The Power of Love (Captain Sensible album)

The Power of Love is the second solo album by The Damned guitarist Captain Sensible, released in November 1983 by A&M Records. The album didn't chart but the single "Glad It's All Over" reached number 6 on the UK Singles Chart.[3] The album features contributions from producer Tony Mansfield, Robyn Hitchcock, Ruts drummer Dave Ruffy and the band Dolly Mixture, among others.

The Power of Love
Studio album by
Captain Sensible
Released25 November 1983[1]
StudioRidge Farm Studio, Sussex, England[2]
GenrePop
Length45:19
LabelA&M
ProducerTony Mansfield
Captain Sensible chronology
Women and Captains First
(1982)		 The Power of Love
(1983)		 Revolution Now
(1989)
Singles from The Power of Love
  1. "Stop the World"
    Released: July 1983
  2. "I'm a Spider"
    Released: November 1983
  3. "Glad It's All Over"
    Released: March 1984
Alternative cover
2009 Cherry Red reissue

The Power of Love was reissued on CD in 2009 by Cherry Red Records, including seven bonus tracks.[4] For the reissue the track listing was re-sequenced, as Captain Sensible was never happy with the original running order.[2]

Background

As on his first solo album, Women and Captains First, Sensible had enlisted ex-Soft Boy Robyn Hitchcock to help with the songwriting on The Power of Love. "He was writing some spectacular lyrics for my tunes", Sensible explained.[2] According to Hitchcock, "[Sensible] had a lot of backing tracks and he just gave me some cassettes and then I went away and wrote some words."[5]

The anti-war song "Glad It's All Over" was Sensible's pointed comment on the Falklands war.[6] He described the song as "a result of my highly tuned pop sensibilities and the aural sculpting genius of producer Tony Mansfield... who actually plays the drum parts live himself on (not sampled!) a Duckhams oil can (floor tom), a casserole dish lid (high hat) and a Rowntrees choc tin (snare drum). After a bit of 'tuning' with a panel hammer the kit sounded just right and we rolled the tape with the result transforming the song into something rather special."[7]

On the album's title, Sensible said: "With the Falklands war [in 1982] and the mass build up of nuclear missiles in my mind I thought the planet could do with a bit more love and a bit less unpleasantness. So me and my neighbour Bob wrote a song called "The Power of Love" which also ended up as the album title."[2] Album track "Thanks for the Night" would be rerecorded by The Damned and released as a single in 1984.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Classic Rock[9]
Vive Le Rock[10]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[11]

In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Mark Deming wrote that on The Power of Love, the playful side that made many of the songs on Sensible's first solo album so appealing, "fell by the wayside, and instead the album was a straightforward and overly slick exercise in electro-processed pop ... with Tony Mansfield's production so slick and clean you could fry an egg on it." Deming felt that "Royal Rave Up" is the only song on the album that shows the funny side of Sensible and that "while a few of the songs are quite good ... the most effective bit of whimsy comes from a cover of the Pink Floyd rarity "It Would Be So Nice". Deming concluded that "while dance beats dominate a number of these tracks, the cumulative effect falls somewhere between languid and simply lazy", adding that The Power of Love robs Sensible's music of "much of its charm and personality".[8]

