Buried Treasusre: Soft Cell - Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go (1981)

Every once in awhile I feel the need to give the 1980s a nod because occasionally the decade really did offer something to talk about musically.

The British synth-pop duo of singer Marc Almond and David Ball, known as Soft Cell, were not true one hit wonders but they may as well have been. They're mostly remembered for their 1981 hit "Tainted Love" that peaked at #8 in the United States and #1 in seventeen other countries including their native England.

Almond was the singer and Ball played virtually every instrument.

The 2:34 single, from Soft Cell's debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret pales in comparison to the nine minute, 12" version that segues into a cover of The Supremes' "Where Did Our Love Go."

Almond contributes a fine lead vocal while Ball adds a very spooky, yet almost danceable, full, bottom end. When the riff from the Motown trio's hit is added on top with what sounds like a vibraphone (but is probably a keyboard) we realize just how good the Holland-Dozier-Holland song is. Great songs shine through in any environment.

It's a gem of a record from a genre that mostly sounds dated today.

Comments

  1. Todd Mason1:47 AM, November 27, 2015

    Hell, even the edited single was one of the highlights of synth pop in Top 40 at the time.

    ReplyDelete

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