Hugo Largo- Mettle (1989)

Sometimes less is more…
On Hugo Largo’s first LP Mimi Goese sang softly, with an occasional dramatic rise, fitting in perfectly with the sparse, lilting instrumentation. Here she indulges in sometimes grating vocal acrobatics and lyrically the songs are verbose. Musically this LP is as splendid as Drum, but has a more contrived feel due to Mimi’s excesses.Of course, this is entirely subjective, and if this is your cup of tea I have a solo album of hers somewhere…
Line up here is the same as on Drum.

Hugo Largo- Drum (1988)

Drum was the first release from Hugo Largo.It was produced by Michael Stipe (who also provides backing vocals on two of the tracks) and released by Brian Eno's record label, Opal, on January 1st 1988.
While originally released as an EP,it was later re-released as an album. in 2007 The Guardian included Drum in a list of "1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die"
Fancy is a cover of a song by The Kinks from the album Face to Face.
I saw Michael Stipe singing the eerie Harpers unaccompanied on the REM Green World Tour.
Later that year I listened to Drum on a Walkman (remember?) whilst lying flat on my back on the deck of a ship at sea. The gentle undulations of the bass complimented the subtle pitch and roll of the ship.

Line up:

Mimi Goese- singer
Tim Sommer- bass
Hahn Rowe- violin
Adam Peacock- bass
with- Michael Stipe- backing vocals