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Thread: My Be Bop deluxe story - What are your favorite BBd songs?

  1. #1
    Abstract Time
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    My Be Bop deluxe story - What are your favorite BBd songs?

    Hello
    coincidentally in recent months (and last night) I have been listening on you tube and purchasing on iTunes Be Bop deluxe songs.....I noticed in todays wayside email 'modern music 2 cds'

    Not easy to find these days...…. I used to see them on the shelves when I was a in my teens and tweens ( late 70's and 1980's ) I didn't know who they were and never heard their music - I should have just bought the one with the TV set heads just for the album cover but didn't - oh well.

    Here's my story I was in a choir 1986 (college) - I tried to show the whole class (play a cassette of the music of Univers Zero (dense from Ceux du Dehors) which was quickly 'Dismissed' I guess they got the frightsss'

    One of my acquaintances in the choir showed an interest and wanted to hear more so I invited him over for a 'listening session' I showed him Univers Zeros La Faulx
    as well as the rest of the Heresie album …….. he liked it (or so he said - I don't think he went out and bought it...)

    He Told me to get Be Bop Deluxe Live in the air age - which I found at a used record show ( black and white vinyl ) Amazing album!!!!

    I was then and still now am amazed at what a great band this is - Although I'm very partial to their progressive/jazz/rock side - the musicianship and songwriting are serious!! you've got hear this stuff to believe it …… I can't say exactly what my fav songs are

    (most of this music I would have been very into in my preteen and teenage years...…..still I was very into 'music' I first got into UZ at age 16 -1982 so....)

    Its refreshing to hear now...………….surprised to see it for sale on wayside

  2. #2
    Outraged bystander markwoll's Avatar
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    I like a bunch of their music. But a favorite song, from a favorite album is Sound Track from Futurama.
    "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
    -- Aristotle
    Nostalgia, you know, ain't what it used to be. Furthermore, they tells me, it never was.
    “A Man Who Does Not Read Has No Appreciable Advantage Over the Man Who Cannot Read” - Mark Twain

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    Quote Originally Posted by markwoll View Post
    I like a bunch of their music. But a favorite song, from a favorite album is Sound Track from Futurama.
    Me too.....

    Great band - Sadly only got to see them live as Bill Nelson's Red Noise

    I'd actually forgotten how good that song is...
    Last edited by wurz; 02-18-2020 at 05:33 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by markwoll View Post
    I like a bunch of their music. But a favorite song, from a favorite album is Sound Track from Futurama.
    ^^
    Nice tune. I'm glad you brought up Bebop Deluxe. I've been meaning to dig out the 4 CDS that I have and have a re-listen. I've also been meaning to look
    into Bill Nelson and the music he made after Bebop. They were a seminal band that is for sure.

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    Just dug out my Bebop Deluxe. Turns out I had a box set "Futurist Manifesto" that contains all five studio albums on four discs with generous bonus tracks and a fifth CD of unreleased material. Clearly I need to give this box set its due. It might be out of print because Amazon had a used copy for over $200. Yikes. Thanks "Abstract Time" for reminding. I've got it playing in the living room and it sounds great!

  6. #6
    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    Still my favorite BBD:


    Bill's got a lot of great solo music too:


  7. #7
    Jazzbo manqué Mister Triscuits's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rcarlberg View Post
    Still my favorite BBD:
    Mine too. He wanted to be Ziggy Stardust so bad it hurt.
    Hurtleturtled Out of Heaven - an electronic music composition, on CD and vinyl
    https://michaelpdawson.bandcamp.com
    http://www.waysidemusic.com/Music-Pr...MCD-spc-7.aspx

  8. #8
    Abstract Time
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    Hi - Yes I think at this point I've heard most of the Be Bop deluxe stuff - I haven't heard much of his solo stuff ( what I have heard sounds trendy ($) for its time …? )

    Bill Nelsons guitar playing is - well - he wasn't billed as a guitar hero for no reason!!! here are a few of my favorite BBd Songs - Adventures in a Yorkshire landscape - fair exchange - sister seagull - (etc. anything on live in the air age, meaning those versions - other versions are worth listening to also.) Twilight Capers, New Precision - I like the adventurous lyrics, storytelling, sci-fi, dark tales, weird - 1970's songwriters usually have interesting lyrics.....

