Fantasy Deluxe #26: Laughter, Tears & Rage

Act (n.) – a deed, a piece of entertainment, a performance.

Act (v.) – to behave in a particular way, to have a certain effect on something.

Act (the pop duo) – the final, muted hurrah of ZTT’s late 80s post-Frankie fall from grace.

Laughter, Tears & Rage could have been the last great, classic 80s-sounding album of that decade. What began in early 1987 as a typical ZTT endeavour from ex-Propaganda vocalist Claudia Brucken and sophisticated alt-synthpop dude Thomas Leer – all dramatic flourishes, extravagant production and knowing lyrics accompanied by winning melodies – somehow found itself watered-down and lacking direction by the time their one and only long-player eventually emerged in the summer of 1988, a week after Kylie Minogue’s debut LP hit the shelves.

The first two singles, Snobbery & Decay and Absolutely Immune, were tour de forces, everything you would expect and could hope for.  Both flopped, and then fate intervened with Chance having to be withdrawn from sale on the day of release owing to an uncleared ABBA sample. The album’s original title of Pandemonium was changed, and Leer became increasingly sidelined.

All of this unfolded as pop, and the UK charts, moved away from the sounds and fashions of the mid-80s and began to embrace Hip Hop, House music and a less flamboyant approach. Ambition often only extended to how successful you wanted to be, rather than how you approached the records you made. It was not an era in which Act could really thrive.

Snobbery & Decay dated from a period before Stock Aitken Waterman redefined themselves as the dominant chart force they quickly became in the wake of Rick Astley and then Kylie’s massive success, before Pet Shop Boys released their second album Actually and became kings of artful pop for the masses, and before the homegrown dance culture broke through into the mainstream. Even by mid-1988, it sounded like a relic of a bygone age. Albeit a glorious relic.

Absolutely Immune proved every bit as wonderful, like Neil Tennant guesting on a superior Propaganda track, and there was some TV promo via Tomorrow’s World (where the then-cutting edge studio technology involved in creating the single was demonstrated). Sadly the public were more interested in a post-M/A/R/R/S world of sampling and DJ-mixing on a more modest budget.

(Pump Up The Volume is nevertheless a fantastic, groundbreaking record and can’t be blamed for Act’s failure).

Fast-forward to June 1988 and not only had the chart landscape undergone a radical transformation, I Can’t Escape From You was presented more as a Brucken vehicle than before (right down to the “sung by…” credit on the front cover) and sonically there had clearly been a bit of a rethink; though still theatric, the arrangement was more orthodox and in keeping with the aesthetics of 1988 (ABC’s Alphabet City seems to have been a touchstone).  Leer was reduced to a mere writing credit, reflecting the tensions between doubting Thomas and Brucken; producer Stephen Lipson sided with the latter on taking a more commercial, less arty direction.

Then, finally, after an eternity (four singles, one of them shelved, and a change of title) we got Laughter, Tears & Rage. 10 tracks (14 on the CD, more of which later) that reflected the shift in focus during its creation.

Some 15 years later, we were treated to another incarnation of the album, as part of a 3-disc special edition. This time it was 22 tracks, the original CD running order kept more or less intact with a couple of unreleased interludes added in, and then half-a-dozen more songs tacked on at the end.

Ah, but that was not the last word on the matter; the Salvo label – who did such an impressive job in curating, organising and repackaging/reissuing the majority of ZTT’s catalogue in the late 2000s and early 2010s – came up with a two-disc compilation of Act; Love & Hate – A Compact Introduction. Disc one of this rather stylish set was a “Director’s Cut” of Laughter, Tears & Rage put together by scribe (and onetime ZTT bigwig) Paul Morley. Apparently, this version is closest to the intended running order although the presence of more bonus tracks clouds the issue of whether it’s an improvement or not.

Act one, act two, act three…..

So very ZTT. And so very messy. Which means….SOMETHING HAD TO BE DONE.

(We’re in the Fantasy Deluxe section, after all).

Curiously for an album released in the early years of the Compact Disc, the original CD of Laughter, Tears & Rage did not match that of its vinyl counterpart. Not only does it contain extra tracks (mainly B-sides of the early singles), but there are two piano pieces (one with vocals, one without) from the vinyl configuration missing. Those tracks, Short Story and (Theme From) Laughter have subsequently appeared on Act reissues but always with other bonus material, so the 1988 LP version has never been properly recreated on CD. Until now!

