SOUNDTRACK: BERLIN-Information (1980).
Who knew that Berlin made an album without Terri Nunn? Back in 1980, Terri Nunn had sung with Berlin and had even released a couple of singles with them. Then she decided to try out acting. The replaced her with Virginia Macolino.
This debut album is very new wave with a mild punk edge. Their music is all synth but with a lot of jagged edges.
Terri Nunn’s voice is pretty distinctive, but Macolino sings in that same range. She adds in a squeaky falsetto and an occasional Valley Girl twang.
Given the really smooth, polished sound of their later albums (“Take My Breath Away”), this album is really jagged feeling. The synth sounds they chose are often weird and mechanical. And Macolino sings in a distinctive robotic way. There’s also a lot of processed vocals (the men I assume) adding even more of a technological bent.
It would be interesting to see where they would have gone with this style in mind. But they went a bit more poppy a bit slicker and they brought Terri Nunn back. The rest is 80s history.
[READ: September 20, 2019] “Wide Spot”
I really enjoyed the way this brief story unfolded.
The narrator is a local politician. He tours local small towns to make sure he gets people to vote. He stops in at Wide Spot, which was the county seat. It was once a slightly less run down place.
When he was younger, the narrator had been in a band called the Daft. They always ended their little tours in Wide Spot. He wasn’t a very good keyboard player and the lead singer of the band, Calum had gone to L.A. to seek his fortunes solo.
He was in Wide Spot looking for Cornel Bowen, a donor who he wanted to touch base with. Although Cornel proves to be less than helpful, he does reveal that Calum is still in town.
The narrator decides to knock on his door. The reunion is pretty warm at first. Calum explains that just as he left for L.A. a woman from Wide Spot called to say she was pregnant. He came back and the beautiful woman in the photo on the wall was their daughter.
On his way out of town, the narrator stops in another place.
Can’t give any more details without giving anything away, but the unveiling of the end is brilliant.
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