THE COMSAT ANGELS - A Retrospective
One of the most interesting bands that I've come across in the last 20 years were Sheffield's Comsat Angels. They released eight studio albums under the name (and a couple of compilations) and one other under another name, but more of that later. Curiously I find it difficult to write much about things I like or at least to articulate the reasons why I like something. To me good music elicits the same response, it is all encompassing and I am prepared to lose myself in it completely. For this reason I don't really dwell on the good times below, but rather on the flawed periods.. But believe me I really love at least four of the albums discussed below.
The Comsats first came to my attention supporting U2 in Glasgow in September 1981. Without understanding much of their set, all swirling keyboards, loud drums and almost submerged guitar, they made a reasonable impression, particularly with the closing songs. So a few days later, when I found a four track EP (Eye of The Lens) (for 49p!) I bought it and was immediately hooked. There was an edge and an otherworldiness to the music that was not present in any of their contemporaries, so when their second LP 'Sleep No More' was released I purchased that too, followed quickly by the debut LP 'Waiting For A Miracle'.
Taking these in chronological order, rather than order of purchase, 'Miracle' seemed a terrific debut. Containing their best known song, the single 'Independence Day', the band's use of keyboards as an integral part of their sound helped distinguish them from their contemporaries by making them sound so much more unsettling than anyone else around. The second album was obviously from the same band, but was drenched in those keyboards with the guitars, treated with effects, adding to the general sense of unease. 'Sleep No More' saw the band in a position which in retrospect they were never to find themselves again, namely on the brink of commercial success as the album entered the Top 20 on release. Unfortunately the missing ingredient at this point was that elusive hit single, the band regarding themselves as a perennial number 41 band. That extra chart position would have made a substantial difference to their airplay, but it never happened.
There was no single from the second album, the best bet would seemed to have been the opening track 'The Eye Dance', but in some ways it was too similar to the preceding 'Eye of The Lens'. Instead the band followed the LP with 2 singles, neither of which was included on the vinyl version of their third LP 'Fiction', although both were bonus tracks on the cassette version.
'Do The Empty House' was a slightly more commercial take on the band's sound, again with big crunching drums and a previously hidden sense of humour, but despite being released with a re-recording of their debut independent single as a bonus record on initial copies, it failed to crack the Top 40. The follow-up was 'It's History' a record which was the most commercial record the band had yet produced. But ultimately it was probably just a bit too melancholic to appeal beyond the band's fan base.
'Fiction' followed the same path as the recent singles but to my ears lacked the intensity of the first 2 records. There are still some great moments, particularly 'After The Rain' (remixed as a single but probably just too damn interesting to crack the charts) which developed an interesting ryhthmic sense and 'What Else!?' the classic LP closer, but there was also bluster on tracks like 'Not A Word' and 'Don't Look Now', an unwelcome addition to the band's musical armoury.
With no hits to their name and their contract up for renewal with Polydor, the band were not surprised to find themselves dropped. Jive Records signed the band with the intention of owning a hit singles band. (Exactly what gave Jive this impression from the band's back catalogue remains a mystery) The sound became more polished, but despite that the first single from the new LP 'Land' called 'Will You Stay Tonight' was still recognisably the Comsats. The B-side 'Shining Hour' a slower haunting piece suggested that the band could still produce music of depth as well as glitz. Sadly 'Land' neither set the charts alight nor satisfied the long term fans. My least favourite Comsats LP, the commercialisation of the band only succeeded in producing an unsatisfying blend of their music. It contained its fair share of turgid tunes ('Mr Memory' is one that will not stick there fortunately) whilst the better moments like 'Alicia' and the first single were in the minority. They even had the temerity, a bit strong really I suppose, to re-record 'Independence Day' and lose a lot of its charm. Its appearance as the third single also failed to strike gold.
The course was now set however and it was obviously the charts or burst. A string of singles seemingly influenced to a large extent by Sheffield contemporaries, the Human League preceded the next album without success. My request for a lyric sheet a couple of years earlier saw me added to a mailing list which Polydor didn't use, but to which Jive now turned in an attempt to drum up support for the singles. First up was 'You Move Me' and. never having been personally requested to buy a record by a record company before, I succumbed to the flattery, even though I suspected that my love affair with the band was over. Sounding quite a lot like 'The Lebanon' (the single that marked the beginning of the end for the League and therefore I would have thought not a good choice of style for a band seeking their first bona fide hit!) 'You Move Me' was actually quite good. Needless to say it didn't chart. Next up was 'Day One' with the production now dressed up to sound like then chart gods Frankie Goes To Hollywood. Again it was quite good and again, well you can guess.
To sidestep for a moment, to my mind one of the reasons that the Comsats never made it big was the lack of a Bono/McCulloch personality in the band, someone larger than life to draw attention to the band's music. Added to that was an image problem, almost none in the Polydor days, and an image in the Jive period which today must make the band cringe , I mean look at those haircuts! Jive appeared totally clueless how to portray the band on their singles sleeves and 'Forever Young' appeared with a syrupy sleeve showing kids posing as the band. The record itself was a rewrite of the League's 'Louise' and, er, failed to chart.
