Be Bop Deluxe - Drastic Plastic Deluxe Box Set.

Be Bop Deluxe
Drastic Plastic - Deluxe Box Set
(Esoteric/Cherry Red)
8.5/10
By Paul Davies

In what proved to be Be Bop Deluxe’s final studio release, co-produced by Bill Nelson and John Leckie, the recordings began in the sunny uplands of the South Of France during the summer of 1978 at The Villa Saint George, Juan-Les-Pins with The Rolling Stones mobile studio and completed at The Manor and Abbey Road Studios.

As a wistful reflection of the bonhomie surrounding this production, Disc Six notably contains Bill Nelson’s home video movies showing downtime in the South of France. Documenting an esprit du corps, they reveal a band happily ensconced in their group bubble seemingly unaware that these recordings, in the making, would be this group’s final adventures in sound together as a unit.

As a band for their times, Drastic Plastic waxed a lyrical tale of a group progressing their sound and vision with a savvy new age-new wave blend that was then in vogue. However, there's turmoil buried deep in these tracks which surfaced to the fore with the benefit of hindsight. Nevertheless, this is, quite possibly, the album where BBD delivered their most complete recording as they built on the promise of their previous studio releases.

Taking a more linear and electronic approach to their sonic landscape than before, many of the song titles speak for themselves as Electrical Language sparks up with twitchy synths offset by Nelson's rock guitar rifferama. New Precision, New Mysteries, and the peculiar charms of Superenigmatix (Lethal Appliances For The Home With Everything) don't quite slip the moorings of the band's musical past yet they indulge in what was newer territory in composition construction.

There are also classic Be Bop tropes developed on previous releases such as on Surreal Estate with its piano intro and entwined guitar lines underpinned by a jaunty rhythm. There's also a definite whiff of what Bowie was up to on his contemporaneous recordings in Panic In The World's catchy vocal and strung-out melody set to a strummed guitar.

Further fun occurs on Dangerous Stranger with a touch of surreal humour alloying an Eddie Cochrane early rock'n'roll styling to a new wave Ramones type strum and rocked-out guitar solo. Taking constituent parts from various eras of modern music and smartly mixing them together was an alluring strength of this artful and challenging band

Visions of Endless Hope with its shimmering acoustic guitar and string accompaniment completely changes the mood-music, as final track Islands Of The Dead, with its serene and dreamy tones, completes a quite extraordinary album that reflects the time in which it was recorded when new technology and a disruptive music fashion prevailed.

This immersive box set reveals a band, seemingly in forward motion, cannily incorporating the influences from the new wave musical movement with dashes of glam and old fashioned rock'n'roll.

However, what really makes this consummately collected six-disc limited edition release work is the involvement of Bill Nelson who provides unseen photographs, an essay, and those important home movies. There's also a pleasurable additional 88 tracks including demos, a John Peel session plus a Sight & Sound In Concert radio and TV performance from 1978.

In a nutshell, it's a must-have for any fan of this avant-garde ensemble who advanced their exploratory musical vision on this seminal release. One can only imagine the future music they may have created together as this album reveals a band still in a forward motion with plenty of track to furrow. Nevertheless, as a continuing disruptor, Bill Nelson decided to disband the group and book a new musical exploration with his Red Noise project.

For the rest of the BBD line-up following its sudden demise, Andy Clark joined Red Noise and most notably played synths on David Bowie's Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) album. Simon Fox played the drums in Trevor Rabin's solo band and later joined the post ELO amalgam Orkestra. Charlie Tumahai went on to join the short-lived super-group Tandoori Cassette with ex-members of Jethro Tull, Nazareth, and SAHB.

This excellent box set is a perfect reminder and even fonder farewell to a unique band.