Backs To The Wall

 

A Certain Ratio - Good Together [AMA 9008 UK 1989 24-Bit FLAC]

This end of year post was going to be the triple vinyl edition of A Certain Ratio's Loco Remezclada remix album, however despite three deep cleans of an original 'mint' copy, I cannot get a clean enough rip from the sparkly clear & violet vinyl chosen for this release. Instead, I have gone back in time and pulled out the band's most overlooked album release for a brand new clean rip in a choice of resolutions.

The rumour at the time was that ACR got a big pile of cash for signing to Herb Alpert's A&M Records. I'm sure it wasn't a fortune, but it was enough for the band to set up their own Soundstation recording studio. Ask a band member these days and they'll always say that this era in their history is best forgotten, so the chances of Good Together getting a reissue, until recently ...were zilch. That changed after ACR's recent deal with Mute Records, however it should be noted that the live ACR still choose to ignore this album's nine tracks, instead choosing to stick with tracks from the remix & out-take album ACR:MCR.

Although this album was written by three fifths of the musicians who gave us Flight, Sextet and Knife Slits Water, it is clear there was a deliberate attempt to find commercial success, though it is evident that perhaps credibility took a backward step. Good Together is a glossy adult-orientated-pop affair, which occasionally dips into ACR's past achievements with one or two funkier numbers, but these are not the highlights.

There can be no doubt that The Big E is a fabulous song and a great single, yet A&M were incapable of making it chart, if it had, then perhaps history would have been different. ACR were seeking a wider audience but they needed to keep their fanbase with them, especially those who had survived the jazz funk trauma of late 1982 through 1983. They didn't find that audience, Madchester was at its peak but ACR had moved into a safe and comfy place under the arms of a major record label, when actually this would have been the best time to be a hard-indie-funk band from Manchester. The sessions did also produce the Good Together single, which as a bouncy, squelchy acid track did not fit with the rest of the album - it was however included on the CD release. I will do something with those A&M era singles soon.

Zip forward thirty-two years to the present day and listen with older ears: there were warning signs on the final Factory album Force, as hidden amongst the harder traditional ACR elements of hard indie-funk, were the mellow grown-up moments of And Then She Smiles, Fever 103 and Anthem which were pre-cursors to this album. Your Little World and The Big E are incredibly mature songs and easily stand out, Every Pleasure could well have been one of Force's mellower moments, Donald Johnson fronted tracks like Love Is The Way lets itself down with the choice of a synth bassline rather than Dojo's magic thumbs, the catchy pop-politic of Backs To The Wall was another single, but despite the help of a Frankie Knuckles remix, it flopped.

On balance, Good Together is a really nice listen and the nine pop songs across the piece work well together. Jez Kerr has found lyrical confidence, aided by Flo McSweeney's powerful backing vocals and the musicianship of high quality. In addition, Andy Connell is borrowed back from Swing Out Sister for his deft work on the ivories, Mike Eastwood (aka Moist) contributes on programming, and additional backing vocals are courtesy of Pauline Marsland.  Bob Kraushaar & Julian Mendelsohn shared productions duties adding a glossy finish to the proceedings.

A1 Your Blue Eyes

A2 Your Little World

A3 The Big E

A4 God's Own Girl

A5 Love Is The Way

B1 Backs To The Wall

B2 River's Edge

B3 Every Pleasure

B4 Coldest Days