The Blow Monkeys
Moving in to fill the vapid-soul vacancy left by Culture Club
during that band's terminal creative drought, England's Blow
Monkeys whipped up a disturbingly familiar-sounding bit of fluff, Digging
Your Scene (1986), for their second album.
While the absurdly named bowler-wearing Australian vocalist Dr.
Robert (Howard) managed a passable imitation of Boy George's
vocals and songwriting, his subordinates were no match for Culture
Club, and the rest of the Animal Magic album
was equally redundant. The title track was an appalling T Rex
knock-off, while Sweet Murder attempted to rewrite
Talking Heads' I Zimbra.
As an introduction to America, Forbidden Fruit mixed Atomic
Lullaby and The Smiths-derived Wild Flower (from Limping
for a Generation) with four foretastes of Animal Magic.
The uncontrollably egotistical Dr. R. sorted out his stylistic
desires in time for She Was Only a Grocer's Daughter,
which consistently focused on a danceable pop-soul format that
crossed Culture Club's basic ideas with lush ABC-like production,
including enough strings and backing vocals (the credits list a
dozen session singers) to pack a stadium. If the band couldn't
hack it instrumentally on their own, a studio full of players were
on hand to help.
Most of There Goes the Neighbourhood sounded
frighteningly like ABC, but a variety of producers prevented any
consistent sound from jelling. Continuing his strange habit of
setting strongly motivated left-wing criticisms of the state of
contemporary England into ultra-commercial arrangements, Dr.
Robert didn't so much share his political thoughts as allude to
them coyly while his three band mates and guests effortlessly
pumped out forgettably glib mush.
The Blow Monkeys followed Neighbourhood with a
compilation of their UK "hits".
News in 2007 that Dr R had reunited with his old pals for some
new recording didn't exactly attract headlines, although Devil's
Tavern (2008) was an accomplished album proving that The Blow
Monkeys had matured like a fine wine.
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