Saturn Strip

Last updated

Saturn Strip
Alan Vega - Saturn Strip album cover.jpg
Studio album by
Alan Vega
ReleasedApril 9, 1983 (1983-04-09)
RecordedNovember–December 1982
Studio Syncro Sound, Boston
Genre Synth-pop
Length38:07
Label Elektra
Producer Ric Ocasek
Alan Vega chronology
Collision Drive
(1981)		Saturn Strip
(1983)		Just a Million Dreams
(1985)

Saturn Strip is an album by Alan Vega, released in 1983 on Elektra Records. [1] [2] The album was produced by Ric Ocasek and features musical contributions from Al Jourgensen. [3]

Contents

Background and production

Before the recording began, Vega signed to his first major label Elektra Records that would release Saturn Strip. [4]

"Kid Congo" is a homage to Kid Congo Powers, evolving from a soundcheck abstraction called "Bongo Bongo".[ citation needed ] "Every 1's a Winner" is a cover of the Hot Chocolate song. [4]

It was produced by Ric Ocasek, known for his work with Suicide and The Cars. The song "Saturn Drive" features a then-unknown synth-pop musician Alain Jourgensen who provided synthesizer sounds. [4]

Composition

Saturn Strip is characterized as a synth-pop album. [4]

The songs' composition have been described by Victor W. Valdivia (AllMusic) as concise, around four-minutes long, structually straightforward, and polished production-wise. Comparing Saturn Strip to Alan Vega's previous work, Valdivia called it less self-indulgent and musically robust, which allows "Vega's talent for evocative lyrics and clever melodies comes across clearly". [4]

Billboard highlighted the differences in mood between Saturn Strip and Vega's earlier work. He "largely dropped the morbidity [....] letting cheerful, Cars-style synth burbles lead the way". [5]

Release

The album wasn't commercially upon its release. [4]

The album was reissued on CD in 2004 by Wounded Bird, which also included the Just a Million Dreams album. [6]

Critical reception and legacy

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [4]

Victor W. Valdivia, in his review for AllMusic, empathized the albums style, which significantly differ from art punk of his previous records, leaning closer than ever to the mainstream sound. Valdivia deemed it the best album of his career, "one that even occasionally tops his Suicide oeuvre". [4]

MGMT made a cover of “Goodbye Darling”, as a tribute to Alan Vega. [7]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Alan Vega; except where indicated

  1. "Saturn Drive" (Al Jourgensen, Alan Vega) - 5:36
  2. "Video Babe" - 3:17
  3. "American Dreamer" (Ric Ocasek, Vega) - 5:04
  4. "Kid Congo" - 2:37
  5. "Goodbye Darling" (Mark Kuch, Vega) - 2:38
  6. "Wipeout Beat" - 5:59
  7. "Je T'Adore" - 3:40
  8. "Angel" - 5:06
  9. "Every 1's a Winner" [8] (Errol Brown) - 4:10

Personnel

Technical

References

  1. ↑ Pareles, Jon (July 17, 2016). "Alan Vega, Punk Music Pioneer and Artist, Dies at 78". The New York Times– via NYTimes.com.
  2. ↑ "TrouserPress.com :: Suicide". trouserpress.com.
  3. ↑ Valdivia, Victor W. "Saturn Strip". Allmusic . Retrieved April 30, 2009.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Allmusic review
  5. ↑ Morgan Enos (September 16, 2019). "R.I.P. Ric Ocasek: 10 Essential Albums He Produced for Other Artists". Billboard.
  6. ↑ Kellman, Andy. "Saturn Strip/ Just A Million Dreams". Allmusic . Retrieved April 30, 2009.
  7. ↑ Kaufman, Gil (July 18, 2016). "MGMT, Blondie, Arcade Fire's Win Butler & Others Pay Tribute to Suicide's Alan Vega".
  8. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (July 18, 2016). "Suicide's Alan Vega: a punk pioneer who shoved the streets back in people's faces". The Guardian– via www.theguardian.com.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.