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''Before After'' is the seventh studio album by the English
synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...
band
Heaven 17 Heaven 17 are an English new wave and synth-pop band that formed in Sheffield in 1980. The band were a trio for most of their career, composed of Martyn Ware (keyboards) and Ian Craig Marsh (keyboards) (both previously of the Human League), ...
. It was originally released in September 2005, on the label Ninthwave, nine years after their previous album, ''
Bigger Than America ''Bigger Than America'' is the sixth studio album by the English synthpop band Heaven 17. It was originally released in September 1996, on the label Eye of the Storm, eight years after their previous album, '' Teddy Bear, Duke & Psycho''. The al ...
''. The album reached #6 on the Billboard Magazine Club Play Chart in April 2006. In September 2008, the band's cover of
Blue Öyster Cult Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American rock band formed on Long Island in Stony Brook, New York, in 1967, and best known for the singles " (Don't Fear) The Reaper", " Burnin' for You", and "Godzilla". The ba ...
's "
Don't Fear the Reaper "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" is a song by American rock band Blue Öyster Cult from the band's 1976 album ''Agents of Fortune.'' The song, written and sung by lead guitarist Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser, deals with eternal love and the inevitabili ...
" was featured on the American dark fantasy television series
True Blood ''True Blood'' is an American fantasy Horror fiction, horror Drama (film and television), drama television show, television series produced and created by Alan Ball (screenwriter), Alan Ball. It is based on ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', a ...
. A number of remixes of tracks from the album have appeared on online digital services such as iTunes and
Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential econom ...
. It was the final album to feature founding member
Ian Craig Marsh Ian Craig Marsh (born 11 November 1956) is an English musician and composer. He was a founding member of the electronic band the Human League, writing and playing on their first two albums and several singles, until leaving in 1980 to form the ...
, who made the decision to retire from music in 2007.


Background

When Heaven 17 released ''
Bigger Than America ''Bigger Than America'' is the sixth studio album by the English synthpop band Heaven 17. It was originally released in September 1996, on the label Eye of the Storm, eight years after their previous album, '' Teddy Bear, Duke & Psycho''. The al ...
'' in 1996, it was their first album of new material in eight years. The band intended to release a follow-up in quicker succession and began working on more dance-orientated material approximately a year or so after ''Bigger Than America''. The band worked on a number of backing tracks and later provided their manager and other contacts in the music industry with CDs of twelve tracks they intended to develop further. However, the reception towards these proved to be "kind of lacklustre" and the band decided to discard the tracks and start from scratch. Although a couple of the original backing tracks were later salvaged for ''Before After'', the band concentrated on writing new material. Once completed, a rough mix of the album was sent to various record companies in the effort to get a deal, but nothing came to fruition. After the album was given a proper mix, the band sought record company interest again. Although the band received a few offers, negotiations fell through and the band eventually decided to release ''Before After'' independently. The band had 100 limited edition copies pressed, which were due to be sold via their official website, but an agreement was then made with small, independent labels for the release of ''Before After'' in the UK, Europe and US.


Critical reception

Upon its release, Fiona Mckinlay of ''
musicOMH MusicOMH (stylized as musicOMH) is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History MusicOMH was founded and launched by ...
'' wrote: "If this comeback is Heaven 17's attempt at making synth-based music cool again, it's not going to work. Heaven 17 are musically so dated that it's hard not to chuckle. It's soulless old school dance music for robots and people too hammered to notice." Stephen Schnee of
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...
described the album as "sound nglike Heaven 17 with a fresh outlook". He commented: "With these tracks, the band sounds rejuvenated without losing sight of where it came from. In essence, this is another classic H17 album that will sound just as good 20 years from now as ''
Penthouse and Pavement ''Penthouse and Pavement'' is the debut studio album by English new wave and synth-pop band Heaven 17, released in September 1981 by Virgin Records. "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang" was released as a single, but did not achieve cha ...
'' or ''
How Men Are ''How Men Are'' is the third studio album by English synth-pop band Heaven 17, released on 24 September 1984 by Virgin Records. The album peaked at No. 12 in the UK and was certified Silver (60,000 copies sold) by the BPI in October 1984. Thre ...
'' do today."


