''Motivation Radio'' is the third studio album by British

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

musician

Steve Hillage Stephen Simpson Hillage (born 2 August 1951) is an English musician, best known as a guitarist. He is associated with the Canterbury scene and has worked in experimental domains since the late 1960s. Besides his solo sound recording and reprodu ...

, released by

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

in September 1977. Whilst touring in the United States in promotion of his previous album '' L'' (1976), Hillage grew disillusioned with the progressive rock tag attached to him by the media and fans, and disliked their attitude towards

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

music, which Hillage was a big fan of. Hillage wanted to create a funk-influenced album as he was predominately listening to artists such as

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. As one of the two flagship groups of George Clinton's P-Funk collective, they helped pioneer the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, ...

and

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (abbreviated as EW&F or EWF) is an American band formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1969. Their music spans multiple genres, including jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling ba ...

. Originally written as ''The Red Album'' in early 1977, it was retitled ''Motivation Radio'' prior to recording. Hiring electronic innovator

Malcolm Cecil Malcolm Cecil (9 January 1937 – 28 March 2021) was a British jazz bassist, record producer, engineer, electronic musician and teacher. He was a founding member of a leading UK jazz quintet of the late 1950s, the Jazz Couriers,Tonto's Expanding Head Band, to produce and engineer the album, ''Motivation Radio'' introduces Hilage's new rhythm section of drummer Joe Blocker and bassist Reggie McBride and was primarily recorded in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

in July 1977. The album presents a much more funk and dance-orientated sound than his previous albums, and relies more so on synthesizers, including T.O.N.T.O. (The Original New Timbral Orchestra), Cecil's large handbuilt

polyphonic synthesizer Polyphony is a property of musical instruments that means that they can play multiple independent melody lines simultaneously. Instruments featuring polyphony are said to be polyphonic. Instruments that are not capable of polyphony are monophon ...

, the first of its kind, that Cecil had played with the Expanding Head Band as he does here. Nonetheless, Hillage's

glissando In music, a glissando (; plural: ''glissandi'', abbreviated ''gliss.'') is a wikt:glide, glide from one pitch (music), pitch to another (). It is an Italianized Musical terminology, musical term derived from the French ''glisser'', "to glide". In ...

guitar remains at the centre of the album. The album was released by

in September 1977 and features a manipulated image of Hillage holding a

Stratocaster The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of double- cutaway electric guitar designed between 1952 and 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corporati ...

in front of the

Parkes Observatory Parkes Observatory is a radio astronomy observatory, located north of the town of Parkes, New South Wales, Australia. It hosts Murriyang, the 64 m CSIRO Parkes Radio Telescope also known as "The Dish", along with two smaller radio telescopes. T ...

on its album cover. Only entering the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

at number 28 and receiving little success in the United States, the album was not as much a commercial success as its predecessor, which Hillage believes was due to its funk influence. Nonetheless, it received praise from music critics and has continued to do so over time, and today is seen as a milestone in Hillage's career, establishing the electronic direction he later became known for. The album was remastered for CD on several occasions, most recently in March 2007 with the addition of bonus tracks.

Background

Hillage's second album, the

Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the bands Nazz and Utopia. He is known for his sophistica ...

-produced '' L'' (1976), had proven to be his biggest commercial success to date, entering the

on 16 October 1976, where it stayed for 12 weeks, hitting a peak of number 10.The Guinness book of British Hit Albums, 1983, page 80. The success of ''L'' was largely due to the fact that Hillage had formed a band to promote the album in concert, extensively touring England and France for the remaining months of 1976. The concerts were well attended and well received, and news that ''L'' was also selling strongly in the United States led to Hillage and his band opening for

Electric Light Orchestra The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood and drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop and classical arrangement ...

