Search - Be Bop Deluxe :: Drastic Plastic

Be Bop Deluxe - Drastic Plastic - Fantastic

NwappMX7 | VA, US | 05/31/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"On this, the last Be Bop Deluxe album, Bill Nelson decreed "let there be more synthesizers." And there were more synthesizers. And Bill Nelson saw that it was good, and made this album a New Wave album with less electric guitar than previous albums and released it unto the people.



Who promptly freaked out.



This is the accepted liturgy of most Be Bop Deluxe fans, but it isn't exactly the truth. Why? Well, first of all, this isn't a New Wave album. And the guitars aren't eliminated or even toned down that much. Let me elaborate. This really is not a pure "New Wave" disc as only about half the songs on here have a futuristic, New Wave sound. Yes, songs like "New Precision" and "Electrical Language" are synth-heavy New Wavers. But "Islands of the Dead" could have come off of Sunburst Finish. "Love in Flames" *sounds* New Wavey on first listen, but slow down the tempo and it sounds like it could have come right out of the 60s with that organ and distorted guitar carrying on the whole song. So it's just a Psychedelic song on speed. "Dangerous Stranger" sounds like it could have come out the *50s*.

Guitars are not diminished on this album, you just don't get the Bill Nelson Wankery(tm) of previous efforts. The guitars and the synthesizers here are for the most part balanced nicely (just listen to "Panic in the World"). "Dangerous Stranger" has hardly any synths, if any at all. I think this album is more varied than people give it credit for. The songs do not all sound the same, but the whole thing doesn't lose cohesion; in fact it holds together just fine. In fact, this just might be my personal favorite Be Bop Deluxe album.



One final thought: this album had a bigger impact on rock music than people give it credit for, too. Examples? Gary Numan was influenced by this band and I think this album in particular (in fact he got Bill Nelson to produce his 1983 album Warriors). Listen to the first four albums by the Cars. Imagine Bill Nelson singing instead of Ric Ocasek. 'Nuff said."