New Wave music reviews

The first track is the one which I had frequently heard on the radio (listening in Southern California). This is an awesome piece of music, and a must-have.
Somehow it is a marketing disaster - I tried to buy it in eight major national music stores and none stocked it. I guess (in these days of hype, niches, product placement, branding etc.) that means it is now a classic.

always in my stereo ,the longer version is forever!!way to go, make more like this!!j.h.

It's hard to do a survey of the great electropop singles of the 1980s without mentioning "Tainted Love" from the influential duo Soft Cell. Vocalist Marc Almond sings this song with the urgency of a scarred lover who's had his heart bruised too many times. The moody and dark synths underscore the pained lyrics which convincingly illustrate a picture of a relationship gone bad. "Tainted Love" stayed in the charts for weeks and weeks, and it's easy to see why. Not only did we connect with Almond's agony, it also provided ample proof that synth pop can carry emotion. But "Tainted Love" doesn't really hit its climax until it segues into their version of the Supremes' "Where Did Our Love Go." This single, which has the original 9-minute extended version, excludes the b-side "Memorabillia," which was featured on the original US 12-inch single. Also, the 1991 remix that surfaces here isn't bad, but it's rather unnecessary. Still, "Tainted Love" is a single definitely worth revisiting. Even after all these years, it remains untainted.

The first track is the one which I had frequently heard on the radio (listening in Southern California). This is an awesome piece of music, and a must-have.
Somehow it is a marketing disaster - I tried to buy it in eight major national music stores and none stocked it. I guess (in these days of hype, niches, product placement, branding etc.) that means it is now a classic.

always in my stereo ,the longer version is forever!!way to go, make more like this!!j.h.

It's hard to do a survey of the great electropop singles of the 1980s without mentioning "Tainted Love" from the influential duo Soft Cell. Vocalist Marc Almond sings this song with the urgency of a scarred lover who's had his heart bruised too many times. The moody and dark synths underscore the pained lyrics which convincingly illustrate a picture of a relationship gone bad. "Tainted Love" stayed in the charts for weeks and weeks, and it's easy to see why. Not only did we connect with Almond's agony, it also provided ample proof that synth pop can carry emotion. But "Tainted Love" doesn't really hit its climax until it segues into their version of the Supremes' "Where Did Our Love Go." This single, which has the original 9-minute extended version, excludes the b-side "Memorabillia," which was featured on the original US 12-inch single. Also, the 1991 remix that surfaces here isn't bad, but it's rather unnecessary. Still, "Tainted Love" is a single definitely worth revisiting. Even after all these years, it remains untainted.

Killing Joke's followup to their debut album is in many ways a superior effort-- the sound worked on the first album is honed and refined for this one-- "what's THIS for...!" FEELS like the followup to the debut, but there's a bit more consistency-- the material doesn't quite reach the peak of the first album but all of it is of a higher quality.

Opening with a tribal tour-de-force, the first three songs-- "The Fall of Because", "Tension", and "Unspeakable" are one after another more and more compelling-- with Geordie's swirling punk guitars, Youth's funky bass lines, and Paul Ferguson anchoring everything on the drums, vocalist Jaz Coleman can paint his picture of the collapse of society. "Unspeakable" in particular, about a housewife commenting on the "color scheme" of a mushroom cloud, is totally brilliant and begins introducing variety in vocal styles-- the first shades of things to come. The record in general is actually a bit smoother than the followup, maintaining the tribal/dub/dance feel that was so well illustrated on the previous record but losing some of the sort of proto-industrial sounds.

Admittedly, the album for me dips a bit after this, a couple of the songs are a bit overlong and drag (the otherwise superb "Butcher" and "Madness", which would have benefited from an outside producer pulling the plug 2-3 minutes earlier), but there's still the superb, tribally driven "Follow the Leaders" on the album, another Joke classic.

Shortcomings aside, this album as a real gem, and one of the best the band ever put out. The only possible complaint is that it sorely needs remastering (Edit: There is now an imported remaster available with bonus tracks, and the sonic upgrade is well worth the extra few bucks investment), but the band was way ahead of their time, and like their debut album, this one could have been recorded yesterday. Maybe not as good a place to start as the debut record, but ultimately a more satisfying recording.

It's very nice, indeed. Their first album was the groundbreaker, Night Time is their most accessible, Revelations is their most ferocious, but this is Killing Joke's finest hour.

This is angry, this is dark, this is visceral... this is the ravings of a madman genius backed by three twisted talented musicians that push you to explore parts of your psyche that you didn't know existed. This album makes me angry, it makes me dance, it makes me something that I'm not, but perhaps should have been...

