Secondhand Daylight (1979) - An Appreciation - J D Martin()

This is a personal appraisal and as such it may not have resonance or connection amongst a great deal of Magazine/Devoto admirers. However I wanted to send this in to be put up on the site as Secondhand Daylight certainly rates as one of my most treasured records of all time.

Having been given an introduction to the works of Magazine through reading articles on Morrissey who was quick to praise Devoto and would entertain journalists with anecdotes of him and Devoto doing tours of London cemeteries I went into a record shop in Peterborough (please don't ask where this is!) And found a CD copy of Real Life. On arriving home and giving it a fairly studious listen I was impressed overall but still slightly unsure - the tracks that stood out were 'Definitive Gaze' - 'My Tulpa' - 'Shot-' - 'The Light Pours Out Of Me' - I found other parts a bit filler and rushed - namely 'Recoil' - 'Burst'. Anyway a few weeks later I purchased 'The Smiths' - 'The Visual Documentary' by 'Johnny Rogan' and read through it - there was an early concert review by 'Dave McCulloch' (I think) who compared 'The Smiths' sound to 'Secondhand Daylight' Magazine - curious again I went to the same record shop in the same "Don't ask me where it is" town and found a copy of SD for something like £6.99 - I bought it - crawled up to my room and listened-

Well - of course before listening I looked at the cover - it seemed to be an echo of Francis Bacon and his horror-works - looked away and turned the stereo on quickly- from start to finish it was a revelation - it said this is your youth and without being cliched it seemed as if it spoked directly to me - pushing the rest of the world comfortably away. Songs such as 'Cut-Out Shapes' - 'Back To Nature' and the dreadful dark of 'Permafrost' put hooks into me which still remain - of course heard depression - illness - and a certain lack of connection but I also heard literature ('Beckett' and 'Dostoevsky' seemed to be the true 'producers' of the record) - beauty strength (of the will) - useless celibacy and supreme intelligence. I listened to it and then listened to the first 'Smiths' album and heard the strong call and respond.

What still impresses is the level of detachment and sharp observation which Devoto honed on this record - the vocal of 'Permafrost' is superlative in it's indifference - I find especially the second side of the record nearly unsurpassable (skipping quietly over 'The Thin Air') - and the overall effect produced by these songs is spellbinding. As good as 'The Correct Use Of Soap' is I still can't help but feel it's a sideways step compared to the otherworldly grandeur of 'Secondhand Daylight' although 'A Song From Under The Floorboards' would have suited the listless edgy atmosphere of SD perfectly

It is the album Magazine should be remembered by.