The History Mix Volume 1 is the sixth studio album by English duo Godley & Creme, released in June 1985 by Polydor Records. The album was a remix of songs spanning the career of Godley & Creme and their earlier bands, 10cc, Doctor Father and Hotlegs.
| The History Mix Volume 1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 1985 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 55:57 | |||
| Label | Polydor | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Godley & Creme chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The History Mix Volume 1 | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
Overview edit
The album produced two singles, "Cry" and a remix of "Golden Boy", the former which became a groundbreaking music video featuring numerous "changing faces" that cross-faded from one to another as they mimed the lyrics to the song.
"Wet Rubber Soup" was also made into a video, which was effectively a collage of snippets from Godley and Creme's past work. "Cry" is featured at the end, with a version of the video slightly different from the single version – one part shows Lol Creme 'morphing' into Gonzo from the Muppets.
In an interview in Musician magazine in 1985, Lol Creme said: "We're not in the music business. We left it in 1976 and we haven't taken it seriously since. We decided to celebrate our 25 years together by taking all the music we've ever done – demos, masters, whatever – and putting it in a musical blender, the Fairlight [CMI]. Then we got J. J. [Jeczalik] of Art of Noise to reprogram the sounds to a disco beat so we could dance at our party."[2]
Release edit
The album was originally released in a number of variants depending on the format and territory. The core version of the album consists of 2-3 tracks which was released as a UK LP. For the international release the second side of the LP was replaced with previously released songs. For the CD release the original UK track listing was combined with the international version tracks.
The album was reissued as "History Mix Vol. 1...Plus" which added tracks from "Cry", "Golden Boy" and "Snack Attack" singles to the core album version.
A contemporary reviewer for Hi-Fi News & Record Review deemed it "the oddest concoction I've ever heard; it's as if video wizards Godley and Creme were trying to do a pop video without the visuals." They highlighted the "disconcerting medleys" that comprise the album, which they said "seems like the world's first successful audio collage. Sonically, this is a transient response tester all the way through, and so effects-laden that it's hard to assess in musical terms."[3]
Track listing edit
- "Wet Rubber Soup" – 12:25
- Includes: "Rubber Bullets" (Kevin Godley, Lol Creme, Graham Gouldman), "Life Is a Minestrone" (Creme, Eric Stewart), "I'm Not in Love" (Gouldman, Stewart), various excerpts from Consequences (1977)
- "Cry" (Godley, Creme) – 6:32
- "Expanding the Business / The 'Dare You' Man / Hum Drum Boys in Paris / Mountain Tension" – 17:03
- Includes: "Business Is Business" (Godley, Creme), "How Dare You" (Godley, Creme), "Neanderthal Man" (Godley, Creme, Stewart), "This Sporting Life" (Godley, Creme), "One Night in Paris" (Godley, Creme), "The Dean and I" (Godley, Creme), "Sand in My Face" (Godley, Creme, Gouldman), "Umbopo" (Godley, Creme)
International LP version
- "Wet Rubber Soup" / "Cry" – 18:52
- "Light Me Up" (Godley, Creme) – 4:30
- "An Englishman in New York" (Godley, Creme) – 5:52
- "Save a Mountain for Me" (Godley, Creme) – 3:34
- "Golden Boy" (Godley, Creme) – 5:48
Additional track on the US and Canadian release
- "Cry (Single Edit)" – 3:54
International CD version
- "Wet Rubber Soup" / "Cry" – 18:52
- "Expanding the Business / The 'Dare You' Man / Hum Drum Boys in Paris / Mountain Tension" – 17:03
- "Light Me Up" – 4:30
- "An Englishman in New York" – 5:52
- "Save a Mountain for Me" – 3:34
- "Golden Boy" – 5:48
- Additional tracks on the Japanese reissue
- "Cry (Extended Remix)" – 7:27
- "Snack Attack (Extended Remix)" – 9:50
History Mix Vol. 1...Plus version
- "Wet Rubber Soup" – 12:26
- "Cry" – 6:33
- "Expanding the Business / The "Dare You" Man / Hum Drum Boys in Paris / Mountain Tension" – 17:07
- "Cry (Single Edit)" – 3:54
- "Love Bombs" – 3:55
- "Snack Attack" (Godley, Creme) – 6:52
- "Wet Rubber Soup (Edit)" – 3:27
- "Golden Boy (Remix)" – 5:49
- "Light Me Up" – 4:28
- "Golden Boy" (12" Mix) – 4:57
Personnel edit
References edit
- ^ AllMusic review
- ^ "The Eyes Have It". Musician. 1985. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011.
- ^ "Rock Pop Jazz &c" (PDF). Hi-Fi News & Record Reviews: 133. November 1985. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
External links edit
- The History Mix Volume 1 at Discogs (list of releases)