggy jeans. The music and lyrics are particularly aggressive and simplistic. While commentators seem to struggle with cleanly identifying which bands/albums are exactly in the genre or in one of the closely related genres, there is a familiar sound to the albums listed above that fans could recognise and latch onto - and there is not much here that would challenge them. If someone liked fast loud aggressive metal hip-hop then all these albums appear to deliver that in one way or another with not much in the way of variety.  Nu metal appears to be on a continuum of loud, fast rock that began in the late Sixties, and developed alongside heavy metal and hard rock into gunge and other forms of alternative rock, incorporating some of the loud and aggressive aspects of hip hop (particularly the direct, simplistic speech of rap) along the way.  

The most notable (not the same as the best) nu metal albums are likely to be:

Korn -  Korn  1994 (AllMusic).   Often cited as the album that started the trend.
Slipknot - Slipknot  1999  (AllMusic).  Hugely popular. Slipknot's debut came out just as nu metal was breaking big.
System Of A Down - System Of A Down  1998  (AllMusic).  The band's second album,  Toxicity   2001 (AllMusic), came out at the height of nu metal's popularity (just before it collapsed), and was hugely popular, though most nu metal fans and critics see their 1998 debut as the important one. 
Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory  2000  (AllMusic). The biggest selling nu metal album, indeed, one of the biggest selling albums of all time. 


Personal opinion

Deftones are considered an essential nu metal band, and their album  Around The Fur  (1997) appears on a number of best nu metal album lists. Their sound is close to Rage Against The Machine, but - for me - lacks the energy. They come at nu metal very much from the metal/grunge end of the scale with lots of simplistic riffing, repetition, and general sludge. 

Disturbed are too conventional and limited for me. They come at nu metal from a solid and stolid metal angle, and pretty much remain there. 

Evanescence's debut album Fallen (2003) was from the start lumped in with nu metal, and I can see why, but it is more conventionally gothic-rock with some dirty guitar that could be grunge rather than metal. The attraction of the band is in Amy Lee's strong clear voice that hints at Celtic keening, but after making the sound, Lee stops and creates a new note. While she does conventionally hold and bend notes a lot of the time, her USP is when she doesn't.


Kid Rock is generally not included on lists of best nu metal, though Robert James ("Kid Rock") Ritchie's music has elements of nu, though leans a lot in the direction of country like Beck. Devil Without a Cause (1999) is an interesting and listenable album. 

Limp Bizkit are also limited, juvenile, and not interesting. They remind me of Kevin and Perry. They are apparently more rapcore or rapmetal than nu metal. 

Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory is one of the world's best selling albums. Simplistic, direct, lyrics of angst and resentment, but musically amongst the most balanced, varied, mature, and approachable of the nu metal bands. Rather like a blend of Faith No More and Nirvana, but without the quality or originality of either of those bands. So, good as regards nu metal, but not so interesting when placed against music in general. 

Papa Roach are more rock than nu metal, and are positively melodic and pop compared to the rest of the pack. Infest is an understandably big selling album, and - along with Hybrid Theory - represents nu metal in the 2000s. 


Rage Against the Machine are seen as one of the more significant influences on the creation of nu metal, and for me appear to be a part of the genre, sounding as much and sometime more nu metal than a number of other bands listed quite high on  best band/album lists.  Rage Against the Machine 

Slipknot are too limited and juvenile for me.

System Of A Down are quite varied and interesting on their debut, and more in touch with alt rock, rock, and pop than heavy metal, so the music is more melodic and changeable, so nothing can be expected. Hmmm. I can see why this band were so popular. Perhaps, though, not typical of Nu Metal? I am liking them, and am not embarrassed to be caught listening to them. Ah. Not so keen on Iowa - that seems a step backwards. It's less diverse than the debut, and more in line with heavy metal - simple rhythms played over and over again.

