To enjoy the album, you really have to like the original versions of these songs, because all the tracks on here are about twice as long – variously called extended, special, or dance mix, as well as 12″ versions. I like some of these better than the originals, for example ‘Planet Earth (Night Version)’ by Duran Duran and ‘Happy Birthday (Dance Mix)’ by Altered Images. Obviously there are fewer tracks on the album than usual because only 11 or 12 can fit on each disc. I don’t listen to disc 3 as much as the others (there are a generous 4 CDs), not because it’s bad, just that the music style is more r’n’b and groove, when I prefer the synth pop which dominates the other discs. There are more in this series of 12″ mixes for other years, but I’m not likely to get any more unless nearly all of the songs appeal. I’d recommend this one if you love early 80s music and want different versions of those classic songs!

Some of the best tracks on here, in my opinion, are: ‘At the Banks of the River’ by Metal Voices, ‘Living by Numbers’ by New Musik (I already have this on 7″), ‘Star Control’ B-side Mix by Dollar, ‘Technofascist’ by Fashion, ‘Strange Pursuit’ by Devo, ‘Mirror Mirror’ by Jude, ‘Japan’ 12″ by Landscape, ‘Technopop’ by The Buggles, ‘Mirror of Infinity’ by Moebius and ‘Forever Tonight’ by Hammer. A few songs on the album can be found on other Cherry Red compilations. There are some real curiosities also, such the first version of ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ by Bruce Woolley and the Camera Club (I like this one better!) and weirdly good covers of ‘Rock Around the Clock’ by Telex and ‘All You Need is Love’ by Instant Automatons.

This album is fun, futuristic and fascinating; you can hear elements of punk, disco and prog rock. Some of the songs are more like rock with added synthesiser while others sound purely electronic. Considering that the music was produced well over 40 years ago, most of it sounds really good today. If you love vintage synth pop, add this to your collection.

However, the band has never been about one person. Originally named Xero, they would likely have not been as successful without Chester’s star quality, but they all have a significant role in the music, particularly the multi-talented Mike Shinoda, who produced this album. It was co-produced by Colin Brittain (the drummer who replaces Rob Bourdon, who left) and guitarist Brad Delson, while I’m sure that Joe Hahn and Phoenix had a lot to contribute too. That brings us to new vocalist Emily Armstrong. She has a powerful rock-star voice and a lot of energy, which really suits the songs. Her screaming is not as full-on and the melodic parts not as soft as Chester was able to do, but most songs are reminiscent of early Linkin Park which should please the old-school fans, as well as bring in new fans. If, like me, you loved Hybrid Theory and Meteora, but the band had fallen off your music radar by the time Minutes to Midnight was released, you should definitely check out From Zero. I think it will also encourage people to explore the back catalogue and realise that like all good bands, Linkin Park developed their style and experimented. Moreover, we apparently have a Y2K revival going on; popular bands from the early 2000s are back in the spotlight and even ‘nu-metal’, once scoffed at by the press and music snobs, has been reappraised. Linkin Park, though, were different from anyone else. Their concept wasn’t completely new, but their commercial appeal was, and moreover no ‘parental advisory’ sticker was required (that changed later!) so it was easier for younger fans to get their hands on the music. The band also had a strong presence on the web, at the same time that more people were getting online.

My favourite track on From Zero is ‘The Emptiness Machine’, which has the genius idea of the first verse sung by Mike, before introducing Emily for the next. It’s the first proper song on there, so this is impactful. Other favourites include ‘Overflow’, which has an interesting trip-hop style and reverb, and ‘Over Each Other’, a rock ballad which showcases Emily’s brilliant voice. At first, I wasn’t keen on ‘Casualty,’ which is one for the scream-fans, but it’s grown on me. ‘Heavy is the Crown’ is another good one, reminiscent of Meteora track ‘Faint’, while ‘Two Faced’ has tones of Hybrid Theory‘s ‘One Step Closer’. I would have liked a little more variation in the styles, but I think it was a canny move to release an album with similarities to earlier songs, to maximise the interest in the rebirth of the band. I hope the next album will push the boundaries further, but this one has, I’m sure, made a lot of fans happy.

