Ten years-plus in the music business and what have the Psychedelic Furs learned? When they're happy, they're commercially successful...but commercial success doesn't make them happy.
Richard Butler's acrid, spiteful snarl, his brother Tim's
pulsing bass, John Ashton and Roger Morris' swirling, aqueous wall of guitars,
Vince Ely's relentless floor-toms and Duncan Kilburn's cacophonous sax first
gelled on The Psychedelic Furs, released in 1980. Painting aggressive soundscapes
heavily reliant on surrealism and sarcasm, the record's lyrical convolutions
constituted a perfect counterpoint to punk's full-on nihilistic bent. Next
year's Talk Talk Talk ventured into more melodic territories, most notably in
"Pretty in Pink," which later became a major brat-pack soundtrack hit
in its revamped, wimpier incarnation. Morris and Kilburn left before the slick
Todd. Rundgren production of 1982's Forever Now would herald a period of
unfounded optimism and creative confusion for the group (as well as Ely's
departure). This sound prevailed through the subsequent Mirror Moves and
Midnight to Mid- night, with the latter scoring the band their first gold LP
and a bonafide MTV/pop radio hit, "Heartbreak Beat."
In 1988, the Furs re-recruited Ely, returned to England and
recorded "All That Money Wants" for inclusion on the All of This and
Nothing compilation. The sparse, gritty quality of this new recording was the
first harbinger of the return to vintage Furs drone and cynicism that is their
cur- rent Book of Days. "I'm really pleased about that," says
guitarist John Ashton of this resurrected drive. "I think Richard is at
his best when he has something to say. I felt for quite some time, for a couple
of albums there, that he didn't really have a lot to say. A different Richard.
I guess he's always best when he's pissed off a bit. On the new record, he's
taken the burdens of the world back onto his shoulders again. He's been looking
around and going. 'This planet's grinding to a halt and we're none too pleased
about it.' I think that's really fueled Richard up and gotten him back on the
right track. It's given him a vehicle to get angry about again, or very
cynical, at least."
Hence, Book of Days' 180-degree sonic re-orientation.
Butler's return to his acclaimed, abrasive deadpan grates. against stark,
simplistic musical textures that recall the band's halcyon days of sarcasm
("Entertain Me"), surrealism ("Shine") and outright gloom
("Book of Days"). The whimsical love songs of the Mirror Moves/Midnight
to Midnight period rarely make appearances in the current Furs live set.
"Richard has his cynicism back," says Ashton. "People have
labeled us as being miserable at times, being a bit too cynical, but I don't
think that's a bad thing."
The personal turning point that set John Ashton on his
current no- nonsense artistic bent was an accident that threatened his ability
to play and perpetuated the wait between full-length Furs studio efforts.
"I was really drunk and I put my hand through some glass. It put me out of
action for about four months."
The same incident alerted Ashton to the reality of a
long-time drinking problem, one he had to deal with before the band could get
back on its feet. "It took me six months to cure myself and now I'm happy.
I'm not ecstatic, but I certainly don't look at things in the throwaway sense
anymore. I realize what I've got. It may sound self-centered-actually, it may
sound like complete bullshit but the only thing that matters now is the music.
It's true. Right now we're not sailing the crest of some commercial success
wave. We had that, but we got really sick of it. I mean, Richard had been
looking at himself in the mirror every morning and going. 'Oh no! You're the
guy that made Midnight to Midnight? He had to live with that. I know he wasn't
happy. It was very much a veneer thing. He could cover up with a bit of glitz
and a bit of glam. He hadn't got to that point where he'd realized that what
we'd done before was really important."