Thursday 28 May 2015

New Precision by Be Bop Deluxe - Record of the Week



Am so pleased to have found this on the web.

When this music was released, Be Bop were my favourite band of the moment and Bill Nelson was becoming a musical hero. Naturally, I went to see them on the tour to promote this and it was a real highlight.

A bit of history. Prior to 'Drastic Plastic', Be Bop Deluxe were seen as a prog-ish rock guitar band and, when your first album is called 'Axe Victim' you get an idea of the kind of thing we're talking about. But Bill Nelson always had this melodic and jazz-esque edge: it wasn't just noise or runs and riffs. No there was always something more to it as 'Adventures in a Yorkshire Landscape', amongst others, clearly demonstrates. So, for me, it was no real surprise when this track arrived in 1978 on their final studio album.

But the music press were confused and didn't quite know what to make of it, declaring that it wasn't a guitar album and that Bill was creating a vastly different sound and we'd all be disappointed. Well, this fan wasn't.

As you can clearly see and hear on this rendition of 'New Precision', Bills' guitar playing is very much to the fore and, if anything, has moved into another dimension. It's no longer the tried and tested blistering rock riffs and runs. Here we have a new wave, classy, intricate, melodic, complementary guitar brilliantly played (of course). On this record, Bill used a new guitar synthesiser (with a Yamaha SG2000) as well as the standard set-ups -- as seen here with that white Stratocaster. Or was it the other way round?
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For me, this album is their best offering. I loved it then and I adore it now. A wonderful piece of work. And its partly down to that new guitar sound. Quite stunning.

A live version (may even be this same recording) of this can be found on the album 'Radioland -- BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert'...
Get the CD of Radioland from amazon...
or download Radioland from iTunes.

The studio version is on the album 'Drastic Plastic'...
Download 'Drastic Plastic' from amazon...
or download 'Drastic Plastic' from iTunes.