Once thought of as uncool, library music is now appreciated for what it is. Certain records from De Wolfe and Bruton are now very collectible and unless you have hundreds of pounds to spend on these, your only chance of physically owning some of the best electronic library tracks is to get this CD.

With names such as ‘Videodisc’, ‘Atomic Station’ and ‘Telecom’, these futuristic-sounding and dramatic pieces are ideal soundtracks for advertising the latest technology (video recorders, brick mobile phones, home computers…) or perhaps documentaries on how in the year 2000 we’ll be living on the Moon. Some of the tracks are funky, others are awe-inspiring. Most of them were not memorable after two listens, except for ‘Leaving’ by Sam Spence, ‘Coaster’ by Simon Park, ‘Space Walk’ by Rubba and ‘Northern Lights 1’ by John Cameron. I remembered more of them after I listened again. The booklet notes that some of the artist names were actually the same people and it seems there was quite a small, if talented, group of musicians and technicians who produced for music libraries.

My favourites are ‘Spaghetti Junction’ by Peter Reno (this track is from 1973, the year after this famous road interchange opened!), ‘Planned Production’ by Warren Bennett, ‘Future Perspectives’ by Tektron, ‘Waterfall’ by Chameleon, ‘Astral Plain’ by Alan Hawkshaw, and ‘Earth Born’ by Brian Bennett. This is a gem; if you love old synth music, buy it!

Some years later, I thought to find out if there was a soundtrack album, which would hopefully contain similarly spectacular music. Colin Towns, who composed and recorded the music based on the screenplay, released the album on Virgin Records. The CD was out of print, but by this time I had a turntable, so I bought the record on eBay (there was only one for sale, but it wasn’t expensive). The creepy front cover artwork includes a cymbal-playing clown toy. On the back is a photo of Colin Towns, with long hair, a velvet jacket, flares and patterned high-heeled boots. The credits reveal that this album was almost a one-man operation, with Towns doing ‘all instruments, voices, percussion’ and was the producer. Also credited are an engineer, tape op, executive producer and additional percussionist.

The album is almost completely instrumental. With pleasing symmetry, the main theme returns as the last track, more uplifting to give a sense of closure, plus that gothic choir / bell sound (not a technical term!) for a spooky finish. That sound continues in my head, long after the needle has lifted from the record. The other tracks feature a range of moods, some of them unnerving, others are contemplative. One track has a sudden loud clash of sounds, which was very surprising the first time I heard it. Some of the more disturbing electronic sounds on the album remind me of ‘Timesteps’ by Wendy Carlos (an extract of this is on the soundtrack for A Clockwork Orange, but it’s worth listening to the whole piece of music).

Much later, I discovered that one of the many works Towns composed for the screen was the music for the 90s children’s TV series The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends. I remembered this music very well. Strange as it may seem, because the genre is totally different, I recognise some similarities between the style of the two soundtracks.

So, to come ‘full circle’ in my review – I wouldn’t say this album is obscure, as such, but you probably wouldn’t find it in many record collections. I love it though, and if you have a similar music taste to mine – old-school synths, piano, moods, sinister edge – you might love it too.

