Level 42 (album)

Last updated

Level 42
Levelalbumcover.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedAugust 1981
Recorded1981
StudioVineyard Studios, Chipping Norton Recording Studios and RAK Studios. Mixed at Red Bus Studios.
Genre Jazz-funk, dance-rock, jazz fusion
Length43:16
Label Polydor
Producer Mike Vernon
Level 42 chronology
Level 42
(1981)
Strategy
(1982)
Singles from Level 42
  1. "Love Games"
    Released: March 1981
  2. "Turn it On"
    Released: July 1981
  3. "Starchild"
    Released: October 1981
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [1]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]
BBC (favourable) [3]

Level 42 is the debut album released in August 1981 by the British group Level 42. [4]

Contents

It is best known for the track "Love Games", which became a successful jazz–funk and dancefloor hit for the band (reaching number 38 on the UK singles chart). It has figured in both L42's and bassist Mark King's solo live appearances to this day. Also gaining substantial dance airplay on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean was the track "Starchild", with Lindup on vocals.

The second single, "Turn it On", released in the United Kingdom, Spain, France and Canada, [5] peaked at #47 in the UK single charts.

The third single, "Starchild", has been released in six countries beyond the United Kingdom (peak position: #57), including the United States of America, [6] where it entered the Club Play Singles at #60. In 2001, it was re-released by the label Peppermint Jam Records in the United Kingdom and Germany.

Track listing

  1. "Turn It On" (Badarou, Gould, Gould, King) – 4:42
  2. "43" (King) – 7:04
  3. "Why Are You Leaving?" (Gould, Lindup) – 4:36
  4. "Almost There" (Gould, Gould, King) – 5:45
  5. "Heathrow" (Badarou) – 4:43
  6. "Love Games" (Gould, King) – 5:20
  7. "Dune Tune" (King) – 4:52
  8. "Starchild" (Badarou, Gould, King) – 5:58

(On the first CD pressing, the album versions of "Turn It On", "Love Games" and "Starchild" were replaced with the extended versions. Later pressings and reissues contain the original album versions.)

  1. "Turn It On" (Badarou, Gould, Gould, King) – 5:36
  2. "43" (King) – 7:02
  3. "Why Are You Leaving?" (Gould, Lindup) – 4:34
  4. "Almost There" (Gould, Gould, King) – 5:42
  5. "Heathrow" (Badarou) – 4:43
  6. "Love Games" (Gould, King) – 7:25
  7. "Dune Tune" (King) – 4:50
  8. "Starchild" (Badarou, Gould, King) – 6:41
  1. Forty-Two (Gould, Gould, King, Lindup) – 6:39
  2. Beezer One (Badarou, King, Gould, Lindup, Gould) – 7:09
  3. Foundation & Empire (King) – 8:27
  4. Dune Tune (live) (King) – 5:03
  5. Goodbye Ray Schmidt-Volk – 2:07
  1. Heathrow (Live, Regal Theatre, Hitchin 1983)
  2. Turn It On (Live, Regal Theatre, Hitchin 1983)
  3. Starchild (Long Version)
  4. Love Games (Live, Ryde Theatre, Isle Of Wight 2000)
  5. Why Are You Leaving? (Live Ryde Theatre, Isle Of Wight 2000)

Personnel

Level 42

with:

2007 Re-issue:

Production

2007 Re-issue:

Charts

Album charts

YearChartPosition
1981 UK Pop Albums 20 [7]
Dutch Pop Albums 4 [8]
Hitlistan (Sweden)43

Single charts

YearSongChartPosition
1981"Love Games" UK single charts #38
1981"Turn It On"UK single charts#47
1981"Starchild"UK single charts#57

Sales and certifications

Certifications for Level 42
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Netherlands (NVPI) [9] Gold50,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Level 42</span> English jazz-funk band

Level 42 are an English jazz-funk band formed on the Isle of Wight in 1979. They had a number of UK and worldwide hits during the 1980s and 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phil Gould (musician)</span> British musician

Philip Gabriel Gould is a British drummer, songwriter and singer from the Isle of Wight in southern England. He founded the band Level 42 with Mark King.

