Nov 04, 2016 A Certain Ratio Good Together (A&M, 1989) Listen / Buy. Alive and well and on A&M after the Factory split, A Certain Ratio were in euphoric and emotive form for 1989’s Good Together. Bursting with the boundless positivity of the acid house era, the LP sees ACR divert their usual funk into the baggy sound of the time, exploiting conventional song structures to convey themes of togetherness and hope.
Artist Biography by Andy KellmanA Certain Ratio were key to their native Manchester, England scene and consequently post-punk. The band debuted in 1979 with 'All Night Party,' a single as astringent as anything else out at the time; then they separated themselves by incorporating aspects of other forms, most prominently brass-spiked funk. During ACR's early years with Factory Records, the Top Ten of the U.K. independent singles chart included seven of their titles, highlighted by 'Flight' and 'Waterline,' and the band issued five albums including The Graveyard and the Ballroom (1980) and Sextet (1982). Following late-'80s and early-'90s phases with major-label A&M and Rob Gretton's independent Robs Records, ACR were intermittently active. They returned to the studio for Mind Made Up (2008) and since then have continued to perform, with their catalog recirculated through an arrangement with Mute Records. Their first new music in a decade appeared on the anthology ACR: Set (2018), followed by ACR: Box (2019), which featured rare and previously unreleased material.
Named after part of a line from Brian Eno's 'The True Wheel,' A Certain Ratio were formed in 1977 by bassist Jeremy Kerr, guitarist/trumpeter Martin Moscrop, guitarist Peter Terrell, and vocalist/trumpeter Simon Topping. Joy Division manager Rob Gretton caught the fledgling quartet live and spread the word to Tony Wilson, who signed them to his Factory label and became their manager. The Martin Hannett-produced 'All Night Party'/'The Thin Boys' introduced ACR on 7' in 1979, after which drummer Donald Johnson was added to the lineup. Subsequent studio and live sides were released early the following year on cassette as The Graveyard and the Ballroom.
Although ACR did not release another studio album for over a decade, much of their discography was recirculated in waves throughout the early 2000s on the Soul Jazz and LTM labels. At the same time, their early recordings became touchstones for a new generation of bands that included the Rapture and Franz Ferdinand. Mind Made Up, technically the band's ninth studio release (counting The Graveyard and the Ballroom), was released in 2008 on the French label Le Maquis. An update of their '80s funk-rooted approach, it featured vocals from longtime collaborator Denise Johnson on three songs. LTM reissued the album two years later. ACR continued to perform into the late 2010s, and during 2017-2019 expanded, reissued, and anthologized their catalog once more, this time through Mute Records. The career overview ACR: Set featured new recordings, including a collaboration with fellow Manchester post-punk veteran Barry Adamson. ACR: Box celebrated the band's 40th anniversary with an assortment of other highlights, rarities, and previously unreleased studio material.
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