on their 1977 tour of the United States. Hillage recalled that "the reaction we got was very encouraging and we went down well." During his time in the United States, Hillage was seen by the media as "another" English

artist, much to Hillage's dislike. Hillage explained "I did have mixed feelings about the perception that surrounded my music," adding that "I must admit I never liked the term 'progressive rock'. I felt it never applied to Gong and it certainly never applied to me either. I felt that the music I was making was somehow out on its own, and although it had a quintessentially English feel and possibly it had a ' Canterbury sound' to it, I never considered my music or most of the so-called 'Canterbury' music for that matter 'progressive rock.'" Hillage felt he was far removed from the music of bands such as

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * Young Eisner Scholars, in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Appalachia, US * Young Ep ...

and saw himself and his band as more like a

psychedelic blues Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

band with complex arrangements, with Hillage later saying that "we didn't have a label and I'm not into rigidly labeling music, and that was how is songwriting partner and keyboardist Miquette Giraudy">Miquette_Giraudy.html" ;"title="is songwriting partner and keyboardist Miquette Giraudy">is songwriting partner and keyboardist Miquette Giraudyand I felt." Someone with eclectic musical tastes, Hillage had increasingly become a fan of

bands such as Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

and

. During the American tour, fans would come back stage to meet the band and ask Hillage of his musical tastes, expecting him to list progressive rock artists, but Hillage would reply that he was "quite into" the new

album '' Spirit'' (1976) and his fans would react in horror, telling Hillage, as he recalled it, "What? You're into disco music">Spirit (Earth, Wind & Fire album)">Spirit'' (1976) and his fans would react in horror, telling Hillage, as he recalled it, "What? You're into disco music?" Hillage recalled; "We had all these fans coming to us and saying 'aw Steve, I really love your work, and I really love Van der Graaf Generator and King Crimson and all your British rock, tell me what are you listening to at the moment.' I’d say 'well I’m really into Bootsy's Rubber String Band and P-Funk,' and they’d say 'what, you like disco?' It’s like I’d killed their pet cat." The mislabelling of Hillage's music as progressive rock and his fans' attitude against funk and disco music would inspire him to change direction when preparing material for his next album. Hillage said his fans' "attitude annoyed me and I began to realise quickly that there was some sort of musical apartheid going on and it truly shocked me. I found myself wanting to do something more funky, partly to escape the 'progressive rock' tag." Speaking to ''Terrascope'', he similarly recalled that "I got this feeling of musical apartheid over there, and I thought sod all that, and this sort of propelled me further down that road."

Conceiving and production

Malcolm Cecil at Moog booth - 2015 NAMM Show

Whilst based in

, Hillage and Miquette met the influential synthesiser pioneer

Malcolm Cecil Malcolm Cecil (9 January 1937 – 28 March 2021) was a British jazz bassist, record producer, engineer, electronic musician and teacher. He was a founding member of a leading UK jazz quintet of the late 1950s, the Jazz Couriers,Tonto's Expanding Head Band, recording the influential electronic album ''Zero Time'' (1971). He would then begin a successful career producing, engineering and programming, most notably with

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

for four albums between 1972 and 1976. Hillage was a huge fan of Cecil and had listened to Tonto's second album ''It's About Time'' many times during the recording of ''L'' and was fascinated by the album and their work with Wonder. After telling a journalist in LA that he liked Cecil, Hillage was surprised to find the journalist knew Cecil and offered to arrange for them to meet. Cecil's electronic and dance textures were of interest to Hillage who was looking for a producer for his new album. Hillage recalled that "I thought that if I wanted to head into funkier territory then Malcolm was the man to help me achieve that on my next album." Hillage and Giraudy wrote enough material for two albums during an "intense period" in spring 1977; Hillage recalled "when we were coming back from our first American tour we were on a creative high and a lot of music came out." Hillage's original idea was to release the material on two separate albums, ''The Red Album'' and ''The Green Album''; however, the plan was abandoned and instead ''The Red Album'' was reworked to become ''Motivation Radio''. Following a series of negotiations, Cecil agreed to produce and engineer ''Motivation Radio'', and work began on the album in July 1977 in Los Angeles with a rhythm section consisting of drummer Joe Blocker and bass guitarist Reggie McBride. The album was recorded throughout July at

