Penthouse and Pavement
| Penthouse and Pavement | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Heaven 17 | ||||
| Released | September 1981 | |||
| Recorded | Sheffield, Maison Rouge | |||
| Genre | New wave, synthpop | |||
| Length | 50:31 ¹ | |||
| Label | Virgin Records | |||
| Producer | British Electric Foundation | |||
| Heaven 17 chronology | ||||
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Penthouse and Pavement is the debut album by the English synthpop group Heaven 17, released in 1981. "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang" was released as a single, but did not achieve chart success partly due to a ban by the BBC.[1] The album sold reasonably well, but was not a commercial success on release.[2] It has since been regarded as "an important outing",[2] is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, and was re-released in 2010 in a 3-disc special edition. The title-track was included on the soundtrack of the 1993 film Sliver.
Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [3] |
Whilst the singles charted poorly, the album charted at No. 14 and remained in the Top 100 for 77 weeks.[4] It was certified gold (100,000 copies sold) by the BPI in October 1982.[5]
Dan LeRoy in a retrospective review for AllMusic felt that the album combined electropop with good melodies, and that Glenn Gregory was able to handle the "overtly left-wing political" lyrics without sounding "pretentious".[2]
The album is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Track listing
| Side A (Pavement) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang" | Martyn Ware, Ian Craig Marsh, Glenn Gregory | 4:20 |
| 2. | "Penthouse and Pavement" | Ware, Marsh, Gregory | 6:23 |
| 3. | "Play to Win" | Ware, Marsh, Gregory | 3:37 |
| 4. | "Soul Warfare" | Ware, Marsh, Gregory | 5:04 |
| Side B (Penthouse) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 5. | "Geisha Boys and Temple Girls" | Ware, Marsh, Gregory | 4:33 |
| 6. | "Let's All Make a Bomb" | Ware, Marsh, Gregory | 4:03 |
| 7. | "The Height of the Fighting" | Ware, Marsh, Gregory | 3:01 |
| 8. | "Song with No Name" | Ware, Marsh, Gregory | 3:36 |
| 9. | "We're Going to Live for a Very Long Time¹" | Ware, Marsh, Gregory | 3:15 |
Bonus tracks
| Bonus Tracks (1997 US edition) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 10. | "I'm Your Money (Extended Mix)" | Ware, Marsh, Gregory | 5:10 |
| 11. | "Play To Win (Extended Mix)" | Ware, Marsh, Gregory | 7:29 |
| Bonus Tracks (2006 Remastered edition) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 10. | "Groove Thang (B.E.F.)" | Ware, Marsh, Gregory | 4:07 |
| 11. | "Are Everything (12" Version)" | Pete Shelley | 4:28 |
| 12. | "I'm Your Money (12" Version)" | Ware, Marsh, Gregory | 5:10 |
| 13. | "Decline of the West (B.E.F.)" | Ware, Marsh | 7:17 |
| 14. | "Honeymoon in New York (B.E.F.) / B.E.F. Ident (uncredited)" | Ware, Marsh, Malcolm Veale | 2:52 |
2010 3-disc special edition
The album was reproduced live, in its entirety, in a series of concerts the band held throughout 2010, one of which (in Sheffield) was filmed and shown on BBC Two on 16 May 2010. A documentary about the making of the album was screened the following night, and was later included on a new three disc special edition of the album released in November 2010.
Track list
- Disc 1
- "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang"
- "Penthouse And Pavement"
- "Play To Win"
- "Soul Warfare"
- "Geisha Boys And Temple Girls"
- "Let's All Make A Bomb"
- "The Height of the Fighting"
- "Song With No Name"
- "We're Going To Live for a Very Long Time"
- "I'm Your Money" (12" Version)
- "Are Everything" (12" Version)
- "Decline of the West"*
- Disc 2
- "Penthouse And Pavement" (Original Demo)
- "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang" (Original Demo)
- "Play To Win" (Original Demo Instrumental)
- "Soul Warfare" (Original Demo)
- "Are Everything" (Original Demo)
- "BEF Ident" (Alternate Version)*
- "Decline of the West" (Alternate Version)*
- "Rise of the East" (Alternate Version)*
- "Music To Kill Your Parents By" (Alternate Version)*
- "Uptown Apocalypse" (Alternate Version)*
- "A Baby Called Billy" (Alternate Version)*
- "Rhythmic Experiment 1"*
- "Rhythmic Experiment 2"*
- "Boys of Buddha Experiment"*
- "At The Height of the Fighting" (Original Rhythm Track)
- "Rhythmic Loop Experiment"*
- "Funky Experiment"*
- "Song Experiment"*
- "Heavy Drum Experiment"*
- "Play To Win" (Original Demo With Vocals)
* credited to B.E.F.
Disc 3 (DVD)
- The Story of Penthouse And Pavement (2010 documentary)
Personnel
Heaven 17:
- Glenn Gregory – Vocals
- Ian Craig Marsh – Synthesisers, Saxophone, Percussion
- Martyn Ware – Synthesisers, Linn LM-1, Piano, Percussion and Backing Vocals
with:
- Malcolm Veale – Synthesisers, Saxophone
- Josie James – Vocals on Penthouse and Pavement
- Steve Travell – Piano on Soul Warfare
- The Boys of Buddha – Synthetic Horns
- John Wilson – Bass guitar, Guitar and Guitar Synthesisers on Pavement side
- Ray Smith – Cover painting
Production
- Engineer and Assistant to the Producers: Peter Walsh
- Engineer: Steve Rance
- Executive Manipulator: Bob Last
Chart performance
Album
| Chart (1981/1982) | Peak position |
Certification |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[6] | 99 | − |
| New Zealand Albums Chart[7] | 45 | − |
| Swedish Albums Chart[8] | 24 | − |
| UK Albums Chart[9] | 14 | Gold |
Singles
| Date | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 1981 | "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang" | UK | 45 |
| May 1981 | "I'm Your Money" | UK | - |
| August 1981 | "Play to Win" | UK | 46 |
| November 1981 | "Penthouse and Pavement" | UK | 57 |
| February 1982 | "The Height of the Fighting (He-La-Hu)"† | UK | - |
† Released as a 12" single only.
Notes
- ¹ – The last track on the original vinyl LP release, "We're Going to Live for a Very Long Time", was recorded up to and onto the runoff groove; meaning the run time of this track (as labelled on the LP sleeve) and the album is infinite, looping the line "For a very long time".
- "Groove Thang", "Decline of the West" and "B.E.F. Ident" originally appeared on the B.E.F. cassette-only release Music For Stowaways.
- All tracks mixed at Red Bus Studios except "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang" and "Let's All Make a Bomb" which were mixed at The Townhouse.
References
- ↑ 1001 Albums: You Must Hear Before You Die. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
- 1 2 3 Dan LeRoy. "Penthouse and Pavement – Heaven 17 : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
- ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/album/penthouse-and-pavement-mw0000194104
- ↑ ChartStats (Penthouse and Pavement)
- ↑ British Phonographic Industry database
- ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 137. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ↑ Steffen Hung (27 February 2012). "New Zealand charts portal". charts.org.nz. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
- ↑ Steffen Hung (24 February 2012). "Swedish Charts Portal". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
- ↑ "UK Singles & Albums Chart Archive". Chart Stats. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
External links
- Penthouse and Pavement (Adobe Flash) at Radio3Net (streamed copy where licensed)
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