Track listing
Show track credits
- Act One: The Ring's the Thing
- 1 On the Wrong Side of Relaxation 5:27
-
composer
-
voice
-
Philippa Hollandviolin
-
cello
-
violin
-
violin
-
- 2 Under Wraps 4:27
-
composer
-
Hammond organ, piano, rhythm guitar
-
- 3 Central Control 2:16
-
composer
-
marimba
-
- 4 Round Up the Usual Suspects 0:37
-
composer
-
- Act Two: Real Deep Cool
- 5 Sounds From the Big House 6:24
-
composer
-
Hammond organ, piano
-
saxophone
-
- 6 Suck on the Honey of Love 2:13
-
composer
-
Philippa Hollandviolin
-
cello
-
violin
-
violin
-
Hammond organ, piano
-
Katy Bealechoir
-
choir
-
choir
-
choir
-
choir
-
- 7 Everything Happens to Me 2:42
-
composer
-
composer, piano
-
- 8 The Swinging Detective 5:46
-
composer
-
Hammond organ, rhythm guitar
-
tenor saxophone
-
bass saxophone, keyboards
-
- Act Three: The Final Irony
- 9 Autodestruction 3:49
-
composer
-
Hammond organ
-
electric guitar
-
- 10 Intensive Care 2:41
-
composer
-
- 11 The Most Beautiful Girl in the World 4:08
-
composer
-
cello
-
violin
-
piano
-
hi-hat
-
vibraphone
-
viola
-
- 12 Free at Last 1:23
-
composer
-
Philippa Hollandviolin
-
cello
-
violin
-
violin
-
Hammond organ, piano
-
Katy Bealechoir
-
choir
-
choir
-
choir
-
choir
-
- For Your Ears Only
- 13 Alfred Hitchcock Presents [bonus track] 2:24
-
composer
-
- 14 Chocolate Milk Shake [bonus track] 4:24
-
composer
-
- 15 The Man With the Golden Arm [bonus track] 5:13
-
composer
-
Hammond organ, piano
-
snare
-
strings
-
trumpet
-
- Total length: 53:54
Rate/Catalog
Catalog
Set listening
Review
To rate, slide your finger across the stars from left to right.
5 Issues
15 Reviews
An interesting concept
I hadn’t heard of this album before, but I don’t live too far away from Manchester (and Moss Side) so my curiosity perked up at that. A quick Google says it is the soundtrack to a non-existent film which sounds quite fascinating at a concept.
Songs I already knew: none
Favourites: Everything Happens To Me
I’ll start by saying that this album feels like one where you need to listen to it a lot over time to appreciate it, so listening to it for one day before moving on to the next album might not really do it justice. However, that how every review has been so far so it’s only fair that it gets the same treatment. I did enjoy this while it was on, and it was fun to imagine what might have been happening in the scenes. The music is quite jazzy but without being too strange to be hard to listen to. That being said, it didn’t hook me in to the point of wanting to keep coming back to this. It was an interesting concept, but I don’t feel the need to keep it on rotation.
Published
7 71420-1 Vinyl LP (1989)
ADVERTISEMENT
I didn't dislike this album, but at the same time very little of it really jumped out at me. The instrumentals are mostly fine, but they aren't all that compelling to me. With that said, "Autodestruction" does a great job of being an interesting piece of music. It's really alone in that regard, however.
Favorite tracks: Autodestruction
Favorite tracks: Autodestruction
Published
This is Adamson's first solo record, in which he debuts his unique blend of jazz, rock, pop, and soundtrack music. It appears to be the soundtrack to a non-existent film, which is an interesting little mini-genre. This one is all instrumental - the singing and sampling came later. For me Adamson was/is/continues to be a unique and exciting talent.
Published
A soundtrack to an imaginary film, and a pretty dark one at that.
Adamson uses 60s jazz, horror movie strings, dark ambient synths, Sampling and 70s electronica to fuel the fantasy storyline in your head.
It's very well designed and realised with its strong hints of John Barry and Bernard Hermann but it's also surprisingly unenjoyable too.
Adamson uses 60s jazz, horror movie strings, dark ambient synths, Sampling and 70s electronica to fuel the fantasy storyline in your head.
It's very well designed and realised with its strong hints of John Barry and Bernard Hermann but it's also surprisingly unenjoyable too.
Published
I like the idea of making a soundtrack to a movie or TV series that does not exist. The first track, "On the Wrong Side of Relaxation" is an unsettling piece and starts things off interestingly. From there it seems to be a mix of 60's jazz, 70's esoterica and Berlin school electronics/tape with a late 90's production sheen to it. I will agree with others who feel that the final 3 "bonus for CD" tracks are not the strongest and a little incongruous with the rest of the release, however I get a good picture of what Adamson is aiming at. While not as breaks heavy as David Holmes who came from a similar cool place to score soundtracks for both real movies and made up ones, Adamson has a winning formula. A little uneven in places and but quite inspiring at times. Adamson mostly delivers and I suppose offers a good deal of other material to sift through.
