John Foxx - The Quiet Man
The albums "Metamatic", "The Garden" and "The Golden Section" followed with a certain amount of commercial success. Metamatic is known for its trademark "metal beat" and uncompromising sounds, but still the feeling and thought in the lyrics comes through. "The Garden" is far more lyrical, many of the sharp edges from Metamatic honed away to give a much more soothing sound. The title track itself - recorded out of doors at daybreak - is a joy to behold. "The Golden Section" is described by John as his "roots" album, and the Beatles influence is there to see throughout. It seems that at this point that John was becoming disillusioned with the music business and that Virgin were frustrated at the lack of return on their investment. And that is possibly the story behind "In Mysterious Ways", which despite some fine tunes, sold badly and marked what many thought was the end of John Foxx's music career. There was a brief foray into the dance scene as Nation XII, but in 1997, came the news that Foxx fans had been awaiting for a decade. There were going to be not one, but two new John Foxx albums. Released simultaneously were "Cathedral Oceans", a beautiful album of haunting mood music inspired by John's love of churches and ecclesiastical architecture; and a more conventional CD "Shifting City". Recorded with his new-found musical partner Louis Gordon, Foxx has rediscovered his "Metamatic" sound and updated it for the nineties. The result ranges from a modern multi-layered sound driven by solid beats, down to a simple stripped down metal beat of old. Either way it works. Spurred on by his still loyal fan base, Foxx even went on tour, releasing live recordings in the process, with more solo work and a partnership with the legendary Harold Budd in the pipeline. In 2001, John moved back into the commercial sphere, with the release of "Modern Art", a retrospective of his more high profile output. The CD features his best-known work, such as the seminal "Underpass", "Europe After The Rain", plus hard-to-get tracks such as the flexi-disc only "My Face". Finally, it's a showcase for the forthcoming album, "The Pleasures of Electricity", another collaboration with Louis Gordon, and it is, in Louis' own words: "Bazzin'". The furture hold more for the Foxx fan. There's the new material, plus the promise of more unrealeased works from the back catalogue. To start with comes remastered versions of "Metamatic" and "The Garden", followed, eventually, by "The Golden Section", available for the first time in the UK on CD.
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