Short Reviews [Be-Bop Deluxe - 2025 - "The Albums 1976 - 1978"]

There is no doubt in my mind, nor in those of many others, that Bill Nelson is an exceptional songwriter and while he has released in excess of 100 albums over the last four decades or so, it is those which he released with Be-Bop Deluxe for which he will probably always be most closely associated. That they only released five studio and one live albums before ending has nothing to do with record label pressures, but rather down to Nelson's dislike of the touring treadmill and a stated unhappiness of having to play 'Ships In The Night', and the lengthy essay from Nelson in the booklet contained in this collection details that he only provided the last album if he was then given the licence to break up the band and do his own thing. Here we have one of the greatest live albums of all time, "Live! In The Air Age" sandwiched between "Modern Music" and "Drastic Plastic", the last two BBD studio albums, as this is the companion set to "The Albums 1974-1976", so in just two sets it is now possible to get all BBD releases along with loads of background information and images which make for a really nice read. From the time of "Sunburst Finish" onwards had a settled line-up of Bill Nelson (guitars, lead vocals, keyboards), Simon Fox (drums, percussion), Charlie Tumahai (bass, backing vocals) and Andy Clark (keyboards), and given their success they were spending a lot of time on the road, with much of "Modern Music" written in hotel rooms. Out of all their albums this is the one I have played least and revisiting it now after all these years I cannot work out why as there are some classic cuts on here, with the likes of opener "Orphans of Babylon" being classic Nelson, and it really shows that here is a band who have been playing together a great deal. It is weird to think that back then it was not unusual to release two albums in a year, and this followed just seven months on from "Sunburst Finish". The strange thing is that none of these tracks feature on the live album which was recorded less than six months later, but I am guessing it was treated as something of a "greatest hits live" set, and wonder if it was recorded with this setlist just for this album. Although the booklet contains copious notes from Nelson on his dislike of having to stay close to the microphone and pedals, his general dislike of touring etc, there is no information here at all about where and when this live album came together, which seems somewhat of an omission. The final album of the set is of course "Drastic Plastic", something which I have always felt is a halfway house between BBD and Red Noise, who would release "Sound on Sound" the following year as Nelson is already starting to investigate and explore making songs with the studio itself becoming an impotent additional instrument. Although there are a few bonus cuts, it is the booklet itself which makes this an interesting addition for anyone who already has the albums (which will be many). Be-Bop Deluxe were a great band who left us with a short but wonderful legacy, existing for just six years and only recording between 1974 and 1978, but that gives us five studio albums and one live, and if you have yet to come across them this is a great way to investigate.