The Dolphin Brothers - Shining - 1987 - Virgin
Click above for big pictures, click below to play me…
What Do The Dolphin Brothers Think They Sound Like ?
‘Fashion’-era David Bowie.
What Do The Dolphin Brothers Actually Sound Like ?
A slightly more suave and upmarket Thompson Twins - fronted by a vaguely drunk David Sylvian.
Are They Any Good ?
Well the groove isn’t anywhere near as hypnotic as it thinks it is - sounding as it does like they are both battering seven shades of shit out of their kitchen appliances - but don’t be distracted, this record is certainly one of the more stylish ones on here.
They certainly do their best to cock it up though : employing an Alan Darby impersonator for a recreation of his slightly pointless and noisy guitar solo doesn’t really help their cause, and neither does the lack of any truly distinct chorus. But there is something about it - even if I can’t tell you exactly what that something actually is.
How Would You Describe Them ?
Like that most maligned of British institutions - the Sherbet Fountain. Sure, there is other more showy sherbet based confectionary available on the market - such as the Double Dip for example, which offers both two flavours of sherbet and a Swizzlestick. But Double Dips are everywhere in the world of music and sometimes you just crave for the classic simplicity of a nice piece of plodding liquorice and some good old plain sherbet.
So much so, despite the fact that the lack of multiple sherbet flavour options means the taste of your chosen snack won’t change at all for the four minutes it takes you to eat it, by the end you may well find yourself licking your lips and saying to yourself :
” That was lovely. I think I might have another one in a couple of weeks. ”
Looks Like A Nice Cover Too
It is a nice cover. Very tasteful.
The photograph on the front was taken by a lady called Sheila Rock. In fact, I like the blue tint so much I think I’ll try and track her down as well in a minute. I wonder if she is married to that very very rich man Bob Rock, previously of Rock and Hyde infamy ?
I Don’t Like It At All. Any Reason I Should Stick With It ?
Yes, at the very end the synth gets so bored endlessly repeating the same four bar phrase over and over again - it shoots itself.
Where Are They Now ?
Errr… this is a bit weird - as well as slightly satisfying.
The Dolphin Brothers are two chaps called Richard Barbieri and Steve Jansen. I accused the singer of sounding like a drunken David Sylvian, and it turns out that both Richard and Steve used to be in the band Japan with… David Sylvian.
What’s more, the vocalist (Steve) is actually David Sylvians’ brother.
If you want a copy of The Dolphin Brothers album, a CD is still available :
I hope Sheila didn’t take the photograph for the cover though - that pink filter they’ve used is vile.
Away from the cover, if it helps tempt you in any way, the backing vocals on the album (including the ones on this song) are all done the pretty darn famous P P Arnold :
Who is now heavily into healing :
http://www.pparnold.com/content/view/31/65/
“PP Arnold is known for her youthful looks, her boundless energy and her larger than life personality. Reiki plays an important part in all three, without it she would not be the woman she is today.”
So. There You Go.
I Don’t Care About PP Arnold’s Bloody Healing. Where Are Steve and Richard ?
Richard plays with a few bands these days including The Bays and Porcupine Tree - and also boasts that he recently programmed some of the patches for the new Roland V GT Synthesiser :
http://www.richardbarbieri.net/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Barbieri
Meanwhile, Steve still tours with his brother David, has a new solo album out himself - ‘Slope’ - and also contributed to the recent Penguin Cafe Orchestra tribute album :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jansen
And Sheila ?
Sadly she is not married to Bob, but she does seem to be unnervingly successful. Her work has appeared in numerous magazines and has been accepted into the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery in London :
She has also released a coffee table type book thing all about Tibetan Monks :
http://www.amazon.com/Sera-Tibetan-Monk-Sheila-Rock/dp/0231128916
“Rock discovers beauty in the simple…Her lens seems to capture another kind of light–the luminous glow from within.”
Working with ‘Shining’ 20 years ago, and with ‘Luminous Glows’ today - seems like a nice job, doesn’t it ?
Money Update
Cost : 8 pence
Current Value : 2 pounds 34 pence - although some scamp is trying to sell his 12″ for 41 quid.
Current Profit : 116 pounds and 81 pence.
Supporting cast Update : Thompson Twins - Sylvian, David - Japan - Penguin Cafe Orchestra - Arnold, PP - Fountain, Sherbet - Dip, Double - Monks, Tibetan
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June 2nd, 2009 at 5:41 pm
It always amazes me when I discover an obscure act that I probably would have loved in the 80’s twenty years later. If the Internet had existed back then, I probably never would have left the house. Melody was never Japan’s strong suit, and this single is no exception. Style over substance is a charge that always plagued them but I think that critique misses the point. The synth groove here is hypnotic. But really, you had me at “David Sylvians’ brother”.
December 8th, 2009 at 11:11 pm
This is the type of song you get to the end and just want to keep playing over again. I had the album in the 80’s….and used to do just that!
December 8th, 2009 at 11:13 pm
In fact…I’m playing it again right now!! Oh, and I also love the Kraftwerk-esk click track.