This is flat out the finest post punk album in existence.

With this album, Geordie's guitar became far more searing and Jaz developed many of the vocal techniques that he would use to great effect on KJ's later albums. Big Paul Ferguson and his incredible tribal beats, accented with Youth's understated yet effective bass provided the foundation. Holy mother of crap, it doesn't get any better than this. I've seen these guys live several times, but I'd give ANYTHING to be able to go back in time and see the original line up of this band. This is as close as we can get, though.

If you still have a turntable, it's worth the effort to track down these albums on their original UK vinyl. But if you don't, the CD will have to do. Don't go without - if you're an old fan and haven't heard this album in years or if for some horrible twist of fate you've never heard it, get it NOW.

"Whats THIS For...!", the answer is playing over and over again. Killing Jokes second offering to the world see's them developing their sound. The guitars have shed their former sludgy sabbathesque, and adopted a stark industrial squall. If fact stark is perhaps the single world that best sums up WTF. The music invades the senses like a burning light as it conjures up apocalyptic visions.

"The Fall Of Because" opens the album, with its clanging mechanical rhythm, and the album doesn't let up from there. There isn't a bad track on offer here, and the lyrical content is perhaps the best on ANY album I've ever heard. Jaz Coleman savages the world around him, in such a visceral manner the fainter hearted listener should beware of it. From "This Is Madness" which attacks the religious right to "Butcher"'s slamming of the world leaders with the rather prophetic line "crawling for oil they were bleeding for gold", "Whats THIS For..!" simply confirms the fact that Killing Joke were then, and still are ahead of their time.

If you desire music that confronts and challenges, you'll be hard pressed to find an album that surpasses this one.

It is a tragedy, that because of this cd's rarity, the few copies for sale cost megabucks, whereas the more commercially successful 'East Side Story' is readily available for a reasonable price.

The debut album - often referred to in the U.S as 'UK Squeeze' was a forgetable album, save for 'Take Me I'm Yours'- their Break-through single in the UK. Cool For Cats showed what Squeeze were capable of, though often with clumsy schoolboy lyrics.

Argybargy came out in 1980, and by now Chris Difford's lyrics
had matured to complement Glenn Tilbrook's effortless talent for writing killer melodies and interesting chord progressions.

On top of uncomplicated and clever music, Difford explored teenage relationships in 'Pulling Mussles from a Shell', 'Seperate Beds' and the stand-out 'Vicky Verky', while 'Another Nail in my Heart' was another drunks hard luck story - a theme that was to become his stock-in-trade for the rest of Squeeze's career.

The band were never to sound so up-beat and positive as Argybargy. East Side Story is more musically challenging, but is too dominated and disjointed by Elvis Costello's overzealous producing. The 'new Lennon and McCartney' tag seemed too much for Glen Tilbrook in particular, and the lightwieght follow up
'Sweets from a Stranger' signalled his temporary abandonment
of Squeeze, and their commercial momentum was lost.

If anyone was to own just one Squeeze album, Agrybargy should be it- but alas its rarity will hide this polished gem until the powers that be see fit to re-issue the Squeeze master-work

Paul Owen

Just to say, if you liked Argy Bargy, then check out their later albums from Frank (1989) to Domino (1998). They are all good, and although no subsequent album is as consistently wonderful as Argy Bargy or East Side Story, there are nevertheless some great songs on them. You won't be disappointed. Currently, at time of writing (April 2001), Squeeze are in indefinite hiatus and Glen Tilbrook is bringing out a solo album, but I'm willing to bet they'll be back.

During the late 1970's or early 1980's, some hack came up with the bright idea of christening Difford and Tilbrook the "new wave" Lennon and McCartney, which I always found to be quite ridiculous since I was never the world's biggest Beatles fan. "Argy Bargy" showcases the band at the peak of their melodic genius before they hit big (sort of) with "East Side Story." Paul Carrack soon replaced a disenchanted Jools Holland and the rest, as they say, is history. The guitar solo on "Wrong Side Of The Moon" is exquisite. I saw them in 1981 at this converted disco called Nitro outside of Detroit and it was magical.

This is pretty much the second half of The Call's noteworthy recording career, covering their stints with Elektra and MCA records, plus a few unreleased tracks and some from Michael Been's "On The Verge of a Nervous Breakthrough." Get this and "The Walls Came Down" and you have an overview of a band who's passion and commitment to their music is palatable.