Nominated March 24, 2016 by Mickey the Idiot, album # 134
Published
Barry Adamson is an important post-punk figure, his portfolio includes bands and artists such as Magazine and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. I mostly knew him as a bass player, but I knew he was a good and varied musician.
This album has a cool concept, it's a film soundtrack to a nonexistant film, similar to Spillane, about hard-boiled private eye Jack Hammer, by John Zorn.
The score begins with dying sounds by Diamanda Galás, a singing voice actor or a voice acting singer (like Mike Patton). The music itself is more industrial and dark jazz, going in a David Lynch/Angelo Badalamenti neo-noir direction.
The albums tagline is: "In a black and white world, murder brings a touch of colour..." Kinda corny and fitting at the same time.
There is also a poem attached to the album but the plot is vague, so it may deliver enough cues for an aspiring filmmaker to actually create a screenplay and film for it. The song titles as well the music are filled with typical film noir tropes, like being on the wrong side, beautiful girls, detectives, irony, self-destruction, and, of course, the usual suspects. Musically we have slow jazz, spooky sounds, edgy brass, voices.
The album cover further adds to the atmosphere. I wonder if someone ever actually shoots this film, which would be super-cool.
7.5/10
This album has a cool concept, it's a film soundtrack to a nonexistant film, similar to Spillane, about hard-boiled private eye Jack Hammer, by John Zorn.
The score begins with dying sounds by Diamanda Galás, a singing voice actor or a voice acting singer (like Mike Patton). The music itself is more industrial and dark jazz, going in a David Lynch/Angelo Badalamenti neo-noir direction.
The albums tagline is: "In a black and white world, murder brings a touch of colour..." Kinda corny and fitting at the same time.
There is also a poem attached to the album but the plot is vague, so it may deliver enough cues for an aspiring filmmaker to actually create a screenplay and film for it. The song titles as well the music are filled with typical film noir tropes, like being on the wrong side, beautiful girls, detectives, irony, self-destruction, and, of course, the usual suspects. Musically we have slow jazz, spooky sounds, edgy brass, voices.
The album cover further adds to the atmosphere. I wonder if someone ever actually shoots this film, which would be super-cool.
7.5/10
Published
ADVERTISEMENT
"Moss Side Story" is a soundtrack looking for a film. This has always been my favorite Barry Adamson album and it's just so incredibly good that I can't really do it justice in words. It's eerie, it's grungy and greasy, and yet there are times when it's just deceptively melodic and almost dreamy. Lots of samples from probably television news, not to mention Hitchcock's "Family Plot" (Don't worry, Mr. Adamson, you have nothing to worry about"). Diamanda Galas also guests with some of her unearthly wailing. And, then there's the bonus tracks, of which The Man With the Golden Arm is my favorite....this version just swaggers down a back alley with dangerous intent, and would probably have given Otto Preminger a coronary. It seems odd for an artist to start with their masterpiece & decline from there, but in my opinion, Adamson has never done a better album that this.
Published
7 71420-2 CD (1989)
-
1
On the Wrong Side of Relaxation
-
2
Under Wraps
-
3
Central Control
-
4
Round Up the Usual Suspects
-
5
Sounds From the Big House
-
6
Suck on the Honey of Love
-
7
Everything Happens to Me
-
8
The Swinging Detective
-
9
Autodestruction
-
10
Intensive Care
-
11
The Most Beautiful Girl in the World
-
12
Free at Last
-
13
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
-
14
Chocolate Milk Shake
-
15
The Man With the Golden Arm
Published
Votes are used to help determine the most interesting content on RYM.
Vote up content that is on-topic, within the rules/guidelines, and will likely stay relevant long-term.
Vote down content which breaks the rules.
Vote up content that is on-topic, within the rules/guidelines, and will likely stay relevant long-term.
Vote down content which breaks the rules.
Catalog
15 May 2024
14 May 2024
10 May 2024
8 May 2024
7 May 2024
6 May 2024
4 May 2024
-
1
On the Wrong Side of Relaxation
-
2 Under Wraps
-
3 Central Control
-
4 Round Up the Usual Suspects
-
5 Sounds From the Big House
-
6 Suck on the Honey of Love
-
7 Everything Happens to Me
-
8 The Swinging Detective
-
9 Autodestruction
-
10 Intensive Care
-
11 The Most Beautiful Girl in the World
-
12 Free at Last
-
13 Alfred Hitchcock Presents [bonus track]
-
14 Chocolate Milk Shake [bonus track]
-
15 The Man With the Golden Arm [bonus track]
3 May 2024
30 Apr 2024
28 Apr 2024
25 Apr 2024
24 Apr 2024
18 Apr 2024
17 Apr 2024
16 Apr 2024
Contributions
Log in to submit a correction or upload art for this release