Year: 1990
Time: 38:36
Size: 89,2 MB
Label: Mute/Elektra 9(60990-2)
Styles: Rock/Alt.Rock
Art: Front
Tracks Listing:
1. I Have The Gun - 3:33
2. The Sly Persuaders - 4:10
3. The Dolphins And The Sharks - 4:43
4. The Sun Before The Darkness - 5:17
5. Motherless Child - 3:48
6. The Last Dictator I - 4:40
7. The Last Dictator II - 5:01
8. The Last Dictator III - 4:47
9. The Last Dictator IV - 2:33
Musicians:
Simon Bonney - vocals;
Alex Hacke - guitar;
Thomas Stern - bass;
Bronwyn Adams - violin;
Chrislo Haas - synthesizer;
Mick Harvey - drums.
Despite roots dating back as far as 1978, Crime & the City Solution did not truly emerge until 1984, coming to life in the wake of the dissolution of the seminal Birthday Party. The group was led by the evocative singer/songwriter Simon Bonney, a Melbourne, Australia native who led a series of bands under the verbose Crime name throughout the late '70s and early '80s; a longtime friend of the Birthday Party, he contacted former members Mick Harvey and Rowland S. Howard after the group's breakup, and following the addition of Howard's brother, bassist Harry Rowland, the most successful and famed lineup of Crime & the City Solution was born.
In 1985, the quartet debuted with The Dangling Man, a self-produced EP quickly establishing the band's moody, atmospheric blues-based aesthetic. Former Swell Maps drummer Epic Soundtracks joined Crime after the EP's release, freeing Harvey to alternate among a variety of instruments for the haunting follow-up, Just South of Heaven. Their full-length bow, Room of Lights, appeared in 1986 and featured the remarkable "Six Bells Chime," which so impressed the acclaimed filmmaker Wim Wenders that he invited the band to perform the song live in his 1988 masterpiece Wings of Desire.
By the time the film appeared, however, the incarnation of Crime & the City Solution presented onscreen was no more; after Room of Lights, the Howard brothers and Soundtracks exited to form These Immortal Souls, leaving Bonney, Harvey, and violinist Bronwyn Adams (also Bonney's wife and songwriting partner) to relocate to Berlin, where they recruited a number of local musicians, including Einstьrzende Neubauten guitarist Alexander Hacke, to cut 1988's ornate, intoxicating Shine. Even more Baroque was the follow-up, 1989's The Bride Ship.
In 1990, Crime returned to the studio one final time to record Paradise Discotheque, a record built around Bonney's ambitious four-part suite "The Last Dictator," a song cycle inspired by the downfall of Romanian warlord Nicolae Ceaucescu. After contributing "The Adversary" to the soundtrack of Wenders' Until the End of the World, Crime & the City Solution disbanded; while Harvey continued to record and perform with former Birthday Party mate Nick Cave in the Bad Seeds, Bonney began work on his 1992 solo debut, Forever. [Jason Ankeny, AMG]
Review:
What turned out to be Crime & the City Solution's final album was, in the end, its most unique and striking record, with all the promise and fire of its past at last giving a wholly individual expression, foreshadowing Simon Bonney's equally impressive solo career. Lead single and opening track "I Have the Gun" shows the band's new power in particular, shifting between a countryesque blend of jump blues and sorrowful twang, and a snarling, forceful electric guitar build. Alexander Hacke's work on the latter part is especially impressive, while Mick Harvey shifts between the two gears with aplomb. Bonney, meanwhile, has shaped his now slightly dryer but no less passionate vocals into a unique instrument, easily able to move from the smoky late-night jazz moods of "The Sly Persuaders," to the stunning reworking of the old traditional "Motherless Child." The band's collective grasp of mood and style make Paradise both the most varied and most attractive Crime album of the lot -- everything's a little more on edge, tensions are higher in performance and delivery, and the mood is not simply building doom, but threatening plenty along the way. "The Dolphins and the Sharks" is especially notable, with a quick but subtle bass pulse from Thomas Stern relentlessly driving the increasingly edgy performance, as Hacke's guitar, and Bronwyn Adams' violin contribute ever more layers of shade. The combination of looped African percussion and what sounds like muffled orchestration on "The Sun Before the Darkness" is just as striking, especially in concert with Bonney's delivery. The last half of the album is a fitting farewell bow for the band -- like the concluding part of The Bride Ship, it's an extended multi-song piece, called "The Last Dictator." With Bonney's portrayal of the titular character -- a bizarre but fascinating musical/political figure -- at the center, it's a tour de force for both band and singer. [Ned Raggett, AMG]
Zane's two cents: a great album by a great band. fans of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds will especially like C&TCS, for they are both kindred spirits. the two bands share a lot in common. Mick Harvey was a member of both bands & both the Bad Seeds & C&TCS tapped Einstьrzende Neubauten for guitarists. Blixa Bargeld went with the Seeds & Alexander Hacke joined C&TCS. C&TCS earned much critical praise but not a lot of popular success, not in America anyway. they deserved much more.
Paradise Discotheque
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