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Travelogue

 
Album Review: Travelogue

  • Artist: The Human League
  • Rating: StarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: 1980
  • Type: Compilation (best of)
  • Genre: Rock

Review

The Human League's second album, Travelogue, was their first to be released in the U.S. (Not that you would have noticed at the time, given the limited distribution; the album subsequently was picked up for reissue by Virgin/Atlantic in 1988.) It was also the last to feature the nearly original lineup of Martyn Ware, Ian Marsh, Philip Oakey, and Adrian Wright. Already, the band's synthesizer textures and Oakey's mannered voice were starting to lean in a pop direction, but much of this album retained the austere tone of earlier synthesizer groups such as Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream. The conflicting musical directions led to a split in the band after this album, with Ware and Marsh forming Heaven 17 and Oakey and Wright reorganizing a new version of the Human League. Ironically, both ventures were more pop-oriented than before. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
The Black Hit of Space (Lyrics) Human League Human League (4:11)
Only After Dark (Lyrics) Human League (3:51)
Life Kills (Lyrics) Human League Human League (3:08)
Dreams of Leaving (Lyrics) Human League Human League (5:52)
Toyota City Human League Human League (3:21)
Crow and a Baby (Lyrics) Human League Human League (3:43)
The Touchables Human League Human League (3:21)
Gordon's Gin Human League (2:59)
Being Boiled (Lyrics) Philip Oakey, Martyn Ware, Ian Craig Marsh Human League (4:22)
WXJL Tonight (Lyrics) Human League Human League (4:46)
Marianne [*] Martyn Ware, Philip Oakey, Ian Craig Marsh Human League (3:17)
Dancevision [*] Martyn Ware, Ian Craig Marsh Human League (2:22)
Rock 'n' Roll/Night Clubbing [*] David Bowie Human League (6:23)
Tom Baker [*] Philip Oakey, Philip Adrian Wright Human League (4:01)
Boys and Girls [*] Philip Oakey, Philip Adrian Wright Human League (3:14)
I Don't Depend on You [*] Martyn Ware, Philip Oakey, Ian Craig Marsh The Men (4:36)
Cruel [*] Ian Craig Marsh, Philip Oakey, Martyn Ware The Men (4:45)

Credits

The Men (Performer), Boys Of Buddha (Programming), Richard Manwaring (Producer), Martyn Ware (Engineer), Human League (Producer), Philip Adrian Wright (Keyboards), Ian Craig Marsh (Engineer), Colin Thurston (Producer), Martyn Ware (Vocals), Ian Craig Marsh (Vocals), Richard Manwaring (Engineer), Martyn Ware (Synthesizer), Ian Craig Marsh (Synthesizer), Philip Adrian Wright (Synthesizer), Philip Oakey (Keyboards), Philip Oakey (Vocals), Philip Oakey (Synthesizer), Martyn Ware (Producer), John Leckie (Producer), Ian Craig Marsh (Producer), John Leckie (Engineer), Human League (Engineer)
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Wikipedia: Travelogue (Human League album)
Top
Travelogue
Studio album by The Human League
Released May 1980
Recorded Monumental Pictures studio, Sheffield 1980
Genre Electronic music
New Wave
Label Virgin Records
Producer Richard Mainwaring
Professional reviews
The Human League chronology
Holiday '80
(1980)
Travelogue
(1980)
Dare
(1981)

Travelogue is the second full-length studio album released by the British synthpop band The Human League.

Released in May 1980, the band had yet to achieve any degree of commercial success. For Travelogue, the band worked with a new producer, Richard Mainwaring, who went on to produce OMD's platinum selling Architecture & Morality the following year. Travelogue entered the UK album chart at #16, which was also its chart peak, and remained on the chart for 9 weeks in 1980. Although a vast improvement on their debut album, Reproduction, which had failed to chart at all the year before, the lack of high success precipitated the departure of founding band members Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh, who went on to form Heaven 17. Their departure led to remaining members Phil Oakey and Adrian Wright moving The Human League in a new musical direction with a new line-up. As the new band then began to make a commercial impact the following year, Travelogue re-entered the chart in August 1981 for a further 33 weeks, eventually being certified Gold by the BPI in May 1982.

Two songs were released as singles from the album; a new version of the band's first single, "Being Boiled" (as part of the Holiday '80 EP released a month before the album), and a cover of Mick Ronson's "Only After Dark" (which was ultimately given away as a free single with a re-issue of the band's 1979 single "Empire State Human" in June 1980). Neither of these were successful, though "Being Boiled" would be re-issued once again in early 1982 when it finally became a top 10 hit. The album also featured a cover of the famed advertising jingle for Gordon's Gin, written by Jeff Wayne.

Virgin Records remastered and re-issued Travelogue on CD in 1988, with an expanded track listing which included the Holiday '80 EP, the disco single "I Don't Depend on You" (originally released under the moniker "The Men"), and the single "Boys and Girls", which had been produced by Oakey and Wright after the line-up split.

Track listing

  1. "The Black Hit of Space" (Ware, Marsh, Oakey, Wright) – 4:11
  2. "Only After Dark" (Richardson, Mick Ronson) – 3:51
  3. "Life Kills" (Ware, Marsh, Oakey, Wright) – 3:08
  4. "Dreams of Leaving" (Ware, Marsh, Oakey, Wright) – 5:52
  5. "Toyota City" (Ware, Marsh, Oakey, Wright) – 3:21
  6. "Crow and a Baby" (Ware, Marsh, Oakey, Wright) – 3:43
  7. "The Touchables" (Ware, Marsh, Oakey, Wright) – 3:21
  8. "Gordon's Gin" (Wayne) – 2:59
  9. "Being Boiled" (Marsh, Oakey, Ware) – 4:22
  10. "WXJL Tonight" (Ware, Marsh, Oakey, Wright) – 4:46

Bonus tracks

  1. "Marianne" (Marsh, Oakey, Ware) – 3:17
  2. "Dancevision" (Marsh, Ware) – 2:22
  3. "Rock 'n' Roll/Night Clubbing" (Gary Glitter, Mike Leander/David Bowie, James Osterberg) – 6:23
  4. "Tom Baker" (Oakey, Wright) – 4:01
  5. "Boys and Girls" (Oakey, Wright) – 3:14
  6. "I Don't Depend on You" (Marsh, Oakey, Ware) – 4:36
  7. "Cruel" (Marsh, Oakey, Ware) – 4:45

 
 

 

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