Cherry Red Records has just released “Before The Future: 1984-1989“, a 4-CD box set featuring the English 80s rock&pop band THEN JERICO most comprehensive collection of their recorded output for London Records bringing together the band’s two studio albums, plus all of the band’s singles, B-sides, 12” mixes and demos spanning the period 1984-1989.
This is a ‘true complete’ compendium of this very good ’80s band, with many of these tracks impossible to find and many others previously unreleased.
THEN JERICO were heart-throbs to many, a group who landed their recording contract with London Records following a performance at New York’s Limelight Club in 1983. It’s shortly after this that the wider public were introduced to the band, releasing their debut single ‘The Big Sweep’ in 1985. A year when movie director John Hughes released the film The Breakfast Club, which became a movie for a generation.
I reference said film because when listening to ‘The Big Sweep’ for the first time in nearly 40 years, I realise just how much it had the feel of the numbers used on its soundtrack. Not surprising I suppose, as coming from the same time, artists would feed off the looks and sounds available.
But what was surprising is that the band weren’t to release their debut album for a further 2 years.
This, then, is a suitable time to start our journey, with the CD boxset produced by Cherry Red providing the band’s output for London Records, collected here across 4 CDs.
Their debut album, released in 1987 is ”First (The Sound Of Music)”. This is less Breakfast Club, and more of a damn good rock&pop LP. It held 10 tracks, but excluded the band’s first two singles, albeit comprised their following four.
It wasn’t that ‘…Big Sweep’, or ‘Fault’, weren’t good singles, but perhaps they wanted to develop their own sound, rather than being accused by critics like myself of hanging on a certain other band’s coat-tails.
Well, it worked. The third single ‘Muscle Deep’ spoke big-time for the band and their sixth single ‘The Motive’ finally broke the UK top 20. The additional seven tracks that are featured here, apart from their first aforementioned two singles, include the Tokyo Mix of ‘Blessed Days’ and the Dub version of ‘Fault’, remixed by Australian record producer, audio engineer and mixer Julian Mendelsohn, a favoured engineer of mine.
To continue, we also get the 7 inch of ‘The Motive’, as well as an extended version to ‘Prairie Rose’. This is the incarnation of the album that should have seen its release in 1987, but would have seen the album becoming a double.
So all these later, on CD, it realises its true worth. The production on those early singles are as wide as the shoulder pads that were popular at the time and the remixes varied with an airy feel.
Disc 2 continues on the theme of the first album, including further remixes, B-sides and live versions. The second disc does play as if it were an extension to the album, those additional tracks slotting in perfectly. The additional tracks, B-sides and remixed versions, having been written at a similar time, makes this an engaging listen.
The third disc introduces the band’s second album, ”Big Area”, and, in 1989, this was where I finally succumbed to the band. Just hearing the album’s title track was enough. I have spoken of the airy element produced by the band; well again, this was something that was at work on the album’s title track, sliding guitar solos, with Mark Shaw’s vocals following in the same vein.
This saw the album beat its predecessor, reaching number four in the UK charts. Another ten track album, this time with a further six added – a collection of B-sides and remixes and unlike the single-heavy First (The Sound Of Music), only had 3 singles that were taken from it.
With the second of those,‘What Does It Take?’, features the shared vocal of Belinda Carlisle, and this expanded version again adds to this by featuring remixes and B-sides.
The first of these is ‘Trampled Underfoot’ and whereas this Led Zeppelin cover is a recording that might have been resigned to the status of a B-side or bonus track,‘What Does It Take’ and ’Sugar Box’, are great tracks in themselves, making this collection a worthwhile resource.
Following these first three discs, covering the band’s recorded output for London Records, the collection takes it one stage further, by assembling ”From The Vaults”.
This sees more obscure mixes and demos, along with regular versions of the singles, and mixes made for the US market, some of which have been released on CD for the first time. On this fourth disc we hear what has been called the Nightmare Mix to The Motive, an interesting title and although being over six and a half minutes, didn’t quite live up to its title.
More satisfying are the USA Remixes of ‘Let Her Fall’ and ‘The Motive’. Coming to the final tracks featured, these are the demo versions taken from the First (The Sound Of Music) period, with the exception of ‘The Word’ (this particular track was featured as a live version on the second disc).
