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After having had 30 years to evaluate the decade, there is one bright shining moment of music that, to me, still pierces the post-disco gloom like a laser, and one cycle of lyrics that absolutely defines what it was like to be young and European during the early days of the Reagan era. Lines like "old men in striped trousers rule the world with plastic smiles" are still among the most evocative ever written, and the defiant chorus "I WON'T let the sun go down on me" prefaces the contemplative acceptance of the title track, where the singer observes "there's a man, a real go-getter, coming after me...and after him there's someone better, and after him there's me."
"Human Racing" by Nik Kershaw is an absolutely unique counterbalance of techno drums and synths, heavy metal guitar and sophisticated literacy bound together by some of the catchiest melodies pop has known since Motown was in charge -- not to mention a challenging and eclectic vocal score and some very impressive harmonies. The introspective cycle of Side One (yes, Virginia, this album dates back to an era when the songs were grouped together in Sides) leads to the weltschmarz of Side Two, with its afore-mentioned defiance and eventual retreat into the hamster-wheel. Brilliantly musical, poetically resonant to a Dylan-esqe degree and embodying a particularly wide-awake insanity only alluded to by his peers, this is without doubt THE milestone of the early MTV era.
So why wasn't Nik a household name by 1985? Who knows. Who cares? When have the masses ever had any idea what music sounded like? That's why Britney Spears has sold 50 million records and Brahms died broke. It doesn't matter. Kershaw's surpassing genius is encapsulated forever in this amazing work. My "original" is locked up in a fireproof safe; I only let copies out of the house. That's how much I intend to hang on to this single recording, even if everything other piece of 80s music burns to a crisp.
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David Tanaka
I got my CDS and didnè't expect them to be NEW and Still in Wrapping.
Reviewed in Canada on September 15, 2020
J. Milner
Overdue but worth the wait
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 29, 2012