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Truly one of the greatest British bands to come out of the 1976 / 1977 musical rupture that was Punk, Dunfermline's Skids went on to demonstrate they had so much more to them than many of their contemporaries. Always a tight and powerful musical powerhouse they enjoyed a string of classic chart hits between 1978 and 1979 (‘Into The Valley’, ‘Masquerade’, ‘Working For The Yankee Dollar’ etc).
Following this, they surprised and delighted fans and critics alike with 1980’s ambitious and experimental third album outing ‘The Absolute Game’. The album was also the first to feature feature new bassist Russell Webb and his inclusion, along with the contribution of new producer Mick Glossop, made for an accomplished and progressive evolution.
The first sign that the band had upped the ante somewhat came with the album’s first single (and its opener), ‘Circus Games’, which fused incisive lyrics and rallying vocal delivery with a powerful backing track, replete with synth stylings and even a schoolkids’ chorus. Future singles to be culled included ‘A Woman In Winter’ and the glorious ‘Goodbye Civilian’. Record Collector latersaid of the album: “Endlessly inventive and perfectly executed, it deservedly became their most successful release”.
Initial copies of ‘The Absolute Game’ came with the free mini album ‘Strength Through Joy’ an experimental mini-album that blended world music influences and atmospheric and ambient sounds that perfectly fitted 1980’s Peter Gabriel / Talking Heads / ‘Scary Monsters’ Bowie zeitgeist.
For this stunning 2LP vinyl reissue, ‘The Absolute Game’, and ‘Strength Through Joy’, have been remastered from the source tapes, thereby correcting previous problems with the album’s tape transfers. The work was undertaken by respected audio engineer George Shilling (previous credits include Blur, Teenage Fanclub, Bernard Butler, Oasis, Primal Scream).
Artwork has been lovingly recreated with the original’s lyric sheet and Skids merchandise inserts promoted onto illustrated inner bags. The albums have pressed onto translucent blue stone vinyl.
Tracklist
LP1 ‘THE ABSOLUTE GAME’
Side One
Circus Games
Out Of Town
Goodbye Civilian
The Children Saw The Shame
A Woman In Winter
Side Two
Hurry On Boys
Happy To Be With You
The Devils Decade
One Decree
Arena
LP2 ‘STRENGTH THROUGH JOY’
Side Three
An Incident In Algiers
Grievance
Strength Through Joy
Filming Africa
Side Four
A Man For All Seasons
Snakes And Ladders
Surgical Triumph
The Bell Jar