Tracklist
The GroovesLiner Notes
Roger Chapman released Techno-Prisoners in September 1987. His seventh solo studio album was produced by Rob and Ferdi Bolland and brought synthesizers, electronic drums and a markedly polished production style to Chapman's rock and R&B writing. Alvin Lee and Shortlist keyboard player Tim Hinkley were among the guest musicians.
Album Reviews2
Reviews gathered with this release and kept on the album page rather than in the general Press Archive.
Techno-Prisoners — Music & Media review
Contemporary review. Music & Media describes Techno-Prisoners as an elaborate, contemporary-sounding rock album, shaped by Rob and Ferdi Bolland’s large-scale production and Chapman’s unmistakably harsh, dramatic voice.
The magazine finds some of the record’s grand manner overdone, but also hears striking material within it. “Wild Again,” “Black Forest” and “Who’s Been Sleeping in My Bed” are selected as the strongest tracks, while the extended cover of “Ball of Confusion” is characterized as hard rock rather than a straightforward soul remake.
Techno-Prisoners — 2003 reissue review
Reissue review. David Randall begins with the album’s divided reputation. The Bolland brothers and the record company pushed Chapman toward a polished, electronic late-1980s sound, but Randall argues that the result is less alien than its reputation suggests: the drum machines are balanced by cutting guitar and an insistent rock pulse.
He also hears an interesting tension between the album’s commercial production and Chapman’s own less conventional songs. Rather than treating the experiment as an embarrassment, Randall presents it as evidence that Chapman was willing to test new forms. His four-star verdict singles out “Black Forest” as the track most likely to overturn a sceptical listener’s expectations.
All Pressings5
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Gallery5 images
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