My top nu metal albums: Hybrid Theory (2000),  Infest (2000), System Of A Down (1998),  Fallen (2003),  Korn (1994), Devil Without a Cause (1999) 


It's clear where a lot of the bands are coming from - Faith No More,  Rage Against the Machine, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, a bit of Nirvana. There's even a sense of throwback to the Beastie Boys. I don't see Nu Metal bands bettering or developing on from any of their influences, though Kid Rock has caught my ear with a slightly more expansive and inclusive approach that brings a greater degree of colour and depth to the genre - not enough to signify anything special (Beck does it better), but the move away from the metal of nu metal and toward a wider range of influences and done with humour, style, and a great sense of melody is something I like and see as promising. 

***

Music Styles & Genres



1310  March 2019


Thursday 22 November 2018

Sophisti-pop - an exploration


(Work in progress..... some links and some thoughts)

What is Sophisti-pop? Who were the main artists? What are the best albums?  Was it any good?

Definitions

AllMusic:
Sophisti-pop was a smooth, jazzy style of mainstream pop/rock that appeared during the mid-'80s. In addition to jazz, many sophisti-pop artists incorporated sweet pop-soul into their sound, but the synthesizers that usually polished the arrangements marked sophisti-pop as a product of the '80s. With its slick production and mellow, urbane feel, sophisti-pop fit both adult contemporary and quiet storm radio formats, but it never became a wildly popular trend, and by the beginning of the '90s, it had largely faded away. Some of sophisti-pop's most notable artists include Simply Red, Sade, the Style Council, the pre-electronica Everything But the Girl, Basia, Swing Out Sister, and Prefab Sprout.

Neighboring genres: (the ending of) New Wave, Smooth Jazz, Blue Eyed Soul


Wikipedia:
Sophisti-pop is a subgenre of pop music. The term has been applied to music that emerged during the mid-1980s in the UK[1][2] which incorporated elements of jazzsoul, and pop.[1][3] Music so classified often made extensive use of electronic keyboards, synthesizers and polished arrangements, particularly horn sections.[1]
Stylus Magazine suggested that acts were influenced by the work of Roxy Music and Bryan Ferry's mid-1980s albums, Bête Noire and Boys and Girls.[2]According to AllMusic, major artists included Simply RedSadeThe Style CouncilBasiaSwing Out SisterPrefab Sprout and the early work of Everything but the Girl.[1]

Thoughts

Sophisti-pop (sop) is a name applied to songs that contain a blend of pop, RnB, and smooth jazz and were released in the Eighties by young UK bands. The name was applied long after the Eighties. The earliest use I can find is when a Wikipedia article on sophisti-pop was created in August 2006 with these words: "Sophisti-pop is a music genre used to describe a certain kind of smooth, jazz-like radio friendly pop music. First appearing in the mid-1980s, its usual reliance on synthesizers was typical for the decade. All in all, sophisti-pop can be considered to share notable elements with smooth jazzblue-eyed soul and New Wave. Its mainstream popularity was limited and didn't last long." The article contained a link to AllMusic. The link is dead, and the current AllMusic article on Sophisti-pop can only be traced back to 2012 as the url address has changed. The old link does have a presence on WayBack dating to 2004, though the links are not active. It appears then that the term was definitely in existence in 2006, and was likely to have existed in 2004, and was likely to have been created by AllMusic.  A book, The Great Scots Musicography, published in 2002, uses the term in relation to Deacon BlueThe New Music Record Guide published in 1987 (during the period) uses the term to describe the development of the music of the American band The Motels: "They now make bland, almost colorless, sophisti-pop records", which doesn't seem like the author is referring to a genre, so much as creating a description of the sound he hears - and listening to the music he is talking about does bear that out: "Total Control" (1979). The Motels are pop with some smooth sax;  and they are from the wrong period and the wrong country. However, their sound does relate somewhat to what the bands associated with sop would do.

