SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THE HUMAN LEAGUE – THE VIRGIN YEARS

The Human League
The Virgin Years
UMC

The Human League formed in 1977, at the height of ‘punk’ but they were different. They may have had the ‘punk’ attitude, but with an experimental, electronic sound. The lineup was Phil Oakey (vocals), Martyn Ware (keyboards, vocals) and Ian Craig Marsh (keyboards). Phillip Adrian Wright joined the band in 1978 to incorporate visuals during their performances. The band signed to Virgin Records in 1978.  By 1980 after making two albums, the band split, with Phil Oakey and Phillip Adrian Wright keeping the name and bringing in other members, namely Joanne Cathrall and Susan Anne Sulley on vocals. They also brought in Ian Burden and Jo Callis, both on keyboards.  Ware and Marsh would go on to form Heaven 17 after the split. Oakey and company went on to huge success with their first post-split album, Dare.

This box set collects all the albums The Human League recorded for Virgin records from 1981 to 1990. Interestingly, and frustratingly, the first two Human League albums are not included in the set. Therefore, it is not a complete Virgin Records collection of The Human League albums. The set includes the four albums and an EP the band released on Virgin records during the 1980s, when they had their biggest successes. And in many ways this box set outlines the history of synth music throughout the 1980s and how simple experimental bands can get lost in the excess of their fame. From 1980’s Dare to 1990’s Romantic? The Human League went through member and producer changes, not always for the better. The Human League recorded three further albums after leaving Virgin and were still searching for their sound. As a result, some of the music they produced post Virgin was some of their best work.

Perhaps their best known album, Dare, is the most adventurous album in this set. The pop hits are there (“Don’t You Want Me?”, “Love Action”, and “The Sound Of The Crowd”) but there are other moments of electronic experimental, such as the instrumental “Get Carter” and “Seconds”.  When Dare was released in 1981, it was full of new and inventive sounds. All of the songs fit together and complement each other to construct a brilliant album. Producer Martin Rushent helped mold the sound, the band, and the music. The album features only synthesizers and helped break the door open for electronic bands. Soft Cell, The Pet Shop Boys, Orchestral Maneuvers In The Dark, Yazoo and Depeche Mode were all part of the 1980s British invasion, this time armed with synthesizers. And Dare was part of that scene that launched a movement. Every track is strong, melodic and accessible.

It was 1984 when The Human League released their fourth album, Hysteria. In between the two albums they did release an instrumental ‘dance’ album of Dare (Love And Dancing released in 1982 as The League Unlimited Orchestra) and an EP (Fascination). Fascination is included in the set, and is a strong six-track E.P. featuring the hits “Mirror Man” and “(Keep Feeling) Fascination”. It is a collection of singles, but full of great music. “You Remind Me Of Gold” is the highlight and was originally buried on a B-side.

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By the time Hysteria was complete, the band had been through two producers (Chris Thomas and Martin Rushent) and Hugh Padgham finished the album. Hysteria featured a different sounding Human League, complete with guitar and bass. It also featured an answer song to their biggest hit “Don’t You Want Me” with “Don’t You Know I Want You”. But that is not the highlight of the album, other tracks are clear standouts and incredible, such as “The Lebanon” (the hit single from the album), “Life On Your Own”, “So Hurt” and their cover of Lyn Collins’ “Rock Me Again and Again and Again and Again and Again and Again (Six Times)”, written by James Brown and Leon Austin. While the album is much more conventional and less adventurous than Dare, it still has its moments and holds together well as an album.

Two years later, in 1986, The Human League recorded and released Crash. Jo Callis had left the band, and they moved to the U.S. (Minneapolis to be exact) to work with Terry Lewis and Jimmy Jam (Janet Jackson). Not only did they change producers, members changed again, and almost half of the album was written by outside writers. In fact, the album features one of their biggest hits, “Human”, which was written by their producers Jam and Lewis. There are some strong moments on the album (“Love Is All That Matters”) but there are some songs that just don’t work, such as “Swang” or “Jam”. Although it was a successful commercial, it was not The Human League’s finest moments and is perhaps their most dated album.

By 1990, the band brought in new members, most notably Neil Suton who co-wrote much of the album with Oakey, returned to Dare’s producer, Rushent and became a more self-reliant band. Other producers were involved as well. The result was one of their best albums. Romantic? is full of great songs and a little bit of experimenting again (“A Doorway”) and killer hit singles (“Heart Like A Wheel” and “Soundtrack To A Generation”). On this album, The Human League go back to synthesizers for the most part, and it is, in some ways, a retro sounding album. They were not going into Brit Pop for the 1990s and Romantic? made it clear that they were going to stay with their established sound. But it also symbolized the end of their involvement with Virgin,

The Human League would go on and record for other labels, but it can be argued they never topped their time with Virgin. The other three albums they released were brilliant but lacked the impact of their Virgin releases. This box set is not perfect but it is essential. The box set would have been better served with an album of B-sides and rarities. Plus the first two albums are very much missed.

But, as it is, The Virgin Years does serve as a reminder of the greatness of The Human League. There are a number of compilations, but these albums allow the band to show what they could do outside of hit singles. The Human League were and are a band that deserves a great deal of credit. They took risks while maintaining a sense of pop music. On the other hand, for the most part, they did not put commerce over the music. Overall, it was a pretty perfect balance.  And as an added incentive to buy the set, the records are pressed on coloured vinyl, for collectors, and it makes for a beautiful box set. It is also nice to have these records back in circulation.

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