    Yestor "Just dug out my Bebop Deluxe. Turns out I had a box set "Futurist Manifesto" that contains all five studio albums on four discs with generous bonus tracks and a fifth CD of unreleased material. Clearly I need to give this box set its due. It might be out of print because Amazon had a used copy for over $200. Yikes. Thanks "Abstract Time" for reminding. I've got it playing in the living room and it sounds great!"

    What's the unreleased material?

    One of the things that strikes me about this band is the level of musicianship - it sounds to me like they could have been more progressive and or jazz/rock/fusion - they jump in and out of these styles as well as pop, classic rock, punkish etc..... whatever - what I noticed is the song forms are simple, basic - but at the same time keep you interested in listening - weather its the music or the lyrical content - fun to listen to!!

  9. #9
    Outraged bystander markwoll's Avatar
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    The Bill Nelson album ‎– The Love That Whirls (Diary Of A Thinking Heart) is pretty good. I love Eros Arriving
    "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
    -- Aristotle
    Nostalgia, you know, ain't what it used to be. Furthermore, they tells me, it never was.
    “A Man Who Does Not Read Has No Appreciable Advantage Over the Man Who Cannot Read” - Mark Twain

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    Live In The Air Age is a desert-island-disc for me.

    I'm sure Pete (Garden Dreamer) will chime in soon.

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    A friend and I went to kill time at a record store circa 1982 and Bill's "Love that Whirls" album was playing. My friend liked it enough to buy it. He then loaned it to me and I was hooked. I'm surprised Bill wasn't a major "New Romantic" synth pop star at the time. He had the look, the sound, quality writing, in sum, he had totally captured the zeitgeist.

    Not long after, I found an ultra-cheap very used copy of Live! in the Air Age! Sister Seagull, Maid in Heaven, Fair Exchange, the sort-of title track. Great great stuff. The studio versions all sounded a little tepid after owning the live album.

    I tried to keep following Bill and his music through the 80s and 90s. But he released so much damn stuff and most never got US releases so I lost the plot and gave up on him. But I did get CD copies of Live! and Love that Whirls and a few others and I play them a lot to this day. Genius.

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    I became a Be Bop Deluxe fan after reading the review of Sunburst Finish in Rolling Stone back when it was a new release . Still my favorite album from them.
    I got the deluxe reissue of it with the stereo remix & the 5.1 mix last year , outstanding!
    I like and own every album they ever made , Bill Nelson became one of my favorite guitar players.

  13. #13
    Member Taped Rugs's Avatar
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    Sound On Sound by Red Noise exemplifies innovative song writing, skillful execution, killer production -- my ears love this album. Seen Mr. Nelson with various bands, including Be Bop Deluxe. One BBD show I'll never forget was at Winterland in San Francisco, 1977. Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers were second billed, the house was packed, and after their set was finished, half the crowd left. Their loss -- BBD was in top form that night -- the Modern Music/Blazing Apostles medley was YAOOOOOOOOW!

  14. #14
    Member Mythos's Avatar
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    In the 70's when there were a group, I didn't care for them because they sounded too much like Queen (who is disliked). Now they do have some catchy songs like Sister Seagull and Modern Music..

    Oh and I do have the black n white vinyl LP, probably payed it three times ever...

    Later, I did like the Bill Nelson solo stuff...
    Last edited by Mythos; 02-20-2020 at 09:13 PM.

  15. #15
    My brother had already got their albums but my introduction to BBD was winning a copy of Ships In The Night on a Radio Humberside phone-in competition in 1976. That remains a favourite alongside the tracks on the Hot Valves Ep - especially Blazing Apostles and Maid in Heaven. I also like later stuff such as Electrical Language and Panic in the World.

