Secrets (The Human League album)

Secrets
Studio album by The Human League
Released 6 August 2001
Recorded 2000-2001
Genre Pop, electronic
Length 51:46
Label Papillon Records
BTFLYCD0019
Producer Toy (Dave Clayton and Kerry Hopwood)
The Human League chronology

Octopus
(1995)		 Secrets
(2001)		 Credo
(2011)
Singles from Secrets
  1. "All I Ever Wanted"
    Released: 23 July 2001
  2. "Love Me Madly?"
    Released: 2003
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
BBC (mixed)[2]
Billboard (mixed)[3]
The Mirror (favourable)[4]

Secrets is the eighth studio album recorded by British synthpop band The Human League. It was issued in 2001 by Papillon Records and was the Human League's first studio album in six years. As with their previous album Octopus, the band was presented as a trio of singers Philip Oakey, Joanne Catherall and Susan Ann Sulley (credited by her married name Susan Ann Gayle, which she would later drop professionally in October 2007), although band member Neil Sutton also contributed songwriting and keyboard parts. Secrets received a delayed release in the United States the following year.

The album contains sixteen tracks, seven of which are short, instrumental transitional compositions. Upon its release Secrets earned mixed reviews from music critics, although commercial success was hampered due to the bankruptcy of Papillon (a division of Chrysalis Records) shortly after its release. The first single "All I Ever Wanted" returned the Human League to the UK singles chart after a five-year absence peaking at a disappointing number forty-seven.

In 2003, after the collapse of Papillon Records, a follow-up single from Secrets, "Love Me Madly?," was released privately by Michiel Van Bokhorst's Nukove Records, a company set up especially to release Human League records.[5]

Billboard commented on the redundant lyrics and weak refrains. They wrote: "Seven instrumental interludes offer some respite from uninspired lyrics. But there's little new ground broken here. And one key ingredient of Human League's recipe is lacking: irresistible hooks that drove such hits as "(Keep Feeling) Fascination" and "Human."[3]

Track listing

  1. "All I Ever Wanted" (Philip Oakey, Neil Sutton)
  2. "Nervous" (Oakey, Sutton, Toy) +
  3. "Love Me Madly?" (Oakey, Sutton)
  4. "Shameless" (Oakey, Sutton)
  5. "122.3 BPM" (Oakey, Sutton, Toy) +
  6. "Never Give Your Heart" (Oakey, Sutton)
  7. "Ran" (Oakey, Sutton) +
  8. "The Snake" (Oakey, Sutton)
  9. "Ringinglow" (Oakey, Sutton, Toy) +
  10. "Liar" (Oakey, Sutton)
  11. "Lament" (Sutton) +
  12. "Reflections" (Steve Fellowes, Oakey)
  13. "Brute" (Oakey) +
  14. "Sin City" (Oakey)
  15. "Release" (Sutton) +
  16. "You'll Be Sorry" (Oakey, Sutton)

+ indicates instrumental transitional track

Chart performance

Chart (2001) Peak
position
German Albums Chart[6] 64
UK Albums Chart[7] 44

References

  1. ↑ Allmusic review
  2. ↑ "Secrets is top of the League". BBC. 3 August 2001. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Time has stood still for the Human League—and that's both an asset and a liability". Billboard. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  4. ↑ Martin, Gavin (3 August 2001). "Music: Out this week - Albums". The Mirror Archived at The Free Library. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  5. ↑ Van Bokhorst, Michiel
  6. ↑ "charts.de". charts.de. 2001-07-27. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
  7. ↑ "ChartArchive - The Human League - Secrets". Chartstats.com. 2001-08-18. Archived from the original on 2012-07-28. Retrieved 2012-06-23.