Aztec Camera: Backwards And Forwards (Cherry Red)
The clever lyrics: they call us lonely when we’re really just alone, the unique voice, and the amazing guitar solo featured in Aztec Camera’s first Top 20 hit, Oblivious, have never failed to impress me. I’ve always loved everything about it ever since I first heard it in the early 80s. The single was taken from the classic debut album, High Line, Hard Rain, side two of HLHR ends with We Could Send Letters which I think is just wonderful in every way.
Aztec Camera’s second album isn’t quite as lovable as the first. The acoustic Birth of the True is beautifully performed and sung with much feeling and seemed great at the time but the slightly pretentious lyrics now make me cringe. It was around the time of this album that Roddy Frame would include a cover of Jump in most live shows. It’s nice to see Jump included here.
It’s curious how in ‘84 he was working with Mark Knopfler and covering Van Halen hits but within a year or so his tastes had changed and the records he listened to most were by soul acts such as Anita Baker. The album LOVE gave Mr Frame the biggest commercial success of his career largely down to the massively radio friendly single Somewhere in my Heart (a number three hit in 1988) It’s been implied that he was far prouder of other tracks on LOVE such as Killermont Street (which some critics see as a kind of companion piece to The Proclaimers song about migration, Letter From America.
The other singles from that LP Working In A Goldmine and Deep and Wide and Tall are good, but maybe not that good. My personal favourite song from that album is (Why should it take the tears of a woman to see) How Men Are? The best version of this plea for a little R.E.S.P.E.C.T, in my opinion, is the stripped-down performance from Ronnie Scott’s Club where he’s accompanied by the pianist Gary Sanctuary – I love the way he starts to sing a snatch of Curtis Mayfield’s People Get Ready as the tune comes to an end.
Roddy Frame has a great knack for picking interesting songs to cover. His versions of Cyndi Lauper’s True Colours, (Socialist anthem)The Red Flag, Dylan’s I Threw It All Away, and Bad Education by Blue Orchids are all completely fab.
Curiously the only cover that doesn’t quite work is his duet with the lovely Andy Fairweather Low on the classic, If Paradise Is Half As Nice – I guess this song just wasn’t meant to be a duet. Maybe I’m getting sentimental in my old age but I felt surprisingly emotional whilst listening to a live version of the witty Orange Juice song, Consolation Prize performed by Frame and his old pal Edwyn Collins. By contrast, this duet is a gem and you can feel the love between the two old pals. Whilst promoting Good Morning Britain Frame’s duet with Mick Jones (of B.A.D) Hot Rod announced he considered one of the best things he’d ever done. Listening to it in 2021 I think he’s wrong. It was impressive to sum up the state of the nation, record the track in a day and get it out to the public but there are far better tracks contained in this collection.
When I listen to 1993s Piano and Clocks I just think: WOW! I love his Al Greene esq guitar intro to Safe In Sorrow and his flamenco guitar playing on Spanish Horses but the other single from 93s Dreamland album, Dream Sweet Dreams is slightly annoying.
When the final Aztec Camera album came out in 1995 nobody was listening. The album was produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley who are associated with huge selling hit singles by Madness and Dexys. The songs about sea and sand and sun are all very nice and pleasant but they don’t sound like hits. You get the feeling Frame wrote the lyrics whilst stoned out of his box.
But, I guess this 112 track deluxe box set is a must have for Frame fans who relate to the lyrics of All I Need Is Everything. I like Tim Barr’s well researched essay that features in a little booklet and I like hearing the many remixes of songs like Everybody Is Number One. And I love Roddy Frame and think he is undeniably, exceptionally talented.
WEA records were right to sign him up and fools to let him go. If you don’t own all the albums already this is well worth £50. In December 2014 Roddy Frame released Seven Dials on AED Records to rave reviews. Roddy proved he could still pen and sing bittersweet love songs and sing like an angel. I hope the release of Backwards and Forwards renews interest in Hot Rod and we get to hear more magic from this exceptionally talented chap.
Backwards and Forwards (the wea recordings 1984-1995): 9CD boxset available from Cherry Red records.
