New Wave music reviews

In the eighteen or so years since this was released (and deserves rerelease) the music has not date at all.This is the post Stan Ridgway WOV but the music is excellent..Standout tracks are Tragic Vaudeville, Don't spill my courage away, Blackboard Sky and Johnny Cash tune Dark as a dungeon..If you get chance to hear, or even own it, go for it.. Excellent, and currently unavailable, a crime in itself considering so much rubbish around today... Hippie Dave.. England

"Seven Days in Sammystown" has to be one of the most historic albums in the history of rock music. Why? Because, here you had a band that had just lost their singer/songwriter/genius Stan Ridgway and what do they do? They make their greatest album ever. I still am not sure why this album never gained more radio play. Oh sure "Far Side of Crazy" got some playing time, but "Tragic Vaudvilled" and "Big City" and "Courage" are just as good. Heck, there are no bad songs on this truly great album.

I don't know how many times I walked past this sad/sinister clown face LP jacket on display at Records on Wheels before I took the plunge. This is by far my greatest accidental musical discovery. Sure I'd heard of WOV before from the Ridgway era but knowing that Stan was gone, I didn't know what to expect.

WOV is WOW! Like other reviewers, I've played this album over 1000 times I'm sure, first in LP and cassette format and now on CD converted to WMA.
To my ear, there isn't a weak cut on this one. My personal favourites are Mona, Far Side of Crazy, Room With A View, Blackboard Sky, Big City. Mona in particular is a song that demands maximum volume.

This is an album that, when you listen to it, gives you the impression that it's highly produced, but it never gives you the impression that it's over-produced. Everything is in perfect balance: the vocals, the patented guitar, the synth, the percussion...amazing! Such lush and dynamic sound for a recording that could have been released in 2004 but is instead closing in on 20 years.

The quality of the song writing is second to none. The instrumental performances are masterful. Andy Prieboy deserves special credit for maintaining the essential spirit of WOV without compromise and yet contemporizing their sound. Although the following Happy Planet release was a rather uneven effort, Prieboy went on to release 2 more exceptional solo records that I enjoy immensely: "Upon My Wicked Son" and "Sins of Our Fathers"...but don't expect the true Wall of Voodoo sound on those.

This is one of the best tribute albums ever released. It features "hip" young musicians interpreting the music of Henry Mancini. This CD is just plain fun. The songs are played in a variety of styles, with 16 instrumentals and four vocals. Mancini wrote some of the best melodies of his time period, and these performers give an exciting new spin to his material. This is far removed from Andy Williams! It's hard to pick a favorite, because there are so many good tracks here, but special mention has to go to Nan Vernon, who sings an absolutely mesmerizing version of "Moon River". There is also an unlisted bonus track where she sings the song in Japanese. I highly recommend this CD.

Stumbled across this CD in a used record store years ago and the cover and title caught my eye. Being familiar with a previous Del-Fi compilation album of this sort, "Pulp Surfin" (a conscious, semi-irreverent knock-off of the "Pulp Fiction" soundtrack which is well worth the purchase itself) my interest was piqued enough for me to lay out a few bucks for this. It was, without a doubt, the best spur of the moment, "what the hell", blindly optimistic music purchase of my life.

This is one of the most addicting albums ever recorded and though the songs were around thirty years old when this was released it was by far the freshest release of 1996, perhaps the entire decade.

Henry Mancini's songs remain theoretically intact but are presented in such a different context, mostly a hard edged, surf rock reverb guitar meets late 50's space-age, bachelor-pad swing sound, that it instantly became one of the most ambitious tribute albums ever contemplated. There are plenty of musical quirks that would seem absurd but work to perfection: a laughing clown (don't ask) in the midst of "The Pink Panther Theme", a "space phone" (again, don't ask) on "Lonesome", and best of all, actual vintage NASA transmissions floating through the mesmerizing "Dreamsville". Each group went out on a limb with their interpretations and somehow it pulled together to form a cohesive and deviously entertaining whole.

