#the two solo albums vegas and terry hall and mushtaq

[lookninjas]

Happened upon another “Top 10 Terry Hall” songs list today, and got all excited like I always do, just to find that it was mostly songs from the Specials’ first two albums that he didn’t write and one that he didn’t even sing (on the album; he sang it live, but still), so fuck it.  Here’s my personal favorite top 10 non-Specials Terry Hall songs:

10,  Goodbye Sun Valley, the Colourfield

I’ve got the devil in me, not the devil I’d be in Sun Valley

You know, it’s a weird thing.  On an album vs. album basis, I’d argue that The Colour Field beats out the wildly inconsistent Deception, hands down.  But on a song by song basis, Deception just has those few songs that are so damn good.  This, for me, is one of the standouts, a playful music hall number replete with tinkling piano, jazzy clarinet and horns, accordion, and that ba-da-da chorus.  One of his better vocals, too.

9.  Suburban Cemetery, Terry Hall

They didn’t see the billboard that says ‘Stay away from my suburban heaven’

I’m not going to lie; there are moments on later Specials’ albums where I kind of miss Jerry Dammers’ poison pen.  Terry Hall wrote self-laceration like none other, but he sometimes pulled his punches a bit too much.  This particular nineties alt-pop confection, however, takes aim at mild-mannered middle-class bigotry and connects perfectly.  Sugary and scathing.

8.  Sugar Man, Silent Poets feat. Terry Hall

Some thought he would shine, others thought he would fade.

The thing is, there’s a reason so many dub/electronic/trip-hop artists wanted a Terry Hall feature back in the day.  It’s because it fucking works.  This gently melancholy track from Silent Poets, with its murmured spoken word verses and hypnotic chorus, is a perfect example of why.  The video somehow manages to capture the exact feelings of waiting at a bus stop, taking part in a performance art piece, and trying not to attract attention in a psychiatrist’s waiting room, which suits the song down to the ground.

7.  Life in General (Lewe in Algemeen), the Fun Boy Three

Run to where the money flows.  That’s life in general, I suppose

The Fun Boy Three is such a cohesive album that it’s difficult sometimes to pull out highlights.  This one marries a narrative of privilege, deprivation, and indifference to simple, chantlike vocals and dizzyingly complicated percussion, and the whole thing comes off perfectly. 

6.  Walk Into the Wind, Vegas

Before you taste another tear, my love, I know a place where rainbows end

Razzies, turn your location on.  I just want to talk.

Seriously, though, if it weren’t for the Showgirls connection, would anyone have anything bad to say about this song?  It’s a slice of saccharine nineties pop perfection that stands up there with the best of Savage Garden, and it’s got Siobhan Fahey.  There is nothing not to love about this song.  Unless you think it’s cool to hate.

(Sidenote:  U2 didn’t deserve the hate for “Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me” either, and I stand by that.  Their nineties glam phase is probably the most interesting thing they ever did.  Like Tom Cruise playing Lestat.)

5.  Our Lips Are Sealed, the Fun Boy Three

Pay no mind to what they say.  No one listens anyway.

A breakout hit for the Go-Gos and a UK top ten for the Fun Boy Three, this one makes all the lists for a reason.  Nicky Holland’s rearrangement on this keeps the tempo up but gentles the mood way down, taming the staccato guitar line with swirls of cello.  June Miles-Kingston’s vocals float above Terry’s in a lovely duet.  An 80s classic.

4.  The Hour of Two Lights, Terry Hall and Mushtaq

All that stands between us is the hour of two lights.

Everyone take a moment to thank Damon Albarn for introducing Terry Hall to Mushtaq.  The resulting album was absolutely nothing that anyone had planned on, with guest artists pulled in from all over the world to put their piece in, but it’s a fascinating, complicated thing.  This song is a distinct highlight -- a tangoish line for the cello and bass, floating violas and violins, intricate percussion and Terry’s vocal line, hushed almost to ghostliness.  Thanks again, Damon.

3.  A Room Full of Nothing, Terry Hall

And whoever said it was meant to be easy? Someone who knew how to cope.

Fun Boy Three’s “Well Fancy That,” saw Terry wedding lyrical devastation to a disorienting circus-like 6/8 time.  “A Room Full of Nothing” starts with a similar premise, but ratchets up the aggression with heavier organ lines and just the right amount of distorted guitar.  The vocals are smooth, confident, and mature; the lyrics are bitter and bleak.  It shouldn’t go down as easily as it does, but Terry always did wear his misery well.

2.  I Drew a Lemon, Terry Hall

I drew a lemon; I punched that gift horse in the mouth.

Terry’s wit at its absolute wickedest.  Ridiculously quotable from beginning to end, this self-deprecating ode to a divorce in progress shuffles along like its hangdog narrator, finding the funny side of all the misery.  At least he’s still got that Christmas bonus from the CIA to look forward to.

1.  Monkey in Winter, the Colourfield

We never touched.  We never kissed.  We never loved, but we thought we did.

It’s the lyrics for me on this one, honestly.  Don’t get me wrong -- this is one of the songs on Deception where the heavily 80s production really works for me.  I like how the synths sound like they were stolen from David Bowie’s spaceship.  I don’t even mind the vocal distortion.  But it’s the lyrics.  I close my eyes and I start to count the lonesome people leaving town.  It came and went the way things come and go.  What the eyes don’t see, you know the heart won’t miss.  It’s a perfect sepia-toned memory of something that might’ve been beautiful, if it’d ever been at all.  Gorgeous, gorgeous song.

Bonus:  The Man at C&A, the Specials

I’m just saying, if we have to put a classic Specials cut on every list, “The Man at C&A” is right there.