New Nik Kershaw track is Prog

[luvyesmusic]

I bet that would sound absolutely lovely through the headphones. Nice sounding, and a nice little journey. May have to buy all of this production.

Love this version of Wouldn't it be Good with the surprise horn section.
https://youtu.be/5ddJRBQFRoY

[JKL2000]

So weird! I hadn’t heard Nik Kershaw probably since I was in college, read this thread this morning, then this afternoon I was in The Container Store and they were playing “Wouldn't it Be Good.”

[Zappathustra]

Nah, it was BS. The closest I came to having words with him was when me and a couple of friends dropped into a bar for pre-gig drinks on our way to see The Fall in Newcastle and found that MES had had the same idea. Only his take on pre-gig drinks was probably a bit more...comprehensive...than ours. It was pretty clear that trying to start up a casual chat with the great man would be a bad idea, so we didn't. He was still at the bar when we left. His performance, when The Fall eventually did take the stage, wasn't noticeably different than usual. Then again, he may not have been any drunker than usual.

I caught them live twice. The first time it was all great, the second he held for just 4 songs before collapsing. The crowds were surprisingly ok with it. They all knew that buying a ticket for a Fall concert was a gamble.

[Obarmoth]

It's very good, but then he's always been a top notch songwriter and musician since day one.

But prog? Just because it's in 5/4 (and doesn't once deviate from that)? Really?

[bill g]

I liked it. Thanks for posting

[arj]

Relieved to find that others appreciate this song as much as I do!
For those that thanked me for posting, you are very welcome (although you may not like the rest of the album - a bit mellow imho).
The thread title was really about generating interest, for I did not necessarily think "prog" when I first heard it in my car, although I did struggle to pick the time signature (or the first downbeat) - until the drums came in. Nik fans will be aware that he is no stranger to complex polyrhythms (Don Quixote, Cowboys and Indians and the incredible drumming by Jeff Porcaro at the end of Walkabout) so the odd time did not necessarily make me think prog, because he is most definitely based in the pop idiom (of the finest kind).
What really made me think of prog was the woodwind (soprano sax?) which reminded me of Fish Out of Water (Lucky 7) by CS. As did the repeated pattern/ostinato on the electric piano. The final build up and climax from 3:30 is actually a bit like Steven Wilson, with the jazzy woodwind soloing, precise drumming, 8th note guitar chords and layered harmonies.

[dnieper]

The lyrics to this track, which also features some weird time signatures that sound amazingly natural, seem to actually be *about* listening to prog in the 1970's:



With lyrics including:

From Crimson King to Killer Queen
And all Jean Genies in between
We savoured every tambourine man
Yeah, every one

And friendships built on common ground
Were buying England by the pound
A moment shared, a love unbound
When Jaco turned it on

[JJ88]

^He sang 'The Lamia' on Hackett's Genesis Revisited II, and I think some live shows. I thought he did a good job.

Synth-led 80s pop isn't my favourite music as a rule. But, I do like some of Kershaw's songs! Definitely a fair bit going on musically in hits like 'The Riddle'. And 'Human Racing' is pure Stevie Wonder.