Unlike many instrumental albums, either compilations or by a single group, the songs don't all blend into one another. Each is unique unto itself and the album is aided by three vocal tracks, all sung with a sort of half-drunk casual lounge cool, that further serve to break up the flow nicely, with the most haunting version of "Moon River" ever heard to close the album out. Add to the mix excellent packaging, great liner notes with background on Mancini, plus bios and pics of each of the performers and how they approached these songs, and you have an indispensable album. If I could recommend one CD that most people, regardless of overall music taste and knowledge, probably never heard of, this would be it. However you came across this, accept it as fate and buy a copy.

Listen with the lights off as you go to sleep and you're sure to have wild dreams tonight.

Well, considering that Mancini's "Mr. Lucky" remains out of print (RCA, wake up, duh) this is the best version of that wholly intoxicating tune on the planet. And it rocks!

Additionally, Nan Vernon's version of "Moon River" is downright affecting, as it sounds like it was rerecorded through a scratchy vinyl 45 playing on an old Wurlitzer jukebox (there's even a Japanese vocal version on the hidden track number 21).

World of Joey's "Days of Wine and Roses" detours for twenty seconds into a bit of needless camp, but he's got a great lounge voice, and those lyrics.... you can't beat 'em.

The Jetson's-like version of "Dreamsville" here could have been less gimmicky, but it's such a pretty tune that the approach works, anyway.

Let's get the minuses out of the way first. First, there have been SO many Split Enz compilations out already, this one, at first glance, seems redundant. Then, compilations are such subjective creatures, fans could argue `til the sheep come home on what should'a and what shouldn't'a been included on it. Thirdly, if they're gonna tease us with a coupl'a bones from the Luton tapes, why not just release the whole damn (A&M) "Frenzy" on CD? We want it! Lastly, every SE collection, IMHO, is sequenced poorly and this one is no exception. Thus, I dock it one *.
The good news is: this is a great, nearly all-inclusive collection of gems from "the best-dressed band in the world". If this is your first anthology of SE, you're one lucky dog. The re-mastering is nothing short of AWESOME. I'm hearing nuances vinyl and earlier CDs never revealed. It's even reasonably priced.
If you have all the albums and compilations already, you'll still want to pick this one up. I bought it on a whim and have been happy ever since. It's a good one to loan out to friends who aren't familiar with Split Enz beyond "I Got You" and "Six Months In A Leaky Boat".

this down-under-only 2-disc compilation is a treasure. you know crowded house, right? "don't dream it's over," etc, etc. well, before there was crowded house, there was split enz, and it's hard to believe how superior these musicians were in their original incarnation. split enz is the greatest band in the history of the southern hemisphere. the music is heavily influenced by the traditional music of the maori culture (new zealand's answer to australia's aborigines), and this means that split enz sound like no one else on the planet ever has or will, because they take those influences, mix them with pop genius, and come out sounding an awful lot like the talking heads would sound 8 years down the road, if the talking heads were from new zealand. make any sense? whatever. check these guys out, really. there is a 10 song greatest hits that you can find anywhere, but i wouldn't want to part with any of the 38 tracks found here.

First off, disclosure: I may live in old Blighty but I'm a kiwi, and therefore like all my countrymen, am insufferably partisan about the half-dozen New Zealanders (and one sporting team) who have, across the whole spectrum of human endeavour, actually been better than anyone else in their chosen field.

New Zealand is (by and large) an egalitarian, progressive, pleasant place, which builds solid, earnest, probably above average but, if truth be known, not entirely interesting citizens. And if that's New Zealand generally, then it's Te Awamutu, the Waikato farming town which spawned Split Enz, specifically: Dull doesn't begin to describe the place.

So the first remarkable thing about Split Enz is the fact that they are in anyway remarkable at all. Their origins couldn't possibly have been more mundane.

