Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

'Notes From A Lost Civilisation' was also originally released on A&M/What? in 1988. Musically with producer Dave Miner at the helm, synthesisers banished to the cupboard and T Bone Burnett contributing plenty of jangly guitar this is a return to his trademark organic rock sound. Lyrically "Stay" and "1 Can't Slop" bridge the gap from the 'Romeo' album but overall Tonio K' is still convinced that there's something rotten in the state of modern society and he's as hard hitting as ever on "Where Is That Place" and 'Children's Crusade" where TK's doubts about civilisation throw up more questions than answers. The Gadfly re-release gives the full 10 song version of the album after the original Word release removed "What Women Want" which returns to a favourite Tonio topic, the breakdown of the relationship between the sexes. On the strength of these recordings, it seems amazing that A&M turned down his next album, a decade later Tonio K still addresses much that is amiss in the world and if you like albums that throw up dust clouds of challenges and questions about modern life and attitudes rather than provide nice easily digestible portions of sweet sugary answers, snap these up immediately. Me? I'm up for a Tonio K revival! Wonder what he's doing these days?

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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