Thompson Twins - Here's to Future Days

I had no intention of getting a copy of Here's to Future Days ... but here we are. Thompson Twins were a band who by 1985 managed to shed half of their North American audience compared to their previous release. Oh the album would be certified platinum here in Canada and the States, but this was the end of the band's commercial run.

For Here's to Future Days the band enlisted the ever reliable Nile Rodgers to assist with production, and honestly the album makes a game effort. However I was at best a cursory fan and while I really, really liked "Lay Your Hands on Me" the rest of the songs I could take or leave ... although I was curious to hear what they'd do with The Beatles "Revolution" and now I'm not curious anymore.

I'd rather not shit on the album because it's hardly fair. I wanted one song, and I got the song I wanted and it is still an amazing piece of music. To commemorate the occasion I danced by myself in the basement with my feet together while I flailed about and twisted side to side. Yup, I was doing my best impression of Mr. Bailey and it wasn't pretty.

I had really hoped that nostalgia would give me an appreciation for the album's deeper cuts, and while true to a degree most of the record just bubbled around the "meh" level for me. I will say that the album's closing track (on the North American release), a rather boring mid-tempo generic pop song "You Killed the Clown" actually got under my skin.

While a lot of what the band recorded wasn't my cup of tea, they still managed to contribute more than a song or two to the '80s Songbook. For that if nothing else they'll be remembered as more than a mere one hit wonder.

Comments

6 Cylinder

As a kid we had one radio station, not counting CBC, and generally there was very little that was worth listening to, although there were times something would come on that would make you pay attention. It was 1979 and on a couple of occasions I heard "There Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens" and it cracked me up, and I always wanted to get a copy for myself. A few years ago when my niece was dancing, they did a performance to this song, and now I can't separate my niece from a bunch of dancing chicks in chicken suits. Such is life. When I found this in the dollar bin I actually let out a little chirp, my goodness could it be? It was, and it was in great shape - including the inner sleeve. Score. I had no idea what to expect, for all I knew there was only one song worth listening to, and if that was the case it was still a dollar well spent. If I could buy an album by Showdown and enjoy it, odds are I'll find something to enjoy here to. Before I put this on I...

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