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Penthouse and Pavement is the debut studio album by English synth-pop band Heaven 17. It was originally released in September 1981, on the label Virgin.
| Penthouse and Pavement | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 1981 | |||
| Studio | Maison Rouge (Sheffield) | |||
| Genre |
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| Length | 50:32 ¹ | |||
| Label | Virgin | |||
| Producer | British Electric Foundation | |||
| Heaven 17 chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Penthouse and Pavement | ||||
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"(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang" was released as a single, but did not achieve chart success, partly due to a ban by the BBC.[2] The album sold reasonably well, but was not a great commercial success on release.[1] It has since been regarded as "an important outing",[1] is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, and was re-released in 2010 in a three-disc special edition. The title track was included on the soundtrack of the 1993 erotic thriller film Sliver.
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Mojo | [3] |
| PopMatters | 8/10[4] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [5] |
| Smash Hits | 8/10[6] |
| Uncut | [7] |
Whilst the singles charted poorly, the album charted at No. 14 and remained in the Top 100 for 77 weeks.[8] It was certified gold (100,000 copies sold) by the BPI in October 1982.[9]
Reviewing the album for NME, Paul Morley said: "Penthouse and Pavement is fabulous and it won't deny your needs and you just put our faith in it because it is true."[10] It was ranked the fifth best album of 1981 by NME.[11]
In a retrospective review, Dan LeRoy of AllMusic felt that the album combined electropop with good melodies, and that Glenn Gregory was able to deliver the "overtly left-wing political" lyrics without sounding "pretentious".[1]
The album is included in the musical reference book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[2]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Martyn Ware, Ian Craig Marsh, and Glenn Gregory.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang" | 4:20 |
| 2. | "Penthouse and Pavement" | 6:23 |
| 3. | "Play to Win" | 3:37 |
| 4. | "Soul Warfare" | 5:04 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 5. | "Geisha Boys and Temple Girls" | 4:33 |
| 6. | "Let's All Make a Bomb" | 4:03 |
| 7. | "The Height of the Fighting" | 3:01 |
| 8. | "Song with No Name" | 3:36 |
| 9. | "We're Going to Live for a Very Long Time¹" | 3:15 |
| Total length: | 38:12 | |
- Additional tracks
All tracks are written by Martyn Ware, Ian Craig Marsh, and Glenn Gregory, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 10. | "I'm Your Money" (extended mix) | 5:10 |
| 11. | "Play to Win" (extended mix) | 7:29 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10. | "Groove Thang" (performed by the B.E.F.) | 4:07 | |
| 11. | "Are Everything" (12" version) | Pete Shelley | 4:28 |
| 12. | "I'm Your Money" (12" version) | 5:10 | |
| 13. | "Decline of the West" (performed by the B.E.F.) |
| 7:17 |
| 14. | "Honeymoon in New York/B.E.F. Ident" (performed by the B.E.F., "B.E.F. Ident" unlisted) |
| 2:52 |
- 2010 3-disc special edition
The album was reproduced live in its entirety in a series of concerts the band held throughout 2010, one of which (in Sheffield) was filmed and shown on BBC Two on 16 May 2010. The following night a documentary about the making of the album was screened; this was later included on a new three-disc special edition of the album released in November 2010.
- Disc 1
- "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang"
- "Penthouse And Pavement"
- "Play To Win"
- "Soul Warfare"
- "Geisha Boys And Temple Girls"
- "Let's All Make A Bomb"
- "The Height of the Fighting"
- "Song With No Name"
- "We're Going To Live for a Very Long Time"
- "I'm Your Money" (12" Version)
- "Are Everything" (12" Version)
- "Decline of the West"*
- Disc 2
- "Penthouse And Pavement" (Original Demo)
- "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang" (Original Demo)
- "Play To Win" (Original Demo Instrumental)
- "Soul Warfare" (Original Demo)
- "Are Everything" (Original Demo)
- "BEF Ident" (Alternate Version)*
- "Decline of the West" (Alternate Version)*
- "Rise of the East" (Alternate Version)*
- "Music To Kill Your Parents By" (Alternate Version)*
- "Uptown Apocalypse" (Alternate Version)*
- "A Baby Called Billy" (Alternate Version)*
- "Rhythmic Experiment 1"*
- "Rhythmic Experiment 2"*
- "Boys of Buddha Experiment"*
- "At The Height of the Fighting" (Original Rhythm Track)
- "Rhythmic Loop Experiment"*
- "Funky Experiment"*
- "Song Experiment"*
- "Heavy Drum Experiment"*
- "Play To Win" (Original Demo With Vocals)
* credited to B.E.F.
