Windpower is one of the songs subjected to alternate versions, with one US release featuring a sadly truncated version.
The evocative synth work underscores a strong vocal, creating a mysterious, compelling track that is essential Dolby. Windpower is another track that blends technology, environmental themes, and the basics of humanity into a compelling ode to alternative power sources. It’s a wonderful tale of innocence crashing against reality and the powers of both nostalgia and fame.
Europa and the Pirate Twins is a lovely story song, based loosely on a former girlfriend. Dolby turns in an especially fine vocal on this one, showing off his stylistic range as he whispers, growls, bellows, and croons. Empty at the core, they have nothing to bind them to humanity. Weightless turns its title concept inside-out, focusing on the hollowness that can define some people. It features a nice use of sampling and shows off Dolby’s studio wizardry to great effect. More prosaic but no less compelling, Commercial Breakup arises from a story of Franz Schubert mixing social time with his efforts to compose. Firmly belying the myth of the cold synth track, Flying North is a passionate ode to our home planet and all its powers, blended beautifully with a compelling mixture of very human emotion. Based on his unusual fear of flying - he worries about planes breaking the bonds of gravity rather than crashing - it’s a haunting, emotive song. Things kick off powerfully with Flying North, one of the finest songs in Dolby’s catalog. Tracks 1 – 9 comprise the original release notes on the sources and versions of the tracks are included in the review below. The 14-track listing above is from the 2009 bonus edition on CD, assembled with Dolby’s supervision and assistance, and includes all the songs included on the five versions. The Golden Age of Wireless has gone through a dizzying array of releases and track listings - two in the UK and three in the US between its original 1982 release and its late 1984 CD release - with two different covers. The result of that effort is one of the most praised and best-lasting tributes to the power of synth-based pop, The Golden Age of Wireless. He worked as a session musician, notably with early Thompson Twins and Lene Lovich (for whom he wrote the single New Toy.) His big break came when he was hired to provide keyboards for the sessions and supporting tour for Foreigner’s monster album, 4 his compelling keyboards on Urgent and haunting synth washes on Waiting For A Girl Like You earned him enough money to take his time in recording his own debut album. The newly minted Thomas Dolby worked with a number of bands, playing keyboards as a member of Camera Club and Fallout Club. Despite early press kits identifying him as Thomas Morgan Dolby Robertson, the Dolby has always been a nickname and stage name. His fascination with keyboards and tapes earned him the nickname “Dolby.” As he began a music career, he adopted this as his stage name, partly to avoid confusion with British rocker Tom Robinson. By the mid-70s, he began a life-long passion for the power of electronic music after buying a home synthesizer kit. He soon moved on to piano as he developed an interest in jazz. He learned to sight-read by the age of 10 as he taught himself folk guitar. Thomas Morgan Robertson was born in London in 1955.
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