''The Dancing Marquis'' is the eighteenth solo studio album by the British singer/songwriter

Marc Almond Peter Mark Sinclair "Marc" Almond, (born 9 July 1957) is an English singer. Almond first began performing and recording in the synthpop/ new wave duo Soft Cell where he became known for his distinctive soulful voice and androgynous image. He ...

. It was released by Strike Force Entertainment /

Cherry Red Records Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything But the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as well ...

on 16 June 2014.

Background

''The Dancing Marquis'' compiles the songs from the limited edition 7"

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...

EPs ''Burn Bright'' and ''Tasmanian Tiger'' together with two new tracks and two remixes. The album features guest appearances from

Jarvis Cocker Jarvis Branson Cocker (born 19 September 1963) is an English musician and radio presenter. As the founder, frontman, lyricist and only consistent member of the band Pulp, he became a figurehead of the Britpop genre of the mid-1990s. Following P ...

and

Carl Barât Carl Ashley Raphael Barât (; born 6 June 1978) is a British musician and actor, best known for being the co-frontman with Pete Doherty of the garage rock band The Libertines. He was the frontman and lead guitarist of Dirty Pretty Things, and ...

, and some of the tracks were produced by

Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...

. The title track is named for

Henry Paget, 5th Marquess of Anglesey Henry Cyril Paget, 5th Marquess of Anglesey (16 June 1875 – 14 March 1905), styled Lord Paget until 1880 and Earl of Uxbridge between 1880 and 1898, and nicknamed "Toppy", was a British peer who was notable during his short life for squanderin ...

according to Almond in an interview with author

Tony O'Neill Tony O'Neill (born 1978, Blackburn, Lancashire) is an English writer based in New York. A one-time musician with Kenickie (1997–98), Marc Almond (1997–98), The Brian Jonestown Massacre (1999) and Kelli Ali (2001–04), O'Neill is also the a ...

. The Marquess "haunts Almond's new album", which O'Neill calls "Marc's poppiest and most accessible work in years". The song "Death of a Dandy" is a tribute to the London artist

Sebastian Horsley Sebastian Horsley (born Marcus A. Horsley; 8 August 1962 – 17 June 2010) was an English artist and writer. Horsley's writing often revolved around his dysfunctional family, his flamboyant and eccentric behavior, his drug addictions, sex, and ...

who had died at the time and features a guest appearance from Danielz, who plays in the T-Rex tribute band T.Rextasy. Jarvis Cocker wrote and produced "Worship Me Now" for Almond, although the pair had never met, and also "whispered" backing vocals for the track. Almond had worked with Carl Barât before and asked for a song for the album, which Barât delivered in "Love Is Not on Trial", alongside vocal and guitar contributions.

Critical reception

The review at ''

Louder Than War ''Louder Than War'' is a music and culture website and magazine focusing on mainly alternative arts news, reviews, and features. The site is an editorially independent publication that was started by journalist John Robb in 2010 and is now ru ...

'' calls the album "more magic from a national treasure" commenting that "you never lose the knack of writing a good tune, and it's something that has never left Marc". The limited edition EP ''Tasmanian Tiger'' was reviewed separately by ''

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quiet ...

'' who feel it is "another reason to treasure one of the music world's most inspired and restless mavericks". Thom Jurek at ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

'' calls ''The Dancing Marquis'' album "a glorious tease" and states that "there is a bit of everything here", from

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

s, glam

waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the wa ...

es, pulsing synths, and modern pop.

Track listing

Personnel

– vocals * Neal Whitmore – guitar, keyboards, programming, synthesizer *Carl Holt – bass *Tim Weller – drums, percussion *Hugh Wilkinson –

talking drum The talking drum is an hourglass-shaped drum from West Africa, whose pitch can be regulated to mimic the tone and prosody of human speech. It has two drumheads connected by leather tension cords, which allow the player to change the pitc ...

, extra percussion *

Martin McCarrick Martin McCarrick (born 29 July 1962) is an English cellist, keyboardist, guitarist and composer. Aside from being a live and recording artist, he is also a teacher and visiting lecturer in music. Career His first recording in the pop/rock ar ...

– piano, cello, string arrangement *

– string arrangement *Kimberlee McCarrick – violin *Gini Ball – violin *Claire Orsler –

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

*Martin Watkins – piano,

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...

*Katie Kresek – violin *Rachel Golub – violin *Entcho Todorov – violin *Jonathan Dinklage – violin *Ron Lawrence – viola *Julie Goodale – viola *Dave Eggar – cello *Peter Sachon – cello *

Jason Buckle The All Seeing I were a British electronic music group from Sheffield, England, comprising Dean Honer, Jason Buckle and DJ Parrot (real name Richard Barratt). Biography The band released their first single "I Walk" in 1997, but it was not unt ...

– keyboard programming *Clifford Slapper – piano * Justin Jones – orchestral guitar *

Steve Nieve Steve Nieve ( "naïve"; born Stephen John Nason, 21 February 1958) is an English musician and composer. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Nieve has been a member of Elvis Costello's backing bands the Attractions, the Imposters and Madnes ...

–

Vox Continental The Vox Continental is a transistorised combo organ that was manufactured between 1962 and 1971 by the British musical equipment manufacturer Vox. It was designed for touring musicians and as an alternative to the heavy Hammond organ. It supp ...

, piano, keyboards *Roland Faber – drum programming, additional synthesizer *Lousie Marshall – backing vocals *Billy Godfrey – backing vocals *Kelly Barnes – backing vocals *Laura June Barnes – backing vocals *Mazz Murray – backing vocals *Annabell Williams – backing vocals

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dancing Marquis 2014 albums Marc Almond albums Cherry Red Records albums Albums produced by Tony Visconti