' world-famous

Record Plant The Record Plant was a recording studio established in New York City in 1968 and last operating in Los Angeles, California. Known for innovations in the recording artists' workspace, it produced highly influential albums, including the New York ...

studios, Westlake Audio studios (also in LA) and Cecil's own studio, T.O.N.T.O., in

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

.Back cover. Ron Alvarez worked on the album as an assistant engineer at Record Plant, whilst Dion Forrer was an assistant engineer for the sessions at T.O.N.T.O. The album was also mixed at Westlake Audio. The sessions at Westlake Audio were to record the

guitar, the hallmark of this album, intentionally on 7 July 1977 (7/7/77), to give the record mystical relevance.Steve Hillage - Motivation Radio (Vinyl, LP, Album) at Discogs
/ref> Cecil's large handbuilt polyphonic synthesiser, TONTO, which stands for "The Original New Timbral Orchestra", was played by Cecil on the album, although "never in any great capacity."STEVE HILLAGE – Motivation Radio , Real Gone
/ref> The first, and still the largest, multitimbral polyphonic analog

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

in the world, designed and constructed over several years by Cecil for usage in Tonto's Expanding Head Band, it started as a

Moog modular synthesizer The Moog synthesizer ( ) is a modular synthesizer invented by the American engineer Robert Moog in 1964. Moog's company, R. A. Moog Co., produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 2014. It was the first commercial synthesizer a ...

Series III owned by record producer Robert Margouleff, although by the time of the recording of ''Motivation Radio'', a second Moog III was added, then four

Oberheim SEM The Oberheim Polyphonic Synthesizer is a series of analog music synthesizers that was produced from 1975 to 1979 by Oberheim Electronics. Developed by Tom Oberheim, they were the first production synthesizers capable of playing chords. Backgrou ...

s, two

ARP 2600 The ARP 2600 is a subtractive synthesizer first produced by ARP Instruments in 1971. History Developed by a design team headed by ARP namesake Alan R. Pearlman and engineer Dennis Colin, the ARP 2600 was introduced in 1971 as the successor to ...

s, modules from

Serge Serge may refer to: *Serge (fabric), a type of twill fabric *Serge (llama) (born 2005), a llama in the Cirque Franco-Italien and internet meme *Serge (name), a masculine given name (includes a list of people with this name) *Serge (post), a hitchi ...

with Moog-like panels,

EMS Ems or EMS may refer to: Places and rivers * Domat/Ems, a Swiss municipality in the canton of Grisons * Ems (river) (Eems), a river in northwestern Germany and northeastern Netherlands that discharges in the Dollart Bay * Ems (Eder), a river o ...

Roland Roland (; ; or ''Rotholandus''; or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the Matter of France. The historical Roland was mil ...

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: People * Torakusu Yamaha, a Japanese businessman and founder of the Yamaha Corporation Companies * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese musical instrument and audio equipment manufacturer ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organi ...

, etc. plus several custom modules designed by

Serge Tcherepnin Serge Alexandrovich Tcherepnin (; born 2 February 1941) is a Russian-American composer and electronic-instrument builder of Russian-Chinese parentage. Tcherepnin is noted for creating the Serge Modular synthesizer. Biography Serge Tcherepnin was ...

and Cecil himself - who has an electrical engineering background. In their review of ''Motivation Radio'', ''Real Gone Rocks'' said that although the instrument was a great leap forward for music, it was not especially practical, "since it was the size of a static caravan."

Music

Presented as "a multidimensional window,"Motivation Radio
/ref> music writer Mark Powell noted that, true to Hillage's wishes, ''Motivation Radio'' was "funkier in nature" than his previous material, although "still undeniably Hillage." Inspired by

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

and

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance musi ...