I note that on various forums and blogs that the belief is that Bryan Ferry/Roxy Music was the person most responsible for creating interest in blending together pop, RnB and smooth jazz, and for being dressed in a stylish manner (as seemed to be obligatory for bands labelled sophisti-pop). My gut instinct though is that this would be unlikely.  A number of the bands that are linked to sop were young, and would have developed out of punk and the immediate post-punk period, so Roxy would be an unlikely influence. This writer has Paul Weller/The Style Council as an influence, and that matches my instinct. Weller was huge at the time, very cool, and very stylish. Though the Jam were not Punk (stylistically opposed to it), they were strongly associated with that movement, and it would have been a rare band in the early Eighties who would not have members who would have admired and respected Weller. There was a huge interest in The Style Council's first album. Not just the music, but the clothes, and the album cover with its nod to cool jazz albums of the early Sixties. Roxy Music were not cool in the late 70s and early 80s, and their album covers and sartorial style did not match up with the cool jazz stylings of Weller and sophisti-pop.

Though musically not entirely related, the New Romantics were a movement of the late 70s and early 80s that indicated that the young generation wanted to move on from the crudity and drabness of the punks into something more stylish and sophisticated in both dress and music; so that could be seen as part of the development of the ideas that lay behind sop. Essentially where sop musicians would differ from NR is in the emphasis on real instruments, and a respect for the music and musicianship of the past. NR were more inclined to be interested in things new and modern, including instrumentation such as synthesisers. But bands or albums are often claimed as both sop and NR, such as Roxy Music and ABC.

Looking just at the musical ideas present in sop, then bands such as Steely Dan from the late 60s and early 70s would be sop, so it's not surprising that Donald Fagen's The Nightfly is placed on some people's lists of sop albums. But it appears that sop is not just about musical ideas, it's also about a moment in time, and a style that young bands liked to adopt during that period, so The Nightfly will be seen as sop because it was released in the 80s, while  Fagen's work with Steely Dan won't be because it was too early. So this is not a music genre so much as an observed musical fashion.

I'm listening to Steely Dan a lot at the moment, and noticing how similar they are to sop bands.



1985 

Fine Young Cannibals - Fine Young Cannibals  Elegant sophisti-pop by some ex-members of The Beat   Score: 6 1/2   


Sophisti-pop artists according to Wikipedia 

  • Living in a Box[2]


1. ABC  The Lexicon Of Love (1982)
2. Kate Bush  Hounds Of Love (1985)
3. Sade  Diamond Life (1984)
4. Prefab Sprout  Steve McQueen (1985)
5. Swing Out Sister  It’s Better To Travel (1987)
6. Everything But The Girl  Idlewild (1988)
7. Johnny Hates Jazz  Turn Back The Clock (1988)
8. Aztec  Camera Love (1987)
9. Deacon Blue When  The World Knows Your Name (1989)
10. The Style Council  Café Bleu (1984)
11. The Blow Monkeys  Animal Magic (1986)
12. Hue And Cry  Seduced And Abandoned (1987)
13. Scritti Politti  Cupid & Psyche 85 (1985)
14. Talk Talk  The Party’s Over (1982)
15. Curiosity Killed The Cat  Keep Your Distance (1987)

Grace Jones – Nightclubbing (1981; Island)
Roxy Music – Avalon (1982; Warner Bros)
The Style Council – Cafe Bleu (1984; Polydor)
Sade – Diamond Life (1984; Epic)
Prefab Sprout – Steve McQueen (1985; CBS/Kitchenware)
Scritti Politti – Cupid & Psyche 85 (1985; Virgin)
Level 42 – Running in the Family (1987; Polydor)
Everything but the Girl – Walking Wounded (1996, Atlantic)

* RYM 20 Best albums

In the middle part of the 1980s, British musicians developed a sophisticated style of pop music which infused the synth-pop innovations of the early 1980s with soul, jazz and world music nuances. Its greatest pioneer was late Roxy Music, who had created the sound on their loungey, late-career classics "Flesh and Blood" (1980) and "Avalon" (1982). By mid-decade, their sonic palette was being mixed with everything from Billie Holiday-style torch songs (Sade) to hip-hop (Scritti Politti).

