Heart of a Punk Soul of a Rasta

Translucence - Poly Styrene
Thirty Years ago today

OK so its that time of year again when we to trawl through the record collection & listen to a notable, if not universally well know release from 30 years ago. In the last week of November 1980 I bought two records that have stood the test of time "Grotesque" by The Fall and "Translucence" by the X-Ray Spex punk poet Poly Styrene. Could there be a wider gap between the musical careers of these two idiosyncratic punk survivors Poly S and Mark E? I think not.

"Translucence" is a curious LP in every sense of the word and not one that I would have naturally found myself buying back in 1980. To say its a slight departure - a mere stylistic shift - a minute detour from the venerated punk classic of Germ Free Adolescence by X-Ray Spex would be telling a massive porkie pie. Other than Poly's unique vocal and lyrical talents Translucence is musically a total volte-face bar none.

The review below is taken from SOUNDS, and Robbi Millar does a pretty good job of describing the LP and stating the major preoccupation of the time which was "where to next" for the punk protagonists. The only thing I don't get is the Mick De Ville bit. But this could be because Mick de Ville is some one I'd never heard of back then and still haven't heard of today. And then likens POLY to Bruce Springsteen; eh, that can't be right, can it?

So how and why did Poly go from punk priestess North African chanteuse in the space of two years? Well the journey taken by Poly between Germ Free & Translucence is pretty well documented and is eluded too in the rather silly Sounds review title. Needless to say in the space of a couple of years shit happened to bring about such a stark musical change.
Also by July 1980 Poly had gotten her image (if nothing else) well and truly stolen by the likes or Malcolm Mclaren's Bow Wow Wow; so a change seemed not only a blessing but also a necessity - It was time for something completely different and "Translucence" was just that. But Mick de Ville & Bruce Springsteen? Nah! For me "Translucence" is all John Lennon. The album blends the truthful lyrical simplicity found on John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band LP with the jazzy rhythmic inflections found on Walls and Bridges. A track like "Essence", with its silent pauses, reminds me of Lennon's "How?" whilst "The Day that Time Forgot" with its slightly underplayed vitriol (and Ted Bunting's syrupy Flute) can be compared to overtly vitriolic "Steel and Glass" and "How do you Sleep" by John Winston L.

Maybe it's also because Lennon was gunned down a week after the release of "Translucence" and somehow a link has been burnt into my damaged brain box. I don't know; either way what "Translucence" is, is a wonderfully calm self contained world all of its own, moving gently along at its own delicate speed.

The LP finally got a CD release in the early nineties but unfortunately the wonderful artwork was replaced. The original cover of "Translucence" is so integral to the whole piece that its hard to imagine that any sensible thought process went into the decision. Poly disguised by a keffiyeh - Single footsteps left in the sand - It was a long way away from youths meeting at Stockwell Tube but it perfectly describes the new place Poly was at. And this PLACE called "Translucence" was so self contained that it hasn't really aged over the thirty years that have past, ok perhaps the quirky synth driven single "Talk in Toy Town" seems a bit squeaky now, but generally the overall sound of the album can't be pinned down to a particular age.

So finally lets go back to 1980 again and the week I bought "Translucence" by Poly Styrene, and "Grotesque" by The Fall. Since 1980 Mark E Smith has released over 25 studio albums and Poly Styrene has released 2; the Spex return "Conscious Consumer" in '95 and the solo "Flower Aeroplane" in '04. Why is that? Very strange. Especially when you compare Poly to the likes of someone like the Icelandic elfin Bjork. Bjork left the post punk indie-ness of The Sugarcubes in the 90's in much the same way as Poly left The Spex in the 80's, but she was able to forge a long universal career with a not too dissimilar idiosyncratic approach to music. Why there no quick follow up to Poly's debut always baffled me but what remains today is "Translucence" a wonderful place to visit - a chilled out oasis of calm - a place far far away from the world of chaos.



P.S
The POLY PRODUCT count is about to increase (by at least one) because POLY IS BACK! With a reggae anti-Christmas song 'Black Christmas' which is available as a free download. Click HERE. And with a brand new album 'Generation Indigo' produced by Youth set for release in March 2011. It's about bloody time - bring it on.


PPS
Where can you get a copy of "Translucence" from? I don't know, but in these times of CHAOS get a copy you must.