''Tenement Symphony'' (subtitled Kies und Glanz • Grit and Glitter • Grès et Paillettes) is the seventh studio album by English 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. ...

. It was released in October 1991 and reached number 39 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

. ''Tenement Symphony'' includes three UK top 40 hit singles; " Jacky", "My Hand Over My Heart" and "

The Days of Pearly Spencer "Days of Pearly Spencer" (or in later releases "The Days of Pearly Spencer") is a 1967 song written and originally performed by Northern Irish singer-songwriter David McWilliams, and included on his second album ''David McWilliams Vol. 2''. Alt ...

" (which would become Almond's last UK top 10 hit to date).

Background

Working with former La Magia and Willing Sinners member Billy McGee, and his former

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 pla ...

bandmate David Ball as well as various studio musicians, Almond recorded the album at Maison Rouge,

Sarm West Studios Sarm Studios is an independent recording studio in London. Originally founded in east London in 1973, the studio's original location was renamed Sarm East Studios in 1982 when Jill Sinclair and Trevor Horn purchased Basing Street Studios from Isl ...

, Fishermans Room, Berlin, CTS Studios, Berwick St Studios, RAK and Pacific Studios.

Composition

The album is divided into two sections; 'Grit' and 'Glitter'. The first five songs constituted the 'Grit' and were produced by Almond, Billy McGee, Nigel Hine, and

The Grid The Grid is an English electronic dance group, consisting of David Ball (formerly of Soft Cell) and Richard Norris, with guest contributions from other musicians. They are best known for the hits "Swamp Thing", "Texas Cowboys", "Crystal Cle ...

. The 'Glitter' side (the ''Tenement Symphony'') was produced by

Trevor Horn Trevor Charles Horn (born 15 July 1949) is an English music producer, label and recording studio owner, musician and composer. He is best known for his production work in the 1980s, and for being one half of the new wave band The Buggles (wit ...

. The artwork was designed by Green Ink with a cover photograph by Klanger and Boink. The album cover mimics the style of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

's classical records. Almond wrote in his autobiography that the album's concept was largely down to

Rob Dickins Rob Dickins (born July 1950, East Ham, London) is a British music industry executive, who currently holds a number of trustee and consultant positions in music and the arts in the United Kingdom. Dickins began his music industry career at Warner ...

and that he did not feel the album truly reflected his artistic direction at that time, though he was pleased to have had the opportunity to work with Trevor Horn.

Track listing

Personnel

*Marc Almond – vocals, keyboards, arranger * David Ball - synthesizer, programming *

Anne Dudley Anne Jennifer Dudley (née Beckingham; born 7 May 1956) is an English composer, keyboardist, conductor and pop musician. She was the first BBC Concert Orchestra's Composer in Association in 2001. She has worked in the classical and pop genr ...

– keyboards, arranger, orchestration * J.J. Belle – guitar * Sally Bradshaw – vocals * Betsy Cook – vocals *Mitch Dalton – guitar *Andy Duncan – drums, percussion, percussion programming *

– bass on "What Is Love?", organ *Billy McGee – keyboards, arranger *

Julian Mendelsohn Julian Mendelsohn is an Australian record producer, audio engineer and mixer. Early life After completing school in Australia, Mendelsohn moved to the United Kingdom. He secured his first job in 1974 at Milner Sound Fulham Rd. Chelsea, run b ...

– mixing * Richard Norris – percussion programming *Nick Plytas – piano on "I've Never Seen Your Face" *Lynda Richardson – choir master *Richard Riley – guitar *Philip Todd – soprano and tenor saxophone *

Tim Weidner Tim Weidner is an engineer and producer, best known for his work with Trevor Horn. Biography Weidner has produced for Dead or Alive. He has done mixing for artists including Seal, Mike Oldfield (''Tubular Bells II''), Art of Noise, Captain and Gu ...

– bass *

Bruce Woolley Bruce Martin Woolley (born 11 November 1953) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He wrote songs with artists such as The Buggles and Grace Jones, including "Video Killed the Radio Star" and " Slave to the Rhythm", an ...

– keyboards, vocals * Gavyn Wright – string conductor *Nigel Hine – programming *Julian Stringle – clarinet *Steve Rapport – artwork *Inga Humpe – programming, vocals *Eric Caudieux – guitar, keyboards, programming *Max Loderbauer – programming

Charts

References