Swing Out Sister - Kaleidoscope World (1989)

After the, er, "Breakout" success of Swing Out Sister's initial releases, co-founder Martin Jackson took a back seat to the contributions of Andy Connell and vocalist Corinne Drewery. With legendary pop songwriter and producer Jimmy Webb providing arrangements, Kaleidoscope World is perhaps as pure a pop album as there could be in the two-dimensional plastic world of the late '80s. The record is chock full of lush, lively arrangements dominated by big, boisterous horns and Drewery's rich, Dusty Springfield-esque vocal. It's not surprising that Swing Out Sister found their biggest audience in Japan; that country's Pizzicato Five draws upon the same honey pot of influences, adding an electronic twist. SOS employs synths, too, most effectively as the bubbling undercurrent of "Waiting Game" or on the theatrical instrumental "Kaleidoscope Affair." But the group's ability to replicate classic forms with new technology is still its strongest suit. The technicolor horns and rich strings of cuts like "You on My Mind" and "Where in the World" draw a direct line from the 1960s, while "Tainted" grooves on an organ that suggests the later cut-and-paste work of pop experimentalists Stereolab. This CD reissue of Kaleidoscope World fleshes out the set list with instrumental versions of "Precious Words" and "Masquerade," a string mix of "Forever Blue," and the additional instrumental "Coney Island Man," which is perfect Nehru suit-wearing music.