i-want-more

Record box #3

3. Trevor Horn

Propaganda 'Duel'
Dollar 'Mirror mirror'

I think I might be in love with Trevor Horn. Or at the very least, I am in awe of him. He can take a bog-standard pop tune and turn it into something truly spectacular (if you've ever heard the rather listless early versions of 'Video killed the radio star', you'll know what I mean).

When I think of Trev I'm reminded of so many great songs over the years...such as 'Left to my own devices' by PSB or 'All the things she said' by tATu. Regarding the former, I recall an interview where Neil Tennant said that they asked Trevor to produce the track and waited six months for him to complete it. They were apparently irritated by this delay - until they heard the finished product, that is.

The two songs above are both good examples of the Horn canon. They are over-produced to a quite astonishing level, to the point where you wonder if he hasn't just got some robots in to do the vocals, and play all the instruments. They feature crashing synthetic drum sounds.

Duel is just fabulous. It has on it what sounds like an electronic elephant trumpeting. The middle eight features a wonderful classical-style piano solo, which isn't something that you hear on a pop song very often. The vocals are largely expressionless, which is surprising given the lyrics, which appear to be about sado-masochism:

'The first cut won't hurt at all/The second only makes you wonder/The third will have you on your knees/You start bleeding, I start screaming'

The B-side features a piece of music called 'Jewel'. This is basically an industrial version of Duel. Perfect, really - it sounds like a pop song being fed through a tree shredder by Blixa Bargeld.

As an aside, the sleeve of the single featured witterings by the well-known pundit Mr Paul Morley, whom was at that point was married to the Propaganda's lead singer, Claudia Bruecken. Sleeve be damned, I loved this single and its poor condition suggests that I must have played it to near-death.

Mirror mirror is brilliant. Anyone who says that Dollar are rubbish doesn't have ears. Actually, I should revise that statement - this is their finest hour, and much of what else they did was questionable (apart from 'Hand held in black and white'. At a push). In fact, I loved this song before I knew that Trevor had got his golden mitts on it. So there! This song has a fabulous modulation to a higher key towards the end, which makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on end every time.

Go here to check out Trevor's extensive discography.

Some news from the real world: Niece number 2 is due to give birth to her third child at any time. When I spoke to her last night she said 'I am completely cheesed off now and can't wait for this to be over'. I can't say I blame her either.

posted by deafdisco @ 1:28 pm