Simply sublime. After the slow build up, the bit where the drums come in and the whole thing lifts off, gets me every time. One of the very finest moments in pop history. ‘The song filters down, down through the clouds. It reaches the earth and winds all around. And then it breaks up in millions of ways.’ A genuine masterpiece.
A wee treasure of a track this one. Starts off like a train, then a great bass line and a sweet descending guitar riff, drifting along dreamily until a Kraftwerkish vocoder ‘other’ voice and eventually, a real voice, guides us through a gorgeous little torch song with sinister overtones.
I remember this being used as a tune for a Radio 1 roadshow quiz and it really put me off it. Now, after years of avoidance, I can delight in its preposterous lyrics, every couplet a winner. Especially this one: ‘Entered school when I was two. PhD’d that afternoon.’
Slightly spooky aaaahs abound along with bubbly synths. The chorus of ‘Goldiggers arise’ gives the jist of the song about paid flunkies etc. Love the line, ‘Looking real bored’s as hard as scrubbing floors.’
Upbeat and sparkling, this fast and busy slice of pure electro pop just never lets go. An insistent throbbing dynamo of a song. The ‘do do do do’ bits add extra charm and once again the drums are excellent and precise.
Here we, here we, here we fucking go. Electro pop disco Sparks time. Beeps and boops and atmospheric swirls. And then that big beefy beat breaks out. Superb synth blasts and drums. Of course, it’s not just some dance track with words flung in, it’s about sperm.
After the success of No. 1 in Heaven, the Maels wrote a disco album/E.P for a mysterious singer named “Noel.” This is the full thing, containing five songs, Dancing Is Dangerous, Is There More To Life Than Dancing? The Night They Invented Love, Au Revoir and I Want A Man. Nothing too remarkable – default disco grooves aplenty.