Secondhand Daylight

Secondhand Daylight is the second studio album by English post-punk band Magazine. It was released on 30 March 1979 by record label Virgin. One single, "Rhythm of Cruelty", was released from the album.

Secondhand Daylight
Studio album by Magazine
Released	30 March 1979
Recorded	January 1979
Studio	Good Earth Studios, London
Genre	Post-punk progressive rock[1]
Length	42:33
Label	Virgin
Producer	Colin Thurston
Magazine chronology
Real Life (1978) Secondhand Daylight (1979) The Correct Use of Soap (1980)
Singles from Secondhand Daylight
"Rhythm of Cruelty" b/w "T.V. Baby" Released: February 1979

Writing

Unlike the group's debut Real Life, Howard Devoto did not contribute to writing the music for most of the tracks. Instead, the writing credits were split; Devoto, John McGeoch and Dave Formula each wrote songs alone and in collaboration with Barry Adamson, and Devoto and McGeoch wrote one song together. Devoto again provided lyrics for all compositions with the exception of the instrumental "The Thin Air", reputedly because the group ran out of studio time.

Recording

The new lineup was stable until mid-1980 and consisted of Devoto (vocals), McGeoch (guitar and saxophone), Adamson (bass), Formula (keyboards) and newly recruited drummer John Doyle. The first release with Doyle had been the "Give Me Everything" single from November 1978.

The album was recorded in January 1979 at Good Earth Studios in London and using Virgin Records' mobile studio, which was used at Farmyard Studios. The album was produced and engineered by Colin Thurston. The album was Thurston's first production job; significantly, he had worked as an engineer for David Bowie's "Heroes" and Iggy Pop's The Idiot.

Release

The album was originally released as an LP (with a gatefold sleeve) and as a cassette in March 1979. It peaked at No. 38 on the UK Albums Chart.^[2] The album was subsequently released as a budget album on LP, cassette and CD in the late 1980s. A remastered edition of the album was released by Virgin/EMI in 2007, along with the other three of the band's first four studio albums, including four bonus tracks and liner notes by Kieron Tyler. The original artwork featured an illustration by Ian Pollack, photography by Richard Rayner-Canham and typography by Malcolm Garrett.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[4]
The Irish Times	[5]
Q	[6]
Smash Hits	6/10[7]
Stylus Magazine	A[8]
Uncut	[9]
The Village Voice	C[10]

Upon its release, Secondhand Daylight was hailed in the NME. Reviewer Nick Kent described songs like "Feed the Enemy" as "very Low-period Bowiesque", due to the "stray saxophone bleats and lulling synthesiser chords".^[11] The Guardian wrote that the album "explores the mixture of keyboards, saxophone and Howard Devoto's Rottenesque vocals in a professional, controlled and surprisingly subdued manner".^[12]

Smash Hits was less positive; reviewer Red Starr found that "After the magic of Real Life, this is disappointingly ordinary. There's some good instrumental work in the nine long, flowing numbers, but the melodies are weak and the band lack conviction. Also, though his lyrics are more direct than last time, Howard Devoto is starting to get more pompous than imaginative."^[7] On its US release a year later, Richard C. Walls in Creem was also unimpressed: "musically and lyrically this stuff is old hat. There's no new wave succinctness here, no economy or irony. Just a surfeit of Pink Floydian chord coasting behind bleak and wintry lyrics."^[13]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Music writer(s)	Length
1.	"Feed the Enemy"	Dave Formula	5:45
2.	"Rhythm of Cruelty"	John McGeoch, Barry Adamson	3:03
3.	"Cut-Out Shapes"	Devoto	4:43
4.	"Talk to the Body"	McGeoch	3:34
5.	"I Wanted Your Heart"	Formula, Adamson	5:13

All lyrics are written by Howard Devoto, except "The Thin Air" (instrumental) and "I Love You, You Big Dummy" (Don Van Vliet).

Side two

No.	Title	Music writer(s)	Length
6.	"The Thin Air"	Devoto, McGeoch	4:10
7.	"Back to Nature"	Formula	6:40
8.	"Believe That I Understand"	Devoto, Adamson	4:00
9.	"Permafrost"	Devoto	5:25

2007 remastered edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Music writer(s)	Length
10.	"Give Me Everything"	Devoto	4:23
11.	"I Love You, You Big Dummy"	Don Van Vliet (music and lyrics)	3:54
12.	"Rhythm of Cruelty" (original single version)	McGeoch, Adamson	3:04
13.	"TV Baby"	Formula	3:48

Personnel

Magazine Howard Devoto – vocals John McGeoch – guitar, saxophone, backing vocals, keyboards ("Feed the Enemy" and "The Thin Air") Barry Adamson – bass guitar, backing vocals Dave Formula – keyboards John Doyle – drums, percussion

Technical Colin Thurston – production, engineering Tony Wilson – production on "Give Me Everything" and "I Love You, You Big Dummy" JJ Allom – engineering Bill Aitken – engineering on "Give Me Everything" and "I Love You, You Big Dummy" Ian Pollock – sleeve illustration Richard Rayner-Canham – sleeve photography Malcolm Garrett – sleeve typography and images

Charts

Chart (1979)	Peak position
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[14]	41
UK Albums (OCC)[2]	38

Further reading

• Sullivan-Burke, Rory (April 2022). The Light Pours Out of Me: The Authorised Biography of John McGeoch. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-1913172664.