Blow Monkeys: Time Storm Greatest Hits Vol. 2 – UK – CD [2023]

1. Said Too Much (New Version)
2. Time Storm
3. Crying For The Moon
4. More Than A Miracle
5. Each And Every One
6. The Wild River
7. One More Time
8. OK! Have It Your Way (Single Mix)
9. Chained (Youth Mix)
10. The Sound Of Your Laughter (Youth Mix)
11. Save Me
12. The World Can Wait
13. Dust At Her Feet
14. Teardrop Rock

It’s been a long time coming for the second volume of The Blow Monkeys Greatest Hits as “Time Storm” was released last Friday. Their first assay of their singles arrived with “Choices” in 1989. Probably the optimum time for The Blow Monkeys to have released a first greatest hits album. The band were still in the thick of things, chartwise. The next year would bring their bleeding edge ambient chillout album a year or more in advance of the market for such things, and then they called it a day.

Then, in 2008, the band reconvened and have been busy with making music ever since. We’ve covered the albums from which the songs are drawn from in great depth. Still, as with “Choices – The Singles Collection” in 1989, there are some variations here to pique the interest of those who have all of the albums of this period. We’ll start with one of those.

The album got off to a flying start with a newly recorded version of “Said Too Much” from “Feels Like A New Morning.” The bluesy shuffle of the original has been given a dramatic makeover with Dr. Robert’s guitar getting a dose of watery tremolo that matched the reverb on his vocal. The middle eight was the dividing line in this new version of the song as the original seemed to stop its forward movement there, Instead we were delivered three fiery stabs of emphatic chords by the players; matching Dr. Robert’s urgent delivery. Then at the point the original version simply ended came a new coda where the band were channeling vintage Santata with a hot serving of Latin percussion, congas, and some aching sustain solo from Robert’s guitar that served to emphasize the hurt embedded in the song in a far more memorable manner.

The sumptuous sophisticated Soul of the title track was a clear high point from the embarrassment of riches that was their last album and its presence here was a must. It stands as a fitting title track for this collection. “Crying For The Moon” immediately put across the intimate power of 2017’s “The Wild River.” The sort of Soul song that bestows its healing grace on all who listen to it.

The Disco dusted Soul of “More Than A Miracle” gave us the best of both worlds as it showed that we can have both styles coexisting happily within a single song. “One More Time” followed with the vibe of Cheryl Lynn’s “Got To Be Real” employed in something diametrically opposed to the Lynn song as Dr. Robert conducted a post-mortem on a love lost that was compulsive listening as it veered close into psychedelia.

The Memphis Soul of “Each And Every One” gave the album a sunny Sunday afternoon vibe guaranteed to lighten one’s load upon listening. Neville Henry’s brass was multi tracked here for incredible impact. “The Wild River” was a soulful ballad that began its journey with Dr. Robert’s evocative guitar; eventually taking flight on the efforts of the string section as arranged by Ben Trigg. Coming home on the accomplished sax solo from Neville Henry in the coda.

When I spoke to Dr. Robert about the “If Not Now When” album, he cited “OK! Have It Your Way” as a “Stonesish Northern Soul Stomp” where I was hearing mainly T-Rex boogie, but that was a case of me failing to recognize the stylistic debt to Bobby Keys in Mr. Henry’s brash sax playing. The single mix present here trims the possibly unnecessary buildup to drop us right into the groove from the starting blocks. Dr. Robert’s vocal is even more dominant in the mix to hold court here with authority.

The “Chained” remix by Youth used here was a download single that I had missed back in the day – to my detriment! It was a case of Mr. Glover leaning even harder into the Bacharach stylistic flourishes already present in the song to make it positively glow with the added piano and backing vocals. The effects on the chanted title refrain made the hypnotic qualities of the song even stronger. The french horn made an immediate showing in the mix instead of being held back unnecessarily. Youth certainly delivered a glorious mix that capitalized on the latent Burt contained in the song to make it into an aural feast.

“The Sound Of Your Laughter” was one of the few songs here that was never a single, but the new Youth remix present here for the first time, should have been a single all along. Not that the album version was in any way lacking, but Youth really knows how to polish a gem! For instance, the piano glissando doled out only twice in the original mix was duly used here as the hook it was in the intro, with the infectious “bob bop sha-doobys” of Dr. Robert making an early appearance in advance of the first verse. Then, when they appear later, they’re heralded by string glissandos as well they should be!

Another song that wasn’t a single, but couldn’t have been a better choice for inclusion was the LP version closing track “Save Me,” from “Devil’s Tavern.” It’s a widescreen, atmospheric Discofunk masterpiece with a Morricone-meets-Love-Unlimited-Orchestra feel that never fails to captivate for its nearly eight minute running time. Its spell was so strong, that it took me nearly a decade to notice that it was eight minutes long! It really gives the final word to the excellent band with generous instrumental stretches to sweep us away.

The final three CD bonus tracks only enhance the program with personal fave “The World Can Wait” showcasing the band’s Punk Jazz roots magnificently with Mick Anker moving to double bass and a Jazz breakdown coda that was spellbinding in its deconstruction of the song. One more actual single made its appearance here with the glorious “Dust At Her Feet” from “Journey To You” sounding like Gospel that never was. Finally, the near-instrumental “Teardrop Rock” from “Journey To You” was an outlier to new destinations with its flirtations with Dub laced with scorching Morricone guitar and funky clavinet!

At the end of the day, picking fourteen tracks from the glorious sweep of material that The Blow Monkeys have produced in the last 16 years would be a fool’s errand. There’s almost no way to not inflict wounds from songs passed over, but the upside is that one could probably compile the playlist for such a greatest hits album randomly and still get close to the incredibly journey that this album takes us on! I’m personally gratified that so many songs I would have definitely picked for inclusion were here, and sometimes in stunning new form. It also served to remind us that though the marketplace is no champion of diversity, the band have never shirked from exploring any style they wanted to and doing it at an astonishing level of accomplishment.

Much of this music has flown close to ground level commercially in spite of soaring musically. Fans have known how vital and powerful this “80s band” really were, but to the world at large, “Time Storm: Greatest Hits Vol. 2” serves as a peerless overview of a musical group that always have something compelling to say and take the pains to do so in an always gratifying manner. They are capable of employing a plethora of styles like the masters they are. One hopes that this album will serve it’s secondary purpose of reaching a greater number of ears so that more can follow the next stages of their journey; due out soon next year on the Last Night From Glasgow label. If you have the need [you wouldn’t have read this far if you haven’t] then DJ hit that button.

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