, ''Motivation Radio'' sees Hillage extensively employing the synthesiser for the first time, as well as a guitar technique that gives much of the music here a mystical atmosphere.Buyer's Guide: Steve Hillage - Classic Rock
/ref> Hillage recalled that ''Motivation Radio'' was "the moment where the dance/funk thing began to manifest itself and even then that came out of an unusual and interesting experience." Although the album is more dance-orientated than previous works, it still features Hillage's trademark

guitar work at its core. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' said the album was "a further extension of illage'sunique rock vision consisting of electronic galactic-seeming mind excursions filled with heavy synthesiser and a philosophy built around ancient

Eastern culture Eastern culture, also known as Eastern civilization and historically as Oriental culture, is an umbrella term for the diverse cultural heritages of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, belief systems, political systems, Cultural ar ...

," and noted that this fusing of disparate elements produces a "startling overall spacy sound."Billboard – Google Books
/ref> Although not a concept album, the album has been described as possessing a trademark sound that is carried throughout its nine tracks. Dave Connolly of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

characterised the album as the "light side of the moon," referring to

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

's ''

The Dark Side of the Moon ''The Dark Side of the Moon'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 1 March 1973, by Capitol Records in the US and on 16 March 1973, by Harvest Records in the UK. Developed during live performances before ...

'' (1973), saying it draws the listener into its "own astral plane with a glossy and gauzy sound similar to Pink Floyd without the darkness, or

Alan Parsons Project Alan may refer to: People *Alan (surname), an English and Kurdish surname *Alan (given name), an English given name ** List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' * ...

without the dorkiness." He said that Hillage's guitar work is "typically transcendent," Giraudy's keyboards "a vital component" and Joe Blocker's drums "a frequent breath of change." The

new age New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...

space Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...

ideology on the album has been said to be not far removed from Gong's "original alternate reality" which has been said to be "spelled out best during the album's true point of transmigration," "Saucer Surfing." Hillage said there was a definite

influence on ''Motivation Radio'' and recalled that his excursions into funkier territory had begun with Gong, considering "Isle of Everywhere" from ''

You In Modern English, the word "''you''" is the second-person pronoun. It is grammatically plural, and was historically used only for the dative case, but in most modern dialects is used for all cases and numbers. History ''You'' comes from ...

'' (1974) to be a good example.

Songs

"Hello Dawn" opens the album with heavily processed guitars, whilst both electronic and acoustic drums back Hillage's multi-tracked vocals as "he greets a new day with optimism." According to ''Real Gone Rocks'', Hillage's multi-tracked guitars have "their signature sound" and they noted that during the vocal sections, they are used as "striking punctuation;" for example, during the brief instrumental break in the song's ending, "their chorus of sound dominates." With a track length of under three minutes, its brevity was a complete departure from the extended jams that dominated Hillage's previous work. "Motivation" sees the band opt for a

groove and features positive lyrics and, although dominated by Hillage's guitar work, Giraudy's keyboard fills are "supportive" whilst Blocker's drum patterns are "superb" and McBride's bass work shows "complexity without losing sight of his anchoring role." The similarly groove-orientated "Light in the Sky" opens with a tight drum intro and is constructed around a "classic 70s riff". Its lyrics have been interpreted to be about how aliens can be viewed with suspicion, whilst Giraudy's heavily

French accent Varieties of the French language are spoken in France and around the world. The Francophones of France generally use Metropolitan French (spoken in Paris and considered standard) although some also use regional dialects or varieties such as M ...

ed vocal interludes give an "air of quirkiness". The ethereal "Radio" has been compared to Hillage's work on ''L'' and carries a more spacious vibe, opening with a slightly

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

y guitar line, reprising the closing moments of "Light in the Sky" in the process; critics pointed out that the transition is unusual, as there is an obvious break in between the songs despite sounding like a

segue A segue ( , ; ) is a transition from one topic or section to the next. In music In music, ''segue'' is a direction to the performer. It means ''continue (the next section) without a pause''. The term ''attacca'' is used synonymously. For writ ...

was intended to merge the tracks. McBride's bass is high in the mix during the song whilst Blocker's drums are laid back and Giraudy's "blanket of keys" are "hovering somewhere in the back." Cecil performs a solo on his TONTO synthesiser during the song prior to the introduction of Hillage's vocals. "Wait One Moment" is a

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

featuring soft vocals, "unassuming" bass runs and drum work compared to

Nick Mason Nicholas Berkeley Mason (born 27 January 1944) is an English drummer and a founder member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. He has been the only constant member since the band's formation in 1965, and the only member to appear on every ...