  16. #16
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    I had the vinyl LP Futurama back in the day and recall liking it, but I never pursued their releases after that. In 1994, Bill Nelson formed the band Channel Light Vessel with Roger Eno, Kate St. John and others and they produced two albums in "Automatic" and "Excellent Spirits", both of which I liked a lot and still play occasionally. Although described as Electronic/New Age/Avant-Garde/Pop Rock, it's really hard to place them in any such category. It's sort of dreamy, psychedelic sounds with occasional flares of upbeat rock and even jazzy at times. Both albums are worth getting if only to hear how Bill Nelson crafted his later offerings with a touch of shoegazing pop rock. His creativity continued throughout this period.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Abstract Time View Post
    Hi - Yes I think at this point I've heard most of the Be Bop deluxe stuff - I haven't heard much of his solo stuff ( what I have heard sounds trendy ($) for its time …? )

    Bill Nelsons guitar playing is - well - he wasn't billed as a guitar hero for no reason!!! here are a few of my favorite BBd Songs - Adventures in a Yorkshire landscape - fair exchange - sister seagull - (etc. anything on live in the air age, meaning those versions - other versions are worth listening to also.) Twilight Capers, New Precision - I like the adventurous lyrics, storytelling, sci-fi, dark tales, weird - 1970's songwriters usually have interesting lyrics.....

    Yestor "Just dug out my Bebop Deluxe. Turns out I had a box set "Futurist Manifesto" that contains all five studio albums on four discs with generous bonus tracks and a fifth CD of unreleased material. Clearly I need to give this box set its due. It might be out of print because Amazon had a used copy for over $200. Yikes. Thanks "Abstract Time" for reminding. I've got it playing in the living room and it sounds great!"

    What's the unreleased material?

    One of the things that strikes me about this band is the level of musicianship - it sounds to me like they could have been more progressive and or jazz/rock/fusion - they jump in and out of these styles as well as pop, classic rock, punkish etc..... whatever - what I noticed is the song forms are simple, basic - but at the same time keep you interested in listening - weather its the music or the lyrical content - fun to listen to!!

    Ah, looks like mainly demos and live tracks. Most of the demos were later recorded by the band and either made it to an album or included on "The best and the rest of", although it looks like one demo "The Saxophonist" never showed up in any later form.

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Gravedigger View Post
    Live In The Air Age is a desert-island-disc for me.

    I'm sure Pete (Garden Dreamer) will chime in soon.
    Present and accounted for! Glad you're discovering BBD, Abstract! One of my faves, just insanely creative and talented music on those 5 studio albums! Don't think I can pick favorite songs because I like 'em all. The bonus tracks show them going off into even more directions like jazz-fusion and it's a shame they didn't keep going but Nelson was always way ahead of his time. I think the first post-BBD album, "Red Noise" might be the first "industrial" album? Not that I know much about that genre. I like Red Noise but couldn't keep up with his solo offerings after that because he was very prolific and I didn't know which albums to get. The late Charlie Tumahai was a big part of that BBD sound with his bass and backing vocals, and a blast to watch on stage because he was having so much fun. Got to see them at Calderone Concert Hall, Long Island on the Drastic Plastic tour, incredible!!!
    You say Mega Ultra Deluxe Special Limited Edition Extended Autographed 5-LP, 3-CD, 4-DVD, 2-BlueRay, 4-Cassette, five 8-Track, MP4 Download plus Demos, Outtakes, Booklet, T-Shirt and Guitar Pick Gold-Leafed Box Set Version like it's a bad thing...

