Additional information
Electronic: Bernard Sumner (vocals, keyboards, programming); Johnny Marr (acoustic & electric guitars, keyboards, programming). Additional personnel: Denise Johnson, Neil Tennant (vocals); Helen Powell (oboe); Chris Lowe (keyboards); Donald Johnson (drums, percussion); David Palmer (drums); Andrew Robinson (programming). A collaboration between ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr and soon-to-be-ex-New Order singer Bernard Sumner, Electronic released one of the last great electro-pop albums before the impact of grunge made the idea of keyboard-based bands with both dance club and Top 40 tendencies seem rather quaintly old-fashioned. The arrangements give equal weight to ticking sequencers, strumming acoustic guitars, and Sumner's boyish vocals, and so the overall feel is not at all unlike the brighter parts of New Order's BROTHERHOOD and TECHNIQUE albums. Pet Shop Boys singer Neil Tennant sings on two tracks, "Patience of a Saint," and the sublime, dreamy single "Getting Away With It," one of the best things any of the three main participants have ever been involved with. "Get the Message" ratchets up the tension a few degrees, while elsewhere the band explores the stoned, lazy groove of the then-fashionable Madchester sound.
