Homosapien

It's hard to imagine who would have been interested in this album other than Buzzcocks fans, and therefore no surprise that its sales were modest, given that Shelley leapt from guitar punk into synth-dominated, dance-oriented tunes. It's as if passing through 1980 required a complete musical makeover. After the brilliant title track, the signs are unpromising. The abrupt change in production techniques involved a level of polish that effectively rendered a lot of music sterile, as did ham-fisted drum programming. The second and third tracks consequently bear the characteristics of an artist going through the motions. After this, however, the album doesn't waste a track. 'Keats Song' has a lovely melody and is one of the stand out tracks.What lifts the album generally, however, is Shelley's musical personality. He always was a bundle of nervous energy, and though the instruments are different, his songwriting remains intact. Titles like 'I Don't Know What Love Is' and 'Guess I Must Have Been In Love With Myself' are typical Shelley and it's easy to imagine The Buzzcocks performing most of these songs for their superb A Different Kind Of Tension (Special Edition) album. 'Pusher Man' is perhaps the odd track out, Shelley's attempt at aggression being somewhat comical. 'Just One Of Those Affairs' is spot on, however, and, like several tracks, features one of Shelley's memorable trademark guitar lines. The line, 'Don't mind the cat/He licks his paws and purrs' is a gem.The bonuses are not really essential, but for all its occasional flaws, 'Homo Sapien' is buried treasure.

Very good album

I'd never even heard of this album until recently, when a DJ in the pub played the title track. It's instantly recognisable as Pete Shelley's voice, but the songs are broader in scope - and dare I say it, more interesting because of the synths and drum machines. Would thoroughly recommend this album to anyone, especially people who love late 70s / early 80s music.

had this on tape in my car vinyl better

One of the best solo albums from an artist from the punk era , great .

Pete Shelley sits elegantly-attired in his pristine penthouse, surrounded by sculptures and devices, presumably meaningful to him: telescope and telephone to reach out beyond, a bust of the Human mind to search within. The switched on Spectrum computer is a clue to what awaits us. Technology for Art's sake. The Homosapien cover encapsulates this album; Out is the leather jacket and punk, In is rhythmic techno sophistication,with Shelley and his human introspection, abetted and engineered by Martin Rushent. But the accoustic guitar is ever- present, a sign of Shelley s down -to- earthness, his Homosapien humanity preserved in the lyrics these 3- minute pop/dance tunes. A wonderful testament to both Rushent and Shelley ; electronics and heart.

Does not seem to be as good as I thought that I remembered it.

It's hard to believe that this album is 25 years old. The songs still sound remarkably fresh: fantastically funky, superbly melodic and irresistibly danceable. In the early 1980s Pete Shelley - still suffixed at the time with the soubriquet 'ex-Buzzcock' - was exploring avenues that would not be navigated by other writers and producers until the end of the decade. In fact he had been experimenting with electronic music years earlier, when the rest of us were still polishing our platforms. He is, therefore, the Godfather of British dance music.All the usual Shelleyan themes are pored over here: broken hearts, broken promises, remorse, regret and self-doubt - but the high-energy tunes and foot-stirring rhythms prevent the descent into Morrisseyan navel-gazing. Lyrically this oeuvre runs the gamut from the deep ('I've been thinking: do we really have a soul?') to the saucy, to the light-hearted (anyone who can rhyme 'polar bears' with 'affairs' - delivered in a broad Lancastrian accent - deserves a medal in anyone's book.)The high-brow cultural references add a touch of grown-up class, and - well, what's a few 1980s-style handclaps, between friends?The cherry on this album's cake - despite the many fine tunes, and generous bonus tracks contained herein - is still HomoSapien, with its rumbling bass, coruscating guitar and heartrending lyric: 'And the world is so wrong that I hope that we'll be strong enough/For we are on our own, and the only thing known is our love.'A quarter of a century on, Mr Shelley is still writing, and some of his best work is available for the first time on CD. The world can't be that wrong.

Pete Shelley sheds his punk image in favor of a nu-wave look and sound that was quite a departure from what he was doing with the Buzzcocks. This 1981 release was not only an instant hit on late night MTV during the first year of its excistence (with the video smash "Homosapien"), but a college radio sensation as well. A great number of Buzzcock fans became disappointed and disenchanted by what they perceived as Shelley jumping on the Gary Numan bandwagon. However, this post-modern classic garnered him even more fans than he originally had. Shelley's lyrics remain just as cold, disjointed and disgruntled as they ever were, only now they're placed much more in the forefront of his sound instead of being just an afterthought like they were with the noise he was making with the Buzzcocks. Tracks like "I Generate A Feeling" and the relentless "I Don't Know What Love Is" is mere confirmation of this testament. "It's Hard Enough Knowing" rounds out this post-punk masterpiece. Also not to be missed is Shelley's schizophrenic in-your-face cover of Steppenwolf's The Pusher ie; "Pusher Man". Pete Shelley's Homosapien is the pure definition of what the Reagan/Thatcher era sounded like, and a brilliant observation of the 80's "ME" generation values. "Homosuperior in my interior"...you can't get any more narcissistic than that!olofpalme63

Great.

Brand new as advertised.

I do not know much about the Buzzcocks, but Pete Shelley has a wonderful solo career. The songs are great and being into techno-pop, I fell in love with this album. It arrived in excellent condition.

I liked this when I was in college and had it in vinyl, but not cd.

Danced around the living room like it's 1985.

Brings back fond memories of the new wave era