If Jive had omitted the band from the sleeve of the previous single, it sounded that they omitted them completely from the next record. 'I'm Falling' is cod reggae of all things and was allegedly co-written by James Mtume, whoever the f*** he is. It's far and away the worst thing that the Comsats name has ever been attached to and as far as I was concerned was the last straw. Apparently it was also for the band as Steve is rumoured to have broken a preview copy of the single and stuffed it through the company's letter box as it was remixed without their knowledge. I prefer to think that the band had nothing whatsoever to do with 'I'm Falling'. The LP 'Seven Day Weekend' duly arrived (the opening track 'Believe It' having appeared as a single in Europe) and because 'I'm Falling' was shite and due to the fact that I already owned half of the LP (a couple of B-sides were present as well) I didn't buy it until a couple of years later as a cheap cassette (and I never buy cassettes) in a closing down sale. Fortunately the LP is closer to 'You Move Me' rather than 'I'm Falling' and there are a couple of gems on it not on the singles, namely 'Close Your Eyes' and the excellent 'High Tide', albeit the latter being outshone by the BBC session version.
If, and I know that this is a big if, the band had had that elusive hit around the time of the second or third album, I do think that rather than being a good album of flop singles, 'Seven Day Weekend' might have been a record which consolidated that commercial success. Unfortunately we do not live in that parallel universe where musical talent is rewarded with success as of right.
So another record company beckoned and it was Island records, apparently at the prompting of Mr Smooth, Robert Palmer, who signed the band. At this point Island seemed fond of signing critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful bands in the hope of discovering the next U2, as recent signings Julian Cope and the Triffids suggested. The Island era started like the Jive era, a promising single with an excellent B-side, to be followed by a disappointing album.
The single was 'The Cutting Edge' a moody piece (which seemed a strange choice of single although the album was to explain that) dominated by Andy's piano and Kev's bass, really well sung by Steve. The B-side 'Something's Go To Give' was a storm brewing, an intro similar in tone to the A-side, but building and building to a stunning crescendo. It really should have been on the album guys. Also included, perhaps in an attempt to win back old fans, was a re-recording of 'Our Secret' from 'Sleep No More', in very much late night mood, but I preferred the original.
If the previous 2 LPs had seemed to be a misguided approach, but with some good songs, the Island LP 'Chasing Shadows' sounded like the type of record the band wanted to make, but sadly without too many good songs. The eerie/poppy keyboards of previous LPs were replaced by moody natural piano sounds and this produced an LP with a late night feel, easily the band's least commercial offering to date. What was lacking in my opinion was a liittle more energy, like say 'Something's Got To Give'.
Whilst promoting 'Chasing Shadows' the band finally returned to Scotland for the first time since the U2 support and I saw them for the first time having heard their music. Unfortunately they neglected their back catalogue in favour of tracks from the new LP and the result was disappointing. To me the difference in power between the encore 'Independence Day' and the rest of the set was marked. Was one gig in Scotland in 1983 too much to ask for?
Notwithstanding the disappointing gig and LP the approach on the album did at least offer good grounds for optimism and we long term fans crossed our fingers and hoped that it was at least a start to the full rehabilitation of the band. We were right but unexpectedly had 5 years to wait.
The band simply disappeared from view in the UK. In actual fact they released a second LP for Island under the name Dream Command in limited quantities in the States only and those who have heard it were not overly impressed. (Had to be better than 'I'm Falling' though.) Island's legendary reputation for nurturing bands seemed to have disappeared as the band were dropped (along with the aforementioned Triffids)
In 1992 the band finally re-emerged with a new record label, indie RPM, and a new album 'My Mind's Eye'. RPM press releases suggested that the music the band was producing was simply too good not to release, but I must admit I was a bit sceptical. For old times sake I bought it when it came out and frankly it was superb. The Comsats seemed to have learnt all the lessons of their career and 'My Mind's Eye' was at the same time their most accessible album but one that also recovered the strength of the early Polydor albums. Importantly the Comsats were again very much a rock band and 2 singles were taken from the LP, the excellent 'Driving' and the obvious commercial track 'Field of Tall Flowers'. The singles are worth tracking down because the songs on the B-sides are all excellent. The band were again critically successful, but as was the case first time around, not exactly shifting mega units.
Around the same time a compilation of BBC session recordings was also released by RPM, although in all honesty I couldn't recommend many of the versions of the songs over the originals on the Polydor albums, although the Jive era songs fare better away from their stifling production.
A further compilation 'Unravelled' appeared, this time of Dutch radio sessions, which also previewed the band's final album, 'The Glamour'.
Bassist Kevin Bacon left the band before 'The Glamour' was recorded to be replaced by Todd Terry and Simon Anderson, the band's first change in line up. This release was so low key that I missed the LP for several months. The accessibility of 'My Mind's Eye' was replaced by the band's densest album to date, albeit that some of the tracks could have made respectable Comsats' singles. 'The Glamour' was perhaps closest in spirit to 'Sleep No More' but where that album had space, 'The Glamour' had noise. It's the band's most uncompromising album and comes highly recommended. The titles 'Psychedelic Basement' and 'Web of Sound' give some clue to the direction of this LP.
And that turned out to be that. Whilst anticipating a new release from the band, I discovered on the Sleep No More site that the band which had endured so much disappointment over the years had finally come to a parting of the ways. Singer Steve Fellows released an album of instrumental pieces 'Mood X' towards the end of 1997, but I haven't yet had the resources to check this out. The other band members are rumoured to be working together, although not as the Comsats.
A legacy of 4 excellent albums and others ranging from the good through poppy to dull is better than most bands can manage and the variety that the band brought to the British rock format is quite impressive. Yes, albums sounded like they were the Comsats but they still all sounded different unlike their contemporaries Echo & the Bunnymen, whose 1997 reunion produced an album which sounds like a superannuated version of the Bunnymen. The Comsats may have been misguided at different phases in their careers but at least they ended playing music that they wanted to play, not music record companies thought might make a few quid. All in all, a low key ending for a low key band.
For more info on the Comsats check out Sleep No More