Nik Kershaw - The Riddle

The Riddle dropped in the fall of 1984 several months after his debut Human Racing was released. 1984 was a good year for Mister Kershaw, although the The Riddle not as successful as his debut, it was the album I preferred. I likely picked this up a couple of years after it came out as I still think of this as being an album that I was listening to in 1986 or 1987. Which means I found it on sale and took a chance on it.

Sounds about right.

Listening to this now, with the benefit of hindsight and perspective that I didn't have at the time. I'm struck by the change in tact between his debut and the what he was writing and recording for his follow up. Right out of the gate "Don Quixote" was an odd blend of techno with elements of funk. A little bit like what Level 42 was doing as well - oddly enough Mark King would guest on the closing track on side one, "Easy." At the time I wasn't a big fan of Level 42, although Mark's talent as a player cannot be denied.

On the subject of talent. I'd actually forgotten how talented a musician Nik was (is) as he played guitar, bass, and keyboards on the album, in addition to providing the vocals. His bass work in particular is really good.

This was an album I always liked, a sort of guilty pleasure as this wasn't really the style of music I sought out, but there was something about Nik Kershaw I appreciated. The first side was pretty decent, and the song I tended to gravitate to was the odd mid-tempo "Wild Horses" that was really catchy, but not quite a single. However the songs were cohesive, and I always enjoyed them together, heck listening to it again "You Might" is a decent rock song ... after forty years the album is still full of surprises.

The second side though was my favourite. Leading off with "The Riddle" there's just something oddly infectious about this tune, and if you get a chance to see footage of him at Live Aid it's pretty bloody amazing. The only song on the entire album that always felt a bit stilted was the only song I saw a video for at the time, "Wide Boy" that was getting decent play, and to me was a perplexing follow-up to "Wouldn't It Be Good" at least here in Canada. I will admit that over four decades my opinion has softened a bit ... still goofy song.

However the biggest surprise on the album to me was the closing track, "Save the Whale" a song that pushes six minutes and isn't quite techno prog, but it is an environmental lament for saving the whales. It's a haunting song, and was a surprise when I first heard it, and remains one of those strangely engaging songs that added to the album.

The Riddle is still a remarkable piece of pop wizardry and for me was as far as I went with Nik's music. It's not like I deliberately stopped listening to him, I just didn't keep up, and I wasn't alone apparently as most of us seemed to jump off the bandwagon after this release. In my case it was more out of sight and out of mind than anything. 

Too bad, this guy was the real deal. However, like so many of his early '80s compatriots he wouldn't make the transition out of the small musical box he'd end being confined to. Too bad.