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June 01, 2006
Martin's Method: Three From Zero
Despite being immortalized by Andy "Gollum" Serkis in 24 Hour Party People as a fat crazy bastard, Martin Hannett remains the most revered producer of the punk/ post-punk era. Thirty years after his prime (and roughly 15 years after his death), the sonic architecture of his work with Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, and ESG remain obvious touchpoints for myriad bands of the 00's. Two compilations of his knob twiddling (Martin '91, And Here is the Young Man '98) have been issued and quickly fallen out of print. Seeking to right said wrong, and probably fated to fade away just as easily, is Zero: A Martin Hannett Story 1977 - 1991, bravely compiled by Big Beat Records. I suspect the main problem in the rack longevity of these discs is aiming at a fan base that by nature is kind of disfuctionally music obsessed enough to have tracked down half of the obscure treats already. But, as one of this accursed mass, I have to say that most of the material here was in fact new to me. Maybe not to you, the shockingly hip readers of the site, but maybe, just maybe...
Jilted John - "Jilted John"
Recorded by a Brit comedian as a spoof on punk records, but ignoring the fact that the desperate teenage kicks of the Buzzcocks (also Hannett produced) were basically spoofing themselves, "Jilted John" tells the story of young love gone wrong in remarkably authentic Mank style. As far as production tricks go, I like how Hannett only doubles the vocals on the line "Gordon is a Moron!" (in song, Gordon is John's ex's new beau). As if the rest of his life is tragic solitary misery, filled with insecurity and regret, but the one thing he's totally sure of is that the new kid is an idiot, dammit! After this one went to number 4 on the British charts, our man recorded an entire Hannett-less record in character about the romantic travails of Jilted J. It was not successful.
Magazine - "the Light Pours Out of Me" (alternate version)
An interesting entry from the standpoint of trying to understand a producer's impact, as it is essentially a remixed version of the song that appears on Magazine's first (and best album) Real Life. The differences are subtle, but they add up. Howard Devoto's vocal is more bare, the echo peeled off. The drum sound is less straight forward, more synthetic. The bassline is smartly kept intact, as is the guitar riff, but both come in after the vocal, where they were gradually layered on in anticipation of it before. All band members join up in a sing along of the chorus, undermining the cold isolation that the band/ producer/ and scene in general made their names on. The end result is less alien than the original, but maintains its dynamic thrust.
A very different take on the Irishmen's familiar sound. Probably the only U2 song I will ever post as that sound usually makes me angry. But taste points to Bono, who sought out Hannett for production duty after falling for Unknown Pleasures. That record's tone is approximated here with big, distant drumming, and abrasive crunching guitars. It's so foreign to U2's steez that it helped me easily pin point Bono's pipes as the main reason for my dislike. "I hear the children crying!" it accuses, as if I had kicked the brats in the shins personally. For once I want him to shut up so I can hear the music, which (de-Bono'ed) is actually pretty cool. I especially dig the boys' choir chorus. Ultimately, it wasn't the direction in which they were lucratively headed, so it never seeing release on official U2 CD collection isn't a total shock. The fact that it is immediately slayed by JD's "Transmission" as this disc's next track is neither here nor there.
The rest of the collection includes the usual suspects (from Buzzcocks to the Happy Mondays as expected) but also veers into solid college rock territory with John Hughes loved and newly Cingular Wireless licensed Psychedelic Furs classic "Pretty in Pink." Of course, there are many more elusive treats for the know it alls.
Buy Zero, click here.
Tags: Martin Hannett, Factory Records, Joy Division, Jilted John, U2, Magazine, Section 25, Buzzcocks
Posted by Jeff Klingman at June 1, 2006 09:01 AM
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