<i>Running in the Family</i> 1987 studio album by Level 42

Running in the Family is the seventh studio album by British band Level 42, released in 1987. It features the UK hit singles: "Lessons in Love", "Running in the Family", "To Be with You Again", "It's Over" and "Children Say". All five singles peaked in the Top 10 in the Netherlands. "Lessons in Love" peaked at No. 1 in Germany, South Africa, Switzerland and Denmark. This was the last Level 42 album of the 1980s to feature brothers Phil (drums) and Rowland 'Boon' Gould (guitar) who had cited dissatisfaction with the musical direction of the band and exhaustion as departure reasons.

<i>World Machine</i> 1985 studio album by Level 42

World Machine is the sixth studio album by British pop group Level 42, released in 1985. It was the band's breakthrough album internationally and features one of their most successful singles, "Something About You".

<i>Forever Now</i> (Level 42 album) 1994 studio album by Level 42

Forever Now is the 10th studio album released by British pop musical group Level 42, released in March 1994. There were two releases of the album with different track-listings and cover art. The first release in 1994 on RCA Records has 11 tracks. In 1996, the album was re-issued by the label Resurgence, with 15 tracks including six additional tracks, but without the songs "Tired Of Waiting" and "All Over You". Also, some of the songs on this version varied in length from those on the RCA release, and the track "Billy's Gone" was completely remixed. The Resurgence album was re-released in 2009 by the label Edsel, as a double CD, bringing "Tired Of Waiting" and "All Over You" back to the track-listing again, and also adding extended remixes of "All Over You", "Forever Now", "Learn To Say No" and "Love In A Peaceful World". The sleeve notes for the reissue state that the Resurgence version of the album contained the original intended track- listing.

<i>Guaranteed</i> (Level 42 album) 1991 studio album by Level 42

Guaranteed is the ninth studio album by the British musical group Level 42, released in 1991, their first album of the 1990s. The album was released by RCA records and it was the first Level 42 studio album released by a label other than Polydor.

<i>The Early Tapes</i> 1982 studio album by Level 42

The Early Tapes , also known as Strategy, is the second album released, but first to be recorded, by the British group Level 42. Originally recorded for Elite Records, the band subsequently signed to Polydor, who bought the masters from Elite and issued it in March 1982. It features Level 42's first two singles - "Love Meeting Love" and "(Flying on the) Wings of Love".

<i>Standing in the Light</i> 1983 studio album by Level 42

Standing in the Light is the fourth studio album released in 1983 by English jazz-funk band Level 42 on Polydor Records. The album peaked at No. 9, being the group's first top 10 showing in the UK Pop Albums Chart. Standing in the Light has also been certified Gold in the UK by the British Phonographic Industry

<i>The Pursuit of Accidents</i> 1982 studio album by Level 42

The Pursuit of Accidents is the third studio album released by the jazz/funk British musical group Level 42, in 1982. It was issued on CD in 1985. It was re-issued on CD in 2000 as part of a two disc set with the album "Standing In The Light", and again in 2007 as a stand-alone disc. The album reached #17 on the UK album charts.

<i>True Colours</i> (Level 42 album) 1984 studio album by Level 42

True Colours is the fifth studio album by the English jazz-funk band Level 42, released on 5 October 1984 by Polydor Records. Beyond the band's native United Kingdom, the album was released in 10-plus other countries, including Japan, Germany and the United States of America. The album peaked at #14 in the UK Albums Chart.

<i>Staring at the Sun</i> (Level 42 album) 1988 studio album by Level 42

Staring at the Sun is the eighth studio album by British jazz/funk band Level 42, released in 1988. The album includes the singles "Heaven in My Hands", "Take a Look" and "Tracie".

