Voice of Soft Cell, Marc Almond, returned to the limelight in 1988 with his fourth solo album, The Stars We Are – which would go on to become his highest-selling LP on both sides of the pond and one of the star’s most revered releases.
The conceptual collection spawned four hit singles, including Tears Run Rings, Bitter Sweet and Only the Moment, plus Something’s Gotten Hold of My Heart – a duet with US singer Gene Pitney on the latter’s 1967 release.
A UK No. 1 hit, the track is one of three collaborations from The Stars We Are era, along with Kept Boy, featuring Agnes Bernelle, and Your Kisses Burn with Nico. Tragically, it would be her final recording, before the star passed away in a cycling accident in Ibiza.
The Stars We Are marks the end of Almond’s ’80s experimentation and, before 1989’s Jacques – a more restrained tribute to the Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel – the Tainted Love star lets loose for his most ‘pop’ album to date.
Although celebrating its 33rd birthday in 2021, the latest reissue, courtesy of SFE, is a testament to the vision of Almond and his production team – Willing Sinners members Annie Hogan and Billy McGee, and Bob Kraushaar – and avoids being tinged in the trademark sounds of ’80s nostalgia.
Hogan and McGee, along with Steve Humphreys, feature throughout the record as players in the star’s band, La Magia, with Hogan and McGee landing songwriting credits on a number of tracks, along with Almond.
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Kicking off with title track The Stars We Are, the LP segues between a string of uncharacteristically upbeat and optimistic tracks, including single releases Bitter Sweet and Only The Moment, urging the listener to grasp your dreams before the moment is past.
Elsewhere on the standard LP, The Sensualist lives up to its name while original album closer She Took My Soul in Istanbul – a firm fan favourite – conjures images of the Blue Mosque and hashish and closes out the collection with a true musical journey.
One gripe with the new collection is the decision to replace Almond’s original album version, the solo cut of Something’s Gotten Hold of My Heart, with the chart-topping duet version, while demoting the original edit to the second, Alternate Versions, disc. Not the end of the world, but an unnecessary switch-around when both are included anyway.
Also featured on CD 1 of the new release are the original CD-only bonus cuts The Frost Comes Tomorrow and Kept Boy, plus three B-sides – Everything I Wanted Love to Be, King of the Fools and Real Evil – while CD 2 collects several 12″ edits and remixes issued throughout the campaign.
Meanwhile, the DVD collects six promotional videos filmed for the album’s singles, including Almond and Pitney’s Something’s Gotten Hold of My Heart and two cuts of Tears Run Rings, directed by Peter Christopherson and Tim Broad, respectively.
Housed in a neat slipcase, The Stars We Are also includes a glossy 35-page booklet with lyrics, photos and a foreword by acclaimed poet Jeremy Reed, who also wrote Marc’s biography, completing the set and tying together the music with its creation and creator, the mighty Marc Almond.
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