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Electric Angels - S/T (Atlantic, 1990) |
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 One of the greatest break-up records of all
time, the Electric Angel's debut was produced by Tony Visconti of
T.Rex and David Bowie fame. These former members of bubble-glam's
all-time heroes, CANDY, were fronted by a slip of a wisp rock
dandy, by the name of SHANE, who sang the
strychnine-laced, silvery, love songs of Johnathan Daniel. Electric
Angels looked like all the other dashing trash wastrels of the day,
but were always more elegant, than wasted. Hanoi Rocks and the
London Quireboys were for when the booze was flowing, and we wanted to
roll out the barrel, but Electric Angels were for nursing your
little heart when your girlfriends left you for the slick talkin' rich
dude with the muscle car.The thing I always loved best about pop hit-maker Johnathan Daniel's songs was all the starry-eyed teenage sweetness and raw sincerity that achingly lingered underneath his clever, poison dart venom and cynical business-mindedness. This was a guy who used to sign his correspondences to his fans, "Remember-the bigger the hair, the bigger the pay-check", but who also, never stopped yearning wistfully for the drive-ins and donut shops and friends and pretty girls of his lost youth. Daniel's songs are always informed by the conflict between his resentments and failed ambitions; with his nagging recollections of the milkshakes and rollerskates and hot pants and chewing gum innocence and good times before the fall. "True Love & Other Fairy Tales" was one of the saddest songs about fractured young love ever composed. "You keep the radio, tell everyone we failed/ So much for true love and other fairy tales." Shane was a brunette Michael Monroe, waif-thin and well practiced at the lost art of mic stand brandishing, and crowd cajoling, their live shows were always jam-packed with camera-wielding hot chicks, bubbling enthusiastic over his Jagger-like come-on's. |
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Chicks favored the Electric Angels
over all the harder edged stuff from back then. Guys always wished they'd,
sometimes, careen off into more reckless abandon, forever agreeing with
Candy guitarist Gilby Clarke that Generation X ALWAYS
beats Barry Manilow. They did manage to finally kick out the
jams on the brilliant, "The Drinking Song". "I never really loved
you, I just drank too much." |
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every song on this record vividly depicts
all the waves of misery and the bleeding sense of betrayal one goes through when love dies.
Like the soda pop Ian Hunter of the Flash Metal years,
Johnathan also
accurately conveyed all the tears and frustration one must
endure, struggling to claim recognition, while living as pained paupers in
heartless cities without any mercy whatsoever for the broken dreams of
embittered songwriters. "Last Girl On Earth", "Cars Crash", "Home Sweet Homocide" and "Whiplash" were some of the catchiest pop chunes of the 80's
glam scene, even if you find yourself wishing Gilby Clarke or somebody
would show up to turn the guitars up louder and trash it up, add some more
Johnny Thunders style reckless fuck it up raunch to this carefully crafted
glammy pop masterpiece, I suppose that's what the live bootlegs and
videos are for. |
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Fans of CANDY and Electric Angels are also likely to appreciate the
resplendent soft rock strains of former CANDY vocalist Kyle Vincent's
first solo album, especially the lustrous "Arianne", which always struck
me as being a subconscious tribute to his former bandmate, Johnathan
Daniel's songwriting style, sorta like when McCartney channeled
Lennon on
"Let Me Roll It" from "Band On The Run", but much of
Vincent's work is
just insufferably wimpy, as his primary influences remain the CARPENTERS
and BARRY MANILOW! It's too bad this cat doesn't feel the call of the
wild, cos when he wants to rock, he could rock... Albeit in a Pixie Sticks
and two litre of Diet Coke kinda way. |
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of his listeners-- and how beautiful that
is, even if he's still pissed about never making the big dough. To me,
it's sad to see the slide of once inspired, real creative talent into self
denial, misguidedly evaluating itself, based on unit$-shifted,
and not on the exceptional beauty and truth and real heart and soul they
successfully conveyed. "Cos a heart of gold is worth more than all the
money in the world". |
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"Whatever Happened To Fun" is one of the best rock'n'roll records ever
made. "Electric Angels" was home to some of the sharpest songs of the FLASH METAL era. The Loveless was even better. J.D.'s loyal fans hope to hear more songs from him in the near future. _________________________________________________________________________________ |
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Further: Adam T's insightful interview with Mister Daniel -Pepsi Sheen |
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