The 13 best albums of all time - #2

Sextet - A Certain Ratio

1. Lucinda
2. Crystal
3. Gum
4. Knife slits water
5. Skipscada
6. Day One
7. Rub down
8. Rialto
9. Below the canal

Sextet is the sound of a band throwing off their long overcoats and reaching out for distant rhythms, be it a shuffling samba beat or a funkier groove - either way it is clear that the band aren't in Moss Side anymore. Sextet arrived after the initially disappointing debut LP 'Too Each' had left ACR's followers unsure whether they were a morose Joy Division cover band or an underpowered funk band.

The opening track Lucinda made it apparent that the band had grown on two levels, firstly the production and groove was in the right place and more intriguingly the band had been enhanced by the addition of Martha Tilson (who allegedly jumped up and joined the band onstage in New York and didn't leave until two years later). Her ethereal/innocent vocals lent a distinctly different feel to the ACR sound and succeeded in clearly delineating them from their more moribund labelmates.

From there on in, the oneness of the album creates a truly hypnotic soundtrack. Taking the listener on a trip through the backstreets of the city at night. The sound of gentle raindrops, water running, piano sprinkled across sparse percussion, horns and klaxons fading in and out of the mix, all the time being driven by the Johnson/Kerr rhythm axis.

Stand out track 'Knife slits water' is still a very powerful song, with the compelling juxtaposition of Tilson's out of kilter vocals and some ferocious bass combining to make a remarkable sound. Unlike the first album, the wayward horn section punctuates the spaces perfectly and the judicious use of echo & reverb proved the influence of 'Y' by The Pop Group had not been forgotten.

In some ways the second side is even better with the trippy 'Skipscada' tumbling into 'Day One', 'Rub down' and 'Rialto' with each track merging and blending into the other. A heady dubby quartet indeed...

All in all, Sextet stands up as a wonderfully complete piece of work and is not out of place on a Saturday night dancefloor, Sunday morning comedown session or a sunny Monday morning turntable.