One of the most assured debut albums of the mid-'80s, and one of the finest
pop-soul confections of all time,
No Parlez was the record that, following from the stellar success of
Paul Young's earliest hits, left him poised to dominate the remainder of the decade like no other vocalist could have. Three singles laid bare all that
Young was so eminently capable of.
"Wherever I Lay My Hat," a beautifully impassioned take on what was, in all fairness, never one of
Marvin Gaye's greatest performances, left mouths hanging open in awe; a meaty revision of
Nicky Thomas'
"Love of the Common People" proved that the earlier performance was no fluke; and
"Come Back and Stay" indicated that the boy wasn't only a great singer, he had access to some great originals as well. Add the idiosyncratic yowling of the so-evocatively-named
Fabulous Wealthy Tarts backing singers, jabbing a wealth of seemingly meaningless refrains, yelps and cackles into the gaps around
Young's own vocal and, before it was even on the racks, it was clear that
No Parlez was going to be an invigorating ride. And still it was capable of shocks. The title track was borrowed from former
Slapp Happy art rocker
Anthony Moore's
"Industrial Drums" (from his
Only Choice album) -- scarcely the kind of role model that
Young's apparent drive for
pop superstardom normally looked towards, while
Moore's erstwhile bandmate
Dagmar Krause surfaced elsewhere, to layer mystifyingly Euro-flavored vocals over a deeply soulful version of
"Love Will Tear Us Apart." Yes, that
"Love Will Tear Us Apart," a song still so draped in the martyrdom of
Ian Curtis that to even think of revising it was regarded as sacrilege in some quarters.
Young did more than that, though, he reinvented it. As a whole, the album does not live up to its greatest moments -- once past that so-superlative
"Love of the Common People," side two lags badly as it heads towards the nadir of the closing
"Sex." Breathtakingly original in small doses,
Laurie Latham's production (and the
Wealthy Tarts' keening) both lose their appeal after a while. One cannot help, too, but wish that the regular single mixes of the hits had been replaced by the superlative 12" mixes that accompanied their original release --
"Come Back and Stay," in particular, is up there with any
Soft Cell or
Frankie extension in the annals of classic 12"s. But though it's not flawless, still
No Parlez is fearless and, looking back over
Young's entire career (so far), one can only wonder how it all went so wrong? He could have ruled the decade like no other Brit of his age. Instead, the back cover photo simply makes him look like the younger brother of one of the guys who beat him to it. And you can bet
Robert Smith wasn't expecting that! ~ Dave Thompson
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