The Anvil (album)

The Anvil
Studio album by Visage
Released March 1982
Recorded 1981 at Mayfair Studios in Primrose Hill, London
Genre Synthpop, rock, pop
Length 40:33
Label Polydor
Producer Visage
Visage studio album chronology

Visage
(1980)		 The Anvil
(1982)		 Beat Boy
(1984)
Singles from The Anvil
  1. "The Damned Don't Cry"
    Released: March 1982
  2. "Night Train"
    Released: June 1982
  3. "Whispers (Japan only)"

The Anvil is the second studio album by the British rock/pop band Visage, released in March 1982 by Polydor. The album reached No. 6 in the UK and was certified "Silver" by the British Phonographic Industry in April 1982.

Recording

The only musician of the first album line-up that did not participate in this album's recording was John McGeoch. McGeoch commented in an interview: "One time I was in Spain [touring with Siouxsie and the Banshees] at the same time as Visage were recording the second album in London. Rusty wanted me to put a guitar solo on something or other but I only had one day off and there was no way that I could fly home on my one day off. Rusty is not a man to be put off by such things and he was actually trying to put together a satellite linkup from Madrid to London for this one guitar part. Not surprisingly it didn't come off but I was sorry not to have been as involved on The Anvil as I had been on the first album".[1]

Release

The Anvil was released in March 1982. It reached No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart.[2] The album was certified "Silver" by the British Phonographic Industry in April 1982.[3]

The album's first single was "The Damned Don't Cry" was released the same month and reached No. 11 in the UK Singles Chart.[2] The original vinyl release of The Anvil came in an embossed/textured sleeve (considered as deluxe packaging for the time), and a limited number of copies (3,000) came with a free poster of Steve Strange posing with a number of models at the Hôtel George-V in Paris (the poster is an extended shot of the 12" single cover of "The Damned Don't Cry").

The second single released was "Night Train" in June 1982, reaching No. 12.[2] "Whispers" was also released as a single in Japan only.

The Anvil was the last Visage record to feature Ultravox frontman Midge Ure, who left the band after its release. The album sparked a brief controversy at the time of its release for being named after New York's famous gay club.

The album saw a re-release on the CD format in 1997 with bonus tracks, though they are tracks from the 1980–81 era and not that of The Anvil. The Anvil was re-released on CD again by Cherry Red Records on 17 March 2008, containing more bonus tracks and detailed liner notes.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [4]
Record Collector [5]

In his retrospective review, Dan LeRoy of AllMusic wrote that "almost all the band's efforts on The Anvil are extremely well-crafted synth pop."[4] Emily Mackay of Record Collector opined that the album "[still] sounds remarkably fresh."[5]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Visage (Billy Currie, Rusty Egan, Dave Formula, Steve Strange and Midge Ure). 

Side A
No. Title Length
1. "The Damned Don't Cry"   4:43
2. "Anvil (Night Club School)" (known as "The Anvil" elsewhere, including various compilation albums and singles) 4:39
3. "Move Up"   4:25
4. "Night Train"   4:29
Side B
No. Title Length
1. "The Horseman"   4:41
2. "Look What They've Done"   4:49
3. "Again We Love"   4:44
4. "Wild Life"   4:24
5. "Whispers"   5:39

Personnel

Additional personnel

References

  1. ↑ "[John McGeoch interview]". ZigZag. February 1984.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Visage | Artist | Official Charts". Official Charts. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  3. ↑ BPI (enter "Visage" in search terms)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 LeRoy, Dan. "The Anvil – Visage | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Mackay, Emily (June 2008). "[The Anvil review]". Record Collector (350). Retrieved 27 December 2014.

External links