SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: SPANDAU BALLET – EVERYTHING IS NOW – VOL 1: 1978-1982

SPANDAU BALLET
EVERYTHING IS NOW – VOL 1: 1978-1982
PARLOPHONE

Spandau Ballet is often included with the “New Romantics,” but there was so much more to the band than the label would imply. This incredible box set goes a great distance to prove that point. It is also one of the best box sets I have encountered. It has been thoughtfully assembled honouring Spandau Ballet’s history, their work, their art and the band. It is fantastic. From 1981 through to 1982, Spandau Ballet consisted of  Gary Kemp on guitar, synthesiser and backing vocals, his brother Martin Kemp on bass, vocalist Tony Hadley, saxophonist Steve Norman, and drummer John Keeble. Gary Kemp was also the band’s songwriter. That was the line-up until the first time they disbanded in 1990.  This box set focuses on their first four years, their first two albums, and assorted unreleased goodies plus a beautiful book and a Blu-ray with rare videos.

Spandau Ballet’s first two albums demonstrate just how much and how quickly the band grew and how Kemp’s songwriting matured. Their first album, 1981’s Journeys to Glory, which contains the classic and brilliant “To Cut A Long Story Short,” is a great album, but you can also hear the influences of David Bowie and their years of being involved with the famous Blitz club in London. By 1982’s Diamond, the band had found its footing and recorded an album that was their distinct sound. It is from this album on that the band continued to grow and develop, but even between Journeys to Glory and Diamond, the band and Kemp had expanded and experimented. Here the band tackled and developed the ‘chant’ in the new wave, with songs like “Paint Me Down” and “Chant No. 1 (I Don’t Need This Pressure On).” It was a dazzling album and certainly deserved the success it achieved. It also propelled the band ahead of the other New Romantics.

This box set includes four other CDs that feature 12-inch remixes, demos, and a whole collection of previously unreleased material. This includes some very interesting demos for songs such as “Eyes,” which may surprise many who think they know Spandau Ballet’s sound. It is early danceable post-punk, and it is a shame they never fully recorded the song beyond the demo. And the listener has the chance to compare the demo of a song such as “Toys” to the finished version on Journeys to Glory. The live set available on the box set demonstrates just how polished the band became in a very short time. Compare their performance in New York City at the Underground Club in 1981 to their concert recorded at The Paris Theatre in London in 1982. It is like listening to two different bands. Both concerts are excellent, but there is no escaping the energy and excitement of their 1981 performance.

Finally, a Blu-ray is included that is jammed with 5.1 mixes of their music, but also some videos that fans will love and document an interesting time in their history. They have included music videos for the singles off the first two albums, but also the complete concert filmed in  New York City’s Underground Club in 1981. There is also a clip of them performing on The Old Grey Whistle Test with a live version of the single  “She Loved Like A Diamond” and the album track “Coffee Club” from Diamonds. It demonstrates just how good this band was performing live. The film of them performing on The HMS Belfast in 1980 (doing “To Cut A Long Story Short”) is closer to punk than it is New Romantic.

There is a lot in this box set, far too much to explore in this review. The 12-inch single remixes, B-sides, and album. It is beautifully packaged, with a great deal of information and photos. It is a brilliant document to the beginning era of Spandau Ballet and in a sense the general scene as music was transitioning from post-punk to New Wave and New Romantics. Spandau Ballet would top the charts around the world with “True” in 1983. This box set explores their early years, and it is a joy hearing a band develop. Everything Is Now – Vol.1: 1978 – 1982 is an excellent example of a brilliant box set. Everything in the set is essential and it becomes somewhat of an audio biography of the band.

Artist Links