The Chameleons- Up the Down Escalator REACTION & REVIEW

Song Link: • The Chameleons - Up t...
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[@mcolford]

I love this song. This was the first Chameleons song I ever heard back in the early 80's as young man in my early 20's. I bought the album, and loved it. But The Chameleons were one of those bands that as time moved on I kind of forgot about them, and then last year i stumbled across a video for a performance of this song on German TV or something, and it all came rushing back. The way I felt listening to this song in my room in the dark, and a young post-punk struggling to become a man, probably close to the age of the band members. When you mention the way Mark Burgess emotes with such feeling, that's what really captures me. His voice is so filled with emotion. There's sadness, there's anger, there's confusion, there's frustration... They were such an inspiration for me back then, and I'm glad to rediscovered them again last year, and glad you are listening to them now.

[@adrianabustamante2860]

Creo haber escuchado a The Chameleons cuando yo era niña. De pronto, me llegaron sus vídeos como música postpunk, siendo adulta. Son adorables para mí, no pasa un dia en que no los escuche. Su música tiene una energía y nostalgia indescriptibles ❤❤❤❤❤

[@riphopfer5816]

You nailed it-this is one of the bands that was most influential among early shoegazers. The guitars are primarily used for atmosphere. U2 absolutely ripped them off, sound-wise, and stole their place in the spotlight by writing about less introspective topics such as romance and politics. They’re one of my favourite bands of all time, and I love listening to this record, especially on psychedelics; it was also the soundtrack to my round-trips to the combat zones of Philadelphia during by brief flirtation with heroin, about 10 years ago. There was something really beautiful about those train rides back home, having just shot up in the men’s room of the Philly underground (I carried a vial of distilled water, of course; contrary to popular belief, junkies don’t HAVE to be savages), listening to this record in my ear buds, along with two songs from their 2nd record-‘Intrigue In Tangiers’ (probably my favourite Chameleons tune) and ‘Home Is Where the Heart Is’. This album is a portal to strange, twisted topographies, and warm memories of hiding in a bubble of perfection whilst others looked on, oblivious.

[@kylewoolsey6635]

To me, this is the definitive sound of the 80s. This was my intro to them. My favorite is Intrigue in Tangiers from their second album. Perfume Garden is another dreamy song you’d probably like.

[@patrick3926]

Thank you for reviewing this album in its entirety. It’s a gem and can put you in a trance when listening non stop 🎉

[@thesoundlikechameleons2082]

Timeless classic from The Chameleons. C ☆☆☆☆☆

[@davemahenus]

just soundscapes of beauty

[@RocketDaveA]

Probably my favorite song on the album. Although it is hard to choose.

[@manhattenman6075]

Im glad youre just carrying on with this album. I love this tune, makes me feel like im floating on air. But personally the next song Less Than Human ends this side perfectly.

[@chrissheldon9427]

The Chameleons are considered one of the influences of shoegaze, Slowdive were big fans, and dreampop. Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins) mentioned this as one of his favourite albums as a teenager, and Noel Gallagher (Oasis) was a huge fan though he stated the album Strane Times as hos favourite. You must try Swamp Thing from Strange Times as it has a fantastic guitar line, I'd also try Soul in Isolation as i think Burgess was at his strongest lyrically on these 2 tracks.

[@bobholtzmann]

I'm hearing alot of early U2 and Flock of Seagulls in this song - the vocals and arrangement remind me of U2's "I Will Follow".

[@a.k.1740]

Yes, from a guitar point of view, it's still very close to U2's first two albums (Boy, October) and it's true that the Flock of Seagulls imprint can be found in this mix of textures between guitar and keyboards, but personally I find that the songs of The chameleons are similar, interchangeable and that the voice of Mark Burgess does not stand out.

[@bobholtzmann]

@@a.k.1740 I agree -- although, I only know U2 and Flock of Seagulls from that time. Their sound was nothing like the retro rock and roll of Blondie and the B-52s, or the punk of The Clash and Sex Pistols, so they were unique during that time around '79, and some credit is due.

