Chameleons : Classic or Dud

I agree with you Ned. It always kind of pissed me off that people who were so completely ga-ga about The Edge's too-much-delay swampy guitar sound never seemed to notice that Reg was doing it better and without being part of a load of pompous asses.

Until now....

Sounds better than I remember...

Anything know this album? 'Intrigue in Tangiers" sounds good. Some of it sounds like Breakfast Club music (the movie, not the band), I'm sorry to say. Very '80s and synthy.

Maybe The Church's mid-eighties synth work is roughly comparable?

I was delighted to read they'd covered "Moonage Daydream" - I do believe that's my favorite Bowie song and I'm not a huge Bowie fan. I'll have to check that album out for sure.

The production on What Does Anything Mean...I'm glad someone mentioned that. I can see how that would totally sound wrong to someone's ears who hadn't heard it at the time (much the way I feel about Loop's Heaven's End in retrospect). The thickness sounded really great at the time, it just worked. Although I do think Strange Times would be the one to get if you hadn't any Chameleons at all, What Does Anything Mean has always seemed like a more consistently great album. Also considering the production of it, I find it interesting in retrospect that there was no such thing as shoegazing yet, no frame of reference!

But seriously, I get so tired of people saying Chameleons are 'goth' (much the way they naively say that of The Church, a band I'm sorry to say have meant a lot more to me over the years than Chameleons) and lazy U2 comparisons. I remember asking Mark Gardner, lead singer of Ride, once if he liked Chameleons, and he mentioned something about "eh...college rock" or some such dismissive thing. I think a lot of people just don't understand the Chameleons, because they really can't be easily compared to anyone else. The Chameleons are just their own thing, in my opinion. I don't mean to say they were radical pioneers, necessarily, but they just had a style that was doomed not to ever fit comfortably inside any of the convenient categories of fashion.

I agree there seems to be a crossover with Church fans as well, Ned. I was thinking about this not too long ago, about how there's just a certain audience that have certain bands in common like that. Come to think of it, The Church is also another band difficult for a lot of people to understand or put in categories, while not saying they were radical pioneers, either.

HE'S one to talk.

Another band that occurs to me to fall in the category of "doomed outsiders of fashion": Adorable. Do you like them Ned? Oh, I know, I know...do a search. Frankly, I can't be bothered at the moment, don't mind me, I've obviously had a few drinks and plan on departing here for another website soon, anyway...

Incidentially I went to a huge goth night in leeds a couple of years ago where they played Swamp Thing and it rammed the dancefloor!

I also remember an art project I had in high school where I had to redesign an album cover - I chose Scrpit of the Bridge. I used the Union Jack and thought it was pretty cool, but it certainly wasn't.

"If this is the stuff dreams are made of
No wonder I feel like I'm floating on air..."

Classic, classic, classic.

The guitar riff on the track you quoted is amazing and timeless (and just as influential today as any JD riff).

(Saw them a few years ago at Kintting Factory- they still sound great!)

Talking of which, a very many aeons ago, a wee Ned Raggett wrote:

I have every last dug-out-of-the-archive recording, just about all the various solo and side projects, and await the new album with bated breath

Ned, as well as the first three albums, I think I only have the mighty Peel Sessions record, the Fan and the Bellows and the Gallery Club show (so great to see the live footage on that). What stuff out of the rest of the archival/live material would you say was worth hunting down?

http://www.townsend-records.co.uk/i/covers/10000154.jpg

Yeah, that must be it. I had blanked on the fact that the baby-head reappeared on the cover! I've yet to get any of the DVDs.

about once a year i dig this out again and fall head over heels in love with it again as much as i did the first time. it never fails to send shivers up and down my spine.

Related to that, the second DVD features stuff from their final show ever in Long Beach, one of their semi-acoustic sets they did at various points on that tour, and quite lovely it was to hear, as I was there - - so I wouldn't be surprised if I'm in the footage somewhere! But I've also realized that means I was actually lucky enough to attend the final shows of my two favorite bands of all time, the Chams and MBV, even though both weren't planned as such at the time.

From Mark's management:

http://www.simonlawlor.co.uk/mark.html

Mark is also near to completing his book, which should now be available this Autumn.

A few copies of the limited edition Alive ’05 CD, together with the 2-disc Magic Boomerang, are available from the shop section of this site.

Dave Fielding’s new band, Coconut DF, are planning various shows in UK and Europe during 2006. Dave and Reg are also negotiating the re-release of The Reegs back catalogue. And John Lever is busy promoting his regular Club Chameleon nights in the north west of England www.myspace.com/clubchameleon

But the main reason I clicked on this thread was to say that "Soul in Isolation" is really fucking entertaining if you imagine Birdy is singing "I'm a lime in here, I'm a liiiiiime, turn on the light."

*is beaten*

"I hear my name above everything else/Mark, Mark above everything else"

"How did we come to be...in the mess...ahhhh..FUCKING MESS!!!"

