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Eighties’ best 100 redux: #93 The Lightning Seeds “Pure” (1989)

<< #94    |    #92 >>

Here’s an example of an artist and song that I most definitely wasn’t listening to in the 1980s. In fact, I wasn’t even listening to them in the same century as the 1980s.

As astounding as this may sound, I only became familiar with Ian Broudie’s The Lightning Seeds a couple of years ago when this very song came up on a Spotify playlist that was ‘generated for me’. The song blew my mind and sounded vaguely familiar so I had to stop what I was doing and check my iPad screen to investigate its provenance. Of course, The Lightning Seeds’ name was familiar to me, having been a keen listener of alternative rock radio and a voracious consumer of British music magazines in the early nineties, thus, I decided to delve deeper. I switched from said playlist to The Best of The Lightning Seeds and within a few songs that sounded very much within my wheelhouse, I found myself wondering where this band had been all my life. And shortly after that, when I was having a drink or two or three with a bunch of my old friends of similar age and musical tastes, I made mention of the group and all of them, to a one, knew and loved their music. To this day, it remains a mystery how the Seeds’ music escaped my notice for so long but they’ve not been far from my listening tendencies ever since and when I decided to redo this Eighties Best 100 list last summer, there was no way “Pure” would be left off it.

Ian Broudie formed the project in Liverpool in 1989. Prior to that, he had been a member of a number of notable New Wave groups, like Big in Japan, and did production work on albums by other groups that will also appear on this list, like Wall of Voodoo and Echo & the Bunnymen. Generally a studio-only project for its first handful of years, Broudie put together a collection of musicians to take the show on the road in support of The Lightning Seeds’ third album, 1994’s “Jollification”. Two more albums were released and Broudie decided to put the group on hiatus to close out the 90s. After the aforementioned best of compilation and a new album saw the light of day in the latter part of the 2000s, The Lightning Seeds have been an on again, off again concern right up to present.

“Pure” was The Lightning Seeds’ very first single, released in June 1989, more than six months in advance of their very first album, 1990’s “Cloudcuckooland”. It was the very first song Broudie had ever written and sung himself, and did very well on the UK singles charts. And why not? The song is a blast of sunshine and rainbows. An amalgam of New Order and The The new wave, but with a lot more cheer. It dances and flits with computer bleeps, jangly guitars, boppy rhythms, and glorious horn flourishes. And Broudie gathers himself together and lets loose his thoughts on love and happiness. It’s good times on repeat.

Original Eighties best 100 position: n/a

Favourite lyric: “Fresh and deep as oceans new / Shiver at the sight of you / I’ll sing a softer tune / Pure and simple over you.” Just like that, heart-melting stuff.

Where are they now?: The Lightning Seeds released their seventh album, the amazing “See you in stars” in 2022 and then, opened up one of Glastonbury’s stages in 2023, so very much alive.

For the rest of the Eighties’ best 100 redux list, click here.

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Best tunes of 1993: #8 James “Laid”

<< #9    |    #7 >>

“This bed is on fire with passionate love, the neighbours complain about the noises above, but she only comes when she’s on top”

If there’s one song by Manchester-based alternative rock band, James, that you’re bound to know, it’s “Laid”. The title track off their 1993 album is their biggest hit outside of England, especially here in North America where it gained popularity when it was used for the trailers for the first two “American pie” films. Before that, though, it was featured on the first “Frosh” compilation, wildly popular here in Canada in the late 90s, so pretty much anyone of a certain age who was in university or college here around that time knows these first couple of lines quite well. And for sure, they shouted along with them on a packed dance floor or three.

For myself, I’ve been a huge fan of the band since the early 90s and still follow them closely today, as you might already have guessed if you’ve been around these parts before. “Laid” was actually the first album I owned by the band. I picked it up on CD from BMG* after seeing the video for an early single called “Sit down” on MuchMusic’s “CityLimits” and deciding to check them out further. That the album title was provocative didn’t even occur to me until I received my order and I noticed the band photo on the cover and its members’ various states of cross-dress. “Laid”, both the album and the song, became quick favourites of mine, with repeat listens and repeat listens, and remain favourites and see a lot of repeat listens, still, to this day.

“Dressed me up in women’s clothes
Messed around with gender roles
Line my eyes and call me pretty”

The only problem I really have with “Laid” (the song) is that it leaves you wanting more. It is way too short, coming in at just over two and a half minutes. Other than that, it’s pure pop perfection. Staccato and popping drumming, a wooly wall of sound instrumentation care of the massive band and Brian Eno’s intricate production, and, of course, the inimitable vocals of frontman Tim Booth. The words are a fun and hilarious companion to the dance-ready tune, a real floor filler, and creator of good times and good memories.

Go ahead now. Press play, turn it up, and I dare you to not to stomp your feet wildly to that rhythm, wave your arms above your head with abandon, and howl the title “Laid” loudly along with Booth at each chorus break.

*Those who know, know.

For the rest of the Best tunes of 1993 list, click here.

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Best tunes of 2013: #25 Cayucas “A summer thing”

<< #26    |    #24 >>

Tomorrow is the last day of August. And although, technically, there’s still three more weeks left of the season, the passing from August into September always feels like summer is coming to an end. This is why the timing is perfect for this song to pop up and for me to share this very post. “A summer thing” by Cayucas was a great summer song back in 2013 but it could also be perfect for every summer since.

“The summer’s starting to drift away but you don’t want to let go.
Now you’re watching the rainfall by yourself from your bedroom window.
And I’ll be checking the mailbox for the postcards you said you’d send,
Telling me that you might stop by in the winter for the weekend.”

Zach Yudlin was originally making music by himself in the early 2010s under the moniker Oregon Bike Trails. By 2012, though, he had enlisted his twin brother Ben to the project, changing its name to Cayucas, and then, they signed to Secret Canadian Records. They’ve release four albums in all, the latter two were self-released but the only one I am really all that familiar with is the debut, 2013’s “Bigfoot”. It’s 9 tracks and just a smidge over 30 minutes of sunshine and surf and nostalgia for California, where of course, the brothers call home.

The real gem of the album is track four. “A summer thing” sounds unabashedly like The Beach Boys. Harmonies and yellow light filtered through a kaleidoscope and a music box playing “Sloop John B” on repeat. A bopping bass line and zipper-like guitars and ticky tacky drums. Even the most jaded of music fans or Beach Boys purists couldn’t hate this song. It’s faithful in its blue-eyed wonder and wistfully drenched in memories. It’s a song you just want to restart before it comes to an end because maybe, just maybe, it might delay that cold weather just a little bit longer.

For the rest of the Best tunes of 2013 list, click here.