Henry Badowski - Life is a Grand...
#349
August 1981
Henry Badowski
Life is a Grand…
Genre: The Gary Numan album you never heard
2.75 out of 5
Obviously I’m being facetious with that genre but that’s what Badowski seems to be aspiring to. This is his only record despite his bona fides and his relationships. He played with captain Sensible and Wreckless Eric and was hailed as a genius by the former. The guitarist here is James Stephensen who played with everybody from The Alarm to Gene Loves Jezebel to Gen X to Kim Wilde.
As is often the case with those who are deemed “genius” by their peers there’s something inaccessible about Badowski’s music.
He opens with “My Face” and you get the sense that he might loathe himself. The autobiographical “Henry’s in Love” where he sings about “Henry” being in love in the third person suggests that maybe that self loathing is couple with self-importance.
This is electronic music conveyed through the brain of someone who might do well of Welbutrin, had it been available.
As it is, if you can get into it, as I did, by “Swimming with the Fish in the Sea”, you might find Henry and his confessional electronic music somewhat hypnotic if difficult to engage with. The title track is a swinging sax instrumental joint that suggests Henry listened to a LOT of David Bowie but then we get back one track with the “I’ve got a Casio, let’s make a record” of “Silver Trees” and Henry is back to streaming his consciousness.
Henry has none of David’s charisma and all of Syl Barrett’s neurosis. I wonder what happened to him…but, then again…I also don’t.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGnLVIzmvxs&list=PLlvn8uktX5LvS56t2pAe-Z5PgP1hBOL9U
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