These demo versions offer what I hear as a playful element to the performance. These are in no way rough, but rather feature what might be seen as a near-finished quality, the best moments arguably being ‘Quiet Place’, another track with an airy quality and the track that follows, ‘Play Dead’, featuring a greater Celtic quality than the album version. Interestingly it’s the final track here ‘The Motive’, that begins to sound like a demo, almost as if you are sitting behind the mixing desk, displaying the eloquence of production.
I might be accused of referring to these expanded editions, provided by Cherry Red as being the best thing since sliced bread, but I find it worthwhile to hear tracks provided this way.
As someone who grew up locating remixes and alternate versions of songs, it’s good to have these collected in one place and in some cases released for the first time on CD. Then Jerico continues as a band, but with vocalist Mark Shaw as the remaining member.
“Before The Future: 1984-1989” is an exceptional release, collecting these versions together, a worthwhile exercise for hopeless record collectors and critics like myself, and a chance to remember one of the finest ’80s English rock&pop bands.
AOR connoisseurs already have some Then Jerico music in their collection (as on many places recalls lite AOR bands of the era, specially Canadian), so if you wish to re-discover the band or never heard about Then Jerico, “Before The Future: 1984-1989” results Highly Recommended.
CD 1 First (The Sound of Music) +7
01 – Let Her Fall
02 – Blessed Days
03 – Laughter Party
04 – Stable Boy
05 – The Motive
06 – Muscle Deep
07 – Quiet Place (Apathy & Sympathy)
08 – Play Dead
09 – The Hitcher
10 – Prairie Rose
Bonus Tracks:
11 – Blessed Days (The Tokyo Mix)
12 – Fault (Dub)
13 – The Big Sweep
14 – Fault
15 – Muscle Deep (Single Version)
16 – Prairie Rose
17 – The Motive (Greg Walsh Remix)
CD 2 Extended Mixes & B-Sides
01 – The Big Sweep (Club Mix)
02 – The Rack
03 – Fault (US Extended)
04 – Muscle Deep (Extended Version)
05 – Clank (Countdown to Oblivion)
06 – Distant Homes
07 – Let Her Fall (The Absolute Version)
08 – Searching
09 – Prairie Rose (UK Extended)
10 – Electric
11 – One Life
12 – The Motive (Extended Version)
13 – The Word
14 – The Motive (Midnight Mix)
15 – The Motive (USA Mix)
16 – Let Her Fall (12″ Remix)
CD 3 Big Area (Outside) +6
01 – Big Area
02 – What Does It Take?
03 – You Ought to Know
04 – Song for the Brokenhearted
05 – Darkest Hour
06 – Reeling
07 – Where You Lie
08 – Sugar Box
09 – Helpless
10 – Under Fire
Bonus Tracks:
11 – Trampled Underfoot
12 – The Happening
13 – What Does It Take? (Extended)
14 – Jungle
15 – Big Area (Lost Mix)
16 – Sugar Box (Blue Instrumental)
CD 4 From The Vaults
01 – The Motive (The Nightmare Mix)
02 – Prairie Rose (7″ DJ Version)
03 – What Does It Take? (Great Mix)
04 – Let Her Fall (USA Mix)
05 – The Motive (Longer USA Mix)
06 – Let Her Fall (7″ Version)
07 – What Does It Take? (Single Version)
08 – Let Her Fall (7″ Remix)
09 – Blessed Days (12″ Version)
10 – The Word (Demo)
11 – Let Her Fall (Demo)
12 – The Hitcher (Demo)
13 – Quiet Place (Demo)
14 – Play Dead (Demo)
15 – Stable Boy (Demo)
16 – The Motive (Demo)
Mark Shaw – vocals
Robert Downes – guitar
Scott Taylor – guitar
Jasper Stainthorpe – bass
Steve Wren – drums
Charles Judge, Chris Youdell – keyboards
Belinda Carlisle – background vocals (“What Does It Take”)
THEN JERICO – Before The Future: 1984-1989 [Cherry Red 4CD Box Set] (2024)
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