''This Last Night in Sodom'' is the third full-length album by the English

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

duo

Soft Cell Soft Cell are an English synthpop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. The duo consists of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball. The band are primarily known for their 1981 hit version of "Tainted Love" and their plat ...

. It was released in March 1984, about a month after the duo (

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 ...

and David Ball) publicly announced they were dissolving the partnership. The album peaked at number 12 in the UK Album Chart, and would be Soft Cell's last album for 18 years.

Background

The album represents a shift in style from the delicate, erotic, dancefloor-friendly pop of their earlier records and contains a more eclectic mix of styles as well, from the Spanish-influenced "L'Esqualita" (inspired by the drag bar in New York City called "La Escuelita") to the

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

-tinged "Down in the Subway". The thematic elements of the songs are also noticeably darker, even for Soft Cell, and center around self-destruction and the breakdown of innocence. "Meet Murder My Angel", according to Almond, is about the mind of a murderer before he slaughters his victim, while "Where Was Your Heart (When You Needed It Most)" centres on a girl who loses all self-esteem after being raped while intoxicated. The first single from the album was "Soul Inside", which reached number 16 on the UK charts in September 1983. "Down in the Subway" was released as the second single, peaking at number 24 in March 1984. The artwork was originally printed entirely in red and gold ink, down to the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

, lyrics, LP labels, and serial number. The album was largely a critical success, but ultimately received little commercial attention, and has since gone out of print. A remastered version with bonus tracks, which included a 12" single mix of "Soul Inside", a cover version of

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from the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

film '' You Only Live Twice'', and "Her Imagination", cut during a session at the

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, was also released, although this too has since gone out of print and copies are quite rare, the full album including extra tracks is, as fortune would have it, readily available for official download.

Track listing

# "Mr. Self Destruct" – 3:12 # "Slave to This" – 5:04 # "Little Rough Rhinestone" – 4:33 # "Meet Murder My Angel" – 4:39 # "The Best Way to Kill" – 4:43 # "L'Esqualita" – 7:03 # "Down in the Subway" – 2:51 # "Surrender to a Stranger" – 3:38 # "Soul Inside" – 4:25 # "Where Was Your Heart (When You Needed It Most)" – 5:09 Extra tracks on remastered CD:

Some Bizzare Some Bizzare Records was a British independent record label owned by Stevo Pearce. The label was founded in 1981, with the release of '' Some Bizzare Album'', a compilation of unsigned bands including Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, the The, Neu E ...

/ Mercury (558,267-2, June 1998) # "Disease and Desire" – 4:02 -side of "Down in the Subway"# "Born to Lose" – 2:52 -side of "Down in the Subway" 12"# "You Only Live Twice" – 4:30 -side of "Soul Inside"# "007 Theme" – 3:34 -side of "Soul Inside" 12"# "Soul Inside" (12" mix) – 11:57 # "Her Imagination" – 5:21 -side of "Soul Inside" double 7"

Personnel

;Soft Cell *

– vocals, percussion, (guitar on "The Best Way to Kill") * David Ball – keyboards, instruments, bass, guitar, percussion with: *

Gary Barnacle Gary Barnacle (born 1959 in Dover, England) is an English saxophonist, flautist, brass instrument arranger, composer, and producer. Barnacle is primarily noted for his session work and live work, including various Prince's Trust concerts at Wem ...

– saxophone * Gini Ball – vocals * Richard Smith – liner notes (1998 re-issue)

References

{{Authority control Soft Cell albums 1984 albums Sire Records albums Vertigo Records albums Mercury Records albums Some Bizzare Records albums