Stateless
	No production credits listed
	Released on 1978
	UK CHART POSITION #35 . . . US CHART POSITION #137
	Find it at GEMM
JE 36102 cover [high resolution scan]

W itch or bitch? If a woman wanted to be taken seriously in rock, that was the choice she faced: to adopt the role of the seductive witch or the seductive bitch. Dates back to Grace Slick and Janis Joplin I suppose. As a cross between Pat Benatar and Eva Braun, Lene Lovich was a very good witch. Always reminded me of Nina Hagen’s smarter sister; the one who didn’t get in trouble so much. Evoking David Bowie’s Heroes on the cover, Lene Lovich was indeed an early alternative heroine. Stateless (in the American version I heard) was fresh and new and fun: “Telepathy,” “Lucky Number,” “Home,” “Say When.” Not as terrifying as Nina Hagen or as complicated as Kate Bush, Lene was guilty of only munchkin-sized mischief. To begin with, she didn’t have their pipes, instead evoking Bette Bright (Deaf School) with a little Betty Boop thrown in. And Lene lacked their peculiar genius. She plays pop music with vaguely sinister, Slavic overtones; new wave novelty music. But the novelty of it struck me in the 1980s and still does today. Stateless isn’t as revolutionary as Fearless, but it’s nearly as enjoyable. The songs stay with you years later, not as grand musical statements like “Wuthering Heights” but as concise, catchy pop songs powered by Lene’s bewitching presence. Hard to say how influential any of this was, since Nina Hagen did this better, longer. But I suspect a lot of people heard this album and didn’t forget it. I know I never did. Maybe someday female artists will band together and record Stateless as a tribute album.

TRACK LISTING

UK track listing

1. LUCKY NUMBER
2. SLEEPING BEAUTY
3. HOME
4. TOO TENDER (TO TOUCH)
5. SAY WHEN
6. TONIGHT
7. WRITING ON THE WALL
8. TELEPATHY
9. MOMENTARY BREAKDOWN
10. ONE IN A 1,000,000
11. I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW
    
    US track listing
    
1. HOME    3:40
2. SLEEPING BEAUTY    3:00
3. LUCKY NUMBER    2:47
4. TOO TENDER (TO TOUCH)    4:04
5. SAY WHEN    (Jimme O'Neill)    2:49
6. WRITING ON THE WALL    3:08
7. TELEPATHY    (Jimme O'Neill)    2:45
8. MOMENTARY BREAKDOWN    3:18
9. I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW    (Ritchie Cordell)    2:45
10. ONE IN A 1,000,000    2:48
11. TONIGHT    (Nick Lowe)
    
    STATELESS... PLUS CD reissue
    
12. BE STIFF
13. ONE LONELY HEART
14. BIG BIRD
15. FALL
16. BLUE
17. I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW
    
    Tracks 1-11 written by Lene Lovich/Les Chapell unless noted

CREDITS

LENE LOVICH -- vocals, sax, tuned percussion
LES CHAPPELL -- fuitar, EMS, synthesiser, percussion, vocals
RON FRANCOIS -- bass, percussion, vocals
BOBBI IRWIN -- trap drums, percussion, vocals
NICK PLYTAS -- Hammond organ, piano
JEFF SMITH -- polyphonic synthesiser, solina
Don Snow -- piano (4)
Roger Bechirian -- engineer, mixing, remix
Aldo Bocca -- engineer
Pete Fox -- engineer
Brian Griffin -- cover photos
Chris Morton -- cover art

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