Magic, Murder and the Weather

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Magic, Murder and the Weather
Magazine's studio album

Publication
(s)

1981

Label (s) Virgin Records

Format (s)

LP, CD

Genre (s)

Post punk

Title (number)

10

running time

40:42

occupation
  • Guitar: Ben Mandelson
  • Drums: John Doyle
  • Keyboard: Dave Formula

production

Martin Hannett

Studio (s)

  • Recording: Trident Studio, London
  • Mixture: Strawberry Studio, Stockport
chronology
The Correct Use of Soap
(1980) 		Magic, Murder and the Weather No Thyself
(2011)

Magic, Murder and the Weather is the fourth studio album by the British post-punk band Magazine . The album was released by Virgin Records in May 1981 . Shortly before the release, Howard Devoto announced that he was leaving the band. Magazines then disbanded and only came back together in 2008, but without John McGeoch, who died in 2004 .

Emergence

After touring for The Correct Use of Soap in the summer of 1980, guitarist John McGeoch left the band and joined Siouxsie and the Banshees . For the upcoming concerts of a world tour in autumn, the band was able to engage Robin Simon as guitarist, who had left Ultravox in March 1979 . Devoto knew Simon from his time at Neo, who had supported Magazine in 1978. With Simon, Magazine completed several concerts in the United States in August and several concerts in Asia and Australia in September.

For the live album Play , a performance was recorded in the Festival Hall in Melbourne, Australia on September 6, 1980. Play was released just before Christmas that year. Simon imitated McGeoch's style in a striking way, but is not featured on any of the band's studio recordings. In December 1980 he left the band due to artistic differences. Even so, magazines were working on new titles again.

In mid-April 1981 the band announced during an interview for the NME at Trident Studios that they were working on a new album with sound engineer John Brand, who was also responsible for recording Play and coproducing the live album. The new guitarist was Ben Mandelson, a friend of Devoto's school at Bolton College . Mandelson also contributed to the new material on the viola. In order to make the sound more cohesive, Martin Hannett was hired to do the mixing. He mixed the album at Strawberry Studios in Stockport.

During the recording sessions, Devoto announced his departure within the band. In early May, the single About the Weather was released as a maxi with the two titles In the Dark and The Operative as B-side, but did not make it into the UK UK Top 40 . At the end of May, Devoto officially announced his exit in an interview with the NME. The album was released in June 1981.

Track list

  1. About the Weather (Devoto / Formula) - 4:06
  2. So Lucky (Devoto / Formula) - 4:11
  3. The Honeymoon Killers (Devoto / Adamson / Mandelson) - 3:39
  4. Vigilance (Devoto / Adamson) - 5:15
  5. Come Alive (Devoto / Formula) - 3:43
  6. The Green Man's Secrets (Devoto / Adamson / Doyle / Formula / Mandelson) - 4:57
  7. This Poison (Devoto / Adamson / Doyle / Formula / Mandelson) - 4:20
  8. Naked Eye (Devoto / Adamson / Doyle / Formula / Mandelson) - 3:30
  9. Suburban Rhonda (Devoto / Formula) - 3:32
  10. The Garden (Devoto / Formula) - 2:39

On a 2007 remastered edition, the titles not used on the album are the titles used for the B-side of About the Weather :

  1. In the Dark (Devoto / Adamson / Doyle / Formula / Mandelson) - 2:43
  2. The Operative (Devoto / Adamson / Doyle / Formula / Mandelson) - 2:45

The two tracks were not mixed by Hannett, but by Magazine and Andy Lewellyn.

Record cover

The cover contains an alienation of a black and white photo by the American photographer Bruce Gilden and is kept in pink tones.

Publication and chart placements

Virgin Records released Magic, Murder and the Weather in June 1981. The album hit the UK album charts in June, got the best rating at # 39 in its first week and lasted 3 weeks.

reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic describes Formula's keyboard playing as cold and brittle and criticizes Devoto's vocals for only occasionally standing out from the icy mix. He draws the conclusion that Devoto and Magazine had better moments ("it's clear that Devoto and Magazine have both had better days") and rates it with 2 out of 5 stars.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Magic, Murder and the Weather in the UK album charts. In: officialcharts.com. Retrieved November 18, 2016 .
  2. ↑ Stephen Thomas Erlewine: Magic, Murder and the Weather - Magazine. In: allmusic.com. ROVI Corporation, accessed February 1, 2012 .