On this set, the proof is in such songs as "Everywhere I Go." The passion is laid out, heart on its sleeve style, as Been wails away with such an earnestness that you wonder if he's looking for his lover or salvation from God (which are possibly in their eyes, one and the same). As for a one-on-one love song, Been's solo recording, "Us," addresses issues of trust and companionship in a manner that rivals some of this particular disc's contributing musicians. They include such luminaries as Bono, Peter Gabriel and Bruce Cockburn. The tone here is often one of hope, be it the wistful sort of "What's Happened to You" or the anthem "Let The Day Begin." And there is never a caving in to the banality of what frequently passes for rock rebellion. As I posted in a review of "The Walls Came Down," Been and his bandmates always understood that rock, for many of us, could still make the world shift on its axis, if for only three and a half minutes.

If you find this CD intriguing to you, pick up "Reconciled" and though they are not in print, seek out "Red Moon" and "Let The Day Begin" as well. If you only want one Call disc, than this document of a largely unsung band is a must for those who respect deeply personalized, spiritual rock.

There are about 3 "best of"s for the Call. The first was "The Walls Came Down", covering only their early Mercury recordings.
Then "Best of the Call" which has only one track from the early years (Walls Came Down) but has the best of the later years plus a track that they recorded for a tribute to Mark Heard (We Know Too Much... a great song and a better version than Mark's, IMHO) Also included are a couple tracks from a Michael Been solo project that has never seen the light of day (and possibly was never completed). These songs eventually came out on "To Heaven and Back", but these versions are better as he had some help from some top noch players (ie: Bruce Cockburn, Jim Keltner).
Finally,The Best of the Call - The Millennium Collection. This is more representative of their releases on major labels, but ultimately I believe is not as enjoyable a listen as the previous release. Unfortunately, this seems to be out of print. So hopefully you can get it used.

You bet! Whenever the subject of live bands comes up, people who know me will always ask what's the best live band I've ever seen. They ask me because they know I've seen them all. And they're surprised when without hesitation I say The Call. Most people don't even know who they are. But it's true. Michael Been playing the bass with tears streaming down his cheeks. This is a truly passionate band. For their encore that night, Michael sang a song with only a keyboard accompaniment. The song does not appear on any of their records and to this day I do not know the name of it. Do yourself a favor and get this cd. And if their live cd is available, get that one too.

OK CD.
Brings back A LOT of memories (like when I had this ON TAPE!!).
There's so many songs by Culture Club I wanted, I got their Best Of/Greatest Hits as well.
Good CD though.

Though they had scored nicely with the preceeding
album, 1982's "Kissing To Be Clever" containing
"Do You Really Want To Hurt Me",
"Time (Clock Of The Heart)" and "I'll Tumble For Ya",
it was this album which will go down as their "Sgt. Pepper"
in terms of what they were about and capable of!
Every song on here is bangin'!
Along with CC doing their thing and Boy George handling the
lead vocals in his "Smokey Robinson meets Sylvester" way,
there was the excellent and soulful wailings of Helen Terry
throughout (why she never got offered a deal is beyond me!)
and the late Jermaine Stewart in the background!
As I said, all of this album is still the bomb,
but one in particular, "Victims", still melts my heart
to this day!

This was the cd that I was waiting for. After my cassette version disintegrated years ago, I decided to wait for a proper remastered version to become available before getting a replacement. The wait was very long but finally the wait was worth it.

The remastering quality is brilliant and the album has never sounded better. The extra tracks are good too and unlike in other albums do not detract from or otherwise demean the main album material.

Boy George's antics may sometime detract from Culture Club as musicians and make it difficult to take them seriously but Boy is this album a good one (pun intended). All the tracks are wonderful and showcase the band as the great singer/songwriter/musicians that they are.

Great tracks, great sound quality, what more could you ask for? Go get this already!

"Why" is one of those rarities: A song that is so visual in its rhythms that you can't help but dream of making its music video. Really hard to sing along with unless you primarily go for falsetto. The cover of Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" is at least as good as the original, and more hypnotic. And who can't relate to the haunting sadness of "Smalltown Boy"?

"You leave in the morning
With everything you own
In a little black case
Alone on a platform
The wind and the rain
On your sad and lonely face

Mother will never understand
Why you had to leave
For the love that you need
Will never be found at home
The answer you seek
Will never be found at home

Run away turn away run away turn away run away (repeat)

Pushed around and kicked around
Always a lonely boy
You were the one
That they'd talk about around town
As they put you down
And as hard as they would try
They'd hurt to make you cry
But you'd never cry to them
Just to your soul
No you'd never cry to them
Just to your soul "

If the limbic part of your brain hungers for good synth sounds, look no further. This is Mecca.