Track listing
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I'm a Spider"Captain Sensible, Tony Mansfield, Robyn Hitchcock4:11
2."I Love Her"Paul Ryan, Barry Ryan2:36
3."Stop the World"Sensible, Mansfield, Hitchcock4:33
4."Sir Donald's Son"Sensible2:56
5."It's Hard to Believe I'm Not"Sensible, Hitchcock3:08
6."Thanks for the Night"Sensible4:07
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."Glad It's All Over"Sensible, Mansfield4:06
8."Royal Rave Up"Sensible5:06
9."Secrets"Sensible, Hitchcock4:32
10."It Would Be So Nice"Richard Wright3:39
11."The Power of Love"Bob Jones3:54
12."I Love You"Sensible2:31
2009 reissue
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Glad It's All Over"Sensible, Mansfield4:06
2."It's Hard to Believe I'm Not"Sensible, Hitchcock3:10
3."It Would Be So NIce"Wright3:42
4."Sir Donald's Son"Sensible2:58
5."Stop the World"Sensible, Mansfield, Hitchcock4:35
6."Thanks for the Night"Sensible4:12
7."Royal Rave Up"Sensible5:09
8."I'm a Spider"Sensible, Mansfield, Hitchcock4:13
9."Secrets"Sensible, Hitchcock4:33
10."I Love Her"Ryan, Ryan2:39
11."The Power of Love"Jones3:54
12."I Love You"Sensible2:32
Bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Back To School?" (B-side of "Stop the World", 1983)Sensible7:56
14."Women Sago" (B-side of "I'm a Spider", 1983)Sensible3:51
15."There Are More Snakes Than Ladders" (Non-album single, 1984)Sensible, Mansfield3:38
16."One Christmas Catalogue" (Non-album single, 1984)Sensible, Mansfield3:59
17."Come On Down" (Non-album single, 1985)Sensible, Peter Bardens3:50
18."Beggars Can Be Choosers" (B-side of "Come On Down")Sensible2:55
19."Revolution Now" (Non-album single, 1987)Sensible, Martin Newell4:21

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[2]

Musicians
  • Captain Sensible - vocals, assorted instruments
  • Tony Mansfield - Fairlight CMI, guitars, tin cans
  • Robyn Hitchcock - guitar, ("I'm a Spider", "It's Hard to Believe I'm Not"), backing vocals ("I'm a Spider", "It's Hard to Believe I'm Not", "Royal Rave Up")
  • Dolly Mixture - vocals ("Stop the World", "The Power of Love")
  • John Reid - bass ("I'm a Spider", "Royal Rave Up")
  • Dave Ruffy - drums ("It's Hard To Believe I'm Not")
  • Steve Roberts - drums ("Sir Donald's Son")
  • Phil Towner - drums ("It Would Be So Nice")
  • Martin Ansell - backing vocals ("Glad It's All Over", "It Would Be So Nice")
  • Kevin Weatherill - backing vocals ("Glad It's All Over", "It Would Be So Nice")
  • Karin Padgham - backing vocals ("Glad It's All Over")
  • Paul Cemmick - backing vocals ("Glad It's All Over")
  • Anousha - backing vocals ("Glad It's All Over")
Production
  • Tony Mansfield - producer
  • Jules Bowen - engineer
Bonus tracks
  • Matthew Fisher - piano ("Back To School?")
  • Dave Ruffy - drums ("Back To School?")
  • Captain Sensible - producer ("Back to School?", "Beggars Can Be Choosers")
  • Peter Bardens - producer ("Come On Down")
  • John Hudson - mixing ("Come On Down")
  • The Flowerpot Men - producer ("Revolution Now")

References
  1. "News". Record Mirror: 10. 26 November 1983. Retrieved 16 December 2020 – via flickr.com.
  2. The Power of Love (CD liner notes). Captain Sensible. Cherry Red Records. 2009.CS1 maint: others (link)
  3. "Captain Sensible - Glad It's All Over". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  4. Tipping, Helen (28 July 2009). "Captain Sensible - Profile". pennyblackmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  5. Strutt, Anthony (10 April 2002). "Soft Boys/Robyn Hitchcock - Interview Part 2". pennyblackmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  6. Tyler, Kieron (2017). Smashing It Up - A Decade of Chaos with The Damned. Omnibus Press. p. 201. ISBN 978-1-78558-190-8.
  7. "Captain Sensible on Facebook". 27 September 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  8. Deming, Mark. "The Power of Love". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  9. Lawson, Dom (November 2009). "Captain Sensible - Reissues". Classic Rock. No. 138. pp. 96–97.
  10. Baldwin, Shane. "Album Review: The Power of Love". Vive Le Rock. 1 September 2009. Retrieved on 2 November 2018.
  11. Larkin, Colin (2011). Encyclopedia of Popular Music: Concise (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857125958. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
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