When it was released in 1981, "Dare" was hailed as a groundbreaking album, both for The Human League and synth-pop in general.
The story of the band consisting of only Philip Oakley after the two other members quit to eventually form Heaven 17, and Oakley hiring two 18 year-old schoolgirls after seeing them dance in a Sheffield nightclub is well documented. However, just as important was ex-Rezillo's song-writer and guitarist Jo Callis joining the band, even if he had swopped the guitar for a synthesizer !
Two hit singles had already been released by the time "Dare" came out and two more were to follow. I'm not sure of exactly when I bought the album, but it was certainly before "Don't You Want Me" was released as I was already familiar with that song by the time it was being played to death on the radio and at student discos.
I remember constantly playing the LP at the time, but looking at the track listing now I can only remember the four singles plus "The Things That Dreams Are Made Of", the rest drew a blank.
The opener "The Things That Dreams Are Made Of" remains my favourite song on the album. It has a hypnotic upbeat Kraftwerk style motif, a strong synth bass line and a catchy chorus. Lyrically it is a list of some of the simple things in life that people should aspire to, and at times comes across like a travel brochure. It even manages to name check Norman Wisdom and each of the Ramones. My favourite line though is "March, March, March across Red Square, do all the things you never dared".
"Open Your Heart" has a joyous melody and is pure electro-pop. Although once described as trying to sound like ABBA, to me it sounds like Ultravox.
"The Sound Of The Crowd" was the first hit and is a dance number with a funky beat and a shouty chorus. It still sounds great.
The next five songs had all been completely erased from my memory and it was like hearing them for the first time, and none of them jogged even the faintest recollection.
"Darkness" is a slightly slower number with a pretty three note motif and a decent tune, although I was struggling to remember it by the time the album had finished.
"Do Or Die" sounds like several other songs I can't quite place but a funky beat can't save what is a fairly bland song.
The one minute long "Get Carter" is an electronic version of the tune to the Micheal Caine film of the same name. I am what the point of including it is !
"I Am The Law" is slow and ponderous. I think it is supposed to be menacing but it's just dull.
The tempo of the intro of "Seconds" is similar to "Open Your Heart". I quite liked it although at nearly 5 minutes it could have done was some editing.
I liked "Love Action ( I Believe in Love )" back in the day but hearing it now I found the synth sounds in the intro to be annoying and it all sounded rather dated.
There can't be made people who having heard "Don't You Want Me" and the story of the girl breaking away from her controlling Svengali like figure. "I was working as a waitress in a cocktail bar, that much is true, but then I knew I'd find a much better place, either with or without you". It remains a classic pop song, and is currently being used in an advert for an online hotel booking tool !
Maybe I listened to "Dare" on a bad day, but it hasn't aged well. Although there still several outstanding tracks, some of it doesn't sound so good now. Although I played the album to death over 40 years ago, perhaps the sign that half of the album had been total erased from my memory perhaps adds credence to the disposable, throwaway labels often attached to synth-pop ?
In 1981 I probably would have rated this as a 5 star album, but now I would probably give it a 3 or 3.5 star rating.
Track Listing :
Side One :
1. The Things That Dreams Are Made Of
2. Open Your Heart
3. The Sound Of The Crowd
4. Darkness
5. Do Or Die
1. Get Carter
2. I Am The Law
3. Seconds
4. Love Action ( I Believe In Love )
5. Don't You Want Me
Released 1981
UK Chart Position : 1
The Sound Of The Crowd ( No 12 - 1981 )
Love Action ( I Believe In Love ) ( No 3 - 1981 )
Open Your Heart ( No 6 - 1981 )
Don't You Want Me ( No 1 - 1981 )
