Growing-up is hard. Or so this album by The Teardrop Explodes says. From being a boy, falling-out with your mates and the storied reality of rafts and ships and shark attacks, to the confusion of life's demands as an adult. No wonder you'd storm out of the culture bunker with your finger on the pin.
Right from the off, 'All my life I've been bent out of shape' sings Cope, but this isn't going to be bedsitter-fodder. It's way too smart for that and isn't really about falling in and out of love. It's bigger in scope and scale; seven views of Jerusalem and talk of great dominions - it's epic and it's one tiny bit manic.
Cope has a way with words. They don't always make (apparent) sense but they always make an impact - 'the bitter concealed has now congealed' is a worthy image and it isn't alone. Maybe the centrepiece of the album is Tiny Children (Oh I could make a meal of that wonderful despair I feel but, waking up, I turn and face the wall') but it's buttressed by the energetic Passionate Friend ('celebrate the great escape from lunacy dividing') and is, ultimately, outshone by the closer, The Great Dominions ('Mummy, I've been fighting again').
Is it immediate? No. Is it sustained brilliance? Not really - there are gaps. But the best moments more than make up for any inadequacies.
The album was released in 1981 and I bought it in late January '83. For years I regarded it as lightweight and pretentious. Perhaps it is. But maybe, just maybe, it's a deliberate ploy and is the reason why it can detonate profound reactions.
Is it fun? Yeah, of course it is - but what, and who, are you laughing at?
(nb: the spotify album has extra tracks - the original album only has tracks 1-11. i haven't listened to the extra tracks and offer no comment on them)
