Sunday 8pm - Faithless

...in my room on a Sunday afternoon listening to Radio 1’s mix hour that they used to have around lunch time. I wasn’t really paying attention too closely and was just relaxing but then there came a tune that instantly grabbed me. It was something totally new to me – the mellow trance sounds backing the cool voice of Maxi Jazz; and oh the main melody when it came in was something else entirely. It took me a while to find out what I ...
...my first Faithless album – Sunday 8PM. I had read up on this album and it seemed to win huge thumbs up from many people – so upon purchasing the CD in a sale from HMV, I was expecting quite a lot…

This album however, was not their first release, and in 1998 (the time of it’s release), Faithless had already enjoyed over 3 years of success. The core of Faithless formed in approximately 1993 – this being ... more

After a terrible and unbelievable week of tragedy and suffering, the world has now begun to return to normal – or as near a state to normal as can be hoped after a small group of terrorists ripped the heart out of the civilised world. People are now returning to work, the mammoth weight of loss and carnage is finally sinking in and rescue crews are still working away – clearing up the rubble and pulling yet more bodies from the remains of The world Trade Centre… If anyone reading has not yet donated money to New York or Washington through Ciao yet – I do strongly advise you to do so; even the smallest donation could be helping a family in some small way…

But sad as it is – life must go on, and so I go on, writing my next opinion …

I remember one day in 1996, sitting in my room on a Sunday afternoon listening to Radio 1’s mix hour that they used to have around lunch time. I wasn’t really paying attention too closely and was just relaxing but then there came a tune that instantly grabbed me. It was something totally new to me – the mellow trance sounds backing the cool voice of Maxi Jazz; and oh the main melody when it came in was something else entirely. It took me a while to find out what I had heard, but I later realised that what I had loved had been Insomnia by Faithless – a hit which is still guaranteed to fill dance floors and grace many people’s music collections even today.

Since then, I have always been a big fan of Faithless, first buying Insomnia, then Salva Mi, then God is a DJ, before finally purchasing my first Faithless album – Sunday 8PM. I had read up on this album and it seemed to win huge thumbs up from many people – so upon purchasing the CD in a sale from HMV, I was expecting quite a lot…

This album however, was not their first release, and in 1998 (the time of it’s release), Faithless had already enjoyed over 3 years of success. The core of Faithless formed in approximately 1993 – this being the child musical prodigy now turned house DJ Sister Bliss, and the brother of the critically acclaimed Dido, Rollo, who had already released material of his own – including a few tracks under the alias of Felix. The duo later enlisted the vocal assistance of Maxi Jazz (a stylish and laid back rapping supremo) and James Catto, before going on the road to launch their first album, Reverence. I never got around to buying this album – mainly because I had most of the tracks from it, either as singles or as tracks on other compilations – although I hear that it is a fine collection of songs.

But anyway – I have got sidetracked :) let’s take a look at the album that helped Faithless towards their record sales breaking the 5 million mark world wide …

-- The Garden –

The opener of Faithless’s second LP is superbly relaxed and peaceful. It is slow but has a definite feel of certainty about it, bringing in a drum pattern or a new melody with each cycle of the simple 4 chord riff. When it breaks in properly, it is slow and deliberate – a far cry from the up-lifting trance tracks that people have come to expect from Faithless. The mood is then broken by a basey and grinding interlude – that lies somewhere between trip-hop and drum and bass. This track is great, and has featured on a TV ad in the past: if I am not mistaken, it was a Vodafone ad.

-- Bring my family back –

What can I say – this track is just excellent and proves yet again to the critics that Faithless are not just a run-of-the-mill trance band; this is slow, dark and beautifully moving. It has a laid back summery guitar intro, with Maxi waxing lyrical, but soon breaks down into something much more moody and tragic sounding. The lyrics when they come in are intricate and very touching: “I’m on lonely street, age nearly 3, lately mama’s always crying, is it because of me?” telling the story of a broken family – children edged with guilt and pain not being able to understand what is going on with their parents’ failing marriage. We fast forward onto “On lonely street aged 43” with the next verse and see what a bad childhood has done to a man with no direction and full of resentment: “I’m on lonely street, aged 43, couldn’t leave, went to quit so my wife quit me, took offence took the kids…” Produced by Rollo – it holds a mirror up to modern society and brings home to us all topics that many of us would rather brush under the carpet. The strings and muted choirs that form the instrumental bridges between the verses are used to build the desperation and depth that Maxi’s stories have produced.

-- Hour of need -–

You might be thinking that this album is gonna make for intensive and depressing listening – but the 3rd track is a pleasant break from the pain and strain. This is the song from the album that really shocked me – if I didn’t know better, I would have sworn that this was a Beck track; the vocals in the verses sound uncannily like the smooth American himself. It’s got quite a heavy trip-happy backing but is ultimately uplifting with the mail vocals accompanied by a rich voiced diva and a gospel choir. Sounds strange? Well it is, really, but all the ingredients work well together and it’s a good listen.

--Postcards –-

lol another shock – this song opens with the intro to Dido’s My lover’s gone, with decorative record crackles to add to the atmosphere. However, the blend of trip-hop and rap returns as Maxi steps yet again up to the breach. This track is quite basic, using reversed violins and pianos to back the vocals – and the vocals are also of a high quality, talking of dinner parties, globe trotting and living the high life. Maybe the sample from My lover’s gone: “My lover’s gone, his boots no longer by my door” adds poignancy to the fact that behind a lot of successful bands and businessmen are wives and children sitting at home missing them. Again, moody and chilled – a definite thumbs up from me.