Track listing

All songs written and composed by
Glenn Gregory Glenn Peter Gregory (born 16 May 1958) is an English singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as co-founder and lead singer of the new wave and synthpop b ...
,
Ian Craig Marsh Ian Craig Marsh (born 11 November 1956) is an English musician and composer. He was a founding member of the electronic band the Human League, writing and playing on their first two albums and several singles, until leaving in 1980 to form the ...
, and
Martyn Ware Martyn Ware (born 19 May 1956) is an English musician, composer, arranger, record producer, and music programmer. As a founding member of both the Human League and Heaven 17, Ware was partly responsible for hit songs such as " Being Boiled" and ...
. #"I'm Gonna Make You Fall in Love with Me" – 3:23 #"Hands Up to Heaven" (Keith Lowndes,
Glenn Gregory Glenn Peter Gregory (born 16 May 1958) is an English singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as co-founder and lead singer of the new wave and synthpop b ...
,
Ian Craig Marsh Ian Craig Marsh (born 11 November 1956) is an English musician and composer. He was a founding member of the electronic band the Human League, writing and playing on their first two albums and several singles, until leaving in 1980 to form the ...
,
Martyn Ware Martyn Ware (born 19 May 1956) is an English musician, composer, arranger, record producer, and music programmer. As a founding member of both the Human League and Heaven 17, Ware was partly responsible for hit songs such as " Being Boiled" and ...
) – 4:43 #"The Way It Is" – 4:11 #"Freedom from Love" – 4:12 #"
Don't Fear the Reaper "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" is a song by American rock band Blue Öyster Cult from the band's 1976 album ''Agents of Fortune.'' The song, written and sung by lead guitarist Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser, deals with eternal love and the inevitabili ...
" (
Donald Roeser Donald Roeser (born November 12, 1947), known by his stage name Buck Dharma, is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is the sole constant member of hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult since the group's formation in 1967. He wrote and ...
) – 4:39 #"Into the Blue" – 4:10 #"Deeper and Deeper" – 3:54 #"What Would It Take" – 4:55 #"Someone for Real" – 4:25 #"Are You Ready?"* (
Billie Godfrey Billie Godfrey is an English singer. Background Based in London and Brighton, Godfrey has been a vocalist for many artists and in her own right. She started her career as a radio DJ, playing the kind of music she would later go on to record. ...
, Gregory, Marsh, Ware) – 4:36 Track marked with an asterisk (*) does not appear on the US release, although it is mentioned in the booklet.


Personnel

;Heaven 17 *
Glenn Gregory Glenn Peter Gregory (born 16 May 1958) is an English singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as co-founder and lead singer of the new wave and synthpop b ...
 –
lead Lead is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metals, heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale of mineral hardness#Intermediate ...
and background vocals;
synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis ...
*
Ian Craig Marsh Ian Craig Marsh (born 11 November 1956) is an English musician and composer. He was a founding member of the electronic band the Human League, writing and playing on their first two albums and several singles, until leaving in 1980 to form the ...
 – synthesizer;
backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...
*
Martyn Ware Martyn Ware (born 19 May 1956) is an English musician, composer, arranger, record producer, and music programmer. As a founding member of both the Human League and Heaven 17, Ware was partly responsible for hit songs such as " Being Boiled" and ...
 – synthesizer; backing vocals ;Session vocalists *
Billie Godfrey Billie Godfrey is an English singer. Background Based in London and Brighton, Godfrey has been a vocalist for many artists and in her own right. She started her career as a radio DJ, playing the kind of music she would later go on to record. ...
 – lead and background vocals *
Angie Brown Angie Brown (born 13 June 1963) is a British singer and songwriter from Brixton, South London. She is a co-artist on the hit single " I'm Gonna Get You" (1992) by Bizarre Inc and performed on a number of recordings with them as lead vocalist i ...
 – backing vocals *Michael Wallace – backing vocals


External links

*


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Before After 2005 albums Heaven 17 albums