Thursday, August 28, 2008

Living In Texas - The Fastest Men Alive

1985 was a busy year for Living In Texas: in addition to the Glad Bad Sad & Mad EP and the Italia Live Eighty-Five LP, they also released this studio album, all on their own Chainsaw label. On this release the band is still a four-piece: Stephan James (vocals), Mathew Fraser (drums, backing vocals), Daniel Glee (guitars), Nicholas D. Denton (bass). They brought in Martin Young of Colourbox as producer, and he also plays all the keyboards on the album (which are very subtle, you'll have to really listen for them to hear them at all). "The Fastest Man Alive" and its instrumental version continue in the amped-up rockabilly mode of Glad Bad (but even faster, as you may have guessed), while the major-chord "Like Thunder" sounds like a precursor of modern pop-punk. "Bomb Generation", heard on the live album, gets its studio release here; "The Fairest Of Them All" sounds almost like Gene Loves Jezebel; and the remaining songs are all in the band's gothic mode. The full track list is:
  1. The Fastest Instrumental Alive (vocal-less version of the title track)
  2. Beautiful
  3. Alone She Cries
  4. Like Thunder
  5. The Fastest Man Alive (I'm calling this the title track even though it has "Man" where the album title has "Men")
  6. Bring On The Rain
  7. The Fairest Of Them All
  8. Bomb Generation
Cover art is once again supplied by guitarist Daniel Glee. I consider The Fastest Men Alive to be the last great Living In Texas record; get it here or here.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Mr. Fantod,

Thanks a lot for all the great LIVING IN TEXAS Stuff! Just for the Case, that You take Requests -
Me personally is most haunted by "My End of Heaven". Would be great to hear that again. So if you feel like posting this (studioversion) Song (very first EP, me thinks), I would feel very grateful.
HansPeterExtra

Fantod said...

You're welcome. Unfortunately this album is the last of my Living In Texas records, but if I do find more I will certainly post them. Thanks for visiting!

Munson said...

hi - hope you got my mail. I love the idea and love the site. I think your perception Of LIT fair, accurate and rather flattering. If you need anything tell me - I have and own ( by proxy) everything by the band - go to spacegirl and the cowboys on myspace and leave a mail. The girl in the red leather coat was/is my wife.
... and again - bravo. Stephen J Munson ( Stephan James.)
nb: Glee was rorshac>.

Anonymous said...

Hey!

I grew up near Colchester & was a great fan of Living in Texas as a young teenager in the early eighties. I remember seeing them (at St Mary's Arts Centre if my ailing memory still serves) in the distant past, & it was so, so good :)

I have the Vinyl of LIT in storage in the UK, and am so grateful for these links to get the digital version.

Any chance of posting or sending (if so how do I get in contact?) a scan of the sleeve with the lyrics to Beautiful?

Thanks again, great work :)

Leigh

Fantod said...

Leigh, I'm glad I could reunite you with this excellent music. I will try to scan the inner sleeve and post it here in the next week or so (sorry for the delay).

purplebrain said...

LIT are one those rare goth bands that shoudn't be so unknown on that time.

Anyway, I'm gratefully impressed with the people who talk about them, for me always it was a weird record that i showed to my friends and no one felt in love with it like me, with no doubt 'the fastest man alive' its their gratest record, with one of my fav song ever, beautiful, maybe i was young, maybe i was fool, but still makes me feel alive....

cesar lores
barcelona

Sarah Darling said...

I NEED this album SO badly!! Any chance you might upload it again? Pleeeeaaaase?

Fantod said...

The first link (Rapidshare) still works. I've replaced the second link with a new FileFactory link just in case.

Sarah Darling said...

Thank You and Thank You and Thank You, Amen! :D