It’s disc one of our “bigger and better” Super Deluxe Edition….

CD1 “lifestyles of the rich and famous…”

1 Absolutely Immune 4:38
2 Chance 4:22
3 Laughter 3:58
4 I Can’t Escape From You 3:06
5 Short Story 0:32
6 Under The Nights Of Germany 4:35
7 Gestures 4:01
8 A Friendly Warning 3:25
9 Certified 4:30
10 Where Love Lies Bleeding 3:20
11 (Theme From) Laughter 1:02
12 Snobbery And Decay 5:06

The logical thing to do next would be to include the 1988 CD version, but to keep this set down to 6 discs while still fitting in all the necessary remixes, edits and non-album material means either the original CD or the remastered 2004 (22-track) edition has to miss out. I’ve found a compromise by recreating the 1988 CD running order but using the 2004 remaster, with those 8 bonus tracks omitted. So again this is unique to afdpj‘s deluxe.

CD2 “caught in a cage between heaven and hell”

1 Absolutely Immune 4:38
2 Chance 4:08
3 Laughter 3:58
4 I Can’t Escape From You 3:06
5 Poison 3:59
6 Under The Nights Of Germany 4:35
7 Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now 3:53
8 The 3rd Planet 4:26
9 Gestures 4:01
10 Bloodrush 4:12
11 A Friendly Warning 3:25
12 Certified 4:30
13 Where Love Lies Bleeding 3:20
14 Snobbery And Decay 5:06

For all its flaws, this remains the version I’m most familiar with. Poison and Bloodrush are good enough to fit in without lowering the overall quality, the cover of Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now rather less so. The one difference between the mixes on this and ZQCD1 is the shorter Chance. Aside from the obvious sidelining of Thomas Leer (Gestures is the only song other than those early singles where he has a major vocal role), I hadn’t realised how much Certified resembles the The Sun Rising by The Beloved. Or rather, vice versa since Certified pre-dates it by over a year. Jon Marsh was perhaps influenced by its hazy house ambience and the ethereal melody refrain.

ZTT being ZTT, there are alternative versions galore; enough to fill a disc, conveniently enough. Most of these did not appear on the singles, but a handful were featured in their “Cassetted” mixes on digital formats of Snobbery & Decay and Absolutely Immune. Honestly, it’s not as simple as it should be, but we will cover everything in the end….

CD3 Alternate versions, improvisations and instrumentals:  “why quit now…”

1 (Alternative) Gestures 3.49
2 Body Electric 3:44
3 Strong Poison 6:02
4 Under The Nights Of Germany (Trial Edit) 3:57
5 States Of Logic 5:04
6 The 3rd Planet (Altered) 4:23
7 Gestures (Improvised) 10:12
8 Bloodrush (Silent) 4:10
9 Certified (Instrumental) 4:27
10 Under The Nights Of Germany (Instrumental) 4:52
11 Heaven Knows I’m Miserable (Lucky’s Skank 1) 3:51
12 Strong Poison (Cassetted) 3:52
13 States Of Logic (Cassetted) 5:07
14 I’d Be Surprisingly Good For You (Instrumental) 4:08
15 Gestures (Instrumental) 3:49

If the Propaganda-lite of Under The Nights Of Germany was planned as a potential single, and the “Trial Edit” was the result, then it would indeed have been a perfectly suitable choice (moreso than the chaotic, annoying Chance in my opinion). The “(Alternative)” Gestures made the Director’s Cut of the album on Love & Hate: A Compact Introduction in 2009.

I have a confession to make. This isn’t the first time I have made a Super Deluxe of Laughter, Tears & Rage. And this second attempt isn’t just an expanded take on the original attempt (as with World Machine). Previously, I started with the Original CD and the re-issue (2004’s expanded (More) Laughter, Tears & Rage disc from the triple-disc set) and then got the fantastic (….) idea of creating mini-EPs for each of the singles. “Snobbery”, “Immunity”, “Escape”, “Chancers” and “Winners”. Each of these would get its own disc within the set (I had visions of making card sleeves for them as well, but then I woke up). 

