The Album Club: 10.01.2011: Propaganda A Secret Wish 1985 ZTT Records
Album Club: 10.01.2011: Propaganda – A Secret Wish 1985 ZTT Records (CD, SCAD, Vinyl, Cassette)
Spotify Link to original release http://open.spotify.com/album/20WvOLT4klgKqzYGJGFDMV
Spotify Link to 25th Anniversary version + extras http://open.spotify.com/album/6oxjHxb7XKRLsdCtVuB8z9
About Propaganda http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_(band)
All versions of the album listed here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Secret_Wish
My exposure to this seminal slice of electronica came on a friend’s HiFi System (Philips CD Player, Musical Fidelity A1, Tannoy Mercury’s) and hearing it was as much an experience as was the system I heard it on; as this system was the first real HiFi I ever heard.
My early years in college, was truly a journey of exploration both from an academic and musical point of view. I was introduced by very good friends to a wide variety of rock music, from the prog of Yes, the pomp of Styx and Kansas and the melodic rock and metal of the day and everything in between but the black sheep among my friends was Alastair, who liked bands like Japan as well (boy I used to rib him about this) anyway one day while down in his house he played this album to me and it blew me away.
Frankly I had never heard anything like it before and it still stands tall as a fairly unique sample of Tuetonic electronic music with wee hints of prog and pop and the kind of experimental soundscapes that Art of Noise would record.
Propaganda’s soundscape fits into that of a cool industrial bleakness, dark smoky Berlin nightclubs and the darkness of the bdsm underworld (listen to their lyrics for wee hints of this). Their music is mechanical and as driven as the machine workshops of factories, but it is also very sensual, dark, erotic, exotic, gothic and in many, many ways very German.
This is at times an aggressive in your face and relentless album of 52.01 minutes duration with a pretty good level of sound quality throughout but in the wrong system it can become a bit wearing as at times it is a tad brightly recorded. Later re-masters and the SACD version are much more evenly balanced but don’t lose the, at times, punk attitude and aggression on some of the tracks. Amazingly while the vinyl version is mostly better than the first CD, taking into account early digital recording techniques it too can be a bit bright and forward.
Trevor Horn was to have produced this album but Stephen Lipson ended up doing the job and very well too I think.
Listening to this music with its swirling synths, driving percussion and the wonderful vocals of Susanne Freytag and Claudia Brόcken opened my mind up to a whole new range of musical possibilities and types of music I had not considered before and this album very much laid the foundations for my getting into Dance music and electronica a few years later on.
A Secret Wish is an important album both musically and for me as it took me out of my rock/metal comfort zone and challenged me to broaden my musical tastes further.
All the tracks on this album are fabulous but the epic Dr Mabuse is simply stunning.
Various remix albums and rare versions of tracks compilations have been released over the years including:Wishful Thinking and Outside World. However the most complete version including a rare cassette only track was released a few years ago as the 25th Anniversary Edition.
After A Secret Wish.....
The follow up album 1234 could almost have been made by an entirely different group (both Brucken and Freytag had gone and were replaced by Betsi Miller on vocals) as it is warmer, less in your face and a wee bit more prog even featuring the guitar playing of David Gilmour. I like this album almost as much as A Secret Wish, but it is a very different beast but well worth checking out as well.
After Propaganda Claudia Brucken went on to record more music with a solo album, as part of a group The Act and on other various projects. You can read more about her work here, all are worth a look and listen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudia_Br%C3%BCcken
Regards D S D L
Reply With Quote
Sorry Neil but you have a 10/10 already 
I have the original Secret Wish cover Tattood on my right arm 
I also have the pic you have there of 1234 on my left arm 
Isaac Bashevis Singer
Originally Posted by Reid Malenfant
Or is that printed into me 
Great choice 
