''The Universe of Geoffrey Brown'' is the fourth solo

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

and first

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

Captain Sensible Raymond Ian Burns (born 24 April 1954), known by the stage name Captain Sensible, is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist. Captain Sensible co-founded the punk rock band The Damned (band), the Damned, originally playing bass before switc ...

, released in April 1993 by Humbug Records.

Background

Captain Sensible had grown up musically in the 1960s and 1970s, where "some incredible records were being made", he said in 2014. "The first time I heard

The Pretty Things ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

’ ''

S.F. Sorrow ''S. F. Sorrow'' is the fourth album by the English rock band Pretty Things. Released in 1968, it is known as one of the first rock operas ever released. Based on a short story by singer Phil May, the album is structured as a song cycle tell ...

'', I was transfixed. The concept nature of the album took me on a musical journey…a mind trip, even. It was hugely engrossing, and I started seeking out other records of this kind – like

The Moody Blues The Moody Blues were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1964, initially consisting of keyboardist Mike Pinder, multi-instrumentalist Ray Thomas, guitarist Denny Laine, drummer Graeme Edge and bassist Clint Warwick. The group came to ...

‘ ''

Days of Future Passed A day is the time period of a full rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours, 1440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds. In everyday life, the word "day" often refers to a solar day, which is the length between two so ...

'' and ''

Tommy Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 fil ...

''. "One day I will make an album like this," I promised myself. And that’s how ''Geoffrey Brown'' came about." The album tells the story of Geoffrey Brown, whose quiet corporate life is turned upside down when aliens start leaving warning messages on his computer screen about mankind's self-inflicted demise. He is abandoned as a crackpot by his wife, co-workers and friends only for the government to recognize his value in the end. Sensible: "My main character Geoffrey works at the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

, plotting targets for destruction in a nuclear attack. He considers his job normal until his head is turned by a hippie chick one day on a bicycle ride; he decides to do something more creative with his department’s missile tracking technology." Captain Sensible came up with the original concept which was condensed into the title track by co-writer Martin Newell. "Originally, it was only one song", Newell explained in 2011. "And then Captain being Captain, said, "Do you think we can make a whole album?" And I said, "We’ve already said it all in one song!" So then we had to pad it out. And then Captain said, "We need some dialogue." Newell brought the characters to life with some "excellent scripts", according to Sensible, "and we got proper actors to perform the between-song dialogue." or Sensible took his inspiration from what he calls "the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

rhetoric of

Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

and Thatcher." Sensible: "The question the album asks is, "How did we go from the beautiful love and peace dream of the summer of ’67 to public acceptance of the ''

Dr. Strangelove ''Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb'', known simply and more commonly as ''Dr. Strangelove'', is a 1964 black comedy film that satirizes the Cold War fears of a nuclear conflict between the Soviet Union and t ...

'' world of mutually assured nuclear annihilation?" The opening line about aliens being alien that introduces the first track is spoken by real life UFO investigator Jenny Randles. In his book ''The Damned - The Chaos Years: An Unofficial Biography'', writer Barry Hutchinson describes the music as a "bright, happy collection of English pop, with some leanings to

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

and

psychedelia Psychedelia refers to the psychedelic subculture of the 1960s and the psychedelic experience. This includes psychedelic art, psychedelic music and style of dress during that era. This was primarily generated by people who used psychedelic ...

in places."

Critical reception

In a review for

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 ...

Jack Rabid ''The Big Takeover'' is a bi-annual music magazine published out of New York City since May 1980 by critic Jack Rabid. History Establishment Jack Rabid and Dave Stein began publishing ''The Big Takeover'' in May 1980 as a fanzine dedicated to N ...

wrote that all of Sensible's "usual goofy, nostalgic neo-psychedelic guitar tricks and surprisingly crafted pop tunes are in place", adding that "such glitzy tunes as "Holiday in My Heart," "Street of Shame," and the title track claw their way into your affections in a few plays." Rabid felt that the album combines two common Sensible themes: "our own self-destructive impulses and the ostracizing of folks who go against accepted practices and actually dare to use their own brains". He concluded that the album is "another ambitious yet modest gem from a true personality original."

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. *

- vocals, instruments * Martin Newell - drama sequence script, backing vocals (4, 11) *

Mel Galley Melville John Galley (8 March 1948 – 1 July 2008) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter, best known for his work with Whitesnake, Trapeze, Finders Keepers and Phenomena. Galley was born in Cannock, Staffordshire, England. While a ...

- lead guitar (1) *Nigel Haslem - keyboards (4) *Martin Wilson - drums (4), gong (11) * Rachel Bor - cello (1), backing vocals (6, 8) *Simon The Bald Breakfast Chef - percussion (3) *

Paul Bevoir Paul Bevoir (born 20 May 1960 in Islington, London, England) is an English pop-rock songwriter and musician. He is probably best known as a member of the 1980s English pop band the Jetset, ''AllMusic Guide – The Jetset''/ref> who were associ ...

- backing vocals (1) *Lis Aitken - backing vocals (2) *Fi Potsides - backing vocals (2) *Ezee Studios staff - chorus vocals (2) *Wee Dave Shaw - backing vocals (4, 11) *Pisshead Pam - sexy voice (11) *Binky Baker - Geoffrey Brown *

Judy Buxton Judith Catherine Buxton (born 7 October 1949) is an English actress best known for playing Nurse Katy Shaw in ''General Hospital'' (1972–1973), Susan Protheroe in ''By the Sword Divided'' (1983–1985) and Ruth Carpenter in '' On the Up'' (199 ...

- other parts *James Kerry - other parts ;Production *Captain Sensible - producer, arrangement *Andy Lovell - engineer *Rose Petalmetal - vocal tracking (2) *John Harris - engineer (Old Pink Dog Studios) *Nik Smith - engineer (Old Pink Dog Studios) *Andy Reilly - MIDI programming *Sid Wells - digital editing, mastering *Sam Steiger - sleeve design *Shane McCarthy - photography *All speech recorded at Old Pink Dog Studios, Sussex

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Universe of Geoffrey Brown 1993 albums Captain Sensible albums Concept albums