she's a star

Whiplash was a 1997 album from the band James. It was two years in the making, two tumultuous years during which most of the original sessions were scrapped, guitarist Larry Gott left the band, and James discovered that due to financial mismanagement, they owed nearly half a million in unpaid taxes. Not the best of times. Yet they emerged with their most successful album ever, a stunning melange of danceable pop, anthemic singalongs and weirdly dark, techno tinged ambience. 

The initial sessions in early 1995 saw James reunite with producer Brian Eno. But all the band could come up with was unfocussed jams and songs that didn't really spark. Eno was disappointed and much of this work was eventually dropped. Later sessions found the band carrying on without singer Tim Booth who was in America working with composer Angelo Badalamenti. But his busman's holiday rejuvenated Booth who returned to the band bristling with bright ideas. Previously unpromising song fragments were revisited. "Star", a meandering, muddy track, became the defiantly positive "She's A Star", "Whiplash" which began life as little more than pounding techno track, was transformed by some wistful strings and a beautiful new melody into "Play Dead". And so on. Many of the songs that had been worked on during Tim's absence plowed a more trance / dance furrow than James had approached before. Heavy programming took the place of Dave Baynton-Power's usual light drumming. The lack of Larry Gott's guitar was covered by more emphasis on keyboards and violin. Eno guided many of these sessions but the final mix and glossy sheen that coated the finished album was down to Stephen Hague (a man who knew a thing or two about how to get a synth pop hit - his resume included production for OMD, Pet Shop Boys and New Order, as well as PiL and Siouxsie and the Banshees amongst many many others).

The album opens with perhaps the strongest four songs in James' history. "Tomorrow" was recycled from the Laid sessions in 1993, but whereas the earlier version is tentative, this version is totally in control. A hugely powerful opening for the album, pounding drums, manically strummed guitars and a wonderful vocal.

"Lost A Friend" takes it down a notch and is another of those peculiar songs that only James seem to do, namely a song that appears to have two choruses. And Tim sings in that defiantly English way of his, not a hint of the mid Atlantic voice that so many singers adopt, not a sign of any blues scales or obvious rock star flourishes. His yearning vocal is terrific. Similarly "Waltzing Along" continues this utterly English trend. The guitars swing with the slightly clumpy beat and there's lots of excellent Booth and Eno backing vocals. Eno once reckoned that most of the worlds problems could be solved with backing vocals. It's when you hear the delightful vocals here that you kind of know what he means.

The first single from the album was "She's A Star", a glorious return for James after the previous couple of years of hassle. It's so wonderfully upbeat and positive and perfect to sing along with. No wonder it was one of their biggest hits. The guitar work, from new member Adrian Oxaal, is an unforgettable sliding series of notes that apes, but doesn't copy, the guitar lines that Robert Fripp played on David Bowie's "Heroes".

After "She's A Star" the album takes a turn into more experimental waters. "Greenpeace" is a weird mash up of an ambient verse, all gently chiming bells and stray piano notes, and a stridently chattering techno chorus. The verses seem to be a dialogue between a whispering Tim who at first seems indifferent to what's happening to the world and a sinister alter ego who speak / sings in a distorted voice and who wishes to destroy the environment. Then Booth turns into some sort of falsetto choir boy over the pounding and clattering choruses. And, you know, it works!

"Go To The Bank" is perhaps the weakest song here, losing it's focus about halfway through, but the following "Play Dead" is stunning. After Eno's voice saying 'music depresses me' we're catapulted into a terrifically powerful drum loop but just as you think you've got the measure of the piece it calms down somewhat and Tim croons over some gorgeous keyboards and synthetic strings which mesh with the stomping beats extremely successfully. The chorus is something that U2 would have given their right arms for, a keening melancholy that is also devastatingly beautiful.

"Avalanche" and "Homeboy" are more straightforward and are the most obvious links to the initial sessions. Both are great fun, perfectly played and contain some clever lyrics, with "Homeboy" rewriting some of Bowie's "Rebel Rebel" rather cheekily.

Then we're back in darker territory. "Watering Hole" is all atmosphere and ambience with Booth crooning very quietly at times. The closer, "Blue Pastures" finds Booth ready to fade back into obscurity. Musically it's very pretty and a cousin to the similarly arranged "Out To Get You" on Laid. But where "Out To Get You" is shot through with steely determination "Blue Pastures" is resigned and tired - 'it doesn't really matter if I fade away' whispers Booth at the end of the song. It's a rather unsettling ending.

As usual with James the singles from Whiplash contained loads of great b-sides, many of which were at least the equal of the album tracks. Notably "Your Story" which is one of my favourite James songs - another song with multiple choruses and a truly stirring vocal; this should have been on the album, or a single a-side as it is way too good to be lost on the back of a single. Although nothing like as commercial, the wonderfully weird "Fishknives" is great fun, as is the eerie "Van Gogh's Dog". "Chunney Chops" is little more than an Eno processed jam, but there's a huge sense of the band having a ball with this track.

James would never achieve such sustained success again. Although subsequent albums and singles were every bit as good as those from the Whiplash era the public didn't embrace them in the same way. However I did, and James remain one of my most cherished bands.

There is another reason why Whiplash and the accompanying extra tracks have such a special place in my heart. "She's A Star" was issued at the start of April 1997 with the album coming out mid month.

This coincided exactly with Lucy's birth.

For perhaps the only time in her life she was early, about 5 weeks early, which was a huge shock for Nicky and for me. Worries about potential infections and concerns for her size meant that Lucy (and Nicky) stayed in the special care unit for nearly a month. During that time I went back to work, getting the train home from London each evening, grabbing something to eat, then driving 40 minutes up to Cambridge desperate to see them. I would stay until I was kicked out by the nurses and sadly drive back home. I did a lot of driving and worrying that month. And I listened to Whiplash in the car, a lot. And I sang along at the top of my voice to keep myself awake. So many of the lines in those James songs resonated with me. Off the top of my head - "Tomorrow" had lines like 'got to keep faith that your luck will change' and 'now your grip's so strong' which seemed so right for Lucy. "Waltzing Along" had these - 'may your heart beat strong', 'may your heart lead you on', and the title of "She's A Star" just seemed so perfect.

She IS a star. Happy Birthday, lovely Lucy. xx