When thoughts turned to Peter Godwin’s upcoming reissue of his Polydor material, the fact is that he’s been making new material that slipped by me. Due to last year being very distracting on the personal side of things. This was a thread that I’d missed in my tumult but as I have usually been right there on the new material that Mr. Godwin has been releasing since I began this blog, I am attending to this particular issue today; chastened by my sins of omission. What you must think of me?

Re/Generation: Beautiful Boy + Absolute Beginners – UK – DL [2023]

1. Absolute Beginners 7:56
2. Beautiful Boy 5:11
3. Absolute Beginners [single edit] 4:46

Right out of the box, this is not the typical Peter Godwin project in that it sits firmly outside of his solo branding. The last few years he’s been collaborating with Leah Lane and her band Rosegarden Funeral Party and they have covered Godwin Metro material in their active cover tune bucket,, and the two of them have bee writing new material together. This single is the first flowering and it came out in the spring of last year, when I was furiously busy.

Rosegarden Funeral Party have also got some Bowie covers on their website [along with Pulp, Talk Talk, and other artist indicating a high degree of taste] so the pair have elected to revisit “Absolute Beginners” as the “B-side” to their “Beautiful Boy” streaming/DL single. Making this a very symmetrical gesture from Godwin after Bowie covered Metro’s “Criminal World” back on “Let’s Dance.” Yes, forty years earlier.

There are some that will tell you that “Absolute Beginners” was one of the high water marks of 80s Bowie, but it never did that much for me. The arrangement here sticks closely to the Clive Langer/Alan Winstanley production. The biggest differences were that the song was now being recast as a duet between Ms. Lane and Mr. Godwin; giving the song a richer complexion. They harmonize well with Leah taking the high backing vocal as well as having a strong, forceful lower register foreground vocal that impresses in this world of breathy, little girl voices underfoot like mice. And the vocal production bests the Clanger arid vision for this song as well. The “ba-ba-ba-ooooo” refrain? Well, there’s nothing that can be done about that.

And I have to say that the piano playing was more florid than the perfunctory playing on the Bowie version. It had that callback to the Mike Garson sound that was such a Bowie hallmark as opposed to the blandness of the original performance. And the drumming here was more vivid and authoritative; the hi-hat was busy pushing us forward as opposed to the somewhat listless original version. This long version follows the template of the original closely enough to also have the sax/percussion break near the song’s climax ay the 6:30 mark.

And it sounds richer and warmer. Hearing the original again after a long time cold turkey revealed that the thin, nasty mid-80s production did Bowie no favors at a time when he needed every favor he could call in. Re/Generation have redeemed any virtues inherent in the song and in their performances, have given me the version I’ll prefer listening to for the rest of my life. That said, I still can’t get very enthusiastic about the song itself. The 4:46 edit also included in the DL single was my preferred version of the song.

The zero gravity slide guitar glissandos by Godwin himself distinguished the far more interesting “Beautiful Boy” single. The sense of foreboding that the rich, nebulous track exuded here was palpable. Godwin and Lane traded off verses and doubled on the song’s powerful chorus. Its lyrics contained the potent lyric “you face is telling me god is out there,” but the disquieting ambiguity of the music; all minor key, fluid, and hesitant, suggested otherwise.

The spoken word middle eight by Ms. Lane hinted at perhaps not a wholesome love affair, but a grim and obsessive dynamic to the relationship at this song’s core. Lashing yourself to the mast is not a metaphor for a mind basking in comfort and joy. The chaotic roar that lingered as Ms. Lane repeated “your face is telling me god is out there” in the song’s fade was downright chilling. With his new writing partner, Godwin has found another musician on par with his old Metro mate Duncan Browne to explore the darker underbelly of emotions that are latent in his artistic POV. And it also makes me curious to check out what Leah Lane does on her own in Rosegarden Funeral Party.

Re/Generation are said to be making an album and I hope that it manages to happen as the world needs more Peter Godwin albums. Meanwhile, we hold out the hope that further music from Re/Generation will be happening. The single is out there streaming and available for download in the Spotify/Apple/Amazon environments. You know me… I buy my copy!

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