On first hearing this in 1997 I was immediately impressed - though surprised to hear that Foxx was recording 'electronica' again, let alone something that initially sounded like 'dance' music.
Here's some of the notes I made at the time:
So who is this Louis Gordon chap, then? Is this some kind of collaboration? A Detroit-techno fused, psychedelic DJ who's recorded some material that's heavily Foxx-influenced and persuaded his mentor to add a vocal track?
But studying the sleevenotes suggests there's more to it than this. Most of the tracks are written by Foxx himself, and the album is released on Metamatic Records. Utterly intrigued now, and infused with a sense of relevance, regeneration and shining competence.
Foxx has returned to his adopted birthplace - "the city", and dragged the ashes of his solo debut back into the studio. There's a strong, but imaginative and well-considered Beatles influence here (An Ocean We Can Breathe, Through My Sleeping) that immediately contextualises this new project with Foxx's third previous album "The Golden Section". It's an absolutely fascinating mix of retrospect and futurism. The dance-oriented break beats and techno-rhythms that carry The Noise and Crash - and I suspect this is where the the mysterious Mr Gordon comes in - bear the scars of acid house and the early 90s, yet these balance perfectly with the more synth-driven and dreamlike Here We Go - which oozes confidence and has more than a hint that this album is the start of a new something.
Shifting City is as far from a 'comeback' album as its sister-release "Cathedral Oceans" is to anything Foxx has done before. While that suggests that his career has moved in a vastly different direction over the last twelve years, Shifting City instead harks back, takes up the baton where he dropped it Shoreditch, 1985 - adds in some characteristic bleeps and squelches (Shadow Man, Shifting City) and puts John Foxx right back on the map.
The stand-out track Shadow Man for instance is as good as anything else in his catalogue - powerful, accomplished and purposeful. Whoever this Louis Gordon is, Foxx has found in him a collaborator in whom he clearly has trust, confidence and the utmost respect.
Shifting City burns, crashes and storms forward, setting new standards and is another benchmark in the cartography of electronic music.
Playing the 2009 remaster through now it sounds even better. The original release has long-been considered technically "below par" and is very, very quiet.
This time it booms along, full of depth and energy - really tapping into the seam of creative energy that LG bought to the project.
Forgotten Years indeed. And listening again with the benefit of knowing where he has come since, this still stands out as a career highlight.
Well done to everyone involved - and the Mono mix of Shadow Man is a revelation!
So, so satisfying to be part of this machine now - ner, ner, ne-ner, ner...
