ALBUM OF THE DAY:
Babble:The Stone
-is the debut studio album by Babble, an electronic dance music group that was composed of Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie (formerly of the Thompson Twins), and Keith Fernley.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mxFu42TUKuVa3x4vXiNexDq9Tp2oKcA-U
The group changed its name as it changed the outward appearance of its sound, from pop to dub-influenced chill-out. The underlying melodies and the familiar voices of Bailey and Currie still gave a Thompson Twins tone. However, the addition of Quest vocalist Amey St. Cyr ("Take Me Away" and "Tribe"), emcee Q-Tee ("Beautiful"), deep basslines, and loads of spacious effects made it a much more relevant album for the lounge music scene. Promotion of the album was minimal. However, during an interview in Classic Pop magazine in 2014, Bailey stated the album was influential in the recording of Original Soundtracks 1, an album released in 1995 by U2 and Brian Eno under the pseudonym Passengers.
Babble was a British-New Zealand electronic dance music group active in the 1990s.
William Ruhlmann of AllMusic considered the album to "sound a lot like a Thompson Twins record, especially when Tom Bailey is singing." He added: "The group has brought in some ambient sounds, borrowed some cheesy Indian restaurant music, and stolen the main riff from "I Am the Walrus." These are not improvements. By whatever name they choose, Bailey and Currie have not returned to form." ( Which is kind of rude & in my opinion, incorrect. While not the best album of all the- itโs enjoyable and mellow.
Kinda hard to find these days. DRS)
You're welcome ~ great review, too! I was working at tower records at the time (I never capitalize it because it was really a terrible place to work ~ I loved the customers, though!) of its release & was fortunate to get a promotional copy. It's not one that I would listen to like a Thompson Twins or Tom Bailey solo album, but it does create a nice mellow background if that's what you're looking for!
Thank you so much for writing about this album ~ I think it's very enjoyable, too! Of everything that Tom Bailey has worked on post Thompson Twins (one of my favorite bands ~ I think Tom is a great singer, songwriter, & musician! He's SUCH a modest Capricorn & I think that's why he hasn't done more to preserve the Thompson Twins' legacy ~ you've probably read yourself, interviews where he's spoken about being aware that he & the others haven't done very much to preserve their legacy. Another part would be he's mentioned the others don't have very much interest in doing it. ๐ ), 2018's "Science Fiction" is the best! What a beautiful song "Shooting Star" is! Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie, & Joe Leeway, should absolutely be remembered & honored for the brightness, color, and the upliftingness of their music & amazing live shows! โฆ๏ธ๐ถ๐ท