The Toy Box: Martha & The Muffins

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Retro Spins: M + M (Martha And The Muffins) - The World Is a Ball

I am so relieved that today is my last day of Martha And The Muffins, AKA M + M. In terms of Retro Spins, this has been among the most fatiguing and unenjoyable experiences. After six very expensive albums, I am not a fan. In fact, I'm kind of ticked off because of how much their CD's cost. Kids, this is a perfect reason why you don't just buy albums without hearing or knowing something about them.

Ugh...okay...let's go.

Martha Johnson and Mark Gane took a few years to record what would become 1986's The World Is A Ball. However, upon its release, while it would chart slightly higher in Canada than its predecessor, 1985's Mystery Walk, it would only yield one minor hit, Song In My Head. Following its lackluster reception, the two would decide to take a hiatus.

Thank God!

The World Is A Ball, the opening track, is kind of okay. It's got a peppy beat that makes it easy to get into. But top ten material it is not. Further, I'm not about to let my guard down with it. I've fallen for that before in previous albums, only to be met by mediocrity, and boredom.

I swear track two and three, I Watch I Wait, and Watching The Boys Fall Down are set to the exact same music. It was at this point that I started skipping through tracks, listening for a few second. However, by track five of ten, I did something I haven't done in a long while. I gave up, and turned it off.

Seriously, I'm done with Martha And The Muffins, M + M, or whatever you want to call them. While my normal layout of these posts would have be going into the future of them past 1989, frankly, I don't care. They could have created time travel, and colonized mars, I couldn't care less. All I want is to distance myself from them as much as possible at this point.

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Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.

Retro Spins: M + M (Martha And The Muffins) - Mystery Walk

After wrapping up their 1983 tour in support of their album Danseparc, founding members Martha Johnson and Mark Gane, decided they'd grown tired of the efforts needed to coordinate a band, and disbanded Martha And The Muffins. However, it was never the two's intensions to actually stop recording albums and performing. Instead, parting ways with members Jocelyne Lanois and Nick Kent was simply a way to take full creative control.

By this point, they were actively trying to change their group name to M + M and had even used both names on their previous album cover. Taking full authority allowed them to adopt this new moniker without pushback from any remaining members. Ironically, when they returned to the studio to lay down tracks for 1984's Mystery Walk, they would continue to utilize the services of producer, and brother to Jocelyne, Daniel Lanoise.

Further paradoxical was that in no longer having a band, they would have to bring in multiple instrumentalists to fill these now vacated rolls. In total, fifteen additional musicians were called in to record tracks alongside Johnson and Ganes. In their desire to not have to manage a band, they ended up coordinating an orchestra.

The album would garner them their biggest hit in years, Black Stations / White Stations, which would serve as a protest song against radio stations who refused to play certain music. Whether it helped or not, I don't know. What I am sure of is that it went to number two on the US dance charts and was also a hit in Canada. So too was their second single, Cooling The Medium.

Based on what I previously read, I was promised an album that shifted from new wave dance to electronic dance. So, where is that? Because opening track Black Stations / White Stations certainly isn't it. In general, I wasn't catching that vibe from any of the tracks which encompassed the album.

Black Stations / White Stations was followed by the second single, and the question of the day I asked myself. Is the song Cooling On Medium actually okay, or was it just the best of the worst? I'd like to think it was good, but regardless of that answer, I have no clue at all what's happening in the music video. But I suppose, that's the 80's for you. Quirky, and nonsensical at its best.

Overall, Mystery Walk was another mediocre listening session that only serves to make me want to get away from Martha And The Muffins. I'm so glad tomorrow is the last one. I have zero hopes that it's going to be any good, and frankly, I just want to listen to something else at this point. Anything other than M + M will do.

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Retro Spins: Martha And The Muffins (M + M) - Danseparc

Though I didn't want to continue on with my listening sessions of Martha And The Muffins, I worried that if I stopped that I would never go back to them. It's not been an enjoyable series of albums to get through, and I am definitely not a fan at this point.

Canada on the other hand was still all in on them. When Danseparc was released in February of 1983, it somehow managed to peak at number thirty-six, the exact same chart position of their previously released This Is The Ice Age (1981). It even garnered a little attention in the USA, where it peaked on the Billboard 200 at 184. Overall, it was only their second album to chart in the US, with the first being their 1980 debut, Metro Music.

The landscape of Martha And The Muffins shifted considerably between 1981 and 1982. This began with the departure Carl Finkle just prior to the recording sessions for their previous album and was followed after its release by Nick Gane calling it quits. Shortly after the tour for the album, Andy Haas would also say his farewells. To fill the void, the band would bring in Jocelyne Lanois, and Nick Kent.

