delta 5.1

I mentioned a few days ago my mild disappointment at Delta 5's only 'real' album, See the Whirl', not least that fucking apostrophe. I'll have a second go at that if you don't mind.

I've been playing it (interspersed with the sumptuous French Disco and Boogie Sounds 1975-1984) pretty much all week, at least, when I play a record. For a first album, it's actually very excellent. It has range and there's a couple of tracks that really take the whole D5 project beyond the realm of the first three singles (which are brilliant, faultless but like the Buzzcocks, you can't do that forever). I particularly like the song 'Telephone' which is very, very Au Pairs-y and in a very good way. It's here if you're interested. If you feel sentimental about getting crank calls on your landline (oo-er) that song will do it for ya. 

delta 5 and helmi

When I was away recently (as I said, more about this soon) I picked up another copy of the Delta 5 album See the Whirl', yes, a naff title as anyone would point out and made even naffer by that apostrophe at the end, but I always liked the band. TBH the album is only a partial success, it makes no sense though - it should be a thorough success after however many (3? 4?) amazing singles. 

Why another copy? Well, I have long had a copy, but it has a big scratch on it, I can't remember where now, the last song on one of the sides. I found it a bit disheartening. This new copy is a Dutch pressing which is nice and so it's on the actual Charisma label, rather than the Pre label.* My Pre copy has a postcard in it (also naff) but my Charisma copy is actually playable and sounds good.

I saw a bit of writing by the late drummer Kelvin who seems to blame the big budget for the album's lack of spontaneity. Actually I suspect it might actually be the sequencing that is the problem, or at least, there is a weird disjunct between the tracks, it all seems so sparse. Maybe Delta 5 just weren't an albums band.

Meanwhile something very bizarre has happened here as Helmi, who has spent the last five or more years cowering under my bed, has suddenly decided it is time to emerge and be present. Not only is she now consistently in the living room out in the open not hiding from anyone, she has even ventured outside, the first time she has voluntarily done such a thing ever as far as I know (obviously there were quite a few years when I didn't know her at all). I can't imagine what would lead to such a change. 

*Pre was Charisma's new wave sub-label, like Mushroom had White and Virgin had DinDisc. I guess these labels did some market research and realised that the consumers of 'alternative' music liked to think that the records they were buying were on some kind of niche, perhaps independent, label, like it made the slightest difference.