It must be my first year of high school again for The Chameleons are playing at loud volume in my house.

BUT THIS ROARING SILENCE WILL DEVOUR US ALL???

I don't think I will ever tire of hearing them move from the brute, maniacal charge in the first section to the sound of souls exiting in the second half of 'A Person Isn't Safe Anywhere These Days.'

Would still argue that's one of their absolute best; and one of the most "zeitgeist-esque" songs of the era.

Mark relaying the situation in one summed up and terrifying question after the outburst:

"`Have you killed her?`, someone said." is one of the darkest and most intense moments in recorded music, I'd reckon. Makes me scared to visit northern England for sure.

But also somehow one of the most profound and beautiful codas I've ever heard.

xpost -- At least there's Live in Toronto. I know I have one other bootleg kicking around.

I used to have a boot from the Philly show but lost it years ago. I recall it being better than "Toronto".

https://www.brooklynvegan.com/the-mission-uk-the-chameleons-touring-in-2022-with-theatre-of-hate/

i used to love the Mission UK, they are so bad. just another U2.

hmm, dave not involved with the chams. those dudes have been through it. has anyone heard any of his stuff post-reunion? last i knew, he was in a band called coconut dogfuck but i never checked it out. he strikes me as a very misunderstood person, just in general.

glad to see mark has reconciled with reg to the point that they can share a stage again. wonder who's going to be on drums - i didn't see any details in the link.

in any case, yes the mish are quite boring.

is there a rundown of the beef between Mark and Dave somewhere?

well, mark's book was about two-thirds about exactly that, so lol not really.

it stems from mark and dave both having gigantic egos and was really ignited by mark pressing up unreleased chameleons recordings and selling them without asking all of the other members of the group (though he did give them a part of the profits) [citation needed].

i think that sums up the genesis of their beef, but there is a lot more.
how they ever got back together for the reunion boggles my mind.

The unreleased stuff, that's what came out on Imaginary Records - "Dali's Picture", "Here Today", those albums, right?

not the imaginary stuff; that was after they had somewhat come to an agreement. the initial conflict was over the glass pyramid stuff, i.e. the tony fletcher ep. from what i understand, the band agreed when they went their separate ways in 1988 that those recordings were "not finished" and therefore would not be releasing them.

basically summarizing from mark's book. as one-sided as his story is, it is pretty illuminating as to why those guys have such a strained relationship. considering they split on even worse terms after the initial reunion, i wonder how this new incarnation came to be.

all of this just makes me sad thinking of jon sitting back there pounding away at "soul in isolation."
you know he'd be involved in this new tour if he was still alive.

Yeah that's why I can't be bothered with this. Having seen Mark solo throughout the 90s, even with John on drums at points, he was absolutely essential there, but no guitarists could even approach the perfect flow of Reg and Dave together -- when I saw the 2001/2002 shows it all made SENSE, it has to be the quartet or nothing when it comes to Chameleons songs. I did see Mark solo with a backing band later in the 2000s and it was a solid enough show, but when he started doing that ChameleonsVox approach I was out, and now that John's gone, I'm sorry, but the band has definitively ended, no matter what label is being used. I'd think that even if Dave was on board.

I'd think that even if Dave was on board.

― Ned Raggett, Saturday, October 9, 2021 8:55 AM

inclined to agree here.

at this point, the innerband conflicts are becoming their most known legacy; and half of the band playing as "THE CHAMELEONS" doesn't seem like the kind of thing one does to extend the olive branch.

though i doubt most folks seeing them on this kind of bill really care. i do genuinely believe that mark feels like he is "giving the fans what they want."

Have seen chameleons vox a couple of times not really sure what to expect, but hearing Mark singing those songs right there in front of ne, it was impossible for me not to get swept away

see that's the thing: he is an outstanding performer. i saw him play one of his post-reunion pre-chamsvox pick up band gigs and it was fucking awesome. he played a bit acoustic before the proper set and he was taking requests for the sun and the moon songs, for fucks sake.

like i said, the guy seems to genuinely love his fans as much as they love him. and he has a gigantic ego, so he loves the attention it brings.

also i didn't mean that ego thing in a demeaning way. don't get me wrong or whatever.

Anyone seen them on the current tour? I'm thinking of going next week. Doubt I'd stay for the Mission but eight or so Chameleons songs still seems worth it.

I saw them in June if that counts as 'the current tour'. Very enjoyable! Mark was on excellent form - charming and combative.

ah thanks, that seals it

Saw 'em a few weeks ago, had a really good time! The Mission were fun too.

Playing the US in August

Sweet. Still kicking myself for missing them last year, was utterly shocked how cheap it was and how small the venue was. Straight up injustice.

Oh wow, and they're playing Strange Times. I might have to find a way to be in... Kansas City?

They were so good last fall, just wish the set had been longer, esp. after finding out they'd ended up headlining the night before. Could've listened to Mark riff on popular songs in the middle of "Soul in Isolation" for at least another hour.