Now reduced to a four piece, the lineup of Martha Johnson, Mark Gane, Lanoise, and Kent headed to the studio in the spring of 1982 to lay down the tracks that would become 1983's Danseparc. Though it would continue their new wave style of music, the album would also adopt a dance sound.

In addition to changing their overall sound, at the bequest of Gane, the band would start to adopt the new name, M + M. However, not wanting to do so right away, the album would sport both Martha And The Muffins, as well as M + M on the cover. While subsequent albums would simply use M + M, Johnson would state in later interviews that the new name never stuck because their legacy was Martha And The Muffins.

For as much as I was dreading getting into yet another release from them, I have to admit that Danseparc started out pretty solid with Obedience, World Without Borders, and Walking Into Walls. The added layer of dance music really helped to elevate these tracks, which in turn made it a bit disappointing when the songs that followed returned to form of their previous material.

I don't know why, but their new wave dance combination gave off an almost Prince vibe. It's probably what helped me to get into it. However, by the end of it, and with the shift back, I was once again finding myself tuning it out, kind of bored. That was kind of disappointing because the band showed potential.

As I shifted my attention to their next album, 1984's Mystery Walk, I was immediately taken aback. I'm not sure what happened, because there's not much information there to fill in the gaps, but somehow, we went from four members of a band to an album where seventeen people are credited. Meanwhile, members Jocelyne Lanois and Nick Kent are nowhere to be found on it.

It turns out that at the end of the Danseparc tour on August 15, 1983, founding members Martha Johnson and Mark Gane had grown exhausted of the efforts of keeping a band together, and decided they wanted full creative control over the music. This resulted in them disbanding the group. Immediately following this, they began working strictly as M + M. This would come with a pivot in sound to that of electronic and dance. So, hey, maybe there's hope for them after all. I guess I'll find out tomorrow when I jump into M + M's pseudo debut, 1984's Mystery Walk.

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Retro Spins: Martha And The Muffins - This Is The Ice Age

At $200.00, Martha And The Muffin's This Is The Ice Age, is their most expensive album in their discography to collect on CD. In general, none of them have been reasonably priced, and this is mainly because they didn't exist on anything other than vinyl and cassette for the longest time. They were slowly released by various labels between 2003 and 2017, a period when the world had seemingly shifted to digital formats. Meaning when CD's were produced, it was in by no means any form of volume. As such, funding pressed discs from that musical wasteland period does tend to get costly. So, to that regard, I understand what's driving the price, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

Leading up to the recording sessions that would ultimately churn out their third record, bassist Carl Finkle would depart for undisclosed reasons and be replaced by Jocelyne Lanois. She'd introduce them to her brother, Daniel, who the band felt would be the best choice as producer for their next album. However, this would come with a caveat from Virgina Records, who informed the band that selecting an unknown producer would also mean they'd work with a lower budget.

The end result would be a more experimental album, one which would become a hit in their native Canada. It peaked at number thirty-six, and spawned two dance chart singles, Women Around The World At Work, and Swimming.

That's a perfect segue into today's Retro Spin, as the latter kicks the album off. While I'm not necessarily a fan of the vocals of Mark Gane on the track, he shines through with his fantastic guitar work, which makes the song quite enjoyable.

The second aforementioned single would follow but really didn't impress me all that much. In fact, that's pretty much the territory I once again find myself with Martha And The Muffins. Just not really impressive.

What I did notice, was that in the absence of Martha Ladly as co-vocalist, Gane was stepping in more as more to sing tracks. The problem here is that his style is very monotone, and candidly, quite boring. It doesn't add anything to any of the songs he takes the lead on.

As if to decide things weren't monotonous enough, the band shove a two-and-a-half-minute instrumental track in the middle of the album. It's very drab, serves as more atmospheric than a display of solid musicianship, and feels like its only purpose is to fill space. It misses the mark of everything that makes an instrumental track good. If I had to choose any additional standout tracks, I suppose Casualties Of Glass was decent, but as a whole, the album is pretty unsatisfying.

Needless to say, the "investment" on the albums is not paying off at all. But at least I wasn't the only one at this point who wanted to quit. Not wanting to tour anymore, Nick Gane would leave the band after the release of This Is The Ice Age. He'd be replaced by Nick Kent. Following the supporting tour, Andy Haas would also depart, citing creative differences. However, the band would not replace him and instead carry on as a four piece.

Unfortunately for me, I'm only at the halfway point of the band's 80's discography. With three more to go, I'm not looking forward to any of it. I don't know if I'll jump into their next album tomorrow, or if I'll tap out for a while. I'm really not enjoying their music.

