boffo's Full Review: Paradise Discotheque by Crime & The City Solution
This oddly named band was sort of a super group of eighies goth rock with australian, german and english band members centered around band leader australian born singer and lyricist Simon Bonney. The band changed members often but made it into the early ninties before breaking up leaving Bonney to pursue a small scale country career with his wife violinist Bronwyn Adams who was also in C&TCS. This is actually the only record I own by this group as they remain quite obscure, the biggest exposure they recived was from being featured in teo Wim Wender films, in Himmel über Berlin(american title Wings Of Desire they even appeared on screen performing a song called six bells chime.
This album starts out great with the song I Have The Gun a gorgeous folk-tinged song and this is followed by a jazzy saxophone driven number called The Sly Persuaders the third song The Dolphins And The Sharks are one of the best songs on the album a very emotional love song centered around the line You're everything you seem to be repeated several times. Next up is The sun before darkness with some beautiful violin playing towards the end. This song togheter with I Have The Gun and The Dolphins and The Sharks are my favorite songs on this album. The fifth track is Crime & The City Solution's version of the traditional song Motherless child that is perhaps a bit to much goth for it's own good.
after that is a four song cycle called The Last Dictator1-4 telling the tale of a mad dictator who creates his own kingdom with the assistance of some tempting angels, while the lyrics are well written they seem to a bit to overdone on this song cycle.
Simon Bonneys voice is more emotional than musical, he is a diagnosed manic-deprresive and some of the vocals are extremly emotional. His lack of musical consistency actually caused C&TCS to record their songs in a quite unconventional manner: They would first let Bonney sing his song a capella and later add music to fit his singing since he never seemed to be able to sing a song the same way twice. This works well since the band members are all talented and experienced musicians recruited from bands such as a german groupa DAF and Einstürzende Neubauten as well as Nick Cave's The Birthday Party.
While The band certainly did not label themselves goth they are very much a part of the more artistic side of the genre in the same vein as more famous Nick Cave and persons who enjoys his music might like this as well. overall a nice album with some really good playing, Reccomended!
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