Trevor Horn Reimagines The 80s - Marmite !!

It seems that these days issuing a straightforward compilation album isn’t good enough, you have to add an orchestra to the tracks, symphonic arrangements are all the rage. The latest to ride the wave of orchestral reinvention is Trevor Horn with his most recent album ‘Trevor Horn Reimagines The Eighties (featuring The Sarm Orchestra)’ which was released a week or so ago.

I’ve always liked Trevor Horn from his early career as part of The Buggles (Video Killed The Radio Star anyone?) through his work with Yes, their ‘Drama’ album being one of my favourites and on through his production years. We sometimes forget his involvement in so many classic hits. 

However!! This album is clearly a ‘Marmite’ album, I suspect most people will either absolutely love it or absolutely hate it with very little middle ground. Which is a shame because yes, there are some turkeys on it but there are also some sublime, inspired versions of some classic 80s tracks.

It’s a covers album, but not what you’d normally expect of a covers album. I mean who wants covers that sound just like the originals - what’s the point of that? So this isn't just each track recorded with a few strings over-layed, this is a full rewriting of each song to make full use of the breadth and depth of the orchestra. And Trevor does make full use of that orchestra too. You do have to open your mind when you listen to this album, it’s not a bunch of straight covers.

The track listing is:
1. Everybody Wants To Rule The World  – ft. Robbie Williams
2. Dancing In The Dark –  ft. Gabrielle Aplin
3. Ashes To Ashes –  ft. Seal
4. Girls On Film –  ft. All Saints
5. The Power Of Love – ft. Matt Cardle
6. Brothers In Arms – ft. Jim Kerr
7. Different For Girls – ft Steve Hogarth
8. Slave To The Rhythm – ft. Rumer
9. What’s Love Got To Do With It –  ft. Tony Hadley
10. Owner Of A Lonely Heart 
11. Take On Me
12. Blue Monday – ft. Jimmy Wood

The album doesn’t get off to a good start as Robbie Williams proceeds to murder Tears For Fears’ classic 'Everybody Wants to Rule The World'. The dodgy tracks don’t end there though. Whilst it’s interesting to hear a bloke doing Tina Turner's "What's Love Got To Do With It?” I’m not sure Tony Hadley was really the bloke that should have been doing it. The version of New Order’s ‘Blue Monday’ is brutal, this is one of those classic tracks that really should never be touched. Trevor sings on on A-Ha’s ‘Take On Me’ himself and I’m sorry but it just doesn't add anything to the original. In fact it’s much worse! All Saints doing ‘Girls on Film’ doesn’t really work either, they’ve not ruined it but it just doesn’t work.

So that’s all the negatives, what about the positives?
I must say ’Brothers in Arms’ by Simple Minds is stunning. Trevor has given it more of a celtic feel with sweeping strings, Jim Kerrs unique vocals sounds fantastic too. This version is impressive and sits very well alongside the Dire Straits original.   

Seal’s attempt at ‘Ashes to Ashes’ is brave and ultimately gives us a beautiful, different version. I think Mr Bowie would approve of this effort. There’s definitely room for both versions of this classic.

Many of these tracks were originally defined by the voices that sang them, their character coming out in the song. This is painfully apparant on Joe Jackson’s ‘It’s Different For Girls'. A true new wave masterpiece from 1979, Marillion’s Steve Hogarth produces a decent enough vocal and does sound like he’s trying. Problem is the orchestra tends to overshadow his vocal leaving him very little room to get any feeling into the song. That said, I did enjoy this version.

There are some great vocals from Rumur on what is a quite sublime version of ‘Slave To The Rhythm’. Similarly Matt Cardle’s attempt at Frankie’s ‘The Power Of Love’ is worth listening to. Trevor takes Yes' 'Owner Of Lonely Heart’ more into big band jazz territory. It’s a bit reminiscent of "The Symphonic Music of Yes" album from a few years ago and whilst not really adding to the original presents something quite different. 

For me though the highlight of the whole album is Gabrielle Aplin’s take on the great Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Dancing In the Dark’. For me the album was worth listening to for this one track alone. It does what a good cover version should do, it takes a song and then turns it back on itself. I must have heard this song 1000s of times without actually hearing the power of the lyrics. Trevor and Gabrielle have stripped away the rock element to create something slower and as a result much more special. The lyrics feel much more real when you can actually hear them. It certainly made me see the song in a whole new light.

So Should You Buy It?
This covers album may not be for everyone but all I can say is that as an 80s teenager I enjoyed a lot of it. The vast majority of the tracks are so well known in their original form that it may take a few listens to get into it and as we’ve established there are a few turkeys in there. Trevor Horn is one of the greatest producers this the UK has produced and given the variety and quality of artists he has worked with over the years I think he knows how to make a hit record! That said, I do have a little niggle that he is just jumping on the symphonic band wagon to bolster his pension.

The album does have some real musicianship on it which is so so rare these days! It is fairly laid back too, but there is nothing wrong with easy listening if it is done well which in general on here it is. ‘Reimagines The 80s’  is pretty ideal for late night listening or Sunday mornings.

It’s not a uniformly awful album by any means. Like I say, some tracks are better than others, so maybe just download the good ones. I must say however that (with the exception of ‘Dancing In The Dark’ - the originals cannot be bettered