''Moss Side Story'' is the debut solo album of British musician Barry Adamson released in 1989. The album is a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

, a

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ( ...

to a non-existent

crime film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

. The music is almost completely instrumental except for occasional screams, vocal samples and a

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

. To achieve the soundtrack effect, the song titles are descriptive of a

film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...

plot outline. The inner sleeve came with a short story written by Dave Graney which added to the concept. This complemented outer sleeve which displays the tag line: "In a black and white world, murder brings a touch of colour..." In a 2017 interview, Adamson reported that he recorded ''Moss Side Story'' due to his fascination with film music and as "a calling card osend it around to people" in hopes of being hired to write music for actual films.

Moss Side Moss Side is an Inner city, inner-city area of Manchester, England, south of the Manchester city centre, city centre. It had a population of 20,745 at the United Kingdom Census 2021, 2021 census. Moss Side is bounded by Hulme to the north, Cho ...

is a neighbourhood in the city of

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, Great Britain, where Adamson was born. The album title is a

play on words Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, phone ...

in reference to

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...

's ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...

''. The title of "The Swinging Detective" plays on Dennis Potter's series of television plays ''

The Singing Detective ''The Singing Detective'' is a six-part BBC television serial drama, written by Dennis Potter, starring Michael Gambon and directed by Jon Amiel. Its six episodes are "Skin", "Heat", "Lovely Days", "Clues", "Pitter Patter" and "Who Done It". ...

'', while "Round Up the Usual Suspects" quotes a line made famous by

Claude Rains William Claude Rains (10 November 188930 May 1967) was a British and American actor whose career spanned almost seven decades. He was the recipient of numerous accolades, including four Academy Award nominations for Academy Award for Best Supp ...

in ''

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

''.

Release history

CD versions came with three bonus tracks. Two of them - "

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, airing on CBS and NBC, alternately, between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. Between 1962 ...

" and " The Man with The Golden Arm" (composed by

Elmer Bernstein Elmer Bernstein ( '; April 4, 1922August 18, 2004) was an American composer and conductor. In a career that spanned over five decades, he composed "some of the most recognizable and memorable themes in Hollywood history", including over 150 orig ...

) - are drawn from TV or film themes. "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" is a reworking of the theme to the series of the same name,

Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

's "Funeral March of a Marionette."

Reception

The

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

review of the albums describes it as a "Grand filmic suite intended as the soundtrack to a "provocative film thriller set in

" and that Moss Side Story is "one of the best soundtracks ever, the fact that it has no accompanying movie is a trifling irrelevance." A retrospective review by Ritchie Unterberger of Allmusic described the album as "a sinister and edgy soundscape" that remained Adamson's best solo effort by far. The album was included in the book '' 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die''.

Accolades

Track listing

All music composed by Barry Adamson; except "Everything Happens to Me" by Barry Adamson and Seamus Beaghen; "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" by Charles François Gounod and " The Man with the Golden Arm" by

. Act one - 'The Ring's the Thing' # "On the Wrong Side of Relaxation" - 5:27 # "Under Wraps" - 4:27 # "Central Control" - 2:10 # "Round Up the Usual Suspects" - 0:43 Act two - 'Real Deep Cool' #

"Sounds from the Big House" - 6:24

"Suck on the Honey of Love" - 2:13

"Everything Happens to Me" - 2:43

"The Swinging Detective" - 5:45 Act three - 'The Final Irony' #

"Autodestruction" - 3:49

"Intensive Care" - 2:42

"The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" - 4:07

"Free at Last" - 1:23 'For Your Ears Only' #

" - 2:24

"Chocolate Milk Shake" - 4:24

" The Man with the Golden Arm" - 5:13

Personnel

* Barry Adamson - All instruments except as noted, string arrangements, treatments, samples and sequencing * Seamus Beaghen - Hammond organ on tracks: 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 12, 15; piano on tracks: 2, 5 to 7, 11, 12, 15; rhythm guitar on tracks 2, 8; marimba track on 3 * Audrey Riley - cello on tracks: 1, 6, 11, 12 * Chris Tombling - violin on tracks: 1, 6, 11, 12 * Philippa Holland - violin on tracks: 1, 6, 12 * Sonia Slany - violin on tracks: 1, 6, 12 * Diamanda Galás - voice on "On the Wrong Side of Relaxation" * Gary Barnacle - saxophone on "Sounds from the Big House" * Marcia Schofield - keyboards, bass saxophone on "The Swinging Detective" * Joe Sax - tenor saxophone on "The Swinging Detective" *

Rowland S. Howard Rowland Stuart Howard (24 October 1959 – 30 December 2009) was an Australian rock musician, guitarist and songwriter, best known for his work with the post-punk group The Birthday Party (band), The Birthday Party and his subsequent solo career ...

- guitar on "Autodestruction" * John Doyle - percussion on tracks 11, 15 * Annie Hogan - vibraphone on track 11; strings on track 15 * Chris Pitsillides - viola on track 11 * Enrico Tomasso - trumpet on track 15 * Freedom Choir - Anita Lane, Jessamy Calkin, Katy Beale,

Kid Congo Powers Brian Tristan (born March 27, 1959), better known by his stage name Kid Congo Powers,Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 25, 41, 359 is an American rock guitarist, singer, and actor best known as a member of ...

Mick Harvey Michael John Harvey (born 29 August 1958) is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, composer, arranger and record producer. A multi-instrumentalist, he is best known for his long-term collaborations with Nick Cave, with whom he formed The ...

- on tracks 6, 12 * Billy McGee - orchestration, string arrangements Technical * Paul Kendall - production assistance, recording engineer *

John Fryer John Fryer may refer to: *John Fryer (physician, died 1563), English physician, humanist and early reformer *John Fryer (physician, died 1672), English physician *John Fryer (travel writer) (1650–1733), British travel-writer and doctor *Sir John ...

, Paul Kendall - mixing *Barry Adamson, Joe Ewart - art direction *Lawrence Watson - photography

Charts

References

{{Authority control Barry Adamson albums 1989 debut albums Mute Records albums 1980s concept albums