Invisible Touch - Genesis

Released in 1986, Invisible Touch went straight to number one and spent 96 weeks in the charts. I could waffle on about the significance of the album, and what it did for Genesis, however I feel its best to turn to fictional psychopath Patrick Bateman to more eloquently describe it for you all.

"I think Invisible Touch was the group's undisputed masterpiece. It's an epic meditation on intangibility. At the same time, it deepens and enriches the meaning of the preceding three albums. Listen to the brilliant ensemble playing of Banks, Collins and Rutherford. You can practically hear every nuance of every instrument. In terms of lyrical craftsmanship, the sheer songwriting, this album hits a new peak of professionalism. Take the lyrics to Land of Confusion. In this song, Phil Collins addresses the problems of abusive political authority. In Too Deep is the most moving pop song of the 1980s, about monogamy and commitment. The song is extremely uplifting. Their lyrics are as positive and affirmative as, uh, anything I've heard in rock. "

Patrick Bateman (American Psycho)

Track Listing

1. "Invisible Touch" (lyrics: Phil Collins) – 3:27
2. "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" (lyrics: Phil Collins) – 8:53
3. "Land of Confusion" (lyrics: Mike Rutherford) – 4:45
4. "In Too Deep" (lyrics: Phil Collins) – 4:58
5. "Anything She Does" (lyrics: Tony Banks) – 4:07
6. "Domino" (lyrics: Tony Banks) – 10:42
   • "In the Glow of the Night"
   • "The Last Domino"
7. "Throwing It All Away" (lyrics: Mike Rutherford) – 3:49
8. "The Brazilian" (instrumental) – 4:49

Electric Warrior - T-Rex

Glam rock never sounded or looked so cool as it did in 1971 when T-Rex released their sixth studio album, Electric Warrior.

Glam Rock is often seen as disposable, bubble gum pop with a few guitars thrown in, not so here. Electric Warrior has stood the test of time, partly due to Toni Visconti's careful production and the back to basics song writing of Mark Bloand.

There are a couple of big hitter on the album, Get It On, Jeepster and Cosmic Dancer however it holds little gems inside too such as Rip Off, Monolth and Girl.

The album sleeve was designed by British art design group Hipgnosis is pure cool, and years ahead of itself.

Electric Warrior is the beginning of the dark party of the seventies distilled in an album, Get it On? Don't mind if I do!

Track List

1. "Mambo Sun" – 3:40
2. "Cosmic Dancer" – 4:30
3. "Jeepster" – 4:12
4. "Monolith" – 3:49
5. "Lean Woman Blues" – 3:02
6. "Get It On" – 4:27
7. "Planet Queen" – 3:13
8. "Girl" – 2:32
9. "The Motivator" – 4:00
10. "Life's a Gas" – 2:24
11. "Rip Off" – 3:40

Back to Black - Amy Winehouse

Easily the most modern album we have featured on Critical Junctions. Back to Black was realised in 2006 and saw Amy Winehouse catapulted to fame for good and bad. We here on Live Drive are not part of a tabloid institution and will not waste what little time we have on the trivialities of Miss Winehouse's personal life. So on with the music.

Never has a modern artist come so close to re imagining the Motown sound so well as on Back to Black. Produced by Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi the album saw Amy move away from her Jazz side into a more R&B sound. It suited her perfectly. 7 singles were culled from the album including Rehab, Love Is A Losing Game and the jaw dropping Tears Dry On Their Own

She may say No, No, No but we say Yes Yes Yes and its this weeks Critical Junction

Track Listing

1. Rehab
2. You Know I'm No Good
3. Me and Mr Jones
4. Just Friends
5. Back to Black
6. Love is a Losing Game
7. Tears Dry on Their Own
8. Wake up Alone
9. Some Unholy War
10. He Can Only Hold Her

Violator - Depeche Mode

In a week where Depeche Mode are Fartist it's only fitting that we should feature one of their albums on Critical Junctions.
In 1990 Depeche Mode released their seventh studio album, Violator and finally gained international superstardom. Yeilding four singles, Personal Jesus, Enjoy The Silence, Policy Of Truth and World In My Eyes, the album achieved huge critical acclaim and is on the Rolling Stones top 500 albums of all time list and is featured in the book 1001 albums you must hear before you die.

Track Listing
"World in My Eyes" – 4:26
"Sweetest Perfection" – 4:43
"Personal Jesus" – 4:56
"Halo" – 4:30
"Waiting for the Night" – 6:07
"Enjoy the Silence" – 6:12
"Interlude #2 - Crucified" – 1:42 (hidden song starting at 4:30)
"Policy of Truth" – 4:55
"Blue Dress" – 5:41
"Interlude #3" – 1:23 (hidden song starting at 4:18)
"Clean" – 5:28

Closer - Joy Division

Joy Division’s second and final album “Closer” was posthumously released on July 18th, 1980, two months after the suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis. Produced by Martin Hannett, who also produced the band’s debut album “Unknown Pleasures”, its sound has been described as being lusher and more sombre than its predecessor, with more use of synthesizers and studio effects. Many of its songs have a despairing, funeral feel, with its cover art appearing to reflect this, although it was chosen by English graphic designer Peter Saville before he had heard any of the music; both the photo and the bleakness of the music and lyrics amplified the already strong mystique surrounding the album after Curtis’s suicide.

The opening track, “Atrocity Exhibition”, shares its name with “The Atrocity Exhibition” by British author J.G. Ballard, one of Curtis’s favourite books. Several of the songs on “Closer” are dominated by a down-tempo vibe and droning synthesisers, such as the albums’ final two tracks “The Eternal” and “Decades”. The band’s reverberating combination of minor-key lines and Curtis’s tremorous bass voice are grim enough on their own, and the lyrics reveal references to blacker-than-black stories by Ballard and Polish novelist Joseph Conrad. Keyboards are featured predominately on four of the album’s nine tracks, a trend that would follow the remaining members of the band into its later incarnation, New Order. The confessional “Isolation”, “A Means to an End”and “Heart and Soul” paint a picture of ever-growing bleakness; broken dreams and lost love. This peaks with “Twenty Four Hours”, a song of dreams lost to destiny, leading right into a pair of slow, gentle, requiem-like songs; “The Eternal” and “Decades”. The lyrics to “The Eternal” suggest Curtis might have been envisioning his funeral, while “Decades” suggests someone looking back over a life that ended all too soon, a tragedy which befell Curtis a mere two months before this album’s release.
“Closer” is desolate yet hauntingly beautiful. Arguments will more than likely continue until the end of time as to whether it was Joy Division, Bauhaus, or even Siouxsie and the Banshees who first turned punk on its head and in doing so created goth, but by 1980 the movement was clearly visible and “Closer” may just be the first great goth record.

1. “Atrocity Exhibition”
2. “Isolation”
3. “Passover”
4. “Colony”
5. “A Means to an End”
6. “Heart and Soul”
7. “Twenty Four Hours”
8. “The Eternal”
9. “Decades”