Mancunian funksters A CERTAIN RATIO'S story is a lengthy and involved one that begins with four skinny, indie-ish boys obsessed with Eno, Kraftwerk and the Velvets going on to acquire one of the funkiest drummers ever in Donald Johnson, supporting the legendary Joy Division a lot and graually making a name for themselves thanks to genius early singles like "Shack Up" and "Flight."
Inevitably, the Joy Division/ New Order/ Factory links brought ACR into contact with the equally influential producer Martin Hannett, though their first full-length collaboration (ACR'S debut "To Each...") was a rather grey and dismal affair that has dated badly. The meeting of minds worked rather better with the follow-up "Sextet", which was aquatically funky and an impressive leap forward.
Released in late 1982, ACR'S third album "I'd Like To See You Again" was the last to feature the band's original line-up of Jeremy Kerr (bass), Donald Johnson (Dojo) (drums), Peter Terrell (guitar, vocals), Martin Moscrop (guitar, trumpet) and Simon Topping (trumpet, percussion, vocals) and found the band taking on board the funky sounds emanating from the early '80s NYC clubs.
Indeed, "I'd Like To..." is bookended by "Touch" and "Guess Who": both tracks which are clearly shaped by the sounds of New York clubs such as The Paradise Garage and Peppermint Lounge. "Guess Who" is bright, surprisingly commercial and quite an (all night) party, while "Touch" is arguably the album's best track, bumping along on Kerr's mother of all Mark King rubber-thumb basslines and a distinctly bouncy positivity that suits ACR remarkably well.
These two aren't the only highlights, either. Both "Axis" and "Saturn" serve up lithe funk based around disciplined trumpet work and Dojo's busy hi-hat, with some impressive Latino percussion spicing up "Saturn"s blood prior to the fade. The Latin influence is also in evidence on the album's title track, where the sultry groove and languid horns of Kerr and Moscrop's other project, The Swamp Children, are brought to bear effectively.
Bits of it, though, sound a tad forced. "Show Case" finds NYC clubland colliding uneasily with robo-machine funk and the vocoder overload quickly dates it, though it's important to remember Laurie Anderson's "O Superman" was riding high in the charts at roughly the same time, so you can maybe plead mitigating circumstances on this occasion. It's difficult to excuse the rambling, skittery Brazilian percussion workout "Sesamo Apriti-Corco Voda", however, as it just seems tedious and formless. It was clearly dear to Simon Topping's heart, though, as he would leave the band to concentrate on studying percussion in Brooklyn within the next year and then re-join the Manchester dance scene as a member of first Quando Quango and then T-Coy.
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This being the ever-diligent LTM, there are the usual round-up of additional singles, B-side and out-takes to fill out this expanded re-issue. The cream of these include both the brilliant "Knife Slits Water" and post-Topping single "I Need Someone Tonite." The disciplined 7" version of "KSW", especially, remains one of ACR'S finest moments and as a slice of tingly, atmospheric noir it's still superb with another amazing bassline from Kerr (an Andy Rourke favourite, no less) and a shivery vocal courtesy of Dojo. "I Need Someone Tonite," meanwhile, features then-new addition Andy Connell - later of Swing Out Sister- on keyboards and is far brasher and more commercial than the band most Factory completists were used to. For all that, it's still a decent single of its' time and a signpost to where ACR would temporarily be heading.
By the time of 1985's consistently impressive "Force", Moscrop and Kerr would have elbowed The Swamp Children/ Kalima, Connell would really have found his feet and A Certain Ratio would return sounding revitalised and in contention again, but - as the sleevenotes say - that's another story. For now, though, "I'd Like To See You Again" is an old flame worth rekindling once more.
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