After creating a marvelous electronic debut,
Glenn Gregory,
Ian Marsh, and
Martyn Ware decided to tamper with their winning formula a bit on
Heaven 17's 1983 follow-up to
Penthouse and Pavement. The result, which added piano, strings, and
Earth, Wind, & Fire's horn section to the band's cool synthesizer pulse, was even better, and
The Luxury Gap became one of the seminal albums of the
British new wave. The best-known track remains
"Let Me Go," a club hit that features
Gregory's moody, dramatic lead above a percolating vocal and synth arrangement. But even better is the mechanized
Motown of
"Temptation," a deservedly huge British smash that got a shot of genuine
soul from
R&B singer
Carol Kenyon. Nearly every song ends up a winner, though, as the album displays undreamed-of range. If beat-heavy
techno anthems like
"Crushed By the Wheels of Industry" were expected of
Heaven 17, the melodic sophistication of
"The Best Kept Secret" and
"Lady Ice and Mr. Hex" -- both of which sound almost like
show tunes -- wasn't. If there's a flaw, it's that while the band's leftist messages were more subtle and humorous than most of their time, they still seem rather naive. But the music, which showed just how warm
electro-pop's usually chilly grooves could be, is another matter entirely. [Note to collectors: there were differences in the original British and American pressings of the album. The 1997 reissue by
Caroline follows the order of the British pressing, adding some extended remixes.] ~ Dan LeRoy