1. Roxy Music  Avalon (1982)
2.  Sade  Diamond Life (1984)
3.  The Blue Nile  Hats (1989)
4.  Prefab Sprout  Steve McQueen (1985)
5.  The Blue Nile  A Walk Across the Rooftops (1984)
6.  Bryan Ferry  Boys and Girls (1985)
7.  The Style Council  Café Bleu (1984)
8.  Sting  ...Nothing Like the Sun (1987)
9.  Scritti Politti  Cupid & Psyche 85 (1985)
10.  Roxy Music Flesh + Blood (1980)
11.  Sade Promise (1985)
12. Tears for Fears  The Seeds of Love (1989)
13.  Sting  The Dream of the Blue Turtles (1985)
14.  Donald Fagen  The Nightfly (1982)
15.  The Bible  Walking the Ghost Back Home (1985)

*ClassicPop Top 15 Albums

1. ABC  The Lexicon Of Love (1982)
2. Kate Bush  Hounds Of Love (1985)
3. Sade  Diamond Life (1984)
4. Prefab Sprout  Steve McQueen (1985)
5. Swing Out Sister  It’s Better To Travel (1987)
6. Everything But The Girl  Idlewild (1988)
7. Johnny Hates Jazz  Turn Back The Clock (1988)
8. Aztec Camera  Love (1987)
9. Deacon Blue  When The World Knows Your Name (1989)
10. The Style Council  Café Bleu (1984)
11. The Blow Monkeys  Animal Magic (1986)
12. Hue And Cry  Seduced And Abandoned (1987)
13. Scritti Politti  Cupid & Psyche 85 (1985)
14. Talk Talk  The Party’s Over (1982
15. Curiosity Killed The Cat  Keep Your Distance (1987)




Sade
Tears for Fears
The Style Council
Prefab Sprout
Swing Out Sister
Johnny Hates Jazz
Joe Jackson
Simply Red
The Blow Monkeys
Basia
Level 42
Matt Bianco


* RYM Artists
Sophisti-pop was a smooth, jazzy style of mainstream pop/rock that appeared mainly in UK during the mid-'80s and largely faded away by the mid-'90s. With its urbane / soul feel, it was fit both adult contemporary and quiet storm radios, and at the same time reminded me of 70's American AOR scene (short for Adult-oriented Rock, not to confuse with Album-oriented Rock) which was known as Westcoast music in EU, so I've added some artists from Westcoast scene into this list as well.

Keywords: Soothing, Elegant, Sensual, Refined, Mannered, Slick, Lush, Intimate, Reflective, Hypnotic
Relative Styles: Blue-Eyed Soul, Smooth Jazz, Jazz Fusion, New Wave

Simply Red
Sade
The Style Council
Michael Franks (?)
Swing Out Sister
Basia
Everything but the Girl
Prefab Sprout
Chris Rea (?)
Bobby Caldwell (?)
Boz Scaggs (?)
Gilbert O'Sullivan (wtf!)
Julia Fordham (?)
Matt Bianco
Johnny Hates Jazz
Working Week
China Crisis
Scritti Politti
The Blow Monkeys


* RYM 15 Songs


The Style Council  Café Bleu (1984) "Ever Changing Moods (fast version)" (5:42)
Sade Diamond Life (1984) "Smooth Operator "
Everything but the Girl  Eden (1984) "Each and Every One" (2:46)
Prefab Sprout  Steve McQueen (1985)  "When Love Breaks Down"
Simply Red  Picture Book (1985)  "Holding Back the Years" (4:30)
Scritti Politti – Cupid & Psyche 85      (1985)  "Perfect Way" (4:33)
The Blow Monkeys  Animal Magic (1986)  "Digging Your Scene" (4:13)
Swing Out Sister  It's Better to Travel (1987)  "Breakout" (3:45)
Basia  Time and Tide (1987)  "New Day for You" (4:29)
Danny Wilson  Meet Danny Wilson (1987)  "Mary's Prayer"
Bryan Ferry  Bête noire (1987)  "Kiss & Tell" (4:57)
ABC  Alphabet City (1987)  "King Without a Crown" (4:41)
Curiosity Killed the Cat  Keep Your Distance (1987)  "Down to Earth" (4:20)
Johnny Hates Jazz  Turn Back the Clock (1988)  "Heart of Gold" (3:20)
The Blue Nile  Hats (1989)  "Headlights on the Parade" 