  19. #19
    Abstract Time
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    Glad you're discovering BBD, Abstract! One of my faves, just insanely creative and talented music on those 5 studio albums!
    Yes Re-discovering - it was 1986 That I found Live in the air age - (unfortunately I didn't get the rest of them on vinyl....) back then - I was cleaning my basement in October 2019 and found a cassette copy of Live in the air age - so since I 've been getting what I can find online -

    Got to see them at Calderone Concert Hall, Long Island on the Drastic Plastic tour, incredible!!!
    I found this on you tube this Be Bop Deluxe Live Dec. 6, 1976 WLIR FM Broadcast Calderon Concert Hall https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fv0uSGstaLo look at the date, I was 10 years old back then (43 years ago) - things have changed a lot - I started buying LP's around age 8

    Somehow back in 1986 this started out with me trying to get a choir I was in to listen to the Univers Zero Track 'Dense'!? ( as far as bands go UZ is still one of my favorites )
    Last edited by Abstract Time; 02-19-2020 at 05:29 PM.

  20. #20
    The only album I’ve heard was Axe Victim and didn’t really care for it. If it’s second-rate Bowie clones I want, I’ll go for Steve Harley or Jobriath, thanks.

    On the other hand, I do own the 7" singles of “Maid in Heaven” and “Ships in the Night,” which suggest something far more interesting. I must check out their parent albums one of these days (which are better-reviewed than Axe Victim, so clearly I started in the wrong place).
    Confirmed Bachelors: the dramedy hit of 1883...

  21. #21
    Bill Nelson's series of albums he did for Cocteau Records during the 80s are all mega recommended. One can get the best of then in the two CD boxes "Trial By Intimacy" & "Dreamy Screens" released by Esoteric.
    Macht das ohr auf!

    COSMIC EYE RECORDS

  22. #22
    I think his guitar work on "Adventures In A Yorkshire Landscape" is simply sublime. As others have pointed out, the original version on "Axe Victim" is far more constrained than the live versions, where he really stretches out. The "Live! In The Air Age" track is really good, but the "At The BBC 1974-1978" box set has three further takes (from 74, 76 & 77) of this dazzlingly lyrical piece of music.

    Also - not BBD per se, but reference has already been made to Nelson's staggering array of solo albums - "Chimera", his mini-album from 1983, has been a firm favourite ever since I heard it shortly after its release: clever words, detailed instrumentation, catchy tunes. It was reissued with bonus tracks in 2005, and is well worth tracking down.
    Last edited by 2000jw; 02-20-2020 at 05:58 AM.

  23. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by Progbear View Post
    The only album I’ve heard was Axe Victim and didn’t really care for it. If it’s second-rate Bowie clones...
    Check out the other albums though. Bill scrapped the entire band after that first album and the new members were a step up in quality and the music got more proggy, more creative, more adventurous. And they moved away from the Bowie influences (although Adventures in a Yorkshire Landscape is amazing and not Bowie-like, that alone is worth having Axe Victim for).
    You say Mega Ultra Deluxe Special Limited Edition Extended Autographed 5-LP, 3-CD, 4-DVD, 2-BlueRay, 4-Cassette, five 8-Track, MP4 Download plus Demos, Outtakes, Booklet, T-Shirt and Guitar Pick Gold-Leafed Box Set Version like it's a bad thing...

  24. #24
    Quote Originally Posted by Abstract Time View Post

    I found this on you tube this Be Bop Deluxe Live Dec. 6, 1976 WLIR FM Broadcast Calderon Concert Hall https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fv0uSGstaLo look at the date, I was 10 years old back then (43 years ago) - things have changed a lot - I started buying LP's around age 8
    That was the previous tour to the one I saw. I did tape that WLIR broadcast on cassette tape off the radio but it's lost to time...
    You say Mega Ultra Deluxe Special Limited Edition Extended Autographed 5-LP, 3-CD, 4-DVD, 2-BlueRay, 4-Cassette, five 8-Track, MP4 Download plus Demos, Outtakes, Booklet, T-Shirt and Guitar Pick Gold-Leafed Box Set Version like it's a bad thing...

  25. #25
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    I first heard Drastic Plastic 30 years ago, just before I got into Gary Numan, John Foxx/Ultravox and the like. "Electrical Language" seemed to be the start of that whole style, so the album became a cornerstone in my musical development. I then bought Futurama, which is very different but also enjoyable once you get passed the abrupt, jarring key changes and the album's loud, explosive production. Queen II is probably its closest parallel.

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