Moss Side Story
Encyclopedia
Moss Side Story is an album by Barry Adamson
released in 1989. The album is a concept album
. The music is almost completely instrumental except for occasional screams, samples and a choir. The concept is the score to a fictitious film. To achieve the effect the song titles are descriptive of a film noir
plot outline. The inner sleeve came with a short story written by Dave Graney
which added to the concept. This complemented outer sleeve which displays the tag line: "In a black and white world, murder brings a touch of colour...".
The NME
review of the albums describes it as a "Grand filmic suite intended as the soundtrack to a "provocative film thriller set in Manchester
's Moss Side
" and that Moss Side Story is "one of the best soundtracks ever, the fact that it has no accompanying movie is a trifling irrelevance."
The overall style is reminiscent of the work of Angelo Badalamenti
who often collaborates with the film director David Lynch
.
CD versions came with three bonus tracks. Two of them - "Alfred Hitchcock Presents
" and "The Man With The Golden Arm
" (composed by Elmer Bernstein
) - are drawn from TV or film themes. "Alfred Hitchock Presents" is a reworking of the theme to the series of the same name, Charles Gounod
's "Funeral March of a Marionette."
Moss Side
is a district near the centre of Manchester
in Great Britain, where Adamson was born. The album title is a play on words and a reference to Leonard Bernstein
's West Side Story. The title of "The Swinging Detective" plays on Dennis Potter
's series of television plays The Singing Detective
, while "Round Up The Usual Suspects" is a line uttered by Claude Rains
in Casablanca
.
Act One - 'The Ring's The Thing'
Act Two - 'Real Deep Cool'
Act Three - 'The Final Irony'
'For Your Ears Only'
Orchestrated by Bill McGee
Barry Adamson
Barry Adamson is a British rock musician who has worked with rock bands such as Magazine, Visage, The Birthday Party, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and the electronic musicians Pan sonic and Depeche Mode. Adamson created the seven-minute opus "Useless " remix for the latter band in 1997...
released in 1989. The album is a concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
. The music is almost completely instrumental except for occasional screams, samples and a choir. The concept is the score to a fictitious film. To achieve the effect the song titles are descriptive of a film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
plot outline. The inner sleeve came with a short story written by Dave Graney
Dave Graney
David John "Dave" Graney is an Australian rock musician and singer-songwriter from Mount Gambier, South Australia. Since 1979, Graney is generally accompanied by drummer, Clare Moore...
which added to the concept. This complemented outer sleeve which displays the tag line: "In a black and white world, murder brings a touch of colour...".
The NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
review of the albums describes it as a "Grand filmic suite intended as the soundtrack to a "provocative film thriller set in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
's Moss Side
Moss Side
Moss Side is an inner-city area and electoral ward of Manchester, England. It lies south of Manchester city centre and has a population of around 17,537...
" and that Moss Side Story is "one of the best soundtracks ever, the fact that it has no accompanying movie is a trifling irrelevance."
The overall style is reminiscent of the work of Angelo Badalamenti
Angelo Badalamenti
Angelo Badalamenti is an American composer, known for his movie soundtrack work for director David Lynch, notably Blue Velvet, the Twin Peaks saga and Mulholland Drive...
who often collaborates with the film director David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
.
CD versions came with three bonus tracks. Two of them - "Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents is an American television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. The series featured dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. By the premiere of the show on October 2, 1955, Hitchcock had been directing films for over three decades...
" and "The Man With The Golden Arm
The Man with the Golden Arm
The Man with the Golden Arm is a 1955 American drama film, based on the novel of the same name by Nelson Algren, which tells the story of a heroin addict who gets clean while in prison, but struggles to stay that way in the outside world. It stars Frank Sinatra, Eleanor Parker, Kim Novak, Arnold...
" (composed by Elmer Bernstein
Elmer Bernstein
Elmer Bernstein was an American composer and conductor best known for his many film scores. In a career which spanned fifty years, he composed music for hundreds of film and television productions...
) - are drawn from TV or film themes. "Alfred Hitchock Presents" is a reworking of the theme to the series of the same name, Charles Gounod
Charles Gounod
Charles-François Gounod was a French composer, known for his Ave Maria as well as his operas Faust and Roméo et Juliette.-Biography:...
's "Funeral March of a Marionette."
Moss Side
Moss Side
Moss Side is an inner-city area and electoral ward of Manchester, England. It lies south of Manchester city centre and has a population of around 17,537...
is a district near the centre of Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
in Great Britain, where Adamson was born. The album title is a play on words and a reference to Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
's West Side Story. The title of "The Swinging Detective" plays on Dennis Potter
Dennis Potter
Dennis Christopher George Potter was an English dramatist, best known for The Singing Detective. His widely acclaimed television dramas mixed fantasy and reality, the personal and the social. He was particularly fond of using themes and images from popular culture.-Biography:Dennis Potter was born...
's series of television plays The Singing Detective
The Singing Detective
The Singing Detective is a BBC television miniseries written by Dennis Potter, which stars Michael Gambon, and was directed by Jon Amiel. The six episodes were "Skin", "Heat", "Lovely Days", "Clues", "Pitter Patter" and "Who Done It"....
