Script of the Bridge

Script of the Bridge is the debut studio album by English post-punk band the Chameleons, released on 8 August 1983 by record label Statik.

Script of the Bridge
Studio album by The Chameleons
Released	8 August 1983
Recorded	1983
Studio	Cargo Studios in Rochdale, England
Genre	Post-punk
Length	57:17
Label	Statik
Producer	The Chameleons Colin Richardson
The Chameleons chronology
Script of the Bridge (1983) What Does Anything Mean? Basically (1985)
Singles from Script of the Bridge
"Up the Down Escalator" Released: 1 January 1983 (UK, Germany, Spain, US promo) "Don't Fall" Released: 1 January 1983 (France promo) "As High as You Can Go" Released: 1 February 1983 (UK, Portugal, Spain) "A Person Isn't Safe Anywhere These Days" Released: 1 June 1983 (UK, Portugal)

Three singles were released from the album: "Up the Down Escalator", "As High as You Can Go" and "A Person Isn't Safe Anywhere These Days".

Content

A sample of dialogue from the 1946 film Two Sisters from Boston[1] was used as the introduction to the album's first track, "Don't Fall". According to the Chameleons' official website, "[the band] had a mic set up to a television and they recorded random bits, presumably for use in some songs".[2]

Music and lyrics

Andrew Welsh of Daily Record commented that the album is "characterised by subtly psychedelic Cure-like guitars and militaristic drum patterns reminiscent of Joy Division".[3]

Promotion

Three official singles and one promo single were released to promote the album. "Up the Down Escalator" was released as the album's first single in the UK, Germany and Spain on 1 January 1983 by the band's record label Statik.[4] The band's US label, MCA Records, also issued it as a promotional single.

Statik issued "Don't Fall" as a promo-only single in France on 1 January 1983.[5][6]

The album's second official UK single (also issued by Statik in Spain and Portugal) was "As High as You Can Go", released on 1 February.[7] The third and final official single was "A Person Isn't Safe Anywhere These Days", released by Statik on 1 June in the UK and Portugal.[8]

Release

Script of the Bridge was released 8 August 1983 by record label Statik.[9] The truncated US release on MCA Records, issued under the band name Chameleons U.K, omitted "Here Today", "Less Than Human", "Paper Tigers" and "View from a Hill".

The album was later released as a limited edition picture disc by Statik Records in 1985.

It was re-engineered and re-released in 2012 by Blue Apple Music.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[10]
Daily Record	(favourable)[3]
Record Collector	[11]
Sounds	***¾[12]
Trouser Press	(mixed)[13]

Script of the Bridge has been well received by critics.

In his retrospective review, Ned Raggett of AllMusic praised the album, writing, "Script remains a high-water mark of what can generally be called post-punk music; an hour's worth of one amazing song after another", calling it "practically a greatest-hits record on its own".[10] Chris Jenkins, in the book The Rough Guide to Rock, called the album "such an impressive record that The Chameleons would struggle to emulate it".[14]

Trouser Press was slightly less favourable, writing that it "isn't a great album", but "has very appealing moments".[13]

Legacy

Andrew Welsh of Daily Record wrote that "echoes of the Chameleons' distinctive sound can still be heard today in bands as diverse as the Killers (but without the penchant for angst), Editors and even Pigeon Detectives."[3]

Track listing

All tracks are written by the Chameleons (Mark Burgess, Dave Fielding, John Lever and Reg Smithies).

Side A

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Don't Fall"	4:06
2.	"Here Today"	3:50
3.	"Monkeyland"	5:24
4.	"Second Skin"	6:50
5.	"Up the Down Escalator"	3:57
6.	"Less Than Human"	4:12

Side B

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Pleasure and Pain"	5:11
2.	"Thursday's Child"	3:22
3.	"As High as You Can Go"	3:35
4.	"A Person Isn't Safe Anywhere These Days"	5:43
5.	"Paper Tigers"	4:16
6.	"View from a Hill"	6:41

Personnel

The Chameleons

• Mark Burgess – bass guitar, vocals, production
• Dave Fielding – guitar, production
• Reg Smithies – guitar, production, album cover artwork
• John Lever – drums, production

Additional personnel

• Alistair Lewthwaite – keyboards

Technical

• Colin Richardson – production, engineering

References

1. "Two Sisters from Boston (1946) – Quotes – IMDb". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
   "In His Autumn Before the Winter Comes Mans Last Surge of Youth – YouTube". YouTube. 7 September 2010. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
2. "The Chameleons – Band – Frequently Asked Questions". The Chameleons. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
3. Welsh, Andrew (1 July 2008). "Album Review: Script of the Bridge, The Chameleons – Daily Record". Daily Record. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
4. "The Chameleons – Releases". The Chameleons. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
5. "The Chameleons – Releases". The Chameleons. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
6. "The Chameleons – Releases". The Chameleons. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
7. "The Chameleons – Releases". The Chameleons. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
8. "The Chameleons – Releases". The Chameleons. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
9. "The Chameleons – Releases". The Chameleons. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
10. Raggett, Ned. "Script of the Bridge – The Chameleons UK : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
11. Finnigan, Mark (September 2008). "Script of the Bridge 25th Anniversary Edition". Record Collector (353). Retrieved 3 February 2015.
12. Linfield, Carole (1 August 1983). "'Script of the Bridge' (Statik STAT LP 17) ***¾". Sounds. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
13. Robbins, Ira; Rabid, Jack. "trouserpress.com :: Chameleons (UK)". Trouser Press. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
14. Buckley, Peter, ed. (1 November 2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. p. 182. ISBN 1843531054. Retrieved 15 February 2013.

External links

• Script of the Bridge at Discogs (list of releases)