The question is not ‘why is Robbie Williams a monkey?’ He has described himself as a performing monkey. Presenting him as a monkey – actually, a chimp – is a different perspective and indeed gives people something to talk about. The question is actually ‘would Better Man be a Better Movie if he was a man instead of a monkey?’ I was thinking about this, because I found the CGI monkey face distracting. It was a magic spell which diverted my attention from the weaknesses in the film. I found myself wondering how much of the $110 million budget was spent on monkey-fying (is that a word?) the figure of actor Jonno Davies. I also considered that we didn’t see monkey-Robbie sleep with anyone because that would be too bizarre. We do see him hoover up a lot of coke though. That a monkey is exhibiting this behaviour is very disturbing, which is perhaps the idea? The scene that disturbed me the most was when he plays Knebworth and the thousands of screaming fans morph into a lot of other monkeys which represent his inner critics. Temporarily we seem to be in a Planet of the Apes apocalyptic film as Robbie murders the monkeys, including himself as a child. That is definitely a scene which couldn’t be done with humans.

I have to conclude that the film is better with monkeys. Without monkeys, there wouldn’t be anything special about it. Whether the monkey element is a gimmick or not, at least it gets people curious about the film and perhaps it has brought Robbie Williams some new fans.

Nico – ‘Vegas’, Punishment of Luxury – ‘Puppet Life’, TV21 – ‘Snakes and Ladders’, Tubeway Army – ‘Bombers’, Thompson Twins – ‘Squares and Triangles’, Joy Divison – ‘Transmission’, Mo-Dettes – ‘White Mice’, Blancmange – ‘Overspreading Art Genius’, Dislocation Dance – ‘It’s So Difficult’.

A few of the songs, I can’t decide if I like or not – ‘There Goes Concorde Again’ by …And the Native Hipsters is a prime example!

The title of this compilation comes from the lyrics of ‘Shot by Both Sides’ by Magazine, one of the first post-punk records.

I enjoyed the variety of sounds on the album, particularly the keyboard and bass. ‘Hooked’ has a killer electronic hook to match its title and ‘Black Eyelashes’ has a Greek style (there are even Greek phrases in the lyrics, which are not translated in the booklet). I liked the lyrics to ‘Cats’ but it could have been quirkier, perhaps with some meow-like synths added. In summary, if you’re a Franz fan, or even if you’re not, be ‘audacious’ and buy it!

Best:

Beatles – ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ (1963)
Beatles – ‘Day Tripper / We Can Work It Out’ (1965)
Slade – ‘Merry Xmas Everybody’ (1973)
Queen – ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ (1975 and 1991)
Wings – ‘Mull of Kintyre’ (1977)
Pink Floyd – ‘Another Brick in the Wall Pt.2’ (1979)
Human League – ‘Don’t You Want Me’ (1981)
Pet Shop Boys – ‘Always on My Mind’ (1987)
Whitney Houston – ‘I Will Always Love You’ (1992)
East 17 – ‘Stay Another Day’ (1994)
Spice Girls – ‘2 Become 1’ (1996)
Michael Andrews & Gary Jules – ‘Mad World’ (2003)
Rage Against the Machine – ‘Killing in the Name’ (2009)

Worst:
Note: I know some of these were for charity. It’s still OK to dislike the song.

Rolf Harris – ‘Two Little Boys’ (1969)
Jimmy Osmond – ‘Long Haired Lover from Liverpool’ (1972)
St Winifred’s School Choir – ‘There’s No One Quite Like Grandma’ (1980)
Cliff Richard – ‘Saviour’s Day’ (1990)
Matt Cardle – ‘When We Collide’ (2010)
LadBaby – ‘I Love Sausage Rolls’ (2019)
Band Aid – ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ (1984 and various years since)

So bad it’s almost good:
Mr Blobby – ‘Mr Blobby’ (1993)

These are fantastic arrangements which are fun to play. Some of the guitar-heavy songs, even ‘Helter Skelter’, work surprisingly well. I think the absolute best arrangements are ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’, ‘Here Comes the Sun’, ‘Taxman’, ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ and ‘Sgt Pepper’s’.

The only downside of this book is that it doesn’t have every single Beatles song. However, the book is so weighty that any extra pages might cause it to topple off the stand!

In summary, this great collection will encourage you to play the piano ‘Eight Days A Week’.

Published by Hal Leonard, 2017.