Disc 3 (DVD)
- The Story of Penthouse And Pavement (2010 documentary)
Personnel
Heaven 17
- Glenn Gregory – lead vocals, backing vocals
- Martyn Ware – pianos, synthesizers, Linn LM-1, percussion, backing vocals
- Ian Craig Marsh – synthesizers, saxophone, percussion
Session musicians
- Malcolm Veale – synthesizers, saxophone
- The Boys of Buddha – synthetic horns
- Steve Travell – acoustic piano (4)
- John Wilson – guitars (1-4), guitar synthesizers (1-4), bass (1-4)
- Josie James – backing vocals (2)
Production
- Bob Last – executive producer
- British Electric Foundation – producers, packaging design
- Peter Walsh – production assistant (2, 3, 4, 6), engineer (2, 3, 4, 6)
- Steve Rance – engineer (5, 7, 8, 9)
- Ray Smith – cover painting
Charts
| Chart (1981–1982) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[12] | 99 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[13] | 18 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[14] | 45 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[15] | 24 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[16] | 14 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[17] | Gold | 100,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
In popular culture
The album song "Penthouse and Pavement" is featured in Rockstar Games video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories where it is played on the fictional radio station Wave 103.
Notes
- ¹ – The last track on the original vinyl LP release, "We're Going to Live for a Very Long Time", was recorded up to and onto the runoff groove; meaning the runtime of this track (as labelled on the LP sleeve) and the album is infinite, looping the line "For a very long time".
- "Groove Thang", "Decline of the West" and "B.E.F. Ident" originally appeared on the B.E.F. cassette-only release Music For Stowaways.
- All tracks were mixed at Red Bus Studios except "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang" and "Let's All Make a Bomb" which were mixed at The Townhouse.
- The Canadian LP and cassette releases included the original version of "I'm Your Money" and an uncredited "B.E.F. Ident" between "Geisha Boys and Temple Girls" and "Let's All Make a Bomb."[18] The cassette's version of "Play to Win" is an edited version of the 12" single mix. This version was later released on the 1986 UK compilation Endless (cassette version only)[19]
References
- LeRoy, Dan. "Penthouse and Pavement – Heaven 17". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
- Shade, Chris (2011). "Penthouse and Pavement: Heaven 17 (1981)". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Cassell Illustrated. ISBN 978-1-84403-699-8. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
- Buckley, David (September 2006). "Heaven 17: Penthouse and Pavement". Mojo. No. 154. p. 116.
- O'Neil, Tim (30 November 2006). "Heaven 17: Penthouse and Pavement". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
- Halasa, Malu (1983). "Heaven 17". In Marsh, Dave; Swenson, John (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Record Guide (2nd ed.). Random House/Rolling Stone Press. p. 222. ISBN 0-394-72107-1.
- Rimmer, Dave (17–30 September 1981). "Heaven 17: Penthouse and Pavement". Smash Hits. Vol. 3, no. 19. p. 29.
- "Heaven 17: Penthouse and Pavement". Uncut. p. 86.
[They] defined new pop ambitions with Penthouse and Pavement, a steely state-of-the-art, state-of-the-nation address...
- Official Charts Company (Penthouse and Pavement)
- British Phonographic Industry database
- Morley, Paul (19 September 1981). "Heaven 17: Penthouse and Pavement (BEF/Virgin)". NME. Retrieved 29 November 2020 – via Rock's Backpages.
- "1981 Best Albums And Tracks Of The Year". NME. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
- Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 137. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
- "Charts.nz – Heaven 17 – Penthouse and Pavement". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
- "Swedishcharts.com – Heaven 17 – Penthouse and Pavement". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
- "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
- "British album certifications – Heaven 17 – Penthouse and Pavement". British Phonographic Industry. 14 October 1982. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
- "Heaven 17 - Penthouse And Pavement". Discogs. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
- "Heaven 17 - Endless". Discogs. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
External links
- Penthouse and Pavement at Discogs (list of releases)
- Penthouse and Pavement[permanent dead link] (Adobe Flash) at Radio3Net (streamed copy where licensed)
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