Mr Mike's High School Record Collection: Human League - Dare! (1981)

A league of extraordinary...um, geez they're androgynous.

Thought I would have a little fun with the 'ol time machine, so I'm going to take a look back at a record I haven't had for years. It was the apex of the synthpop boom, New Wave hotties like Terri Nunn and Dale Bozzio were all over the tv and magazines as everyone got a new haircut and plugged in their Casio keyboard. While Soft Cell's Tainted Love is better remembered, the song that blew that genre up was the catchy soap opera "Don't You Want Me" by the Human League. An ugly dude with way too much makeup backed by two cute girls and an army of keyboard players made for New Wave magic in 1981 and 1982. So let's dive into the dream child of Phil Oakey, I'll try not to poke too much fun at him...because he's only Human.

1. The Things That Dreams Are Made Of

Who could forget that album cover? Bright white with the people's faces crammed into rectangles, it seemed so austere and futuristic. Then you dropped the needle on the record and got this, overlapping synths that hoot and whistle over a steady beat while Oakey gets his jaded kicks. It said "I'm ready for the future, but am too cool to show it." Sounds so much dorkier when it's written out like that.

2. Open Your Heart

At the time, it was still acceptable for synths to have an occasional lightweight amateurish sound. This kind of vibe made it sound simple yet space age all at once. After the stand offish opener, this song provided a good dose of pop fun. I don't remember this video from back then, it seems pretty obvious there was an image change on Oakey's part leading up to their big hit song in the U.S.

3. The Sound of the Crowd

One of the most memorable cuts on the album with its catchy "Get around town, get around town" chorus. The addition of the girl singers was a canny move as it distinguished the League from, say, Depeche Mode. This song made me feel like it would be cool to be all New Wave and hang out in alleys and...I don't know, do New Wave stuff. Be above it all with your hair swept over your face like an anime character. Gnarly.

4. Darkness

I skipped this song a lot back then, a little too downer for me back then. Just had this thing where I didn't like songs with this title, skipped The Police and Genesis songs with this title too.

5. Do or Die

Hate to throw out a stereotype, but European dance bands sometimes would incorporate this sort of mish mash of beats to create a Eurodisco feel. This is one of those songs, like a lost track from the James Bond For Your Eyes Only soundtrack (thanks for nothin' Bill Conti!) there's danger, intrigue and a wash of cold synths over a a Latin beat. You know what they call a Quarter Pounder in Paris? A Royale with cheese.

6. Get Carter

A real brief instrumental. It may have had a buzzing noise in it too, hard to remember.

7. I Am The Law

Another memorable cut, too bad there isn't a good copy of it on You Tube. Very ominous with a slow groove as Oakey intones "You know I am no stranger/I know rules are a bore/But just to keep you from danger/I am the law." Really good stuff. Loved this song back in the day. I recently read this song may have been based on the Judge Dredd comic book.

8. Seconds

Dare! was one of the rare albums that got better in the second half. The icy detachment of the keyboards and Oakey's deadpan vocal belies a plea for preserving life with this song detailing the act of murder. Said to be written about the assassination of JFK, this song makes you feel the urgency and outrage of a despicable act.

9. Love Action (I Believe In Love)

Wait, this was the song with the buzzing! So what was "Get Carter"? I can't remember, I wonder if it was titled after that British gangster movie later remade by Sylvester Stallone? Stallone made Judge Dredd too, what a weird connection. This is one of my favorite songs on the record, by the way, one of the few songs to have a fun mood. What? You don't believe I can win Adrian? Adrian always tells the truth. Wasn't Sly married to Bridgette Nielsen around this time? I'm not writing about this song at all, am I? I put in a Stallone pic here to cover the fact that Blogger was messing with the justification. Word processing format, you're the disease and I'm the cure.

10. Don't You Want Me

Here it is, the monster jam of 1982. So dark and dangerous as Oakey switches his look from feminine to New Romantic to play the role of the jilted lover. The movie set, the night time shots, the fact that I thought the lyric was "shoot you up" instead of "shook you up" made this song whoop ass over the competition. A flood of squonking and whistling synth bands followed and for a year the Synth Pop boom was in full force. And it's still hooky as hell.

The Human League would never rise to this level again. After a kinda successful EP in '83, the band turned to guitars the next year and saw their fortunes go the way of The Lebanon . They would have to hire Producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis to get things swinging again for a brief spell. Their time has definitely passed, but in that moment the Human League was the ultimate in high tech cool. Like an Atari 2600. Or a Betamax. Or Tron. For their last real hurrah, they told us to "Keep Feeling (Fascination)".

Human League "Keep Feeling (Fascination)"