Script of the Bridge

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Script of the Bridge
Studio album by
the Chameleons
Released8 August 1983
StudioCargo Studios, Rochdale, England
GenrePost-punk, gothic rock[1][2]
Length57:17
LabelStatik
Producer
The Chameleons chronology
Script of the Bridge
(1983) 		What Does Anything Mean? Basically
(1985)
Singles from Script of the Bridge
  1. "Up the Down Escalator"
    Released: 1 January 1983 (UK, Germany, Spain, US promo)
  2. "Don't Fall"
    Released: 1 January 1983 (France promo)
  3. "As High as You Can Go"
    Released: 1 February 1983 (UK, Portugal, Spain)
  4. "A Person Isn't Safe Anywhere These Days"
    Released: 1 June 1983 (UK, Portugal)

Script of the Bridge is the debut studio album by English rock band the Chameleons. It was released on 8 August 1983 by record label Statik.

Three singles were released from the album: "Up the Down Escalator", "As High as You Can Go" and "A Person Isn't Safe Anywhere These Days".

Content[edit]

A sample of dialogue from the 1946 film Two Sisters from Boston[3] was used as the introduction to the album's first track, "Don't Fall". According to the Chameleons' official website, "[the band] had a mic set up to a television and they recorded random bits, presumably for use in some songs".[4]

Music and lyrics[edit]

Andrew Welsh of Daily Record commented that the album is "characterised by subtly psychedelic Cure-like guitars and militaristic drum patterns reminiscent of Joy Division".[5]

The album has also been described as gothic rock.[6] However, frontman Mark Burgess said that "goth didn't even exist" when the album was released, describing the band as "definitely post-punk." He noted how guitarist Dave Fielding was a fan of Joni Mitchell and Mike Oldfield, while drummer John Lever favored Peter Gabriel and Genesis.[7]

Promotion[edit]

Three official singles and one promo single were released to promote the album. "Up the Down Escalator" was released as the album's first single in the UK, Germany and Spain on 1 January 1983 by the band's record label Statik.[8] The band's US label, MCA Records, also issued it as a promotional single.

Statik issued "Don't Fall" as a promo-only single in France on 1 January 1983.[9][10]

The album's second official UK single (also issued by Statik in Spain and Portugal) was "As High as You Can Go", released on 1 February.[11] The third and final official single was "A Person Isn't Safe Anywhere These Days", released by Statik on 1 June in the UK and Portugal.[12]

Release[edit]

Script of the Bridge was released 8 August 1983 by record label Statik.[13] The truncated US release on MCA Records, issued under the band name Chameleons U.K, omitted "Here Today", "Less Than Human", "Paper Tigers" and "View from a Hill".

The album was later released as a limited edition picture disc by Statik Records in 1985.

It was re-engineered and re-released in 2012 by Blue Apple Music.

Reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[14]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[15]
MusicHound Rock[16]
OndaRock8/10[17]
Record Collector[18]
Sounds[19]
Record Mirror[20]

Upon its release, Sounds wrote in their review: it is a "powerful and rich album whose strength is an intense muscular beat".[19]

In his retrospective review, Ned Raggett of AllMusic praised the album, writing, "Script remains a high-water mark of what can generally be called post-punk music; an hour's worth of one amazing song after another", calling it "practically a greatest-hits record on its own".[14] Chris Jenkins, in the book The Rough Guide to Rock, called the album "such an impressive record that The Chameleons would struggle to emulate it".[21]

Trouser Press was slightly less favourable, writing that it "isn't a great album", but "has very appealing moments".[22]

Legacy[edit]

Andrew Welsh of Daily Record wrote that "echoes of the Chameleons' distinctive sound can still be heard today in bands as diverse as the Killers (but without the penchant for angst), Editors and even Pigeon Detectives."[5] Neige, the leader of the French black metal band Alcest, said about the album, "the two guitars were very melodic and catchy, and most of the time playing different parts that work together harmoniously. You can hear the huge influence they had on bands like Interpol or Editors".[23] Sweet Trip vocalist Valerie Cooper named the album as an inspiration for "[h]ow to appeal to your serene forlorn side you know you love to feel the loneliness."[24]

