Summary
Mix-Up is the debut studio album by English band Cabaret Voltaire. It was released on 23 October 1979, through record label Rough Trade.
| Mix-Up | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 23 October 1979 | |||
| Recorded | July–August 1979 | |||
| Studio | Western Works, Sheffield | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 43:01 | |||
| Label | Rough Trade | |||
| Producer | Cabaret Voltaire | |||
| Cabaret Voltaire chronology | ||||
| ||||
Content edit
The album contains a cover of The Seeds' song "No Escape", from their 1966 eponymous debut album.
Critical reception edit
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
| Blender | [2] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [3] |
| Smash Hits | 5/10[4] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 7/10[5] |
| Trouser Press | neutral[6] |
Writing in Smash Hits in 1979, Red Starr said the album was an "intriguing but only occasionally attractive array of verbal and musical images". Starr went on to say that it sounded like "pointless backroom self indulgence".[4] Steven Grant echoed Starr's ambivalence in Trouser Press, saying that the album "has an obsessive strength — like Eno in his stranger moments but without his repetitiveness," but that "The music, though fascinating, is rarely coherent."[6]
In a retrospective review, Head Heritage described Mix-Up as "a great snapshot of a brief period in post-punk UK when there was a sudden urge to grapple with a bizarre, homemade, hamfisted white dub landscape."[7] AllMusic writer Andy Kellman was less favourable, writing that "Cabaret Voltaire's first two proper studio albums hardly match the greatness of later works like Red Mecca, 2 X 45 and even 3 Crepuscule Tracks", while noting that Mix-Up "only helped solidify Cabaret Voltaire's status as an integral part of the extended frisson of 1978–1982 post-punk".[1]
Track listing edit
All tracks are written by Cabaret Voltaire (Chris Watson, Richard H. Kirk, Stephen Mallinder), except as noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Kirlian Photograph" | 5:32 | |
| 2. | "No Escape" | Sky Saxon | 3:34 |
| 3. | "Fourth Shot" | 3:57 | |
| 4. | "Heaven and Hell" | 5:45 | |
| 5. | "Eyeless Sight" (live) | 3:12 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Photophobia" | lyrics: "Victor" | 5:49 |
| 2. | "On Every Other Street" | 4:01 | |
| 3. | "Expect Nothing" | 6:05 | |
| 4. | "Capsules" | 4:04 |
Personnel edit
- Cabaret Voltaire
- Stephen Mallinder – vocals, bass guitar, percussion
- Chris Watson – synthesizers, tapes
- Richard H. Kirk – guitar, synthesizers, wind instruments
- Haydn Boyes Weston – drums
- Additional personnel
References edit
- ^ a b c Kellman, Andy. "Mix-Up – Cabaret Voltaire". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
- ^ Howe, Rupert (April–May 2002). "Cabaret Voltaire: (Various)". Blender. No. 6. Archived from the original on 10 February 2003. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
- ^ Considine, J. D. (2004). "Cabaret Voltaire". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 128–29. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ a b Starr, Red (15–28 November 1979). "Albums". Smash Hits. Vol. 1, no. 25. p. 31.
- ^ Sinker, Mark (1995). "Cabaret Voltaire". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 67–68. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
- ^ a b Grant, Steven (February 1980). "Cabaret Voltaire: "Mix-Up"" (PDF). Trouser Press. 7 (1). New York, NY: Ira A. Robbins: 38.
- ^ mare-C (22 April 2002). "Cabaret Voltaire – Mix-Up". Head Heritage. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
External links edit
- Mix-Up at Discogs (list of releases)