Stepping Out of Line: The Anthology
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| Stepping Out of Line: The Anthology | |||||
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| Compilation album by Au Pairs | |||||
| Released | June 6, 2006 | ||||
| Genre | rock, post-punk | ||||
| Label | Castle | ||||
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| Au Pairs chronology | |||||
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Stepping Out of Line: The Anthology is a 2006 compilation cd containing every available track recorded by the brief-lived 1980s British post-punk band Au Pairs, described by All Music's reviewer as "one of the smartest, sharpest bands of the post-punk era."[1]
Contents |
[edit] Themes
The Au Pairs were frequently jarring and dissonant, closely related musically and thematically to other post-punk bands like Mekons or the Gang of Four,[2] but the Au Pairs are unusual in the even division of the band between male and female members and their deep exploration of sexual politics.[3] Sexual roles and conflicts are a recurrent theme through the album. Allegations of rape and torture of Irish women imprisoned in the city of Armagh in Northern Ireland are the subject of the song "Armagh."[4] "Diet" is a strident ode to the repetitive role of the housewife.[5] Social pressures on men, too, are examined: "Come Again" refers to the polite requirement for equal orgasm in a modern, civilized couple.[6]
[edit] Reception
The compilation, like the band, was not universally well-received. Though describing its dissonance as "coldly thrill friction," Blender Magazine reviewer Simon Reynolds found the anthology excessive and noted that the "power of dour wears thin,"[6] but other reviewers treated the album more generously. Stylus Magazine's Mallory O'Donnell "[s]trongly recommended" the anthology "for all who seek to temper well-grounded ire with emotional fires,"[7] and All Music's Andy Kellman asserted that "[n]o one could possibly give this band's output too much attention."[1]
[edit] Track listing
Unless otherwise noted, all songs composed by Paul Foad, Peter Hammond, Jane Munro and Lesley Woods.
- "We're So Cool" – 3:28
- "Love Song" – 2:59
- "Set-Up" – 3:20
- "Repetition" (David Bowie) – 3:48
- "Headache for Michelle" – 6:54
- "Come Again" – 3:54
- "Armagh" – 3:37
- "Unfinished Business" – 3:29
- "Dear John" – 2:57
- "It's Obvious" – 6:19
- "Pretty Boys" – 4:00
- "Monogamy" – 2:55
- "Ideal Woman" – 3:55
- "You" – 2:51
- "Domestic Departure" – 2:21
- "Kerb Crawler" – 2:46
- "Diet" – 4:18
- "It's Obvious (Single Version)" – 5:45
- "Inconvenience (12" Version)" – 2:55
- "Pretty Boys" (Alt) – 3:38
- "Stepping Out of Line" – 6:02
- "Sex Without Stress" – 4:31
- "Instant Touch" – 3:00
- "That's When It's Worth It" – 4:06
- "Shakedown" – 4:22
- "Tongue in Cheek" – 3:01
- "Intact" – 3:16
- "Don't Lie Back" – 4:49
- "America" – 5:20
- "Fiasco" – 3:51
- "No More Secret Lives" (demo) – 5:16
- "Runs with Honey" (demo) – 6:19
- "Hokka He Ha" (demo) – 5:32
- "Taking Care of Him" (demo) – 5:12
- "What Kind of Girl" – 3:36
- "Piece of My Heart" (live) (Jerry Ragavoy, Bert Berns) – 3:49
- "Headache for Michelle (Remix)" – 6:38
[edit] Personnel
[edit] Performance
[edit] Production
- Anton Corbijn – photography
- Steve Hammonds – project coordinator
- Will Nicol – project coordinator
- Becky Stewart – design
- Kieron Tyler – liner notes
[edit] References
- ^ a b Stepping Out of Line: The Anthology at Allmusic
- ^ Au Pairs at Allmusic
- ^ Gaar, Gillian G. (2002). She's a Rebel: The History of Women in Rock and Roll. Seal Press, 203-204. ISBN 1580050786.
- ^ For context of allegations of abuse against women in Armagh Prison in the late 1970s and early 1980s, see Murray, Raymond (1998). Hard Times, Armagh Ghaol 1971-1986. Dublin: Mercier Press. ISBN 185635 223 4.
- ^ Au Pairs Fact Magazine. Accessed August 29, 2007.
- ^ a b Reynolds, Simon. June 6, 2006. Stepping Out of Line The Anthology Blender. Accessed August 29, 2007.
- ^ O'Donnell, Mallory. The Au Pairs: Stepping Out of Line The Anthology Stylus Magazine. June 9, 2006. Accessed August 29, 2007.
