HIGH BIAS -- reissues

High Bias refreshed

THE THE
Soul Mining
Infected
Mind Bomb
Dusk
(Lazarus/Epic/Legacy)
The career of Great Britain's The The is a curious one. The nom de plume of singer/songwriter Matt Johnson, The The is a perfect example of an artist putting craft and heart above all other considerations, especially commercial ones. Johnson has released only seven albums (not counting comps and live records) in his 20-year career, but each one is utterly uncompromised, each record exactly the work he envisioned it to be. His music is difficult to describe, as it has no stylistic loyalty; he doesn't fit easily into any genre designation except the general one "rock." He truly doesn't sound like anybody else. He's a remarkable songwriter, smart, witty and unfailingly melodic; more importantly, he's unafraid to deal with hard emotional truths head on. He's also an ambitious arranger; epic songs lengths and layered production testify to his desire to bring the visions in his head to light as accurately as possible. It's due to this relentless perfectionism that he's released so few recordings to the public and held at least three completed albums in the vaults. His erratic release schedule means that the appearance of a The The album is an event, eagerly anticipated by a loyal cult. (It also means that his commercial fortunes have waxed and waned, not that such things concern him one whit.) In the 1980s Johnson signed with Epic Records, who put out five The The records in total, including some of his most acclaimed and popular works. Legacy has remastered and reissued four of them, giving them superb sound that leaps out of the speakers. Hopefully this re-release campaign will encourage new converts to the work of an unfairly overlooked artist unbound by anyone's expectations but his own.

While not technically Johnson's debut album (that would Burning Blue Soul, released in 1981), 1983's Soul Mining was his first under the moniker The The. Fans who came in late on Johnson's musical saga may be surprised by the synth-heavy production of Mining. The synth-bass and keyboard-rich arrangements practically telegraph the decade from which the record sprang, Johnson's voice sounds tentative and most of the songs don't quite have the irresistible power of his later pieces. But the lilting pop of "Uncertain Smile" (with its positively Joe Jackson-ish piano solo from guest Jools Holland) and "This is the Day" strike home on the strength of their indelible melodies, and lyrics like "You've been a prostitute to humility" ("The Twilight Hour") and "I'm scared of God and scared of hell/And I'm caving in upon myself" (the senior citizen's lament "GIANT") presage the fearless emotional turmoil that would come to dominate Johnson's work. Soul Mining is a promising statement that drops hints of potential genius.

Infected, originally released in 1986, is a transitional record. Real instruments, especially guitars, dominate the tracks, with the electronics used as augmentation rather than for core sounds. Johnson also becomes more interested in the chaos without then within, and many of the best songs take the 80s decay of the British way of life as the subject in what one reviewer at the time called "a savage picture of contemporary Britain." "Here comes another winter of long shadows and high hopes," Johnson croons over a harmonica-laced pop melody on "Heartland," one of his best singles. The dramatic "Sweet Bird of Truth" looks through the eyes of a soldier about to be airdropped into the field, while "Twilight of a Champion" finds a successful man engaged in painful introspection about the life he abandoned for the one he currently enjoys. Producer Warne Livesy bathes Infected in a much warmer sound than Paul Hardimann gave Soul Mining; only the brittle "Out of the Blue (Into the Fire)," a story of a prostitute's patron, sounds harsh and dated. The record's virtues are wrapped up in the instantly engaging title track, a whomping slice of provocative dance rock that's not only one of Johnson's greatest numbers but also the one that served to introduce him to American audiences. While Infected isn't necessarily The The's best album, it further develops Johnson's strengths as a writer, arranger and singer, pointing the way to the peak period to come.

Mind Bomb, released in 1989, is The The's first Big Statement. Turning his attention almost completely toward the world in turmoil around him, Johnson imbues his songs with an almost palpable sense of rage. Inspired by the rising influence of militant Islam and the continuing domination of fundamentalist Christianity, the singer focuses his anger in particular on the effect of religion on secular politics. "If the real Jesus Christ were to stand up today/He'd be gunned down cold by the C.I.A.," he seethes on the ridiculously catchy "Armageddon Days (Are Here Again)," concluding "The world is on its elbows and knees/It's forgotten the message/And worships the creeds." The ominous "Good Morning Beautiful," beat-happy "Gravitate to Me" and propulsive "The Violence of Truth" also aim squarely at spiritually doctrinaire targets. He hasn't forgotten matters of the human heart, however; "August and September" and the luminous "Kingdom of Rain" (a duet with Sinead O'Connor) address the concerns of two people facing each other over a widening gap. At the heart of the record is "The Beat(en) Generation," a striking folk/pop tune that castigates apathetic youth over a slinky melody. Despite all the gloom, Johnson refuses to succumb to despair, as the beautiful closer "Beyond Love" attests. Part of the undeniable appeal of Mind Bomb lies in Johnson's decision to employ a full-band sound (including prominent harmonica), and he assembles a first-rate combo consisting of ABC drummer David Palmer, Nick Lowe bassist James Eller and, most notably, Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr. Bringing musicians of this caliber to bear on his most uniformly strong set of songs to date makes it impossible for Mind Bomb to be anything less than incredible.

1993's Dusk finds Johnson turning back to more personal territory. "True Happiness This Way Lies," the opening track, nods back to the religious obsessions of the past record by being recorded as a backwoods preacher-style rant, but its content is strictly earthly. Desire is the essential element in the songs found here; whether it's desire for sex, love or simply human contact varies from track to track. "The Dogs of Lust" makes its carnal focus plain through its swampy groove and leering harmonica; "Lung Shadows" makes its need even more obvious. The funky "Sodium Light Baby" and the desperate "Helpline Operator" scratch the surface looking for true love, "the strangest feelin' I ever had." The moving "Love is Stronger Than Death," inspired by the passing of his younger brother, is one of his greatest and most emotive songs. Johnson shines the harshest spotlight, however, on his own emotional inadequacies. In the catchy pop song "Slow Emotion Replay" he laments "Everybody knows what's going wrong with the world/But I don't even know what's going on in myself," while he asks "Why can't love ever touch my heart like fear does?" in the harrowing gospel tone poem "Bluer Than Midnight." His conclusion? From "Lonely Planet:" "If you can't change the world/Change yourself." He's backed on Dusk by the same band as on Mind Bomb, with the addition of keyboardist D.C. Collard, and it's his warmest, most accessible album yet. Once again, the one-two punch of a flawless set of tunes with a terrific group of musicians results in greatness.

Johnson followed up this spectacular run with 1995's puzzling Hanky Panky, which consisted of radical reworkings of Hank Williams songs. He then went into hibernation, but reemerged a couple of years ago with NakedSelf, which, while of undeniably high quality, also seems to represent something of a creative holding pattern. But it's grossly unfair to count an artist with this much talent as being in a slump; even after 20 years, Matt Johnson and The The have a future as potentially remarkable as the music found on these vital albums. Michael Toland

For fans of: Midnight Oil, That Petrol Emotion, David Bowie