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Retro Spins: Martha And The Muffins - Trance And Dance

When one thinks of the countries associated with major musical acts, the USA and UK top the list. Not often does Canada get brought up, though they do have a fair share of noteworthy acts, such as Ruch, Bryan Adams, Corey Hart, Men Without Hats, and Loverboy, to name ~~a few~~ most of them.

Among that crowd were guitarists David Millar and Mark Gane, who formed Martha And The Muffins in 1977. Of course, the name wouldn't come about until they brought lead singer and keyboardist Martha Johnson into the fold, who in turn invited her friend, bassist Carl Finkle. The lineup would be completed by Gane's brother, Tim, who took up the drums. Ironically, the name was only intended to be used temporarily until the band could come up with another that they all agreed on. They never expected to use it for their entire career.

By1978, Andy Haas joined the band as a saxophonist, but this was followed by Millar opting to step out of the spotlight, instead preferring to work on the band's sound engineer. He would be replaced by Martha Ladly, who stepped in as co-singer, and second keyboardist.

The band released the independent single, Insect Love, and a demo that same year, quickly garnering the attention of Dindisc, an offshoot of Virgin Records. The label would send them over to the UK in 1979, where they'd record the tracks for what would become their 1980 debut, Metro Music. The album would be met fairly well, peaking at number sixteen in their native Canada, as well as reaching the top fifty in Australia and the United Kingdom. Propelled by the lead single, Echo Beach, the album would also hit the Billboard 200 in the USA, with the album reaching gold certification. The single itself would perform well on multiple dance charts across the country.

Prior to the year ending, their second album, Trance And Dance would hit store shelves. Initial copies featured an additional four tracks of bonus live EP material. However, as a whole, it would perform poorly, spawning no hits, and failing to chart outside of Canada, where it also performed significantly worse than its predecessor.

For me, the only thing that Trance And Dance lacks over Metro Music is a single. Overall, it's more or less the same as the previous album, mediocre, but listenable punk / new wave. It's not awful by any means. It just doesn't have anything that stands out.

So far, the juice hasn't been worth the squeeze in my new endeavor of Martha and her Muffins. With an average buy in price of $70.00 per album, while I'm getting a unique listening experience, I'm not getting anything worth raving about. Meaning I'm also not getting any value out of my purchases. This is disappointing.

I will give credit to the instrumentation across it. There's no doubt that the members know how to play. Where they falter is with catchy choruses. Songs that stick in your head and have you humming along with them. Basically, they're talented musicians, but not hit makers. Maybe that's what makes them work for the fans that follow them, but for me, it's just not hitting the mark.

I'm not going to give up on them just yet, but I'm definitely reaching a point where boredom is setting in. We'll see how tomorrow goes when I jump into their most expensive album of them all, 1981's This Is The Ice Age.

Shortly after its release, Martha Ladly would depart, opting to follow an art scholarship. She would not be replaced by anyone, and instead, Martha And The Muffins would continue on with the reduced lineup. Unfortunately, she wouldn't be the last to depart, as leading up to the recording sessions for what would become This Is The Ice Age, Carl Finkle would also quit the band. That's where I pick up tomorrow.

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Retro Spins: Martha And The Muffins - Metro Music

I was on Youtube one day, sifting through the plethora of 80's related music videos, hoping to find something new, but not really expecting it. Then this came on.

What the heck was a Marth And The Muffins? I'd never heard of it. The song was kind of catchy. Nothing amazing from the decade, but definitely something I could see myself playing again. Then the hunt began. Whoo, that was a downer. Not only are their six albums of the decade incredibly rare on CD, but man are they expensive. The average cost was about $70.00 per disc, with one album almost peaking at $200.00.

That was a heck of a lot of money for a band I'd never heard of. so why did I keep coming back to them, pondering the prospect of buying them? I think it all came down to uniqueness and rarity. Something to add to the trove that wasn't common in your average music collection.

Well, unfortunately, average seems to be the takeaway with their 1980 debut, Metro Music. Things kick off with Echo Beach, which sets the bar a bit high, perhaps too high for Martha and her Muffins. What follows is decent punk, dance, and new wave music, but sadly, no hits to really drive it home.

That stated, I did dig the Sinking Land. The instrumentation laid down on that one is so different from the rest of the album, and overall, it's just a cool tune. It gave me hope that across their remaining albums that there were more hidden gems to be uncovered.

Stylistically, it reminds me of older material from The Police, as well as Bow Wow Wow, XTC, and The Waitresses. Metro Music was a decent starting point into new territory, and I'm definitely down with hearing more. I just hope that the value starts to show itself because as of now, the cost outweighs that in spades.

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