Last week featured the unexpected release of Reason in 2007, the first single by Paul Haig in the best part of a decade which came on the back of a run of album releases on his revived Rhythm of Life (ROL) label.
It was followed up, later that year, by the album Electronik Audience, 13 tracks which, for the most part, blended vocals and experimental/soundtrack style music to what sadly, but predictably, was an uninterested audience. Difficult at the time to find in shops but available on-line, it’s an album which even the most hardcore of fans found a strange listen upon release, one which kind of harked back a decade to the sounds of the likes of Daft Punk.
Much to everyone’s surprise, it would take only a further 12 months before a new batch of material, with the album Go Out Tonight….and even more surprisingly there was a fair bit of guitar work in among some fabulous keyboard work. In places, it has songs as light and poppy as Paul has ever released, while also being home to the song Data Retro which harked back magnificently to the era when he almost became a huge star and the likes of New Order (among many others) were in debt to him. There were certainly a number of possibilities for singles but the decision was taken just to go with one and even then, it was download only:-
mp3 : Paul Haig – Hippy Dippy (Pharmaceutically Trippy)
Maybe it’s just me, but this is one of the merely OK tracks on the album where there are a number of standouts. But then again, it’s the type of noise that Paul hadn’t been making for a long while and so it was perhaps understandable that this was the one made available above other, better (IMHO) contenders.
One more week to go in this series. And it will go out with an absolute bang. Trust me on that.
Go Out Tonight is just a great album.