Soft Cell are an English synthpop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s, consisting of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball. The duo are principally known for their 1981 hit version of "Tainted Love".
The Art of Falling Apart is the second full-length album by the English synthpop duo Soft Cell, released in 1983.
The album reached No. 5 on the UK charts, although its two singles "Where the Heart Is" and the double A-sided single "Numbers" / "Barriers" both failed to reach the Top 20, breaking the duo's run of five consecutive Top 5 singles in the UK, reaching No. 21 and No. 25, respectively.
The opening tracks "Forever the Side" and "Where the Heart Is" are decent, Marc Almond's monotonal vocal style quickly wears thin, and David Ball's use of the same synthesizer stylistics on every track similarly "[makes] the whole album sound like variations on one theme." He particularly derided the synth-pop renditions of Jimi Hendrix songs, saying "Just that concept ought to elicit a chuckle. Suffice to say that Soft Cell are not able to do for the Hendrix songs what they did for Gloria Jones' 'Tainted Love'."
The song "Martin" was inspired by the 1978 horror film Martin directed by George A. Romero. The song "Numbers" refers to the banned 1967 novel Numbers by John Rechy.
Track listing
01. "Forever the Same" - 5:06
02. "Where the Heart Is" - 4:34
03. "Numbers" - 4:55
04. "Heat" - 6:11
05. "Kitchen Sink Drama" - 3:56
06. "Baby Doll" - 6:44
07. "Loving You, Hating Me" - 4:18
08. "The Art of Falling Apart" - 5:01
Extra tracks on remastered CD: SOME BIZZARE/MERCURY (558,266-2, June 1998)
09. "Hendrix Medley" - 10:20 (Jimi Hendrix, Billy Roberts) [on bonus 12" with initial copies of the vinyl LP]
10. "Martin" - 10:16 [on bonus 12" with initial copies of the vinyl LP]
11. "Barriers" - 7:05 [double A-side of "Numbers" 7" and 12" singles]
12. "It's a Mug's Game" - 8:15 [B-side of "Where the Heart Is" 12"]
All tracks written and composed by David Ball and Marc Almond, except where noted.
Credits
Marc Almond - lead vocals
David Ball - synthesizers, backing vocals, multi-instruments
John Gatchell - trumpet, horns
Harvey Goldberg - mixing, engineering
Don Weshba - engineering
Producer - Mike Thorne & Soft Cell
Notes
Release date: January 1983
Genre: Synthpop
Length: 40:00
© 1982
Label - Some Bizzare Records
The album reached No. 5 on the UK charts, although its two singles "Where the Heart Is" and the double A-sided single "Numbers" / "Barriers" both failed to reach the Top 20, breaking the duo's run of five consecutive Top 5 singles in the UK, reaching No. 21 and No. 25, respectively.
The opening tracks "Forever the Side" and "Where the Heart Is" are decent, Marc Almond's monotonal vocal style quickly wears thin, and David Ball's use of the same synthesizer stylistics on every track similarly "[makes] the whole album sound like variations on one theme." He particularly derided the synth-pop renditions of Jimi Hendrix songs, saying "Just that concept ought to elicit a chuckle. Suffice to say that Soft Cell are not able to do for the Hendrix songs what they did for Gloria Jones' 'Tainted Love'."
The song "Martin" was inspired by the 1978 horror film Martin directed by George A. Romero. The song "Numbers" refers to the banned 1967 novel Numbers by John Rechy.
Track listing
01. "Forever the Same" - 5:06
02. "Where the Heart Is" - 4:34
03. "Numbers" - 4:55
04. "Heat" - 6:11
05. "Kitchen Sink Drama" - 3:56
06. "Baby Doll" - 6:44
07. "Loving You, Hating Me" - 4:18
08. "The Art of Falling Apart" - 5:01
Extra tracks on remastered CD: SOME BIZZARE/MERCURY (558,266-2, June 1998)
09. "Hendrix Medley" - 10:20 (Jimi Hendrix, Billy Roberts) [on bonus 12" with initial copies of the vinyl LP]
10. "Martin" - 10:16 [on bonus 12" with initial copies of the vinyl LP]
11. "Barriers" - 7:05 [double A-side of "Numbers" 7" and 12" singles]
12. "It's a Mug's Game" - 8:15 [B-side of "Where the Heart Is" 12"]
All tracks written and composed by David Ball and Marc Almond, except where noted.
Credits
Marc Almond - lead vocals
David Ball - synthesizers, backing vocals, multi-instruments
John Gatchell - trumpet, horns
Harvey Goldberg - mixing, engineering
Don Weshba - engineering
Producer - Mike Thorne & Soft Cell
Notes
Release date: January 1983
Genre: Synthpop
Length: 40:00
© 1982
Label - Some Bizzare Records
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