. "Saucer Surfing" was described by

as the album's "true point of transmigration"Motivation Radio - Steve Hillage , Songs, Reviews, Credits , AllMusic
/ref> and provides the album with its spikiest arrangement, possessing a sense of urgency. "Searching for the Spark" features a then-

futuristic The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently e ...

base laid down by Giraudy and Cecil's synthesiser work, both of whom dominate the track with their synthesisers and TONTO. Blocker's drum work is aggressive in "an attempt to create a line between progressive rock and

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...

." The instrumental "Octave Doctors" is exemplary of Hillage's sweeping guitar solos, here featuring plenty of glissanto and

vibrato Vibrato (Italian language, Italian, from past participle of "wikt:vibrare, vibrare", to vibrate) is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch (music), pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. ...

, and carries a typical spaciousness. The album closes with a cover of

The Crickets The Crickets were an American rock and roll band from Lubbock, Texas, formed by singer-songwriter Buddy Holly in January 1957. Their first hit record, "That'll Be the Day", released in May 1957, peaked at number three on the ''Billboard'' Top ...

' " Not Fade Away" featuring a loose groove with trippy keyboards and "some quirkier sounds" courtesy of Cecil.

Release

CSIRO ScienceImage 3987 The view of the CSIRO Parkes radio telescope from the visitors centre and dish cafe

The album's cover features Hillage standing on a shoreline holding a

guitar, with the

radio telescope A radio telescope is a specialized antenna (radio), antenna and radio receiver used to detect radio waves from astronomical radio sources in the sky. Radio telescopes are the main observing instrument used in radio astronomy, which studies the r ...

superimposed in the background. Hillage's father bought him the Stratocaster because Steve went to a public school - the

City of London School The City of London School, also known as CLS and City, is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school for Single-sex education, boys in the City of London, England, on the banks of the River Thames next to the Millennium Bridge, ...

- and "did quite well" on his

O levels O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), p ...

and won a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

, meaning that his father did not have to pay fees any more.Steve Hillage on Gong, Steinbergers and disappearing guitars , MusicRadar
/ref> Hillage recalled that "We found it through

Exchange & Mart ''Exchange and Mart'' is an online classified advertising website, owned by Newsquest, Newsquest Media Group. Exchange and Mart specialises in new and used motor vehicles, including commercial vehicles, motorcycles, caravans and motorhomes and cate ...

or ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'' - one or the other, I don't know." American art director Bob Cato is credited on the album sleeve for "design and photography." Promoted with a magazine advertisement featuring the slogan "Get Motivated,"Billboard – Google Books
/ref> ''Motivation Radio'' was released as an LP and cassette by

in most regions in September 1977, with release in other countries such as

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

following in January 1978. The album entered the

on 22 October 1977, where it stayed for 5 weeks, hitting a peak of number 28. This was significantly lower than ''L'', which peaked at number 10. The album was also largely unsuccessful in the United States, although nonetheless, the album fared considerably better in Europe than his previous albums. Upon completing ''Motivation Radio'', Hillage feared that he would not be as respected as before, but "wanted to go down that musical route anyway." In retrospect, he speculated that the Funkadelic influence lead to the relative commercial failure of the album in the United States, but noted that, in being one of Virgin's biggest acts, he was able to dictate his musical terms in some ways. Candy Absortian, writing in '' The Rough Guide to Rock'', said the album was not going to win Hillage "many friends in the new

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

order, and he was more or less the last remaining link with Virgin's hippie past, the label having by now signed the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

." A music video was produced for "Radio", featuring a radio telescope similar to that on the cover. "Not Fade Away (Glid Forever)" was released by Virgin Records as a

seven-inch single In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standal ...

in the United Kingdom and Germany in 1977, although it did not enter either country's national singles chart. Also in 1977, Virgin Records released the double ''Six-Pack : Six Track''

picture disc Picture discs are gramophone record, gramophone (phonograph) records that show images on their playing surface, rather than being of plain black or colored vinyl. Collectors traditionally reserve the term picture disc for records with graphics ...