AGE OF CONSENT is basical to understand the eightis music and the new excitent movement of technopop-remakers as Felix Da Housecat, Ladytron or Chiks on Speed. Every song on this album sounds different, and that�s not a god thing, but there are a really 2 or 3 themes as Smalltown boy or Junk.
Vey interesting for the new generation that discovers oldies.

This album literally saved my life. It made me realise that in my tiny little corner of Smalltown Redneck Georgia there was more to life than Styx, Journey, Trans Ams with T-Tops, and pretending. And no, this isn't a therapy session, it's an album review, so let's get down to it. I heard the single from AGE OF CONSENT ( "WHY" ) on the college radio station in Athens, Georgia (ANOTHER reason I love Athens) and was immediately hooked. It spoke to me on so many levels. It was dance. It was synthetic. And it was queer. And I mean QUEER. "Contempt in your eyes when I turn to kiss his lips" is the opening line. Amazing. Way ahead of it's time. And for me, a revelation. It made me realise I wasn't the only one out there. More importantly it wasn't camp like the Village People and the like, in that it was in your face and unapologetic, and not hiding behind the "clone" stereotypes. These were three incredibly talented British musicians who just happened to be homosexuals and who weren't afraid to write songs about their experiences. "Smalltown Boy" the next US single, with incredible lyrics and vocals by Jimmy Sommerville, was another song dealing with the process of "coming out", moving on and facing who you really are without looking back with regret. And again the music is just GOOD. Hooks galore. Great production courtesy of Mike Thorne. And "Age Of Consent" is no one trick pony. There are covers of torch songs ( "It Ain't Necessarily So" which is better than you think it would be), social commentary ( in the form of "Junk", which slams our throw-away, "I want it now" society ) and several timeless originals that will take your breath away ( "Screaming", my personal favourite from this album -the first song Sommerville wrote with Bronski Beat - and "Need a Man Blues"). The remastered expanded version here adds the full length version of Bronski Beat's last single with Sommerville, a cover of "I Feel Love", a collaboration with Marc Almond of Soft Cell which comes THISCLOSE to eclipsing the original, no small feat in itself, as well as a moving cover of the French ballad "Puit d'Amour." A great album. ( One last thing, to file in the "strange but true" file, I used to play the 12" version of WHY at 33 1/3 instead of 45 RPM at parties and turned it into a totally different song, a good twenty years before the days of mash-ups and radical remixes .) Actually, one more thing ( please bear with me ) - I met Steve Bronski in Atlanta, Georgia around 1990 after they played a benefit concert and he was a total sweetheart !

I'm listening to "marching off to war" 4th song on the album now after about 20 yrs. This album is off the fu**ing richter!!! blowing all posers away!!!! in your face mother f****s!!!! This is it!!! Get it! Get it Now!!! "It's just a holiday, back at the fuuny farm!"

Easily the best guitarist this band has ever seen and will ever see. He is the only one who brought true depth and quality to the sound of this band by adding bass lines behind tone-deaf Lemmy's over-cranked bass.

Solos that are some of the best, most melodic solos recorded in their history. Robertson not only put down some serious deep riffs, he also challenged filthy Phil and Lemmy to perform at their best.

This album, along with Robertson's work, never received the recognition it was due. If you take the time to listen to the back-bass lines and solo work, you will appreciate what is Robertson's career pinnacle. Compare it to the live Hoochie Coochie Man hollow sound and you can see why Robertson became frustrated with the semi-retarded antics of Lemmy and his overall indifference to musical depth and quality.

This album burns and demands respect due to a serious axeman who I would love to see future work from. As far as overall Motorhead, not much else compares to this album.

This is a really strong but, sadly, lost album in Motorhead's vast catalog. The combination of Lemmy's rough, grinding bass and Brian Robertson's melodic guitar work creates an awesome dynamic. With all due respect to "Fast" Eddie, he really can't compete with Brian. The licks Brian lays out in "Dancing on your grave" and "I got mine" will stick in your head like glue. "Another perfect day" is another super tune...with spot-on lyrics by Lemmy about the hell of the alcoholic. I originally got this album on vinyl in the mid-80s as a junior metal-head and to this day I still spin it.

Nice appetizer for those looking for an intro to the Beat. Fun to listen to, just wish it had a few more tracks.

Definitely could've been another song or two added to this best of, but what a brilliant collection. I can't keep it out of my cd player.

I think everyone will find what they're looking for in a collections album when they purchase this, and it's a great cd to start off with if you don't have anything else by The Beat.

The cd ranges over the many genres and influences that are jam-packed into this bands talent to a perfect blend, but this one will always stick alongside my ska and reggae collection.