, while "Round Up The Usual Suspects" is a line uttered by Claude Rains
Claude Rains
Claude Rains was an English stage and film actor whose career spanned 66 years. He was known for many roles in Hollywood films, among them the title role in The Invisible Man , a corrupt senator in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington , Mr...
in Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
.
Track listing
All music composed by Barry Adamson except "Everything Happens To Me" by Barry Adamson & Seamus Beaghen, "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" by Charles François Gounod, and "The Man With The Golden Arm" by Elmer BernsteinElmer Bernstein
Elmer Bernstein was an American composer and conductor best known for his many film scores. In a career which spanned fifty years, he composed music for hundreds of film and television productions...
Act One - 'The Ring's The Thing'
- "On The Wrong Side Of Relaxation" - 5:27
- "Under Wraps" - 4:27
- "Central Control" - 2:10
- "Round Up The Usual Suspects" - 0:43
Act Two - 'Real Deep Cool'
- "Sounds From The Big House" - 6:24
- "Suck On The Honey Of Love" - 2:13
- "Everything Happens To Me" - 2:43
- "The Swinging Detective" - 5:45
Act Three - 'The Final Irony'
- "Autodestruction" - 3:49
- "Intensive Care" - 2:42
- "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World" - 4:07
- "Free At Last" - 1:23
'For Your Ears Only'
- "Alfred HitchcockAlfred HitchcockSir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
Presents" - 2:24 - "Chocolate Milk Shake" - 4:24
- "The Man With The Golden Arm" - 5:13
Accolades
| Year | Publication | Country | Accolade | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | NME NME The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles... |
United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
"Albums of the Year" | 34 | |
| "*" denotes an unordered list. | |||||
Personnel
- Barry Adamson - All other instruments, treatments, samples and sequenced
- Seamus Beaghen - Hammond organ on tracks: 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 12, 15; piano on tracks: 2, 5 to 7, 11, 12, 15; rhythm guitar on tracks 2, 8; marimba track on 3
- Audrey RileyAudrey RileyAudrey Riley is a cellist and string arranger based in the UK. Riley trained at the Guildhall School of Music with Leonard Stehn and was a cellist for Virginia Astley from 1983 to 1986 and a one-time auxiliary member of The Family Cat. She has been a member of the post-minimalist band Icebreaker...
- cello on tracks: 1, 6, 11, 12 - Chris Tombling - violin on tracks: 1, 6, 11, 12
- Philippa Holland - violin on tracks: 1, 6, 12
- Sonya Slany - violin on tracks: 1, 6, 12
- Diamanda GalasDiamanda GalásDiamanda Galás is an American avant-garde composer, vocalist, pianist, organist, performance artist and painter.Galás has been described as "capable of the most unnerving vocal terror", with her three and a half octave vocal range. She often screams, hisses and growls...
- voice on "On The Wrong Side Of Relaxation" - Gary BarnacleGary BarnacleGary Barnacle is a saxophonist/flautist, brass instrument arranger, composer and producer, primarily noted for session work, live work Gary Barnacle (born 1959, Dover, England) is a saxophonist/flautist, brass instrument arranger, composer and producer, primarily noted for session work, live work...
- saxophone on "Sounds From The Big House" - Marcia Schofield - keyboards, bass saxophone on "The Swinging Detective"
- Joe Sax - tenor saxophone on "The Swinging Detective"
- Rowland S. HowardRowland S. HowardRowland Stuart Howard was an Australian rock musician, guitarist and songwriter, he played electric guitar in the post-punk group The Birthday Party. Howard died of liver cancer in December 2009, aged 50 years....
- guitar on "Autodestruction" - John DoyleJohn Doyle (drummer)John Doyle is a drummer who was member of New Wave bands like Magazine and The Armoury Show. He reunited with the first band for a tour which will be played in February 2009.-Biography:...
- percussion on tracks 11, 15 - Annie HoganAnni HoganAnni Hogan is a British musician, record producer, composer and Club DJ, born in 1961. Originally known for her association with British music artist Marc Almond, Hogan now collaborates with a diverse variety of artists including Rachel McFarlane and Cagedbaby....
- vibraphone on track 11; strings on track 15 - Chris Pitsillides - viola on track 11
- Enrico Tomasso - trumpet on track 15
- Freedom Choir - Anita LaneAnita LaneAnita Lane is an Australian singer and songwriter who directly influenced the early 1980s European post-punk landscape.-Birthday Party:Lane was born in Melbourne, Australia in the late 1950s. Lane began singing and writing songs at age 16. She was a classmate with Rowland S. Howard who would...
, Jessamy Calkin, Katy Beale, Kid Congo PowersKid Congo PowersKid Congo Powers is the stage name of Brian Tristan , an American rock guitarist and singer, best known as a member of The Gun Club, The Cramps and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.-Biography:...
, Mick HarveyMick HarveyMichael John Harvey , is an Australian rock musician, composer, arranger and record producer. He is best known for his long-time collaboration with the singer and songwriter Nick Cave...
- on tracks 6, 12
Orchestrated by Bill McGee