BETTE BRIGHT - RHYTHM BREAKS THE ICE (1981)
Criminally underused in Deaf School, Bette Bright (real name, Anne Martin) blossomed into an exciting performer on this solo effort, thanks partly to the help of clever friends.
Rhythm Breaks the Ice was
produced by fellow Deaf School graduate Clive Langer and his partner,
Alan Winstanley, the team behind Madness' phenomenal success. (Bright
intertwined the family trees by marrying that band's singer, Graham
McPherson, in 1981.) Her backing band on this album - still called The
Illuminations - looked very much like the band Clive Langer & the
Boxes: Clive Langer (guitar/sitar), Ian Broudie (guitar), James Eller
(bass); Mr Jo Allen and Martin Hughes (drums); and Ben Barson, brother
of Madness-keyboarder Mike Barson (keyboards). Here they balanced studio
smarts with the need to emphasize Bright's plaintive tones, and came up
with a canny modern-day variation on Phil Spector. The full, smooth
sound has a kaleidoscopic quality, continually shifting to highlight the
key element in the arrangement - guitar, marimba or whatever - and
providing Bright with a perfect launching pad for her soaring style.
WU (261 mb)
1 comment:
Thanks Angelo. Very much appreciated.
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