EP, which was limited to 5,000 copies and contains fifteen minutes of material, including "Not Fade Away" and "Radio". ''Motivation Radio'' has been remastered and re-released on CD by Virgin Records on several occasions; in 1987 with modified artwork, on 4 July 1990 in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

only as the eleventh volume of Virgin Japan's ''British Rock History on CD'' re-issue series, and on 21 March 2007 with remastering by Pamela Byrne at The Audio Archiving Company, London, and the inclusion of three bonus tracks: the "Tonto Version" of "Leylines to Glassdom"–a song Hillage would re-record for his subsequent album ''

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

'', the original "Power Trio" backing track version of "The Salmon Song" and an alternate mix of "The Golden Vibe". The bonus tracks were selected by Hillage as "suitable" and "pertinent" and as fitting in with well with the concept of ''Motivation Radio''.

Critical reception

Despite the relative commercial failure of ''Motivation Radio'', it received enthusiastic reviews from music critics, and, according to music writer Mark Powell, "did much to enhance Steve Hillage's reputation as an innovative musician." A magazine advertisement for the album noted that critics had called it "the best guitarist's album so far this year." ''

'' were favourable, saying that "Hillage's powerful guitar powers its way through each cut as the synthesizer evokes the hypnotics" and singling out "Radio", "Motivation", "Searching for the Spark" and "Saucer Surfing" as the album's "best cuts." Phil Sutcliffe of '' Sounds'' magazine also wrote a review despite being heavily preoccupied with

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

at the time.Steve Hillage: Motivation Radio. By Phil Sutcliffe : Articles, reviews and interviews from Rock's Backpages
/ref> In later times, the album has been increasingly acclaimed. ''Real Gone Rocks'' were very favourable, saying that, of all Hillage's albums, ''Motivation Radio'' "best represents Hillage as both a great musician and arranger." They said that the album "rarely meanders into self-indulgence, making it an unheralded classic among Hillage's recorded works." Dave Connolly of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

said that "those in tune with being transported through music will want to station themselves near the speakers for ''Motivation Radio''." He commented that "''Motivation Radio'' works as well as it does because it draws listeners to that halfway point (and beyond), steering them with spiritual signposts and rewarding them with rapturous music. It's a remarkably smooth journey, more accessible than ''L'', if equally cosmic. Again, it was an idiomatic cover tune, "Not Fade Away," that became the single; though an odd way to end the record, it wouldn't have made any sense in the middle. The rest of the record is a contiguous collection of music. So tune in and bliss out." ''Connolly Co'' were very favourable and said "meditate, medicate, do whatever it takes, but tune into ''Motivation Radio''. Presented as “a multidimensional window,” it’s a remarkable musical journey that fills the listener with positive energy. I know, that sounds sooo new agey, so let me explain. I don’t listen to this record, I lose myself in it. For forty minutes, my grey little world becomes a technicolor landscape where flying saucers and octave doctors come to life on crackling waves of energy. Still not helping? Okay, then think about Pink Floyd. Remember how '' Dark Side'' and ''

Wish You Were Here Wish You Were Here may refer to: Film, television, and theater Film * ''Wish You Were Here'' (1987 film), a British comedy-drama film by David Leland * ''Wish You Were Here'' (2012 film), an Australian drama/mystery film by Kieran Darcy-Smith ...

'' transported you to another place? Well, ''Motivation Radio'' does the same, only it’s a much friendlier place. The sounds, the melodies, the musicality of it all conspires to make me drop my guard, and before I know it I’m no longer listening to the music, I’m breathing it. Maybe it’s just a harmonic thing, and you’re either tuned into this kind of music (in which case Gong’s ''You'' is probably one of your favorites) or you’re not."

