It's shocking to think that it has been 25 years since I first stumbled upon this album at my local record store. I'd been hearing tracks from the album on a local radio show called "Clambake" (which I'd almost totally forgotten about until now) and thought it was an import-only release.
MCA Records, of all labels, had released the album stateside. Further proving that there's nothing they couldn't f@#$ up, they chopped four tracks off the UK version and released it as a specially-priced eight-song EP. I understand the power of a specially-priced EP, but, still, this was an album that should not have been released in abbreviated form. Missing Persons, sure...Chameleons, not so much.
Thus, the band has just released a 25th Anniversary Edition of said album and I must say that it is spectacular. Say what you will about most albums released in '83 - they sound like they were recorded in 1983. Script of the Bridge, on the other hand, sounds as breathtakingly unique as it did back then.
The juxtaposition of soaring, chorus-laden guitars against Mark Burgess' bellowed vocals makes for an arrestingly urgent, yet ethereal vibe that pulsates as each track ebbs and flows like the ocean at high tide. At times, you can actually feel the salt in the air, and the chill of the wind growing stronger as the clouds turn dark.
What has always attarcted me to the Chameleons work is the loneliness the lyrics and music convey. It isn't a Joy Division type of loneliness filled with despair, but, rather, one of hope despite reason. Mark Burgess is UK rock's Don Quixote, forever battling the spiritual windmills that threaten to drag him (and the rest of us) down. While not always victorious, one is reminded of a Tom Petty lyric - "even the losers, get lucky sometimes."
The original twelve-track running order of the album is restored and remastered. In addition, there is a second disc featuring three bonus studio cuts and a live performance from 1983. The sound quality of the live cuts is exceptional, as is the band's performance.
featured tracks:
Monkeyland
Singing Rule Britannia (live)
In Shreds (previously unreleased version)
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