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It could have been the
hedonistic, string driven disco nights of the late 70s,
the wanton R&B from the Motorcity, the soul stew served
up in Memphis or the sophisticated European night club sounds
of the mid-60s. Yet the era or genre was immaterial to legendary
subterranean anti-star/painter/sensual chanteuse/lyricist,
Anita Lane and her long-standing mercurial musical
collaborator/producer, Bad Seed Mick Harvey.
Lane and Harvey
simply wanted to fashion an effortless, propulsive and timeless
sexual groove on which to support her words of lust, despair
and hard fought redemption. The redoubtable Harvey,
playing most of the instruments, would help realise the
bittersweet sounds she heard in her head.
Once the pair began creating
the songs that comprise Sex O'Clock, (on several
occasions utilising tape loops of Bad Seeds jams
from the mid-90s) they intuitively knew that their groove
did not necessarily lead straight to the dancefloor. Their
eclectic influences and experiences would ensure that the
boudoir was a far more likely location, if not the kitchen.
The final musical destination
was unknown, but Lane and Harvey were going
to follow this frivolous, libidinous groove to the end of
the line. The thrill of discovery and adventure was their
only guide.
Sex O'Clock is undoubtedly
Anita Lane's most fully realised work to date. Her
own unique compositions, laced with sly humour traverse
such emotional themes as desire ('Do That Thing', 'Do The
Kamasutra'), lassitude ('I Love You, I Am No More'), painful
memory ('The Petrol Wife') and domestic turmoil ('The Next
Man That I See'). Lane's interpretation of other
songwriter's material features on Sex O'Clock (Gil
Scott-Heron's searing 'Home is Where the Hatred Is', the
gut-wrenching 'I Hate Myself' and the traditional ballad
'Bella Ciao') is as distinctive and moving as her own material.
Bitter knowing and child-like wonder are magically combined
on Sex O'Clock within Anita's torched songs.
Sweeping strings blend with soaring wah-wah guitars and
simmering organ locked into an inexorable, widescreen groove.
Ms. Lane's predilection
for groove propelled music, evinced throughout much of Sex
O'Clock, should come as no surprise to long term aficionados
of her musical output. Her acclaimed debut 1988 solo recording,
'Dirty Sings', featured an inspired interpretation
of Sister Sledge's anthemic disco number 'Lost In Music'.
She recorded a beat driven version of Nancy Sinatra's 'These
Boots Are Made For Walking' with Barry Adamson in
1991 and her debut album, "Dirty Pearl",
included a remarkable cover of Marvin Gaye's 'Sexual Healing'.
Her frank lyrics, delivered
in her singular, deceptively girlish vocal style, can also
be traced through her past work. Lane came to London
from Melbourne with The Birthday Party in 1980. A
long time friend and collaborator with Nick Cave,
Anita Lane co-wrote three memorable Birthday Party
songs ('A Dead Song', 'Kiss Me Black' and the auto destructive
'Dead Joe') and inspired many others.
Credited as a co-founder
of Nick Cave's solo band, The Bad Seeds, Lane
would exert a strong influence over this unit. Such universally
acclaimed Bad Seeds songs as 'From Her To Eternity'
and the haunting 'Stranger Than Kindness', were co-written
by Lane. That she has also worked with Barry Adamson,
Einsturzende Neubauten, Die Haut and Mick
Harvey on his series of Serge Gainsbourg albums, gives
some indication of the high regard with which she is held
by her contemporaries.
Sexy, funny, intense and
plaintive - Sex O'Clock is a remarkable album forged
by an extraordinary woman.
If it's Sex O'Clock,
it's definitely time for bed
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