Unfortunately, while that approach made sense with Frankie Goes To Hollywood (long ago I fashioned an 8CD box with a separate disc for each A (or AA) side), there wasn’t really enough material to justify it with all of the ACT 45s. So everything was simply assembled across a couple of CDs; same content but a less satisfying outcome.

Disc four of our new Super Deluxe is “Snobbery” with a couple of extra versions courtesy of that digital download edition mentioned earlier. 

CD4 Snobbery: “watch them grow from rags to riches…”

1 (Theme From) Snobbery & Decay Extract 0:54
2 Snobbery & Decay (7″) 4:10
3 Snobbery & Decay (LP) 5:03
4 Snobbery & Decay (That’s Entertainment!) 9:49
5 (Theme From) Snobbery & Decay (Cassetted) 1:56
6 Snobbery And Decay (For Stephanie Beacham) 8:31
7 (The Naked Civil) Snobbery & Decay 8:53
8 Snobbery & Decay (That’s Cabaret!) 9:49
9 (Theme From) Snobbery And Decay – full version 3:22

Now if I were to put together an ultimate edition of the album (and I have considered it many times), I would bookend it with the short and full versions of Theme From Snobbery & Decay. The album version (track 12 on CD1, and track 14 on CD2) is repeated again here just so every mix of the thing is in one place. That’s Entertainment! and That’s Cabaret! are very similar, as the running times might suggest. These versions go on a bit, but have the full single mix (Orchestral intro included) as the final 4 minutes or so, and that hasn’t ever been on an Act CD (the 7″ mix here is taken from Claudia Brucken’s Compiled).

That leaves the rest of the Immunity, Escape, Chancers and Winners content, along with any non-album material from the 22-track (More) Laughter, Tears & Rage which hadn’t found a home elsewhere (I hope you are keeping up with all of this!).

CD5 Singularity (an assortment of artefacts, part 1) – “you’re my orchestra of one…”

1 Absolutely Immune (Seven Inch Mix) 3:21
2 I Can’t Escape From You (Love & Hate) 7:22
3 Chance (Seven Inch Mix) 4:01
4 Winner ’88 (Seven Inch Mix) 3:28
5 Laughter (Seven Inch Mix) 3:49
6 Absolutely Immune (Mixture 1) 6:16
7 Chance (Whammy! Mix) 7:18
8 I’d Be Surprisingly Good For You 4:10
9 Dear Life 3:17
10 White Rabbit 2:03
11 (Theme From) I Can’t Escape From You 3:05

CD6 More singularity (an assortment of artefacts, part 2) – “a touchstone for daydreams…”

1 Absolutely Immune II 5:37
2 (We Give You Another) Chance 4:20
3 Winner ’88 (Extended) 6:19
4 A Friendly Warning (12 Inch Mix) 5:07
5 Heaven Knows I’m Miserable (Lucky’s Skank 2) 4:20
6 Chance (Throbbin’ Mix) 7.10
7 Absolutely Immune (Take 4) 4:02
8 Winner ’88 (Instrumental) 3:27
9 Laughter (Instrumental Seven Inch Mix) 4:14
10 Chance (Full Whammy!) 8:01
11 Absolutely Immune (Instrumental) 3:27

Both these discs are designed for listening in sequence, and try to avoid the “oh god, not that song AGAIN” pitfalls of collecting too many versions of the same thing on one CD. There are Seven Inch mixes of just about everything except I Can’t Escape From You (another omission from any official Act reissue). For such an ordinary song, Chance was given a remarkable number of treatments. The trio of B-Sides/CD-single bonus tracks Dear Life, White Rabbit and I’d Be Surprisingly Good For You are taken from (More) Laughter, Tears & Rage.

For the cover, it seemed sensible to make use of Patrick Lichfield’s glorious and expensive-looking photoshoot; so I chose a different image to that on Love & Hate: A Compact Introduction. Thomas Leer’s relegation to the background seems appropriate. We’ve gone with the earlier Act logo rather than the small square blue box that was used in 1988.

Finally, our work is done. Although I still harbour desires to make that “Director’s Cut” of my own (sometimes I just cannot help myself…or be helped).

“Why quit now?”…..