Aftermath and legacy

To coincide with the release of ''Motivation Radio'', a new-line up of Steve Hillage's band featuring Blocker on drums, Curtis Robinson Jr on bass guitar and Chuck Bynum on keyboards and synths toured throughout the UK and Europe in late 1977, ending with a performance at

The Rainbow ''The Rainbow'' is a novel by British author D. H. Lawrence, first published by Methuen & Co. in 1915. It follows three generations of the Brangwen family living in Nottinghamshire, focusing particularly on the individual's struggle for growt ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on 3 November. The band were then due to tour America, but the tour was abandoned after the album's commercial failure, freeing the band to record again. For the subsequent album ''

'' (1978), he recorded the material he had written alongside ''Motivation Radio'' in early 1977, originally intended to be released as ''The Green Album'' alongside ''The Red Album'', before the latter album became ''Motivation Radio''. ''Green'' builds upon the dance and electronic experiments of ''Motivation Radio''. The record has been credited as a major turning point for Hillage for both its experimentation and dance influence; ''Team Rock'', who labeled ''Motivation Radio'' "Superior" in their "Buyer's Guide" for Hillage, noted that in some respects, the experimental nature of ''Motivation Radio'' presaged the music Hillage would create more than a decade later with his ambient project

System 7 System 7 (later named Mac OS 7) is the seventh major release of the classic Mac OS operating system for Macintosh computers, made by Apple Computer. It was launched on May 13, 1991, to succeed System 6 with virtual memory, personal file shari ...

, and commented that the way in which Hillage used synth sounds on "Light in the Sky" and "Radio" had "opened up illage'shorizons to take in new influences." ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' also credits the album with breaking Hillage's "hippy" image, noting that instead of taking a

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

influence to change his sound, he unexpectedly explored funk music: ''Robbie Rocks'' placed the album at number 6 in its list of the "Top 10 Albums of the Year

977 Year 977 ( CMLXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * May – Boris II, dethroned emperor (''tsar'') of Bulgaria, and his brother Roman manage to escape from captivity in Const ...

" Music critic Charley Walters included the album in his list of the best albums of 1977, compiled for the 1977 edition of the annual

Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abse ...

critics poll of the best albums of the year included in ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

''.Robert Christgau: Pazz & Jop 1977: Pazz & Joppers Dig Pistols-What Else Is New?
/ref> As with all editions of the Pazz & Jop, participating critics assigned a number value, ranging from five to thirty, to each of the albums on their top ten list, with all ten albums totaling one-hundred points, and Walters assigned eight points to ''Motivation Radio''. An official promotional flyer created to promote a concert by experimental rock band Zag and the Coloured Beads in the 1980s was a pastiche of the ''Motivation Radio'' artwork.Aylesbury Bolton Wolverhampton Hove: A Little Man and 101 Cardiacs Gigs - Adrian Bell
/ref>

Track listing

Music by

; lyrics by Steve Hillage and

Miquette Giraudy Miquette Giraudy is a French keyboard player and vocalist, best known for her work in Gong (band), Gong, and with her partner Steve Hillage. She and Hillage form the core of the Ambient music, ambient band System 7 (band), System 7. She has also ...

, unless otherwise specified.

Personnel

–

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

* Reggie McBride –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

Malcolm Cecil Malcolm Cecil (9 January 1937 – 28 March 2021) was a British jazz bassist, record producer, engineer, electronic musician and teacher. He was a founding member of a leading UK jazz quintet of the late 1950s, the Jazz Couriers,Miquette Giraudy Miquette Giraudy is a French keyboard player and vocalist, best known for her work in Gong (band), Gong, and with her partner Steve Hillage. She and Hillage form the core of the Ambient music, ambient band System 7 (band), System 7. She has also ...

– synthesizer * Joe Blocker –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

* Music composed and arranged by Steve Hillage except for ''Not Fade Away (Glid Forever)'' by Norman Petty and Glen Hardin. * Recorded : July 1977 at Record Plant, T.O.N.T.O. and Westlake Audio in Los Angeles, CA. * Produced by Malcolm Cecil

References

External links

* {{Authority control Steve Hillage albums 1977 albums Virgin Records albums Albums produced by Malcolm Cecil