So put it on direct play, or shuffle - you'll thoroughly enjoy it either way.

This album is great package, it has most of the songs a fan of the English Beat could want. Durring high school I listened to a great deal of ska, roots reggae, 1st, 2nd and 3rd wave ska from England, the U.S. and Jamaica. I saw some English Beat but other than obscure record collectors its not something the average record store keeps in stock.

This album has many of the songs I remember really liking; Rankin full stop, Mirror in the bathroom, Save it for later, Tears of a clown, and Can't get used to losing you.

This band was faboulous encorporating jamaican elements with classic rock music and making ska available and suiting for mass media. This is probably due to an influx of immigration from Jamaica in the seventies and eighties to places like London. The music is rocksteady and lyrics are sincere and genuine. Some songs are dance songs that make you shake it even silly. Some songs are serious statements about life and love.

This band will go down as the best mainstream ska reggae rocksteady band that was'nt really mainstream, if you know what I mean. A definite pick up if you find your self liking the Police, UB40, Madness, or No Doubt.

Diamond Head rocks pretty hard. They are to Motorhead what the Faces are to the Stones - better lead singer, not quite as good, but still really good. Standout tracks include Am I Evil and Shoot out the Lights.

You can definetely hear their influence on Metallica. This is what heavy metal should be.

I got this cd because i heard it was a major influence to bands like metallica and megadeth, i though i would be getting some kick @$$ nwobhm metal in the vain of saxon, iron maiden or motorhead or even venom. instead what i got was a band thats sounds a little too much like thin lizzy. i don't get how these guys were so influential, don't get me wrong, i like their music, i thought the cd was pretty good strait forward 70's rock n roll, but thats it. this isn't "heavy" at all, this is comparable to most 70's areana rock. i write this as a warning so others wont be fooled like i have THIS ISN'T METAL AT ALL! this is just an average late 70's rock band, christ, aerosmith has put-out heavier music then this.

Lightning To The Nations/The White Album (1980.) Diamond Head's first album.

In the late seventies and early eighties, the NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal) took the United Kingdom by storm. Tons of hard rocking bands, each more talented than the last, rocked their nation. Unfortunately, very few of these bands ever found success in their native country, and an even smaller number of them found success abroad. Diamond Head is a good example of one of these bands that became reasonably popular in their own nation, but gained almost no success outside England. Fortunately though, Metallica confesses to the band being an influence , and this has since helped their reputation (Metallica remade several of the tracks here, actually.) How does the band's debut album measure up? Read on for my review.

To put it simply, this is classic British metal the way it was meant to be played. Anyone who says this band is criminally underrated knows exactly what he or she is saying, plain and simple. Lightning To The Nations is the title track and album opener. This one's mid-paced and fairly melodic, an excellent way to start the album. With The Prince, the band experiments with some interesting guitar melodies in this track, many of which are unforgettable. Unfortunately, it can be a little hard to hear was Sean Harris is trying to sing, but it's A good track nonetheless. Sucking My Love, At nine minutes plus, is easily the longest track the album has to offer. Mostly melodic, with slow-mid pacing, it's not quite a ballad, not quite a metal song. Good song, but the length and redundancy should have been avoided. Am I Evil is The song that gave Diamond Head its godlike status (with SOME people, anyway.) Before the lyrics start, the band pulls off some of the best guitar I've ever heard. Once the lyrics start, the song stays reasonably mid-paced, but it gets faster after the first two verses. A bit overrated in the eyes of some of the band's fans, but deserving of the lofty reputation. Sweet And Innocent is everything a metal song should be: Short, fast-paced, and reasonably melodic. Easily the best song on the album. It's Electric is a mid-paced track featuring some interesting voice techniques by Harris. The guitar, bass, and drums all come together with his voice nicely. It's Way better than the Metallica version. Helpless is basically more of the same stuff the other tracks thus far have delivered, and that's a good thing. In the end, this is a DAMN good album.

There have been several reissues of this album over the years, and one of the most popular ones is this - the Diamond Nights version of the album. It's got the seven original album tracks, plus eight bonuses! However, it messes up the tracklisting - bonus tracks are mixed in with original album tracks. Still, this is the best (and one of the most readily available) issues of the album out there. As other reviewers have stated, the sound quality lacks in a few places, but this is probably as good as they could get it.

Diamond Head's debut is their most popular album, an I'm not surprised that it is constantly praised by fans. Following this release, the band would release two more albums - Living On Borrowed Time and Canterbury. They would then disband and begin recording again in the nineties, but they would never recapture their former glory. If you want to see where it all began for Diamond Head, pick this album up. It's worth buying.