Review Summary: Eerie demos from Soft Cell at their most raw and experimental; tailored to uber-fans, alone.
Commercial success has a tendency to spoil music. In many ways it can be beneficial, with the band responsible for the music gaining confidence and a larger audience, therefore spurring them on to deliver more quality. But at other times it can have negative aspects, such as the notion that music tends to get a hell of a lot less arty, experimental and daring as band members get famous, older and safer. Whilst anyone in their right mind couldn’t levy that criticism against Soft Cell; listening to 'The Bedsit Tapes' (a 2005 collection of 16 rough, self-financed demos and early EP tracks recorded between ‘78 and ‘80) its quite surprising just how arty and un-commercial Almond and Ball were, prior to their breakout hit, 'Tainted Love'.
'The Bedsit Tapes' provides a curious insight into the formative years of the pioneering duo at their most raw and avant-garde. Fans who’ve only heard songs from their 'proper' albums might be shocked to hear just how cold and robotic songs like 'Occupational Hazard' and 'Factory Fun' are, with blunt repetitive synth drones and warbles, and dehumanised vocals from Almond (most of his singing is tampered with and edited to sound slightly off-kilter and robotic). The tunes on offer sound more like a intriguing blend of 'The Normal's': 'Warm Leatherette' and early 'Human League' (think 'Reproduction', rather than 'Dare') - clearly of high worth to a small cluster of fans of detached, early 80’s synth music.
One may assume that a collection of demos may be a throw away experience, and to some extent that’s correct. Most entities are short, experimental numbers - the result of two young art students, having access to a cheap studio, and doing what you might expect - throwing ideas around without care for commercial merit, toying with sound like a child that’s had too much lemonade. But for the right audience (I.e. the aforementioned early 80’s cold synth enthusiasts and mega Soft Cell fans) these eclectic, mad tunes will undoubtedly provide a very exciting and interesting listening experience.
As far as sound goes, its a surprisingly well executed effort. Despite being a compilation of ancient demos the sound quality and flow is fantastic (the production team who remastered the sound deserve to be applauded) and there are enough worthwhile moments to propel the album above a meagre number of listens. 'Cleansing Fanatic' is about as alarmingly eerie as very late 70’s/early 80’s synth gets; 'Potential', 'L.O.V.E. Feeling' and 'Science Fiction Stories' are as close to a familiar brand of Soft Cell you’ll find here; and 'Paranoid' is the most unusual cover of 'Black Sabbath’s' hit as you’re likely to ever hear.
If you’re a big Soft Cell fan (I couldn't really recommend this to casual fans - it's far too alienating), 'The Bedsit Tapes' is a fascinating and thrilling slice of rough, dark, avant-garde giddiness. It might not satisfy on the same level as a full 'Cell' album but this record isn’t trying to be anything other than a collection of interesting curios to be lapped up by serious fans, and considering the sound quality and flow, it achieves its goal rather well. The only major criticism is that the tracklist is perhaps a tad bare (a few beloved bootleg tracks and the 'Some Bizarre Album' classic, 'The Girl With The Patent Leather Face' are missing, but their omission isn’t that glaring that it spoils enjoyment), but apart from that small flaw, 'The Bedsit Tapes' goes to show just how cutting edge and unique the duo were, even in their young age and slightly deranged formative years.
