''Varieté'' is the fifteenth 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 on 7 June 2010 through Strike Force Entertainment, part of

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 ...

Background

''Varieté'' marks Almond's 30th year as a recording artist. It is his first album of original material in nine years. At the time of its release, Almond himself stated it would be his final album of original material as he had increasingly become more interested in recording pre-existing songs (as many of his covers albums have showcased), but this would prove to be untrue and he went on to record further original material afterwards. Much of it is self-produced and co-written with longtime collaborators Neal Whitmore and Martin Watkins. The album was released in a standard one-disc jewel case and a limited edition two-disc

digipak Optical disc packaging is the packaging that accompanies CDs, DVDs, and other formats of optical discs. Most packaging is rigid or semi-rigid and designed to protect the media from scratches and other types of exposure damage. Jewel case A ...

in a slip-sleeve version, featuring seven bonus tracks on the second disc.

Critical reception

''Varieté'' received mixed reviews from critics. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' described a "nostalgic mood" but saw the album as "furrows already ploughed". ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' wrote about Almond's lyrics, stating that "his lyrical pen remains hilariously barbed", and called the album "self-composed cabaret sleaze". The review in ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its par ...

'' agreed that Almond is looking back with this album, returning "to old themes with alacrity", and summarised by calling ''Varieté'' "mischievous, lightweight fun compared to Almond's darker, more tortured journeys into European chanson". Simon Price in his review from ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' called the album "an autobiography and also a hymn to the underground" and stated that Almond "is determined to squeeze life for its every last drop". The ''

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 ...

'' review praised the production as flowing "freely from spare, late-night-in-the-cocktail-lounge settings to big, bold, orchestral statements". It also had further commentary on the bonus tracks available with the limited edition version of the album, stating that the "more minimal, acoustic-based" songs shine "a brighter light on Almond's songwriting abilities".

Track listing

# "(Intro)" (

Michael Cashmore Michael Cashmore is an English composer and musician currently living in Berlin. He has created music under the name of Nature and Organisation since the early 1980s and more recently (2006) under his own name. Cashmore was a member of the g ...

) – 0:42 # "Bread & Circus" (Almond, Alexei Fedorov) – 3:47 # "Nijinsky Heart" (Almond, Roland Faber) – 3:59 # "The Exhibitionist" (Almond, Martin Watkins) – 4:44 # "The Trials of Eyeliner" (Almond,

) – 5:44 # "Lavender" (Almond, Watkins) – 5:25 # "Soho So Long" (Almond, Fedorov, Neal Whitmore) – 3:37 # "Unloveable" (Almond, Faber) – 2:47 # "Sandboy" (Almond, Watkins) – 4:41 # "It's All Going On" (Almond, Faber) – 4:32 # "Variety" (Almond, Faber) – 3:31 # "Cabaret Clown" (Almond) – 3:09 # "My Madness and I" (Almond, Whitmore) – 4:34 # "But Not Today" (Almond, Whitmore) – 4:29 # "Swan Song" (Almond, Whitmore) – 3:41 # "Sin Song" (Almond, Cashmore) – 7:03

Bonus acoustic disc (Limited edition)

# "My Evil Twin" (Almond, Faber) – 3:13 # "A Lonely Love" (Almond) – 3:35 # "Cat Dancer" (Almond, Whitmore) – 2:23 # "Criminal Lover" (Almond, Whitmore) – 3:17 # "I Am No One" (Almond, Whitmore) – 2:35 # "Smoke" (Almond, Whitmore) – 3:11 # "Kiss the Ghost (Goodbye)" (Almond) – 4:45

Personnel

– vocals, arrangement * Neal Whitmore – electric and acoustic guitar,

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

, piano, harmonica,

Omnichord The Omnichord is an electronic musical instrument introduced in 1981 by the Suzuki Musical Instrument Corporation. It typically features a touch plate known as "Sonic Strings", preset rhythms, auto-bass line functionality, and buttons for ma ...

, arrangement *Martin Watkins – piano, keyboards, Omnichord, arrangement *Dave Ruffy – drums, percussion, bongos,

spoons Spoons may refer to: * Spoon, a utensil commonly used with soup * Spoons (card game), the card game of Donkey, but using spoons Film and TV * ''Spoons'' (TV series), a 2005 UK comedy sketch show *Spoons, a minor character from ''The Sopranos'' ...

, drum machine *Carl Holt – electric and acoustic bass ;Guest musicians *

Armen Ra –

theremin The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone/etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named afte ...

*David Coulter –

musical saw A musical saw, also called a singing saw, is a hand saw used as a musical instrument. Capable of continuous glissando (portamento), the sound creates an ethereal tone, very similar to the theremin. The musical saw is classified as a plaque f ...

*Andy Marlowe – additional guitar *Roland Faber – Moog, analogue synths, simulated Martenot,

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...

*Seamus Beaghen -

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 ...

*Thomas Bowles –

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

Igor Outkine Igor Outkine (russian: Игорь Уткин, born 1964 in the Soviet Union) is an acoustic and midi accordionist and vocalist. His vocal and instrumental repertoire covers a wide range of music such as classical music, classical and opera, Neapo ...

(from band Mazaika) – Bayan accordion *Sarah Harrison (from band Mazaika) – violin *Gemma Rosefield – cello *Daisy Gathorne-Hardy – cello *Sarah McMahon – cello *Maria Martinez – cello *Debs White – violin *Tamsin Waley-Cohen – violin *Tom Hankey –

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 ...

*James Knight – saxophone *Dominic Glover – trumpet *Nichol Thomson –

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

*Richard Shaw –

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a sopr ...

*Lucy Jackson –

*Tracy Colston –

tenor horn The tenor horn (British English; alto horn in American English, Althorn in Germany; occasionally referred to as E horn) is a brass instrument in the saxhorn family and is usually pitched in E. It has a bore that is mostly conical, like the flug ...

*Jonathon Ford – Euphonium *Tris Penna – string synthesizer

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Variete (Album) 2010 albums Marc Almond albums Cherry Red Records albums