Heaven 17 - How Men Are

<3 this album so much, it seems so get overlooked compared to the first two, leaning towards 'Shame Is On The Rocks', but it could be any of these really

After being on a bit of an early Human League kick a few weeks back, I've been finding myself spending a lot of time with the first three Heaven 17 albums this last week. Now, even though I've been a huge fan of the early Human League for quite some time now, and pretty much like everything that the band did in that early configuration (and without a doubt love the Dare period that came after), I always found myself unable to warm up to Heaven 17 in the same way for some reason or other. Not for want of trying: I recall my first listens to Penthouse and Pavement and even The Luxury Gap not doing an awful lot for me, and every so often I'd find myself returning to these albums for a listen to see if I'd changed my mind, only to find myself responding the same way, before filing them back away again. In fact, it always used to bug me a little that I couldn't get into Heaven 17 in the same way as I did the early Human League, especially since Heaven 17 are essentially the early Human League but with a different vocalist.

The turning point for me with Heaven 17 actually came fairly recently when, after beginning to tire a little of listening to Reproduction and Travelogue on repeat, I decided to check out the live performance of the entire Penthouse and Pavement album that the band did not too long back, which is available on Youtube. For some reason, this live performance clicked with me far more than I can recall the studio version ever doing, and before long I found myself listening to the studio version of Penthouse and Pavement and enjoying it quite a great deal. The second side of the album has become my favourite, probably because it's the side that most resembles the early Human League, and at this stage it's fair to say I love every track on that side. As for the first side, the only track I'm really struggling to get into is, weirdly, 'Play To Win'.

Of course, after hearing Penthouse and Pavement in a whole new light, I also felt compelled to spend further time with The Luxury Gap and to also finally check out the third album, How Men Are, which I admit I hadn't actually heard until last week, probably because I thought that if the first two albums weren't doing an awful lot for me, I probably wasn't going to get into the third.

Now, I'm finding myself enjoying The Luxury Gap just fine: that I've always loved 'Temptation' goes without saying, really (it's a fucking classic), but I've gained a new appreciation for tracks like 'Crushed By The Wheels Of Industry', 'Let Me Go' and 'Come Live With Me' recently.

However, weirdly, it's this album (How Men Are) which seems to have made the biggest impression on me, and I'm kicking myself that it's taken me so long to hear it. Sure, The Luxury Gap has 'Temptation' on it, and Penthouse and Pavement is seen as their "masterpiece", but for me How Men Are is the one where from the moment I cued up the first track on the album I was pretty much into it immediately. 'Five Minutes To Midnight' is such a thrilling opening track, and surely 'And That's No Lie' is one of the best things this band ever recorded? And 'Sunset Now', fucking hell, that should have been a huge hit, in my humble opinion! To my ears, this is a very well (and interestingly) produced record with plenty of off-kilter elements, yet still remains incredibly accessible throughout.

I'm glad this thread exists because this album is overlooked.

I can imagine they must have had such a blast recording those shouted "YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH"'s on 'Five Minutes To Midnight'... I'm listening to it now and marvelling at how many ideas it's had thrown at it, and yet it doesn't sound cluttered or confused at all. Excellent ending, too, the way it just cuts off.

<3 this album so much, it seems so get overlooked compared to the first two, leaning towards 'Shame Is On The Rocks', but it could be any of these really

― soref, Wednesday, March 25, 2015 11:09 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I think this record is overlooked in general, rather than just in terms of Heaven 17's own discography! I mean, even The Human League's lesser albums like Crash seem to get talked about more.

Glenn Gregory and Martyn Ware talk about

How Men Are

http://thequietus.com/articles/04817-heaven-17-interview-penthouse-and-pavement

Good article, thanks

I do think Roddy Frame was right in that there was a title track begging to be made here.

Voted "This Is Mine," but I admit I haven't listened to this album in years. I remember it felt sort of amorphous and unfocused after The Luxury Gap, but I still liked it.

does anyone prefer The Luxury Gap to P&P? I do. Better realized.

Oh, definitely. That's their classic imo. But I like P&P a lot, too.

Glenn Gregory and Martyn Ware talk about

How Men Are
quite a bit in this interview
http://thequietus.com/articles/04817-heaven-17-interview-penthouse-and-pavement

― soref, Friday, March 27, 2015 7:47 AM (12 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Ooh, thanks for this! Great article. I had no idea that How Men Are was Heaven 17's "cocaine album", although listening to it again I'm not entirely surprised.

Voted "This Is Mine," but I admit I haven't listened to this album in years. I remember it felt sort of amorphous and unfocused after The Luxury Gap, but I still liked it.

― something of an astrological coup (tipsy mothra), Friday, March 27, 2015 4:52 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yeah, I can understand your point of view on this, actually (The Luxury Gap comes across as being more straightforward in comparison to How Men Are), but I definitely don't think of How Men Are as being unfocused. It sounds like they put a lot of work into it and agonised over it to me, just that the music itself is a touch more restless.

The Luxury Gap is probably the one I feel like listening to the least, fwiw. I do like the record, though.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

does anyone here have thoughts/feelings about Heaven 17's post How Men Are albums? I like Pleasure One and Teddy Bear, Duke & Psycho and especially Bigger Than America, Before After felt like a disappointment at the time, I listened to it again because of this thread and I kind of like some of the ballads towards the end

never heard any of the post-HMA albums.

and to be honest, until this thread revival i had not given HMA much thought.
yet, i happen to think it's a lot better than the excess TLG.
for me it's all about the final section of the album and the definite build to the 'end of career' conclusion that is '.. (and that's no lie)'.
the false endings and the genuine end of the 80s excess party vibe, just hits so hard.

had i voted, that would have been my choice.

it pretty much was the end of their career in terms of chart placings, though they seem to be doing OK with the live shows over the last decade or so.

I think of Bigger Than America as a companion to the Human League's Octopus which came out the year before, it seems unfair that Octopus went top 10 in the UK and Bigger Than America didn't even chart

that said, this album is stuffed to the max with a lot of perfect examples of perfection of 80s production excess.

the trumpet solo during this is mine, followed by the layered vocal chorus = genuine shivers up the spine,

the upbeat, everything will be ok, but hey, actually it wont cos life is shit groove of sunset now, never fails to hit the spot ..

etc ..

xpost.

yes, this is a great album left unloved.

this skin i'm in is pretty tedious going ..

both flamedown and reputation are pretty much h17 by numbers ..

whereas ..

..and that's no lie is next level pop.

for me it's all about the final section of the album and the definite build to the 'end of career' conclusion that is '.. (and that's no lie)'.
the false endings and the genuine end of the 80s excess party vibe, just hits so hard.

had i voted, that would have been my choice.

― mark e, Wednesday, April 1, 2015 7:53 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yeah, it would have been absolutely perfect if it had been the last song they ever released because it does have, as you say, these real "end of career" feel to it. The vocals at the end are fucking sublime, IMO. It's Afrodiziak (featuring a pre-Soul II Soul Caron Wheeler) isn't it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu0Xu0qbvZg

Ah... just forget it.

Heaven 17 to play their first US shows according to Slicing Up Eyeballs

saw them at a festival a couple of years back, and yeah, it was a festival for middle class old'uns.
but the fact is, h17 were insanely good.
so much better than i ever expected.