* Pop Justice - Influences, Classics, Related - 101 songs

Disc 1
01 Virginia Astley - A Summer Long Since Passed (3:59)
02 Roxy Music - Tara (1:34)
03 Haircut 100 - Love Plus One (3:33)
04 Animal Nightlife - Love Is Just The Great Pretender (4:02)
05 Thomas Leer - All About You (3:48)
06 Pale Fountains - Thank You (3:07)
07 The The - Uncertain Smile (4:54)
08 H2O - I Dream To Sleep (3:58)
09 David Sylvian - Forbidden Colours (4:36)
10 Culture Club - Colour By Numbers (3:57)
11 Stranglers - European Female (3:59)
12 XTC - Wonderland (4:09)
13 The Lotus Eaters - The First Picture Of You
14 Aztec Camera - Oblivious (3:13)
15 Nick Heyward - Whistle Down The Wind (3:44)
16 JoBoxers - Just Got Lucky (3:44)
17 Orange Juice - Rip It Up (3:46)
18 Belle Stars - Sign Of The Times (2:55)
19 Kajagoogoo - Big Apple (4:09)
20 Carmel - Bad Day (3:41)
21 Eurythmics - Julia (4:03)

Disc 2
01 Everything But The Girl - Each And Every One (2:49)
02 Tracie - (I Love You) When You Sleep (2:53)
03 Swansway - Soul Train (3:17)
04 Matt Bianco - Whose Side Are You On (3:26)
05 Sade - Hang On To Your Love (4:30)
06 Kane Gang - Closest Thing To Heaven (4:07)
07 Blue Nile - Tinseltown In The Rain 
08 Private Lives - Living In A World (Turned Upside Down) (3:21)
09 Associates - Those First Impressions (4:44)
10 Icicle Works - Love Is A Wonderful Colour (4:16)
11 Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Talking Loud And Clear (3:48)
12 The Light - Contrasting Strangers (3:38)
13 Heaven 17 - ...(And That's No Lie) (3:25)
14 David Bowie - Loving The Alien (4:42)
15 Bryan Ferry - Don't Stop The Dance (3:57)
16 The Colourfield - Thinking Of You (3:32)
17 Fine Young Cannibals - Blue (3:31)
18 Stephen TinTin Duffy - Icing On The Cake (3:50)
19 Go West - Goodbye Girl (4:34)
20 Dee C Lee - See The Day (4:22)

Disc 3
01 Big Sound Authority - This House (Is Where Your Love Stands) (3:58)
02 Level 42 - Leaving Me Now (3:33)
03 Prefab Sprout - Appetite (3:54)
04 Big Dish - Slide (3:58)
05 China Crisis - Arizona Sky (4:10)
06 Lloyd Cole and The Commotions - Cut Me Down (3:35)
07 Furniture - Brilliant Mind (3:40)
08 It's Immaterial - Driving Away From Home (Jim's Tune) (3:50)
09 Hipsway - The Honeythief (3:16)
10 Curiosity Killed The Cat - Down To Earth (3:49)
11 Johnny Hates Jazz - Me And My Foolish Heart (3:29)
12 Style Council - Have You Ever Had It Blue (3:24)
13 Double - Captain Of Her Heart (3:57)
14 Cock Robin - The Promise You Made (3:50)
15 Cutting Crew - I've Been In Love Before (4:31)
16 Sandie Shaw - Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken? (3:42)
17 Belouis Some - Jerusalem (5:49)
18 Paul Young - Wonderland (5:03)
19 The Lover Speaks - No More I Love Yous (4:04)
20 Simply Red - Holding Back The Years (4:06)

