BIRDS OF PREY

By no means an eagle, but not a turkey either

Although it was released in 1983, "Birds of prey" remains Godley and Crème's penultimate studio album at time of writing. The duo play all the instruments (and indeed make all the sounds, see later) with the exception of some trumpet on one track. A drum machine is used on most tracks in place of genuine percussion, but this is really the only pandering to the overtly electronic sounds of the 80's.

"My body the car" lays out the duo's stall right from the start. Once again, they will shy away from anything easy preferring to record another selection of eclectic pieces which may or may not work. In this case, the track is devoid of musical instruments, with both Godley and Crème making the appropriate vocal noises in their place.

"Worm and the rattlesnake" on the other hand has an overtly pop orientation, the light melody and quick pace supporting a "what if" tale of missed romance. "Cat's eyes" maintains the pop orientation with slightly echoed vocals and a strong hook. "Samson" is perhaps G&C's answer to "Dreadlock holiday", the song having a similar reggae style beat.

"Save a mountain for me" is written as a chain gang working song from the perspective of someone in prison. It is probably the best track here, with a fine vocal performance and a wall of sound style accompaniment. "Madame Guillotine" has a bit of a Temptations feel mainly due to the "Ball of confusion" like back-beat and the deep backing vocals. Nice song though.

"Woodwork" reverts to the pop rock rhythm of earlier tracks, the title referring to the "You came crawling out the woodwork" lyric. "Twisted nerve" slows things down a bit, although the double speed electronic rhythm gives the misleading impression of a more upbeat song. It is a rather uninspired song though with an uncharacteristically simple melody. The album closes with "Out in the cold" which continues in the same mood, but this time with slightly distorted vocals. It all makes for a rather depressive ending to the original album.

The Edsel records CD release has 3 bonus tracks. The first two of these are singles B-sides. "Welcome to breakfast television" offers a cynical view about the benefits of early morning TV, the song of course being written when such viewing was a novelty, at least in the UK. The second bonus track is a superfluous dance remix of "Samson", which for me is far from the best track on the album anyway. The final bonus track "Golden boy" is however worthwhile. This was issued as a non-album single A-side (backed by "My body the car". Given the short running time of "Birds of prey", space should have been found for the song, which easily outclasses anything on the album.

In all, a rather prosaic effort from Godley and Crème which neither exploits their capabilities as creators of clever pop, nor demonstrates their willingness to explore more contentious areas. Worth hearing if you're a fan, but otherwise dispensable.

After the pretty much failed experimental rap styling of "Ismism" (or "Snack Attack" in the U.S.), Godley & Creme went back to the quirky pop of their earlier albums (and their work in 10CC). The result here is something of a mixed bag. Their approach is still intriguing, but most of the songs are just a little bit empty.

My Body The Car starts the album off in a promising way. The song is a cappella, in a similar manner that Todd Rundgren used later, creating all the instrumental and rhythmic sounds with their mouths. Good premise and well done.

Worm And The Rattlesnake is a forgettable song, but is saved by a cool, rubbery bass line. Cat's Eyes is a more upbeat song, similar to what the duo was recording with 10CC a few years earlier. Good, not much prog.

Samson has some cool production, mostly with some oddly effected guitar fills. Save A Mountain For Me for some reason is the song that appears on their "History Mix" collection. It's a pretty boring song, with one joke about a singing chain gang. They should go back and listen to the real humor in Rubber Bullets.

Madame Guillotine has some of the better lyrics on the album, about a prisoner waiting for his execution. But the music is repetitious, and goes nowhere. Woodwork has the first overt appearance by the duo's Gizmo (a device that mechanically rubs guitar strings like a violin bow), and that gives the piece a more orchestral sound. An unimaginative electronic drum track holds the song back, however.

Twisted Nerve has synth work that reminds me a bit of Eno. The dry delivery of Kevin Godley's vocals falttens the song a bit. Out In The Cold is actually a good ending. Eerie music and minor key processed vocals come together to make this the best track on this record.

Al in all, the production on this album, like any Godley & Creme album, is spectacular. It's the compositions that mostly fall flat. 2.5 stars.