RUPERT HINE : WAVING NOT DROWNING

 

  1. Eleven Faces
  2. The Curious Kind
  3. The Set Up
  4. Dark Windows
  5. The Sniper
  6. Innocents In Paradise
  7. House Arrest
  8. The Outsider
  9. One Man's Poison

Label : A&M Records

Length : 41:18

Release Date : 1982

Review (AllMusic) : Waving Not Drowning, released in 1982, was Rupert Hine's fourth solo album and followed the 1981 masterpiece Immunity. This time around, Hine settled for less daring studio work and a more direct approach. The piano takes center stage, relegating synthesizers to background atmospheres. It makes this set of songs closer to Peter Hammill's solo material from that period (although better produced and with an enhanced pop attitude). Waving Not Drowning marks a transition between its more disturbing predecessor and the rather colorless The Wildest Wish to Fly (1983). "Dark Windows," "The Sniper," and "The Outsider" are still artistically crafted songs and the album conceals numerous details (soft-spoken transitions, digital treatments, strange sounds) one could not find on more commercial LPs from the early '80s. Once again, Hine plays most instruments and is supported by guitarist Phil Palmer. Special guests include Phil Collins (percussion on one track), Chris Thomson (lead vocals on one track), and Geoffrey Richardson (guitars and viola on one track). The 2001 CD reissue on Voiceprint's imprint Misplaced added the B-side "Kwok's Quease," a tongue-in-cheek song on monosodium glutamate. This album does not have the force of impact of Immunity, nor does it show the subtle progressive rock influences found on it, but it remains an enjoyable piece of British synth-pop.

Review (Wikipedia) : Waving Not Drowning is a solo album by Rupert Hine. It was originally released in 1982, A&M Records, and re-released on CD in 2001, VoicePrint. "The Sniper" was dedicated to Liam Byrne and "House Arrest" was dedicated to Donald Woods. The album title alludes to the Stevie Smith poem, Not Waving but Drowning.

Review (MusicMeter) : Beetje Sparks of Gary Numan achtige pop wave avant garde achtige muziek. Moeilijk in een hokje te stoppen , maar je hoort dat het uit begin jaren tachtig komt , toen er nog veel werd geexpirimenteerd. Heel apart , dat dan weer wel. Je moet er voor open staan. De plaat wordt beter na een paar draaibeurten en begint te groeien. Maar ik kan het ook begrijpen als sommigen er niets aan vinden. Alleen voor de liefhebber van moeilijk verteerbare pop die een uitdaging niet uit de weg gaan. Een eerlijk aantal sterretjes geven lukt me nog niet. Persoonlijk had ik wat meer zoals de song 'One Man's Poison' eindigt op deze plaat gezet. Want dat muziekstuk is echt prachtig met die gitaarsolo en dat drumwerk van Steve Negus van de band Saga in die tijd.