The Chameleons editan en Junio de 2000 un nuevo album llamado Strip. Son sus primeras grabaciones de estudio desde que se separaran allá por 1987.
El album contiene versiones acústicas de canciones clásicas más dos nuevas composiciones: un instrumental llamado Road To San Remo y una canción de corte más eléctrico llamada Indian.
Este es el listado de canciones del album:
Less Than Human
Nathan's Phase
Here Today
Soul In Isolation
Pleasure and Pain
Paradiso
Caution
On The Beach
Road To San Remo (instrumental)
Indian
Este disco no brilla tanto por sus méritos propios sino por lo que realmente supone: la vuelta al mundo musical de esta banda de culto. Un regreso atípico, ya que no es el caso de grupo de éxito que desaparece y vuelve a reaparacer por intereses económicos, sino que obedece más bien a una consecución de acontecimientos cuyo origen fue el suicidio de Adrian Borland el 26 de Abril de 1999, amigo personal de Mark y que por aquel entonces compartían un proyecto juntos. Adrian Borland fue el lider y bajista de otro grupo de culto del pop de los 80, The Sound. Inmediatamente después de la muerte de Adrian, los diferentes componentes de The Chameleons se reunieron para charlar sobre los viejos tiempos y decidieron tocar juntos, de nuevo, un par de conciertos sin más pretensiones. El público respondió de una manera que ni ellos mismos se lo esperaban. El calor con que fue recibida su vuelta, aunque sólo efímera, a los escenarios hizo que se replantearan un regreso a los estudios.
Como resultado de tal decisión surge Strip, trabajo editado de forma independiente, donde The Chameleons se reencuentran a sí mismos y donde sientan las bases para lo que puede ser el segundo nacimiento de la banda.
Mostramos a continuación las notas que Mark Burgess ha incluido en la caratula del album:
Hello
What Is It?
Well it's an album of acoustic arrangements of some earlier songs along with one or two new tunes...
But, What is it?
Well it began as a way for Dave, Reg and myself to keep busy until John could join us for rehearsals for some gigs we'd arranged to play in May, but we soon realised that what we were doing here was something rather special...
But, what is it?
Well it' a group of songwriters getting back together after a ten-year lay-off, rediscovering their own music and redefining themselves as a band...
Yes, but what is it?
Er... It's a new album by The Chameleons.... Basically! We are The Chameleons. Is this album number four? I'm not sure. Mark Burgess, 3.25 p.m., Reg's flat
Ps Additional didjeridu by traditional Didjeri Dave...
Hello again
Well here I am writing sleeve notes for another fresh Chameleons record. It started with the decision in February to play a few gigs together in May 2000. For valid reasons I won't go into here it was impossible for John to come aboard until mid April, so rather than hang around waiting until then to start something the possibility of a few acoustic shows evolved into recording an acoustic album, which is the essence of what we have here. Our friend and advisor Simon Lawlor put up the money to make and press the record and it was originally envisioned that 'Strip' as it came to be called, would be a DIY project recorded on some equipment I have a 50% share in. As it turned out though, Shan Hira at Suite Sixteen, Rochdale, offered us the use of the studio over ten days at cost and we were able to return to the studio in which we'd made our name. Shan and another regular engineer at the studio, Jonathan Barrett, then worked with us for no fee over the period in order to finish the record in time. we can't thank them enough for making it possible for us to work at S16 and for working hard to ensure that the CD sounds so great.... Nice one! We'd also like t say a big thanks to Paul Fallon of Johnny Roadhouse Music, Manchester, for the practical help and encouragement he gave us during the pre-production stages of making this record.
mark burgess