When you've got over the shock that this great music has its origins in Nowhere City, the next remarkable thing is that, seeing as they did escape the sheep paddocks, got as far as London and even managed to attract the (disdainful) attention of Margaret Thatcher (she ignorantly banned "Six Months in a Leaky Boat" for its apparent (but non-existent) political connotations on the eve of the Falklands campaign), that Split Enz didn't conquer the world, rewrite pop history and finally give the UK music press something to write about other than the Beatles (alas, this is something it still does monotonously.)

This I am not able to explain and, should you listen to the forty odd tracks on this compilation, I daresay neither will you.

Split Enz rocks, it fizzes, it boogies, it piano-rolls, it slinks, and it pops. It's witty, it's poignant, it's smarty-pants, (but never too smarty pants for its own good), it's consummately performed and beautifully recorded, the Enz had an outstanding live show. For a band which didn't manage to beat the world, there are more world-beating songs on this collection alone than can be rationally explained.

Enz were a good fifteen years ahead of their time. Maybe that's the problem - indeed, fifteen years after their heyday, one of their number did manage to forge his name on rock history, with a diluted version of his old band.

The proof that I'm not exaggerating (should you need it) is the success Neil Finn did manage, second attempt, with Crowded House. You have to feel sorry for the other Enzers, though, who have by and large drifted back into obscurity. The thing is, Split Enz's material is every bit as good as Crowded House's - much of it better - it's not like Crowded House represents any sort of paradigm shift or critical development in the blueprint.

The good news for Crowded House fans is, of course, that there are another dozen or so records to delve into once they've worn out the Crowded House repertoire. For the more casual listener, there's this double album.

For my money, truly essential pop music.

Whatever Level 42 were trying to do musically it worked.There sound was funky,soulful and tight and how they managed to gain any interest ammong British new romantics in beyond me.Mark King,Mike Lindup and Phil and Boon Gould are real musicians,real performers with a great glossy sound saddled with,on the vocal numbers,lyrics of topical or intelligent concerns.They remind me of Earth,Wind & Fire and Stevie Wonder at times but with a TOTALLY fresh flavor."Micro Kid",the classic "The Sun Goes Down" and the title cut are classic Level 42-the sound always rises from the bottom."I Want Eyes" and "Out Of Site Out Of Mind" are lovely ballads and "People" should have been a MAJOR US hit!!!This band NEVER got it's due early in it's career,whitch was also their peak.From 1980 to this album their material represent Level 42 at their musical prime and even though 'Something About You' hit big a few years later the band were way past their peak by the time the song was released in my opinion.In fact it would start to go downhill after 'Standing In The Light' when the band moved away from it's classic sound in it's next outing,focusing more on true new wave techno-pop and clished world beat experiments.But EARLY Level 42 were a spectacle to behold.And along with period Spandau Ballet,ABC and The Style Council British funk-jazz/R&B couldn't get much better.

This is a once-in-a-life masterwork. Level 42 were the moment jazz-funk mainly instrumental phenomenon, and their leader, Mark King, decided to demostrate the world he could sing too. They met with Earth Wind & Fire Larry Dunn & Verdine White and the result is an absolutely stunning pop-funk wonder. If "Living it up" was the most successful track (and one of their classics in time) I would certainly not forget "Micro-kid" that could have been a monstrous single (maybe with a remix). But the substance here is far more than that. Just listen to my actual overall
favourite Level 42 track, the dreaming "Out of sight out of mind", or the infectiously dancy "Dance on heavy weather", the atmospheres of "I want eyes", or even the fine melodies of the beautifully sung "People" by Mike Lindup. And what suprises me is the freshness of this music, I think really it's ahead of its time. I cannot recommend this album more. For musicians, for Level 42 aficionados, for all music lovers in the world. Just buy it.

all i can say is that this is a key 80's pop album with all the intelligent strings attached. if you are a 42 fan....buy this as soon as you can.

