The Communards – Red (1987) Vinyl LP Record
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Product Description
Track Listing
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Album Introduction
Red is the second and final studio album by The Communards — Jimmy Somerville (vocals, from Glasgow) and Richard Coles (keyboards, from Northampton) — released in 1987 on London Records. The album reached No. 4 on the UK Albums Chart. Somerville had previously fronted Bronski Beat — whose debut single Smalltown Boy (1984) became one of the most culturally significant British pop recordings of the decade — before forming The Communards with Coles in 1985. Never Can Say Goodbye — a cover of the Jackson 5 1971 classic — reached UK No. 4. Tomorrow reached UK No. 20. For a Friend — written in memory of a friend who died of AIDS — reached UK No. 28 and stands as one of the most quietly powerful and emotionally direct recordings in the Communards catalogue. The 10-track album demonstrates the duo's ability to combine electronic pop, soul, disco and orchestral influences with a political and emotional directness that distinguished them from their contemporaries.
Stand-Out Tracks
- Never Can Say Goodbye — The Jackson 5's 1971 classic given a hi-NRG, dance-floor-oriented reading; Somerville's falsetto gives the familiar song an energy and emotional directness that transforms it into something entirely new and made it one of the most immediately distinctive and commercially effective recordings of 1987. UK No. 4.
- For a Friend — Written in memory of a friend who died of AIDS and one of the most quietly powerful and emotionally direct recordings in the Communards catalogue; Somerville's vocal is completely unguarded and the simplicity of the arrangement gives the song an intimacy that stands in complete contrast to the album's more dance-floor-oriented tracks. UK No. 28.
- Tomorrow — A driving, melodically irresistible synth-pop track that gives the album one of its most immediately accessible and commercially effective moments; its combination of a warm, contemporary production and Somerville's completely assured falsetto gives it a sustained commercial appeal. UK No. 20.
- Victims — One of the album's most atmospherically distinctive and emotionally expansive tracks; a slow, building synth-pop piece that demonstrates the duo's ability to sustain dramatic tension across an extended musical sequence with complete conviction.
- C Minor — The album's closing track and one of its most musically ambitious; a slow, atmospheric instrumental-influenced piece that brings the album to a conclusion of genuine emotional weight and demonstrates Coles's keyboard work at its most expansive.
Record Details
- Artist: The Communards
- Title: Red
- Year: 1987
- Label: London Records
- Catalogue No.: NIN 120
- Format: Vinyl LP
- Pressing: UK original pressing
- Genre: Synth-Pop / Soul / Hi-NRG
- Decade: 1980s
- Barcode: 042282806611
Condition
Condition: VG+/VG+ — see our Condition Grading Guide.
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