"Up the Down Escalator" was featured in the 2024 film Lisa Frankenstein because it was a song that director Zelda Williams "always really liked".[25]

Track listing[edit]

All tracks are written by the Chameleons (Mark Burgess, Dave Fielding, John Lever and Reg Smithies)

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Don't Fall"4:06
2."Here Today"3:50
3."Monkeyland"5:24
4."Second Skin"6:50
5."Up the Down Escalator"3:57
6."Less Than Human"4:12
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Pleasure and Pain"5:11
2."Thursday's Child"3:22
3."As High as You Can Go"3:35
4."A Person Isn't Safe Anywhere These Days"5:43
5."Paper Tigers"4:16
6."View from a Hill"6:41

Personnel[edit]

The Chameleons
  • Mark Burgess – bass guitar, vocals, production
  • Dave Fielding – guitar, production
  • Reg Smithies – guitar, production, album cover artwork
  • John Lever – drums, production
Additional personnel
  • Alistair Lewthwaite – keyboards
Technical

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Chameleons - 'Script of the bridge' (Review)". Tom Servo's Rage. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  2. ^ Deserto, Frank (31 October 2017). "40 Years of Goth: Essential Albums from the Subculture's Beginnings". post-punk.com. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  3. ^ "Two Sisters from Boston (1946) – Quotes – IMDb". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
    "In His Autumn Before the Winter Comes Mans Last Surge of Youth – YouTube". YouTube. 7 September 2010. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  4. ^ "The Chameleons – Band – Frequently Asked Questions". The Chameleons. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  5. ^ a b Welsh, Andrew (1 July 2008). "Album Review: Script of the Bridge, The Chameleons – Daily Record". Daily Record. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  6. ^ Deserto, Frank (31 October 2017). "40 Years of Goth: Essential Albums from the Subculture's Beginnings". Post-Punk.com. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  7. ^ Gourlay, Dom (11 April 2014). "DiS meets Mark Burgess from The Chameleons". DrownedInSound. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  8. ^ "The Chameleons – Releases". The Chameleons. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  9. ^ "The Chameleons – Releases". The Chameleons. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  10. ^ "The Chameleons – Releases". The Chameleons. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  11. ^ "The Chameleons – Releases". The Chameleons. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  12. ^ "The Chameleons – Releases". The Chameleons. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  13. ^ "The Chameleons – Releases". The Chameleons. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  14. ^ a b Raggett, Ned. "Script of the Bridge – The Chameleons UK : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  15. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "The Chameleons". Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0857125958.
  16. ^ Gary Graff, ed. (1996). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide (1st ed.). London: Visible Ink Press. ISBN 978-0-7876-1037-1.
  17. ^ "Chameleons - biografia, recensioni, streaming, discografia, foto". OndaRock.
  18. ^ Finnigan, Mark (September 2008). "Script of the Bridge 25th Anniversary Edition". Record Collector (353). Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  19. ^ a b Linfield, Carole (1 August 1983). "Script of the Bridge***¾". Sounds.
  20. ^ McGuire, Jessica (3 September 1983). "The Chameleons 'The Script Of The Bridge'". Record Mirror. Vol. 30, no. 36. p. 20.
  21. ^ Buckley, Peter, ed. (1 November 2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. p. 182. ISBN 1843531054. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  22. ^ Robbins, Ira; Rabid, Jack. "trouserpress.com :: Chameleons (UK)". Trouser Press. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  23. ^ MetalSucks (16 January 2017). "Guest Playlist: Neige of Alcest's Favorite Post-Punk Songs". MetalSucks. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  24. ^ "Sonemic Interview: Sweet Trip - RYM/Sonemic". Rate Your Music. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  25. ^ Wallace, Allison (8 February 2024). "Writer Diablo Cody and Filmmaker Zelda Williams Talk the Tunes That Help Score 'Lisa Frankenstein'". Spotify. Retrieved 4 March 2024.

External links[edit]


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