Disc 4
01 Feargal Sharkey - You Little Thief (4:33)
02 Blow Monkeys - Digging Your Scene (4:07)
03 Dream Academy - Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want (3:10)
04 Black - Sweetest Smile (4:19)
05 Climie Fisher - Rise To The Occasion (4:45)
06 Christians - Ideal World (3:53)
07 ABC - King Without A Crown (4:41)
08 Danny Wilson - Girl I Used To Know 
09 Wet Wet Wet - Wishing I Was Lucky (3:51)
10 Breakfast Club - Right On Track (4:18)
11 Ward Brothers - Cross That Bridge (3:41)
12 Hothouse Flowers - Love Don't Work This Way (3:39)
13 Blue Mercedes - I Want To Be Your Property (3:17)
14 Microdisney - Singer's Hampstead Home (4:04)
15 Bourgeois Tagg - I Don't Mind At All (2:35)
16 Adventures - Broken Land (4:08)
17 Julia Fordham - Happy Ever After (3:43)
18 Basia - Time And Tide (3:45)
19 Scritti Politti - Oh Patti (Don't Feel Sorry For Loverboy) (4:22)
20 Breathe - Hands To Heaven (4:19)

Disc 5
01 Simon Le Bon - Grey Lady Of The Sea (4:02)
02 Hue and Cry - Ordinary Angel (4:10)
03 Love and Money - Strange Kind Of Love (3:36)
04 The Bible - Graceland (3:51)
05 Frazier Chorus - Dream Kitchen (3:35)
06 When In Rome - The Promise (3:37)
07 Brother Beyond - Be My Twin (3:38)
08 Waterfront - Cry (3:54)
09 Then Jerico - Sugar Box (3:42)
10 Living In A Box - Room In Your Heart
11 Tanita Tikaram - Cathedral Song (2:52)
12 Swing Out Sister - You On My Mind (3:34)
13 Deacon Blue - Fergus Sings The Blues (4:01)
14 Halo James - Could Have Told You So (3:52)
15 Tears For Fears - Advice For The Young At Heart (4:47)
16 Railway Children - Every Beat Of The Heart (4:05)
17 Graham Stokes - Only The Love (The Flake Theme) (4:24)
18 EG and Alice - Indian (3:46)
19 Ten Sharp - You (4:08)
20 Beautiful South - Old Red Eyes Is Back (3:35)


* RYM - Top 150 songs

Top 10
Prefab Sprout  Jordan: The Comeback (1990) Wild Horses
Prefab Sprout  Steve McQueen (1985)  When Love Breaks Down
Spandau Ballet   True (1983)  Gold
Prefab Sprout From Langley Park to Memphis (1988) Cars and Girls 
Scritti Politti Cupid & Psyche 85 (1985) Perfect Way
The Style Council Café Bleu (1984) You're The Best Thing
Scritti Politti  Cupid & Psyche 85 (1985)  Absolute
Isabelle Antena Hoping for Love (1987)  Laying On The Sofa
Johnny Hates Jazz  Turn Back the Clock (1988)  "Shattered Dreams"
Danny Wilson  Meet Danny Wilson (1987)   "Mary’s Prayer"


Selected others
Deacon Blue When the World Knows Your Name (1989)  Real Gone Kid
Level 42  World Machine (1985)  Something About You 
Culture Club Kissing to Be Clever (1982) Time (Clock Of The Heart)
Mike + The Mechanics  Mike + the Mechanics (1985)  Par Avion
The Beautiful South Welcome to the Beautiful South (1990) "Song For Whoever"   
Erasure  The Innocents (1988)  A Little Respect
Crowded House  Crowded House (1986)  Don't Dream It's Over
Del Amitri  Waking Hours (1989)  Nothing Ever Happens
Haircut One Hundred  Pelican West (1982)  Love Plus One
Aztec Camera  High Land, Hard Rain (1983)  Oblivious
Wham!  Make It Big (1984)  Careless Whisper
Associates Sulk (1982)  Party Fears Two
Heaven 17 The Luxury Gap (1983) Let Me Go


Links

* Stylus magazine bluffers guide
* Stylus Magazine background to sophistipop
* Forum thread
* 2016 RYM forum thread
* 2018 Hoffman forum thread

***
Music Styles & Genres



1007 March 2019