[@johnmavroudis2054]

Another gem in an album full of them. This song perfectly encapsulates the Thatcher era in Great Britain. This song was a direct pushback on what those policies wrought among the population... then add in the Cold War militarism and fear of a nuclear exchange (which felt sooo real and horrifying at the time (Think of people in the Reagan administration who were talking about "with enough shovels" we could survive a nuclear war...) it was a dark time. The Chameleons, along with a host of other musicians (The Clash, The Jam, Billy Bragg) spoke out on this with the mirror that showed what we all felt at the time. This album is quite simply, one of the greatest debut albums (Some other masterful debuts that spring to mind: The Beatles, Sex Pistols, Stone Roses, R.E.M., The Las, Elvis Costello, Devo, The (English) Beat, De La Soul, Pretenders, Velvet Underground, The Wonder Stuff...)

[@HippoYnYGlaw]

The Wonder Stuff 's : 'eight legged groove machine' took it to eleven via Toonville with b sides too! JPs gotta do an album listen eventually - in a sweat filled town hall disguised as a recording reactions room.

[@johnmavroudis2054]

@@HippoYnYGlaw yup. It’s an unrelenting torrent of great song after great song.

[@Alix777.]

I love this song so much 💚 You are totally on point when you say it's kind of a precursor of shoegaze sound !

[@JustJP]

Thanks Alix!

[@thoru4367]

I was clapping at the end of the song! It is beautiful

[@eikestolze9109]

In the early 90's there were two country nightclubs near my hometown, one was a former country inn on a country road, the other was a very stylish modern nightclub in a small village. They both had this song on their playlist almost every weekend. Ok, I guess it was the DJ who played in both clubs. Nobody played it in our big city clubs, but they played it there. We city boys took a trip to the country every weekend.

[@riphopfer5816]

I shall forever associate escalators with the final episode episode of the first season of the X-Files entitled ‘Tooms’, which revisits a monstrous entity which is humanoid, but elastic, and emerges from hibernation every 30 years to consume 5 human livers. The heroes of the programme finally track it to its new nest beneath an escalator-only to find it home. It attempts to attack one of the protagonists, and the other activates the escalator. You can hear its echoing shrieks from the building’s substructure as it is violently yanked backward, its leg entangled in the gears, leaving only a bloody streak behind it. I was about 12 or 13 when that episode aired, and while I was far less horrified by the grisly death than the creature itself (which could compress and elongate its body in order to sneak into homes via tiny air ducts-a nightmare for an already-paranoid, security-obsessed young man), the scene was certainly gruesome, and I absolutely never looked at an escalator in quite the same way

[@hognaut]

Another Chameleons track ! Wow and I mean...wow, good on you chap. I agree these, guys were a precursor to the shoe gazing scene from the late 80s early 90s. If this floats yer boat try the kings of the shoe gazing scene Ride and the track Vapour Trail.... Luuush

[@-Ricky_Spanish-]

One of my favorite songs ever! Be sure to check out Andy Bell's solo stuff too, "Something Like Love" was one of my favorite songs released last year, and he revisits that sort of Vapour Trail feel a little bit on it. Breathless and Kitchens of Distinction are a couple other 90's bands that were hugely influenced by Chameleons and shouldn't be missed.

[@lucianoteixeira7993]

This the one song that I really remember from this band. Great song. Nice melody, good arrangements, enjoyable as hell and the vocals fit perfectly. Thanks for the reaction

[@JustJP]

Glad you enjoyed Luciano :)

[@-Ricky_Spanish-]

I'm so glad you're liking this album. It's one of my favorites since I was a teenager, but it's not everyone's cup of tea. Personally I don't think there is a weak track on the album though, side two is just as good.

[@thesoundlikechameleons2082]

yes the album is up there with the best albums ever made.

[@taniadarlington1730]

I am so delighted to hear you reviewing and appreciating these. This album is really a tour de force by one of the greatest and most underappreciated bands of the 80s. I really hope there's a Swamp Thing review on the horizon - that song was truly the anthem of my youth.

[@davidcopson5800]

So pleased you're continuing with this fabulous album. You're doing what I did 40 years ago - though my reaction was very private.

