Westlake (album)

Westlake
Studio album by
David Westlake
ReleasedNovember 1987
Recorded18–19 April 1987
StudioGreenhouse, London EC1
GenreIndie rock
Length22:46
LabelCreation
ProducerPaul Gadd, Steve Nunn
David Westlake chronology
Westlake
(1987) 		Play Dusty for Me
(2002)

Westlake is the first album by English singer/songwriter David Westlake. Creation Records released the album in November 1987. Under the title D87, the album was reissued in expanded form in August 2023.

Recording

Westlake is a mini-album recorded 18-19 April 1987 at Greenhouse Studios on Old Street, Islington, London EC1. It was produced by Paul Gadd (son of Gary Glitter) and Steve Nunn.

The record was Luke Haines’s first release.[1] The Triffids’ rhythm section plays on the record.

Alternative recordings of “The Word Around Town” and “She Grew and She Grew” appear on Hey Hey We’re The Manqués, a collection of demos issued by Cherry Red Records in 2012 with The Servants’ second album Small Time.[2]

Release history

Creation Records released the original vinyl album in November 1987 (CRELP 019). A CD issue followed in August 1993 (CRECD 019).

Creation Records gave the album its title.[3] Westlake at first intended naming the album after its opening track:

Initially, I had in mind that it would be a Servants record called The Word Around Town. But in the music press there was always a thin-column advert for a mail-order company called Small Wonder Records. The available space meant they would abbreviate titles to fit into their adverts. For instance, they’d have Joy Div LWTUA for Joy Division’s Love Will Tear Us Apart. I realised that having my name next to The Word Around Town in acronym-form would be something best avoided.[3]

Shortly before the album’s release, “The Word Around Town” appeared on Doing God's Work – A Creation Compilation, issued October 1987.[4]

Re-titled D87, Optic Nerve Recordings issued the album in expanded form on 25 August 2023.[5] D87 includes a four-song BBC Radio 1 session recorded in 1987,[6] and two demos of otherwise-unrecorded songs, “Take Me to Your Heart” and “Never Grow Up".[7]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Mojo[8]
New Musical Express7/10[9]
Scottish Daily Express[10]
Shindig![11]

Luke Haines describes the album as “a minor classic”.[12] On original release, Melody Maker called Westlake a record of “wry melancholy”, praising the songs’ poetic quality, and the “sheer ease and glow” of the music.[13] In 2023, the Scottish Daily Express said D87 was “a long-overdue reissue” and “A long-lost gem.”[10] The Arts Desk said “the David Westlake of this period was firing on all cylinders”, welcoming the reissue: “any reminder of his flair as a songwriter is welcome”.[14] Mojo labelled the album “Lit-pop”, singling out “the urgent, bookish ‘The Word Around Town’.”[8] Shindig! called D87 “literate ... rock ’n’ roll”, recognising that the reissue had been renamed to reference the C86 compilation on which Westlake appeared in his band The Servants, and noting that “If not for the lack of a full-time rhythm section, [the original release] would’ve been The Servants’ debut”.[11]

Track listing

  1. "The Word Around Town" – 3:35
  2. "Dream Come True" – 3:22
  3. "Rings On Her Fingers" – 4:39
  4. "Everlasting" – 4:18
  5. "She Grew And She Grew" – 3:33
  6. "Talk Like That" – 3:19

D87 (2023)

Side one:

  1. "The Word Around Town" – 3:36
  2. "She Grew And She Grew" – 3:36
  3. "Rings On Her Fingers" – 4:40
  4. "Talk Like That" – 3:18
  5. "Dream Come True" – 3:25
  6. "Everlasting" – 4:18

Side two:

  1. "Faithful to 3 Lovers (BBC)" – 3:24
  2. "Everlasting (BBC)" – 4:18
  3. "The Word Around Town (BBC)" – 3:51
  4. "Dream Come True (BBC)" – 2:42
  5. "Take Me To Your Heart (demo)" – 3:23
  6. "Never Grow Up (demo)" – 3:08

Personnel

D87 (Side Two)

References

  1. ^ Haines, Luke (November 2023). "The misery of the mini-album". Record Collector. p. 38. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  2. ^ "The Servants – Small Time / Hey Hey We're The Manqués". discogs.com. 22 October 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2023. including demos for 2 songs recorded and released on David Westlake - Westlake
  3. ^ a b Tassell, Nige (2022). Whatever Happened to the C86 Kids?: An Indie Odyssey. London: Nine Eight Books. p. 281. ISBN 978-1788705585.
  4. ^ "Various – Doing God's Work - A Creation Compilation". discogs.com. October 1987. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  5. ^ "David Westlake – D87". discogs.com. 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  6. ^ Skene, Gordon (10 January 1987). "David Westlake & The Go-Betweens In Session – 1987". pastdaily.com. Retrieved 25 August 2023. an interesting artist with a confusing past
  7. ^ "poeticjusticemagazine.com/2024/06/10/david-westlake-d87/". Poetic Justice Magazine. 10 June 2024. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
  8. ^ a b Wirth, Jim (November 2023). "David Westlake: D87". Mojo.
  9. ^ Stanley, Bob (28 November 1987). "David Westlake: Westlake". New Musical Express. p. 34.
  10. ^ a b Esson, David (1 September 2023). "David Westlake: D87". Scottish Daily Express. Glasgow. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  11. ^ a b Graham, Ben (August 2023). "David Westlake: D87". Shindig!. No. 142. Silverback Publishing.
  12. ^ Haines, Luke (2006). Reserved (booklet). The Servants. London: Cherry Red Records. p. 3. CDMRED297.
  13. ^ Gittins, Ian (5 December 1987). "David Westlake: Westlake". Melody Maker. IPC Media.
  14. ^ Tyler, Kieron (10 September 2023). "David Westlake - D87: Welcome return of 1987's Creation Records mini-album 'Westlake'". The Arts Desk. Retrieved 30 April 2024.