FUTURAMA

At last, Billy Nelson is accepted by the proggy. Not that he would care, I imagine. Regardless, Be Bop Deluxe did some great prog/glam fusion in the mid seventies. I would argue that Modern Music, which isn't listed here, is their best, but Futurama is one hell of an album. Nelson is definitely one of the giants of rock lead guitar, but despite what the All Music Guide may say, I never find on this record that his leads take away from the rest of the music. If you are a devotee of rock guitar and haven't heard him play, you are missing out on some awe-inspiring lead playing, fast but never shreddy. The songs are short, but they pack a melodic punch while still being fairly complex for rock music at the time. Nelson's vocals have also been criticized, but they sound very strong to me and he has a very pleasant tone. The mood of the record is unapologetically grandiose, not quite as pomp as Queen but in the same vein. This is "Big Music", to quote Mike Scott of the Waterboys, so snarky indie rockers need not apply. The lyrics are very intelligent as well, mostly dense but poetic, including a fond ode to Jean Cocteau, a major influence on Nelson. Instrumentally, though there was no keyboard player in the band at that time (Nelson played 'em), the sound is full, even featuring a silver band on "Dreamland", and the rhythm section of Tumahai and Fox is very impressive. This record is a joy, plain and simple, perhaps even the apex of glam rock. It's as good as Night at the Opera or any of Bowie's best works. What's really impressive is that the band would make two records as good or better before the decade was over. Yet today they are all but forgotten, except for the very knowledgable rock collector, and Nelson remains a cult figure. It's a real shame, but you can help redress the balance by obtaining this album!

"Futurama" is the second full-length studio album by UK rock act Be Bop Deluxe. The album was released through Harvest Records in July 1975. It was produced by Roy Thomas Baker (who among others also produced some of Queen´s albums). After the tour supporting Be Bop Deluxe´s June 1974 debut album "Axe Victim", frontman and guitarist William Nelson opted to dissolve the band and start over with a completely new lineup. Nelson recruited bassist Charlie Tumahai and drummer Simon Fox and the new trio lineup recorded the material featured on "Futurama".

Stylistically the material on "Futurama" is a bit more eclectic and at times even progressive leaning than the predominantly 60s UK blues rock influenced material from the debut album, although that sound is definitely still a dominant element of Be Bop Deluxe´s soundscape. Most tracks are are three minutes long vers/chorus structured rock songs, so it´s not because of adventurous song structures that Be Bop Deluxe are sometimes referred to as a progressive rock band, but it´s some of the songwriting ideas within these otherwise relatively normal vers/chorus structured songs, which are a bit more interesting than your every day regular rock album from those days. Again it´s more in the arrangements and the way some things are played and presented that Be Bop Deluxe sometimes border progressive rock lands. The two longer tracks featured on the album ("Sound Track" and "Swan Song") are the best examples of the band´s most progressive songwriting ideas and arrangements.

The musicianship is through the roof. These guys are incredibly well playing and although Nelson doesn´t have the most powerful or the most distinct sounding voice, he gets the job done pretty well. His guitar playing on the other hand is fantastic. He is such an intuitive and honest guitar player and it shines through every note he plays. The new rhythm section are well playing too and brings a lot of drive and power to the album. "Futurama" features an organic, powerful, and detailed sound production too, so all in all it´s a good quality sophomore studio album from Be Bop Deluxe, showing growth in the songwriting department and featuring some strong and powerful musical performances. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

This album perspires the freshness, fun, amusement, joy and . nostalgia. It is not really fitting the prog standards but it is a fine piece of good rock music again: a glam album in these post-glam years.

This was already the characteristics of their good debut album, and this one shouldn't be a deception for the fans who loved Axe Victim. The recipe is identical, which means that Bill Nelson is showing again his immense skills on the lead guitar and delivers a fantastic work on Futurama.

He might not be the best vocalist in the world, but he is fitting his role perfectly in this glam-rock style of music. This album is more personal than their debut one, which was reaaaaaally close to Bowie's work (Ziggy, A Lad Insane).

The album weakens a bit in the middle part (Sound Track and Music In Dreamland) but the whole remains pretty decent and appealing. I am not sure that progheads would be tempted in listening to such a work: and I am just confirmed in this feeling when I see the very few reviews from this album (and all their other ones as well).

There is some time to breathe with Jean Cocteau: a smooth and jazzy ballad with some fine and light percussions. It contrasts dramatically with the next and disjointed Between The Worlds which is a new wave track avant la lettre. Pastiche and decadent. I like it.

Some bonus tracks are available on the CD release: the single version of Between The Worlds, the very much Mott The Hoople oriented Maid In Heaven and an unreleased album track (featured on some compilation work). A nice addition to the original work which I rate with three stars.

I only have the LP version of this one, so alas, I can not judge the bonus tracks.

The album starts with the somewhat proggy, but over-produced Stage Whisper. This is a pretty good tune, but it gets lost in the aforementioned production. The swirling phasing on the guitar and drums ruins the entire affect of the piece. Love With The Madman is a fairly standard midtempo ballad, saved by some fine guitar by Bill Nelson. Maid In Heaven is a somewhat forgettable guitar heavy rock song. Sister Seagull is a slow, slightly psychedelic tune, again helped by Nelson's guitar, It almost sounds Hendrix inspired. . Sound Tracks brings back some prog, but not a whole lot of prog.

Side two begins with Music In Dreamland, that has sort of an early-Yes sound. Jean Cocteau sound a bit like Brazilian jazz. Between The Worlds may be the proggiest song on the album. And my favorite here. It sugues into Swan Song, another good proggy piece.

So about half of this album definitely has prog elements, and it deserves a place here. I would compare it to the middle years of Todd Rundgren's Utopia, before they became completely a pop band.

BE BOP DELUXE were quite active in the 70's releasing five studio albums but they never made it to the 80's. "Futurama" is album number two from 1975. They were a trio of guitar, bass and drums and Bill Nelson is the man in control here, the lead guitarist, composer, singer etc. I honestly thought with their band name that they would be all about the humour like OINGO BOINGO but no. This comes across like AOR material, they are tagged as Glam Rock by many. To over simplify it, it feels like your either hearing Bill sing or perform a flashy guitar solo. And this is more than that of course but there's a lot of radio friendly songs and I quite enjoyed my time with this one.

Nine tracks over 35 minutes and how about the first sounds that we hear on that opener "Stage Whispers" as in screaming guitar. The flashy solos will continue on this one. "Love With The Madman" is a top three for me. They slow it down after that energetic opener and the vocals sound different, better. Some emotion. "Maid In Heaven" sounds like a single. "Sister Seagull" is another top three. The melancholy does it for me along with the guitar solos.

"Sound Track" and the closer "Swan Song" are about the two proggiest songs on here which isn't saying a lot. Both the longest tunes here clocking in around 6 minutes. Some orchestral stuff on "Music In Dreamland", some brass. "Between The Worlds" is an uptempo rocker while "Jean Cocteau" is trippy and relaxed and I like it better than the rocker. The closer "Swan Song" is my final top three by the way.

I've seen Bill's name so often over the years so it's finally good to hear him play and sing. A solid 3 stars.