It’s a surprising list from what I remember of the NME but voted on by readers, it served to underline the eclectic mix the newspaper attracted. The NME Album of the Year for 1984 was Bobby Womack’s Poet II, with Womack & Womack at four. The album had it’s fair share of the great and good from the jazz-soul scene. The Whole Point Of No Return with its’ guitar backing and a piano-solo My Ever Changing Moods typify that approach. Of the others, minimalism seemed to be his trademark. Lee on the footstomping Strength Of Your Nature and embellished Headstart For Happiness. Weller sang on just six of the thirteen tracks, sharing vocals with Talbot and Dee C. In between the two, Me Ship Came In, a bossa nova influenced jaunt, and the outright jazz of Droppin’ Bombs On The Whitehouse, underlined the different musical direction and highlighted the astonishing mastery of the drums, the then 19-year-old Steve White possessed. Instrumentals pock mark the album, from the opening Mick’s Blessing, which begs for Barry Norman to add, “And why not?” after the last key is pressed on Mick Talbot’s piano, through to the closing Council Meetin’, a half-cousin of The Gift. While The Gift was varied, Cafe Bleu is eclectic, heavily influenced by varying styles under the ‘jazz’ banner. Would Cafe Bleu have been The Jam’s Modernism: The New Decade? Rejected by a conservative record label, unwilling to take a risk with the overall formula? THE STYLE COUNCIL BLUE CAFE MODThey already had a ‘lost’ album when the follow-up to The Modern World was canned All Mod Cons emerged from the ashes. It’s an album which would never have seen light of day as a Jam lp. The demo version of A Solid Bond In Your Heart surfaced on Direction Creation Reaction, validating Foxton’s view to some extent when it surfaced as the fourth or fifth single under the TSC banner.Ĭafe Bleu, however, destroys the argument. The Beat Surrender EP with its Chi-Lites cover and slow, jazz-influenced Shopping, hinted at what was to come but Speak Like A Child felt familiar, almost a deliberate decision to bridge two bands.īruce Foxton observed that he felt the material released by The Style Council in the early days wasn’t anything beyond The Jam musical skills. With that backdrop, The Style Council was even braver. Has it stood the test of time or aged badly like some of its’ 1984 peers?īreaking up The Jam was a brave decision for a 24-year-old, a group which was arguably the biggest in Britain at that time. Cafe Bleu, resplendent in blue vinyl, is the first The Style Council’s albums re-released in vinyl. No, you’re not trapped in a Back To The Future scenario.
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