If you say the name Paul Haig to the less scholarly music fans of the 1980s, you may get a glimmer of recognition, and maybe a dim recollection that he crafted a nifty number called “The Only Truth”. But Paul Haig was no one-hit wonder - far from it. He started out with a post-punk band named Josef K that was interesting but not very melodious, ultimately making for a monotonous listening experience. It was when Josef K began to break up that Paul was freed to do his own thing, and began his most prolific period of awesomeness. After he cleared his pipes out with a cassette-only release of home-recorded electronica called Drama (parts of which are reminiscent of Lou Reed’s contractual obligation album “Metal Machine Music”. i.e. unlistenable garbage) — he got serious.
In 1982 and 1985 Paul delivered a one-two punch of synthpop perfection - the album “Rhythm of Life” followed by “The Warp of Pure Fun”. Both albums are full of absolute gems, hooks, innovative melodies, and plenty of synth perfection. My current favorite off his 1982 album is “Justice” but I love the entire platter. The vocals, beats and synth always lead to intriguing places; nothing formulaic in these songs.
-WAS
Not familiar with this guy, great synth lines, interesting stuff. Has this ever been released on CD?
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed MD ... I just recently purchased his compilation "At Twilight" on Amazon which has the best tracks of the two albums I mentioned, plus a bunch more plus remixes ... it's on constant repeat in my player the last few weeks. It's a blast of innovative mid-80s synthpop that is still relatively undiscovered (which is insane given the quality!)
ReplyDeletehttps://www.amazon.com/At-Twilight-Paul-Haig/dp/B00GSPKRYU/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1513745800&sr=1-1