New Clear Sky - Newer Clearer A Different Drum ADDCD1127

While many synthpop releases of late have relied on analogue gear to take the listener back to the 80s, the American duo of Roberts Dombrower (vocals) & Cotnoir (programming) pay no heed to such activities with a second album that is totally modern & very polished (though not in any way sterile) with no retro influences to speak of.That is, unless you count the 70s disco syndrum effects on their cover of Black Sabbath's "Paranoid".You may think I'm pulling your leg by claiming that a synthpop band would have the nerve to cover such a track (and then add such cheesy effects) but not only do New Clear Sky have the courage to go for it but, most amazingly, they make it work although I doubt many old metallers will appreciate it much!
Basically,this is solid electronic music for the modern thinking with a likeness to labelmates The Echoing Green during the up-tempo "Juice" & "Closer" while the cynical lyrics & musical style of "White Lies" brings to mind the well-respected US band Information Society.
Elsewhere the almost urban rhythms of "Joy & Sadness" see the duo looking around, picking & choosing the best parts of modern electronic music, although even these easily accessable pieces avoid any over indulgence in sweetness.The ethnic voice samples that crop up during the opening "Serenity" are another welcome addition to the band's musical armoury, adding a global touch to the very tight, highly polished backing & Dombrower's smooth tuneful vocals.The rhythmless "Fall" is the closest they get to a ballad & although the slightly punchy bass backing makes the piece slightly too 'busy' to really qualify as such the emotive interplay of heartfelt vocals, synths & accoustic guitar do perform pretty much the same role,ably tugging at the heart strings.
Almost inevitably the essentially modern dance influences raise their heads with "Solveig's Song" (which utilises the theme from Ibsen's "Peer Gynt Suite") blossoming into full bloom from it's dark & haunting beginnings while the stripped down trance style of the closing title track provides a late blast ideal for shadow dancers everywhere...

...I absolutely love the track from Leiahdorus!...I was already familiar with certain tracks, from other A Different Drum compilations...Somegirl, Voice Industrie....which I also like....BUT, hearing the Leiahdorus, and Intuition tracks, has encouraged a purchase of both their full length efforts.

The Synthpop For A Darkened Room 2 and the Club compilations are also really good....as well as the Synthpop 5 disk sampler.

This disc has many great bands on it, although I don't own albums from all of them, but here's thoughts on those I do have stuff from.

Moulin Noir falls in the Dark Wave genre, but they're rather gothic as well, the singer has good range and Maria Calling is one of the best tunes, although I'd have picked Spellbound myself, it's an uptempo feast for the senses, but that's me.

Monolithic is one of my favorites, not only is the music amazing along with the singing, the lyrics have a Christian theme and provide enlightenment, as well as guidance. The vocalist, Midihead, has a knack for putting touching lyrics like those in Goodbye to powerful music. House Of Joy and Maxim are two other songs that are a must hear.

Voice Industrie is some of the best music I've ever heard, it has that same dreamy feel and sound that Moulin Noir has but with even better vocals. I think I can sleep better at night having heard Sky, thanks to a sampler CD I got. This band needs to release a new album, or just re-release their older material on A Different Drum.

Neuropa's great for putting me in a good mood, I remember when I first heard Sins Of The Heart, I felt happier than I did before. In Need is one of the slower tracks, but it along with Bound, True Love Wars, and Skin Deep are the best.

Virtual Server is a whose who of Synth-Pop really. Wide Awake has Stefan Netshio of Beborn Beton behind the microphone. He has a good, deep, melodic voice with character. The album also has Chrissy Franklin (System22), Ross Carter (Blue October), Alan Levesque (Voice Industrie) and many others. If you like great Electro/Synth-Pop with superb singers, get this one.

Blue October is easily the catchiest Synth-Pop band around, I'll find myself humming Casino and not even realizing it. The is another band that needs to release a new album, but their past works can keep anyone satisfied until then.

Intuition is one band that I want to hear more from, a lot more. Upbeat like Neuropa, this is a band to watch out for I think, their song Two blew me away and I'm willing to bet Just Love Me is no different.

