"Octopus" has enough tentacles to grab plenty of attention

There are artists that only last as long as the current musical trend will allow and others who exude staying power. Somewhere in the middle lie talented music makers that continue to produce albums but are not always recognized for their durability.
For England's Human League the latter has certainly held true but they, like many artists from the Second British Invasion and numerous outfits from the 1980's, have been defined by one major hit.
"Dont You Want Me Baby" from the critically acclaimed "Dare" album was only of the earliest syth pop hits in 1981 on the heels of Gary Numan, The Talking Heads, and The Cars.It became a launching pad for "New Wave", The New Romantic Movement",and a Second British Invasion, filled with bands following in The League's synth -heavy footsteps.
North American audiences were not as hip to the raw U2 like riff attached to "The Lebanon", the first release from the next LP "Hysteria", but the band again struck lightning with the Jimmy Jam /Terry Lewis produced "Human" from " Crash", a bad car wreck of a record that offered little excitement beyond the chart success of the first single.
That sealed the Sheffield based group's fate for a period of time and though "Heart Like A Wheel" was a minor hit from the "Romantic" LP, the campaign for that project from a North American standpoint,went virtually ignored.
Prior to the release of 2001's "Secrets",The League have, despite the perception the group ceased to exist beyond " Crash" (and in the minds of some all the way back to "Dare"), released a few noteworthy records. This is one of them - 1995's "Octopus".
Though the package of songs on this disc are no doubt a straight-foward attempt to re-capture their early success with synth- laden work,make no mistake - the clarity and production is first class. The music is very pretty and in some cases compromised by Philip Oakley's unpolished monotone delivery. Yet it offers some humor to the tracks and his strained appeals to get the message across give Human League it's musical stamp.
Add to the mix the beautiful if not note- perfect vocals of Jo Anne Catherall and Susan Sulley that work well in contrast with Oakley, and what you have here on some levels, an updated version of "Dare",with a touch of techno/trance.
The group also attempt to inter-twine accesible pop into the synth -effect driven tracks, and they fall on their collective faces with a flat arrangement and weak chorus on the Sulley led "One Man In My Heart", but they recover admirably on "Words", a visual track containing atmospheric keyboards that take the listener into a musical time warp. Oakley bolsters the good foundation musically with the key punchline "words come back to haunt you". They build on the momentum with the funk- based flavor of "Filling Up With Heaven", where Sulley and Catherall add enough of a sprinkle of their catchy,elongated vocal riff without overwhelming the explosive hook. Though a natural bass guitar with or without the electro bass would have added a little more firepower, this is a fine piece of of work and offers more substance than the forced sounding first attempt to funk things up on "Tell Me When", the album's opening track.
The combination of trading off vocals and choruses serve this electronic arsenal better on the bouncy "These Are The Days", which goes from pop to emotional with the touch of a key,the vocal challenge issued by Catherall "for once in a lifetime will you use the things you know" on "House Full Of Nothing", and the well structured and slight touch of R&B flavor of "Never Again", though flawed vocally, manages to stays afloat with it's hypnotic backdrop.
Like his female sidekicks, Oakley knows when and where to drop vocal bombshells in sync and independent from song hooks. He opens the aformentioned track with "I'll miss your naked body,I'll miss your mind" then delivers tell it lke it is testimony and pleas for justice on "Cruel Young Lover" with "just because you treat me like a fool dosent make it right. Can't it be so hard to be a little kind and would you be here with me tonite? I got feelings. Sulley and Catherall immediately chime in "dont be unkind", adding the visual effect that they either walked in on an argument or were standing there the whole time.
Add to the collection of songs the heavy on all cylinders dance tune that is "John Cleese: Is He Funny? in reference to the Brit actor/comedian of Monty Python / "A Fish Called Wanda" fame, and "Octopus" is, in totality, a throwback to their early career approach; go heavy on the synthesizers and drop in the smooth vocal melodies. This strategy pre-cludes those that have been exposed to their brand previously to view this album as anything but a re-tread,but upon opening one's ears a couple more spins "Octopus" has enough electricity in it's musical tentacles to shock even the most skeptical. Though the elements are highly progressive and the prejudice against synth-heavy pop from the 80's is still a strong one, songs like "These Are The Days" and " Filling Up With Heaven" could easily sneak up on an un-suspecting listener on late nite radio/ video programming and creep into drive-time rotation without much trouble.
"Octopus" is a record with tight, power-packed production, more originality than expected, once you eliminate the 80's sterotypes,and the cohesiveness of Oakley, Sulley,and Catherall, still make Human League, despite it's roughness around some edges, a novelty compared to others in today's more predictable pop landscape.
Though the whole package of songs may not add up to being their best and lack a hit quite like "Human" or an explosive dance track on the lines with "A Doorway" or "The Stars Are Coming Out" (both from "Romantic"),"Octopus" is a far more seamless effort than it's predecessors ("Crash" and "Romantic"),which elevates it to the "Hysteria" and "Dare" level near the top of the Human League catalog. A couple of bumps in the road (like one or two more danceable tracks)keep the record from peaking to the four and a half to five- star level, but it rates as a strong three (3).

C.S.
6-13-03

More Reviews:

• Octopus
• Pet Shop Boys - Nightlife (1999) .... One In The Same?
• Give it a second listen!
• great 90's come-back album
• No More, Please!
• Consistent and enjoyable
• Octopus reaches dizzy heights of Dare!
• Travelogue.
• Dare for the Nineties
• Well Crafted Synth Pop Album
• They're back!
• best since DARE