--Take the long way home -–

We’ve probably reached one of the better known tracks from the album, and yet again, we have a quiet intro with random female voices talking and whispering. We then are treated to the first dance track of the album – as I said, this album is not just for the trance goers you know. For those that know the band reasonably well, the track although original does take the usual Faithless progression – a moving introduction that blends atmospheric strings, the odd twisted vocal and some trance beats. As ever though, the dramatic build up leads into an uplifting and definitely “not for the non-dance fan” anthem. There’s not a dominating riff like there is in tracks such as Insomnia but a nice strings part that has a resemblance to Brainbug’s Nightmare. It’s over 7 minutes long but shows that the dance side of the band is still developing for the better.

--Why go? -–

This is another fine track from the album and is possibly my favourite behind Bring my family back. It starts with a mellow sounding synth backing and a simplistic bass drum mimicking a heart beat. Ever heard Something Changed by Pulp? The lyrics and ideas behind the song are very similar: “I didn’t know you’d be here, and I wasn’t meant to come, I’d be sitting watching TV, if there was anything decent on…” It’s definite late night listening this one – so if you’ve got a woman (or a man, sorry ladies!) back to your place and are serving up the coffee (as in the song :)) then it could be one worth considering for playage. The song does build to something more complex with bongo’s and soft percussion building up. It takes the edge off some of the later tracks on the album and is one I’m sure most music fans would appreciate.

-- She’s my baby –-

This is obviously a totally new song but is a seamless blended continuation of the last – whilst at the same time fitting in nicely, it is extremely different. Relaxing it definitely isn’t – and there seems to be a conflict between trip-hop and trance going on here – the backing and instruments definitely suggesting progressive trance but the tempo and mood are definitely trippy. “She’s irresistible, we fool around twice a week …” would suggest that the song is harsher and more intense, with the sensual and somewhat explicit vocals from Maxi building up a lusty atmosphere. Without going into too much detail … I kind of see this song as the musical equivalent to what might be happening half an hour after that late night coffee – and no I’m not being pervy, listen to it and you’ll see what I mean. It’s not a fantastic track but a clever use of the change of mood and situation has been used here.

-- God is a DJ –-

Ok so this is probably one of the tunes of 1998 and if you’re looking through the track listing of Sunday 8PM, it is definitely the track that will catch your eye. I’m pleased to say that the album version is the “Monster mix” that appears on the single and is not a sorry trimmed down 3 minutes radio edit ;). Again the trance anthem is based around a solid and energising riff, interspersed with Maxi’s ramblings – for although it is true that the lyrics are superbly thought out and memorable, one can’t help but think that some external substances were at play when the band wrote the verses; so hence, they must qualify as ramblings ;). The track has a nice wide locational sound to it due to some clever use of reverbs and choices of instruments and could be argued to emulate the church that the song is meant to be depicting. The breakdown is inevitable; leading into the somewhat controversial “This is my church, this is where I heal my hurts … for tonight, God is a DJ.” I think it’s a wonderful idea and quite agree that I would rather pledge allegiance to my music than some supposedly omnipotent being that is alleged to be up in the heavens – but we won’t get into that one :) …

-- Hem of his garment -–

This track has a far more electronica sound about it and employs some extremely strange and indescribable synths in it. It has a rocking and syncopated off-beat rhythm and Dido appears as guest vocalist. This song can quite easily move from atmospheric to aggressive in a few seconds and again is slightly strange – with the conflicting trance and trip-hop interests. The vocals soon become distorted and the accompaniment whilst remaining slow, becomes more frenzied as the track goes on. It takes a bit of getting used to this one but is decent once you get over the genre confusion.

-- Sunday 8PM -–

We return to calm again, with a track that is a reprisal of “The garden.” This time it is far more simplistic with more emphasis being placed on the piano part that is quite Moby-like in it’s nature. Then, Bass! If you’ve not got you’re stereo turned down fort this one, I would strongly recommend it … objects in my room literally shook when this one came on unexpectedly loud. Apart from this though, the song is restful with a mildly cold sound to it – finishing with a crowd for some random reason; but I do like this one.

-- Killer’s lullaby -–

If you imagine a rainy Sunday afternoon – with the rain drumming on your window and the intense feeling of boredom – you’ve got the tone of this song entirely. Maxi is on a train, leaving his woman and his life behind … drifting off with the melody into the distance. Then something much more aggressive breaks in – distorted vocals, heavy drumming that is more associated with gangster rap and some oriental instruments thrown in every now and again. It’s mixed up and confused but then when it seems like it’s going to get to much … “I’m getting heated, I’m sorry, have another coffee” and it all slows down back to it’s original mellow state. Again a clever use of situational music.

We now move onto the remixes which are pretty good – the first being a kind of “Portishead approach” to the previous track and the second being a more modern sounding remix of Take the long way home – this time reworked by Paul Van Dijk. I like the remixes but they really don’t suit the rest of the CD and break the mood that has been built up – so it’s probably best to program the player to stop at track 12 unless you want to be blasted out.

The album itself is a fine blend of trip-hop and trance, sometimes even in the same song :) and is something refreshingly original. The main advance that this second album has made is to move Faithless away from being a studio based dance band – and is much more mature and well thought out in its approach to music writing. I would definitely recommend it to the fans of the alternative music scene – although peeps like yhwman might be reaching for that remote when God is a DJ comes on ;).

 

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