Ok, I should stop there since my space is limited. As an earlier reviewer states, this album is over flowing with songs and is perfect for a long road trip or flight. I think most if not all of it is good driving music, and it's always funny to see the look on everyone's face when you blast Neuropa. ;)

I haven't heard the CD version so I can't speak to the quality of the remastering, but the LP is the finest dark work of music I've ever heard. Heartbreaking but never depressing, the music touches on torch songs and even some strange martial tones, especially the unsurpassable "Beat Out That Rhythm on a Drum". I once had a Flexi-Pop disc (old magazine with a flexible 45 inside), before this album came out, and I heard Marc singing, "Oh baby, my hair's on end about you" -- from that day forward, I was in a desperate search for this album. His version of "If You Go Away" is the saddest song ever recorded. In a good way.

There is a lot of music in the world that might be considered "depressing". Pink Floyd's masterpiece, *The Wall*, immediately comes to mind, as do Joy Division's *Unknown Pleasures* and The Cure's forever haunting *Faith*. But even while it is true that those and other works can make almost anyone sad, I have to hold up *Torment & Toreros* (*T&T*) as the most profoundly depressing album I ever owned, a work capable of unmercifully wrenching tears from my eyes.

I remember that somewhere on the album cover was written something like, "Remember, little snakes, if you're going to wallow, wallow deep!" And wallow Marc does, and in a way that only he could.

Fans of Soft Cell and Marc's later solo efforts know that his voice is versatile, unique, and frequently beautiful. *T&T*, released in 1983, finds his voice at its theatrical limits, reaching depths and heights of poignancy untouched virtually anywhere else. Not that he crosses the line, but it may be discerned throughout the album that he is on the verge. This perfectly lends itself to the beautifully raw and pained feel of *T&T*, where the visceral meets the poetic on equal footing.

Musically, the songs are seasoned with a Spanish opera's sensibility (mostly in evidence in the first few songs) over a base of universal emotion. The musicians perform with theatrical flourish and energy in some places ("Boss Cat", "Million Manias"), while in others ("In My Room", "Black Heart") the music is more subdued to give Marc's voice the operating room to pull your heart out.

Lyrically, the depths of sadness, loss, grief and hurt are plumbed with an unmistakable sense of veracity...

"In my room
way at the end of the hall
I sit and stare at the wall
Thinking how lonesome I've grown
All alone
In my room...

"In my room
Where every night is the same
I play a dangerous game
I keep pretending she's late
And I sit
And I wait..."

Navigating a course between the Scylla of camp and the Charybdis of melodrama (though threatened by both on occasion), *T&T* is a masterpiece. It is a work dedicated to heartbreak at its most damning, burying itself in heartbreak's most despairing and bleakest moments like a long, ornate, theatrical dagger. Audiophiles who might otherwise eschew such "gothic" excess would do well to forego their prejudices here and buy this work, as it transcends pigeonholes to hover like a darkly beautiful but evilly cunning angel over the ruins of lost love.

If *T&T* has any weakness, it is, in my humble opinion, in the very last song, "Beat Out That Rhythm on a Drum", which fails to accomplish what The Cure did with their song, "Fight". However, the weakness is negligible, and perhaps might even be necessary for some people, who might find themselves needing something, anything, to break the spell of desperate sadness cast by this recording.

this album findse marc in his rebellious (heroin abuse )period
a dark and wonderful album that hasn't been touched up too much, you can almost feel that your in live performance in a dark and atmospheric venue ,a nice follow-up to the first album (untitled ) a perfect album for winter night,

i really like this album a lot. if you think the eighties weren't cool then you probably didn't trust elvis.

'Trust' is, without a doubt, Elvis Costello's most original record; it's also his strongest. One day the critics will wise up, until then, it's our little secret. Buy this.