[@mandrillion2524]

can't wait for the last track of this masterpiece....pure gold

[@thesoundlikechameleons2082]

the ENTIRE LP is a masterpiece

[@craighinton7116]

Another album from this time period that I think you might enjoy is Love Junk from "The Pursuit of Happiness". It's a solid little rocker with a couple NSFW moments that was produced by Todd Rundgren. I'm enjoying this selection quite well.

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

Good song. It was a bit of a hit in Boston. Thanks for covering all these artists

[@thesoundlikechameleons2082]

in America?

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

@@thesoundlikechameleons2082 yes in America. WFNX in Boston an early alt rock station.

[@Kevvinm]

@@Hartlor_TayleyFNX was the best!

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

@@Kevvinm they were.

[@eboethrasher]

One of these days, you'll look at the comments haha. Though it is a good sign that you basically fell into this album so much. It shows how awesome The Chameleons are, right?

[@JustJP]

😉

[@ericdupont1326]

Hi Justin ; this is a good song , tonight ( France ) Here , I was just going back to the 70's German Prog : band >" Birth control " ; and this time with the album : " Plastic People " ( 1975 ) Perhaps you will try

[@thesoundlikechameleons2082]

A beautiful melancholic song about politics I believe, but not 100% sure.

[@thesoundlikechameleons2082]

3:55 early grunge?!

[@musicdroog7666]

Familiar with this track. Didn't know it was by them. Kinda has a Jam feel to it.

[@DiM2404]

Ah mate if you think this has a shoegaze vibe just wait for the last track

[@rydelldownward7808]

It’s hard for me to ever hear them without getting a little misty.

[@HippoYnYGlaw]

the Cult's Sanctuary got the cold shoulder from us both so after 5 songs from this LP, is the wishy reverbed washy guitar a fatigue factor to consider here? No. There's passionate song stomping here definitely and yet , if it weren't a much lauded retro "underrated classic", would we be so curious and enthusiastic about it? u2's Boy blew me away in 1980. As did Van Halen 's debut in 1978. There's 2 guitar LPs with passionate song stomping 4u Justin . Every tune a classic undoubtedly. Get to it. Please! 32.5K Double Bill Subscriber Targets. You're Vellcam.

[@paulcollins5586]

Sanctuary is a classic. ???

[@johnmavroudis2054]

The Chameleons came into being before The Cult did... and I much prefer them. I adored U2's Boy and October... but still made time (at the time) for this classic debut. To be honest.. while I LOVE U2's debut, this has held a greater resonance with me through the years and I still rate it slightly higher. Using words like "wishy reverbed washy" does it a disservice. Just saying.

[@HippoYnYGlaw]

@@johnmavroudis2054 the guitar reverberates all echoey but there's substance all around it-something different going on, slowing down and a different vocal vibe. Several tunes too? I'll have to listen again. When I heard that Cult single it sounded one dimensional and repetitive. I'd still give their LPs a fair hearing though, but they went a bit rockist didn't they which didn't sit well with my been there done that stance at the time. Chameleons sound like they mixed it up a bit and MB wrote from the❤

[@jaybird4093]

I am very underwhelmed by this track. After a strong start, this album is starting to lose me. I hope the next tracks hit me like the first few.

[@a.k.1740]

I can't help but find Mark Burgess' voice to be ordinary, the music linear and without twists and turns. it sounds bland and flat. I mean, U2 were already doing a bit of that stuff in 80/81 on Boy and October but there was fire and passion in those albums while The Chameleons in 83 sounded lukewarm, dull and lifeless.

[@thesoundlikechameleons2082]

clueless

[@johnmavroudis2054]

U2 were a damn fine band... but The Chameleons were a product of their environment every bit as much as U2 were. I think U2's best albums were the debut, "Boy," and "Unforgettable Fire"... The Chameleons' were their debut "Script Of The Bridge" and then flip a coin between the next two.... Looking back on their catalogs, if I had to choose, I'd take The Chameleons every day and twice on Sunday. They might not have been pounding it out for decades, but what they did was class. Burgess doesn't sound like Bono... and that's a good thing. They're not the same band.

[@jaybird4093]

And that’s the reason why some bands leave a mark for decades while others merely fade away.

[@jaybird4093]

In other words, I agree!

[@davidcopson5800]

Some people just can't appreciate greatness. Your loss.