<i>Level Best</i> 1989 greatest hits album by Level 42

Level Best is a compilation album featuring the most successful singles by the English band Level 42. It was released at the end of 1989, marking a decade since the band's beginnings.

"Forever Now" is a song by British musical group Level 42. It was the first single from their 10th studio album, Forever Now (1994), in February 1994. It reached number 19 on the UK Single Chart and charted in four other countries.

<i>The Very Best of Level 42</i> 1998 greatest hits album by Level 42

The Very Best of Level 42 is a compilation released by the UK band Level 42. It features a chronological track listing of the band's hit single releases from 1981 to 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Sun Goes Down (Living It Up)</span> 1983 single by Level 42

"The Sun Goes Down (Living It Up)" is a single released in 1983 by English jazz-funk band Level 42. It is one of the few songs by the group which featured Mike Lindup on lead vocals (although Mark King did contribute as lead vocalist on this track). After the success of "The Chinese Way", and of the album The Pursuit of Accidents, this song featured on the newly released Standing in the Light album. The first single from the album, "Out of Sight, Out of Mind", did not obtain the expected success for the recording and for the members of the band, leaving the whole expectation for the second single.

<i>A Physical Presence</i> 1985 EP by Level 42

A Physical Presence is a two-disc live album by the British jazz-funk pop group Level 42, released in June 1985 and recorded in England during March of that year at The Coronet Woolwich, The Hexagon, Reading and Goldiggers, Chippenham, Wiltshire. This album is notable for being the first live album by Level 42, and for containing a previously unreleased song and a live recording of a non-LP track. "Love Games" is preceded by an extended bass intro, which contains also part of "Dune Tune". Also, the first track starts with a taped intro which quotes "Hot Water".

<i>The Definitive Collection</i> (Level 42 album) 2006 greatest hits album by Level 42

The Definitive Collection, released in June 2006, is a greatest hits album by the British musical group Level 42. The album peaked at #20 on the UK album charts.

<i>Past Lives – The Best of the RCA Years</i> 2007 greatest hits album by Level 42

Past Lives – The Best of the RCA Years is a compilation released in 2007 by the British musical group Level 42. The compilation has the greatest songs of the period 1991–1996, in which the band was with the label RCA/BMG. All songs were released on the studio albums Guaranteed (1991) and Forever Now (1994).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Take Care of Yourself</span> 1989 single by Level 42

"Take Care of Yourself" is a song released by the British pop/jazz-funk group Level 42 in 1989. The song was released on the compilation Level Best. It was the last song recorded with guitarist Alan Murphy, who died on October 19, 1989, three days after the single was issued. The music video is a retrospective of rock styles from the 60s through to the 80s, and features state-of-the-art animation. In some ways it is reminiscent of the video "We Close Our Eyes" by Go West. Lindup, Husband and King appear several times dressed as hippies, punks and heavy metal musicians. Murphy did not appear in this video, but does appear in a video alongside King, Lindup and Husband recorded for RTL Veronique a few days before his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turn It On (song)</span> 1981 single by Level 42

"Turn It On" is a single by English jazz-funk band Level 42. The single was released in 1981.

References

  1. Carpenter, Bil. "Allmusic review". Allmusic . All Media Guide . Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  2. Ian Harrison Q, May 2007, Issue 250.
  3. Easlea, Daryl (2012). "Level 42 Level 42 Review". bbc.co.uk. BBC.
  4. Album description, Level24.com (official website).
  5. The Definitive Online Level 42 Collectors Resource: Media
  6. The Definitive Online Level 42 Collectors Resource: Media
  7. "Level 42". officialcharts.com. Official Charts.
  8. "Level 42: Level 42". dutchcharts.nl. Dutch Charts.
  9. "Dutch album certifications – Level 42 – Level 42" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers . Retrieved 16 July 2022.Enter Level 42 in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1982 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".