Random Hold

In 1979, Random Hold entered the studio to record enough material for a double album. Instead, the group's label (Polydor) decided to scatter the songs through singles, one EP, and finally a single LP, The View from Here. Thanks to Voiceprint and bassist/producer Bill MacCormick, in 2001 David Rhodes and David Ferguson's vision was finally realized as it was meant to be. This two-CD set comprises the complete version of The View from Here, including all five tracks from the 1979 eponymous EP, the original LP, the "Second Nature" and "Cause and Effect" singles, and a couple of discarded tracks, all resequenced in their intended order. Since the full set clocks in at a little over 80 minutes -- too much for a single CD -- Voiceprint has added recordings from the group's last concert, July 10, 1980, in Philadelphia and a few days earlier in Ottawa (sound quality is decent). The group is introduced by a cheerful Peter Gabriel, whom they were opening for. The set comprises songs repeated from disc one in very similar versions (although generally more intense), plus a couple of very hard-to-find titles like "Where Do All the People Live?," "Today Is as Good as Any Other," and "Passive Camera." When the limbs of prog rock spared by the punk explosion met the new wave in the late '70s, strange and forgettable things happened. Random Hold stands among the very few worth remembering -- and not only because they introduced Gabriel's future guitarist. Their gloomy, arty new wave pop songs were both catchy and disturbing. That and MacCormick's bass has never sounded this menacing again. In short: For anyone interested in Random Hold and/or Rhodes, this reissue is the album to get. ~ François Couture, All Music Guide