Be-Bop Deluxe – Modern Music (1976)

Modern Music is the fourth album by English art-rock band Be-Bop Deluxe, released in September 1976 on Harvest.

Tracklist:
A1. Orphans of Babylon (3:11)
A2. Twilight Capers (4:26)
A3. Kiss of Light* (3:20)
A4. The Bird Charmers Destiny (1:35)
A5. The Gold at the End of My Rainbow (3:50)
A6. Bring Back the Spark (3:57)
B1. Modern Music (3:40)
B2. Dancing in the Moonlight (All Alone) (2:10)
B3. Honeymoon on Mars (1:17)
B4. Lost in the Neon World (0:50)
B5. Dance of the Uncle Sam Humanoids (2:03)
B6. Modern Music (Reprise) (1:50)
B7. Forbidden Lovers (5:00)
B8. Down on Terminal Street (3:57)
B9. Make the Music Magic (1:50)

*7″ b/w:
Shine (7:46) — credited to Funky Phaser and His Unearthly Merchandise

Credits:
Bill Nelson — guitar, lead vocals, percussion, writer, producer
Andy Clark — keyboards, percussion
Charlie Tumahai — bass guitar, vocals, percussion
Simon Fox — drums, percussion

John Leckie — producer, engineer

Dumb-loaded with its two weakest tracks up front — the limp “Made in Heaven”-rehash “Orphans of Babylon” and the “Sister Seagull”-xerox “Twilight Capers” — Modern Music proves to be a more musically fluid and lyrically adventurous album than its predecessor. Sometimes, the self-quotations even put things right for the band, such as with the “Life in the Air Age” riff that finds itself a more suitable home in “Lost in the Neon World” — one of the more captivating passages of the album’s title-suite. Other highlights include the marimba-spiced “Kiss of Light,” the angular-chorded “Bring Back the Spark,” and the wah-wah raunch of “Forbidden Lovers.” Overall, I’d rank this release fourth among their five studio albums.