The Communards: Don't leave us this way
Jimmy Somerville is a singer whose falsetto range gives
new meaning to the word ‘castration !
‘
BY
DR
T A N T A L U S
he Doctor has been requested to per
form some simple diagnostic tests
on the Communards, that gay politi
cal British pop group whose recent release
was a remake of Thelma Houston’s “ Don’t
Leave Me This Way.” Unfortunately, this
task seems more suited to the county coro
ner, since the Communards are strictly
D O .A .
Readers may recall that a group known
T
as the Bronski Beat caused quite a stir two
years ago with their sizzling and unique
brand of gay political dance hits. That band
was lucky enough to employ the services
of Jimmy Somerville, a singer whose fal
setto range gives new meaning to the word
’’castration.” Their blend of gay disco
(“ Why,” “ Smalltown Boy” ), dance
classics (“ Heatwave,” “ I Feel Love” )
and gay double entendres (“ It Ain’t
Necessarily So” ) was captivating, origi
nal and passionate. In short, Bronski Beat
had all those qualities necessary to make a
good band into a great one.
Soon after that album’s release danger
caught up to our heroes and lead singer
Somerville left the band to explore other
pursuits. As the album cover informs us he
decided to join up with Richard Coles, “ a
classically trained musician” and form the
Communards. Frankly, it’s difficult to
understand why Coles feels compelled to
disclose this information. Horowitz seems
to get by all right without it. And you
rarely hear Keith Richards claiming to
work with a “ classically trained econo
mist” just because Mick Jagger attended
the London School of Economics.
We are also advised that Messrs. Coles
and Somerville have named their group
after 19th century French political dissi
dents, always a sure sign of excessive
’
preachiness on any record. Of course, they
fail to mention that the French communards
executed the Archbishop of Paris in 1871,
but perhaps these are not the actual dissi
dents inspiring our boys. On the other
hand, it is possible that the poor Arch
bishop may have met his maker after being
forced to listen to this album repeatedly.
The Doctor also knows that you will be
shocked to learn that the album contains
gay disco (“ Disenchanted” ), dance class
ics (“ Don’t Leave Me This Way” ) and
gay double entendres, although “ Lover
Man” really stretches this point a bit. In
other words, it’s the same formula used by
Bronski Beat, albeit with less originality
and passion. It’s more like a K-Tel greatest
hits version of the Same Old Thing.
The sad part of this is that for all their
supposed avante garde radicalism the al
bum is neither radical nor unique. The
Communards are covering territory that’s
already been traversed by better per
formers, such as Tom Robinson and The
Smiths. What seemed so fresh only a
couple of years ago now seems like an
excuse for Carter’s Little Liver Pills. Even
the Margaret Thatcher-bashing song,
“ Reprise” can trace its roots back to simi
lar sentiments in The Beat’s “ Stand Down
Margaret.” This doesn’t mean that the
Communards can’t repeat what needs to be
said, only that if they are going to do it they
better rely on something other than the
same old marketing strategy that’s been
employed on every other album of this
type. Even Linda Ronstadt has recorded
“ Heatwave.”
If the Communards truly want to make
an impression on this jaded world they
might try releasing an album full of songs
that have some life, some sense of direc
tion and some swing. They might even try
a few songs guaranteed to raise your blood
pressure by a few notches. Now that would
be radical!
Until then we might as well remove the
oxygen mask and stop waiting around for
vital signs. Next!
•
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Sunday, June 21,1987— 9:00 a.m.
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• [>an O’Neil Graphics-
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Just Oui. 25 . June. 1987