As some of the other reviewers have pointed out, its incredibly hard to really pick a "best" EC album between '77 and '86 simply because the man just made some remarkably amazing music. Whats interesting to note about this record is that it followed "Taking Liberties"/"Ten Bloody Marys.." (a collection of b-sides) and "Get Happy!" (an homage to soul). So is this really Costello's fourth album? Theres no denying, its musically closer to the first three releases and by god its really damn good. Theres a few tracks I'm not so hot on like "Shot with his own gun" but the rest is gold. The lyrical maturity shows on tracks like "You'll never be a man", and "Sad about girls" is one the best songs ever left off an album. Listen to this album, weep with joy.

In the vein of the Buzzcocks and dickies comes the The undertones with their songs about growing up, teenage life and girls. They where their pop-punk badge proudly on their sleeves and do a pretty good job of it. Not as good as the above mentioned bands but they do have some super catchy songs.

They got more than 5 stars? Cuz if they do, this album earns 'em.

I really don't know if there was any musical difference at all between this version, the Ireland/UK pressing of the lp from the U.S. pressing with the photo of the band looking down on them in color.

This CD also has what appears to be 3 7" records worth of music added onto to original first lp.

You cannot go wrong owning this record, assuming you love strong love song, teenage subjects power pop with no irony and all heart.

This stuff still sounds brilliant 25 years later. Betcha it sounds great 25 more years from now! Let's see.

Later, chrisbct@hotmail.com

this is just catchy punk. It's simaler to the buzzcocks. This album definitly has some week songs, but over all its a good album.

This is a soundtrack that is much better than the movie. The movie 1984 features the music from this albumn but without any of the well thought out lyrics... What a pity.
This is my favorite Eurythmics albumn. I listen to this albumn over and over.

Maybe not of all time, but certainly the best Eurythmics album: to think that I was put off by savage reviews (not to mention the controversy surrounding the movie director's refusal to use any of the music in the film) and the first single, "SexCrime." I didn't buy it, the first time I didn't buy a new Eurythmics album. Fortunately, a friend of mine had better taste and let me listen to his. I was immediately awed by the haunting, beautiful music, and have branded it my favorite Eurythmics album ever since. "Julia" gets frequent mention, of course, as it should, but check out "For the Love of Big Brother" or "Winston's Diary." Music that stands the test of time; elements from this album are strewn throughout most pop music today.

If you buy one album this year, make it this one.

After many, many, many years of searching for this album, my search is over. God bless the Internet.

This album is incredible !

It predates all of the techno/electronica (hate these terms) that came out in the 90's. A precursor to all of it. (ex. the repetitive DoublePlusGood, is similar to the repetition of lyrics we find in techno.) The Eurythmics were ahead of their times with this one.

At times the album is meditative. At times its ... very energetically moving ... difficult to describe. I dont want to say that it is music that you would neccessarily dance to, but it would certainly trance your head.

Another comment. If people say that this album is a precursor to Industrial, I dont see how. Its got way too much life. Industrial can be like cold steel at times.

Except for the hit song "Come On Eileen" there is little else that is either memorable or enjoyable on this CD. Their cover of Van Morrison's "Jackie Wilson Said" is not very well done.

How another reviewer could state this band deserved as much billing as the Beatles is beyond me. No accounting for poor taste.

That reviewer also makes the statement: "Do I detect Commodore-mania with 'Jackie Wilson Said'". Not sure what the reviewer meant by that statement.

I have a few CDs that are as good as this one, but none better. It's as perfect a CD as could ever be hoped for.

I didn't particularly like "Come on Eileen" when it was big, but someone (who???) gave me this tape to listen to one night in college and that was it. I could be found on many a night with it on my headphones at RISD's architecture studio. I still have the same cassette and I still love it to death. Sorry to whoever lent it to me... man so I owe you one! If you haven't heard this, do yourself a favor and give a shot, you will not be sorry!

this album is one of the best i own. get searching for the young soul rebels also. i just want to respond to a past comment by saying that dexy's midnight runners didn't start ska, the clash did. listen to "wrong em boyo" on london calling. you'll see what i mean.