X-Rated

The Beloved - X [0630-13316-1 LP+12 UK 1996 24-Bit FLAC]

If Sweet Harmony was John Marsh's Joy Of Sex, then the final Beloved album X, surely has to be his Kamasutra. When Steve Waddington became the final of the three from four original members of London indie-pop band The Beloved to move on, Marsh took the band well beyond their roots into  Adam & Eve territory, accompanied by his wife Helen, and aided by a few well placed fig leaves and considerate camera angles, The Beloved were suddenly a pseudo-erotic techno-dance act.

The Marsh voice suits the genre incredibly well and his smooth production skills, with a good deal of help from Trevor Horn's mate Mike Higham, lift this album ecstatically high above the many more mundane dance records of the period. It has been twenty-five years since Marsh had to get his kit off and lay around in a room full of naked models, much has changed since then however the good news for all Beloved devotees is that there are hints of a Marsh/Waddington reunion soon ....hopefully keeping their clothes on. As with most tantric moments, you need to wait until the very end to get to the best bit, Spacemen, although lovers of a thumping 12 minute banger will be all over Crystal Wave.

A1 Deliver Me

A2 Satellite

A3 Ease The Pressure

A4 A Dream Within A Dream

A5 For Your Love

B1 Physical Love

B2 Missing You

B3 Three Steps To Heaven

B4 Spacemen

C1 Crystal Wave