New Wave music reviews

Unfotunately, Stuart Adamson took his own life and this album is the last Big Country recording he gave it his all to. What is most evident is the influence of his new home, Nashville, on the sound. Instead of a blast of Scotland, we get a much more country feel, which is fine. Fragile Thing is one of the finest songs recorded by this band. This album is a fine swan song.

It is especially poignant and sad to have to listen to this overlooked masterpiece given the untimely and sudden sad ending to the great Stuart Adamson's life. I guess in the end, no matter how talented and loved you may be, personal demons can snatch you from this earth. I can't pretend to know Stu's mind and what was going through it. That said, this release is a helluva 'swansong' for the band. It is truly an example of 'best of the best' melodic songwriting prowess and passionate vocals, and I try and celebrate and honor the band's musical contributions when I listen to this magnificent CD. The songs are tight, passionate, and hooky! As excellent as Big Country was previous to 'Driving To Damascus', they really 'took it to the next level' with this one. Please do yourselves a favor and get your hands on this one... it's THAT GOOD!!!

I'm rediscovering Stuart Adamson and Big Country after many years of having forgotten them. As brilliant and unique as The Crossing was, it seems that Adamson was really just getting rolling artistically when he decided life wasn't worth living. The last project he worked on, The Raphaels, yielded a fabulous debut.

But the final Big Country recording, Driving to Damascus, is just stunning. It retains the best qualities BC and Adamson always possessed: fabulous playing, unique sounds and song structures, and poetic lyrics. But it's all distilled into a ferociously powerful and seemless package.

The influence of Nashville on Adamson results in a couple of great songs that sound nothing like anything BC has done before ("See You" and "Fragile Thing" in particular). Two collaborations with Ray Davies work beautifully ("Somebody Else" and "The Devil in the Eye"). And the rockers should be rocking arenas everywhere (especially the stunning "Dive into Me").

I find all this late work by Adamson enormously moving. In "Dive into Me" he sings, "Sometimes swirling waters drag you down/Knowing how to swim doesn't mean you never drown/Come the storm you hold in fear whoever's by your side/Sometimes you're just drifting on the tide." If that doesn't rip you up, you need therapy.

This is a wonderful album which is slightly marred by the inclusion of two rather mediocre bonus tracks at the end. I think the industry should re-think the practice of adding tracks to re-issues if they are not up to snuff---as in this case. This alone, however, should not put anybody off buying the disc, which is otherwise a charming piece of work.

Make no mistake, East Side Story is the band's early masterpiece. While Sweets was far more experimental (as was Cool for Cats), the band's fifth album focused on songcraft. Originally intended as a double album (with hopes for Elvis Costello, Paul McCartney, Dave Edmunds and someone else who I can't recall at the moment), East Side Story is the band's most perfectly formed album.

Every track belongs here and the arrangements from the startling guitar break on Inquintessence to the organ hook that opens Tempted are brilliant. This is an album that's crying out for a second disc of live material from the same album. The two bonus tracks are a mixed bag. One's quite good and the other is just a so-so remake of an oldie.

By the way, this is exactly the same remaster that was used for the box set Six of One that is now out of print.

"East Side Story" is the greatest album of Squeeze's long, distinguished career. It was their fourth album, and they were on an amazing trajectory, with each album revealing growing craftsmanship and confidence, culminating in this masterpiece in 1981. Difford's wry lyrics remained fascinating, but it was Tilbrook's growth as the music-writing half of the team that was leading them into astounding new realms of creativity. He seemed to be able to absorb all musical styles and spit them out in wildly diverse gem after gem. The songs were becoming ever more melodically complex, but without sacrificing the catchiness that it essential to this sort of pop music. (On later albums he would sometimes be guilty of going too far with the melodic complexity, but no sign of that yet in 1981). In addition, Tilbrook had blossomed into a wonderful vocalist, and his guitar leads had become models of dazzling efficiency. (I defy anyone to name a more exquisitely consise guitar solo than the 12-second masterpiece in the middle of "In Quintessence".) New keyboardist Paul Carrack (of pub-rockers Ace and "How Long" fame) is a smoother fit for Difford and Tilbrook than his predecessor Jools Holland, and his lead vocal showcase, "Tempted", became Squeeze's biggest hit to date. Among the other highlights: the achingly lovely ballad "Labelled With Love", here given a gentle country treatment, but you could just as easily imagine this song sung by a crooner like Sinatra or Tony Bennett (assuming the crooner could pull off Difford's lyrics); the rockabilly "Messed Around", which sounds like it's straight out of Elvis' Sun Sessions; the more typical Squeeze pop-rock gems "Is That Love", "Someone Else's Bell", and of course "In Quintessence"; and the amazing "Mumbo Jumbo", wherein Tilbrook combines 3 or 4 great melodies into a single three-minute classic. Elsewhere there are Beatles-inspired orchestrations and dark sonic experiments. Squeeze hit their peak here, and their albums of the past 20 years have often come close to the heights reached on "East Side Story", without ever topping it. This album is an absolute must-own for any Squeeze fan.

A soundtrack of an era, and also an essential collection for any 80's music aficionado and 80's theme-party planner. The music talks much louder than the names, some of which say absolutely nothing to the commonalty. I'm going dancing now.

I agree with everyone else on how good this disc is, but there are a few minor track listing errors I noticed (they're printed wrong on the back of the actual CD itself). The disc does NOT contain the 12" versions of

I agree with everyone else on how good this disc is, but there are a few minor track listing errors I noticed (they're printed wrong on the back of the actual CD itself). The disc NOT contain the 12" versions of the

I saw the Divinyls in 1983 at Macquaire University and they blew the hall apart.

I have not purchased a record by them until this one just recently.

The band still sounds fresh and interesting even after so many years.

The strong songs remain there early ones, Only Lonely particularly.

If this band was around today and had access to the didgital recording technology the record would be even more impressive.

Cannot recommend the album highly enough!

How's this for an evenly distributed greatest hits album? Four singles each from their three albums. That's what you get with The Essential Divinyls, a collection of the Divinyls' 80's material, whose harder-edged punk/rock hybrid is oodles better than their insipid breakthrough single "I Touch Myself." The Divinyls, led by Christina Amphlett, she of the rough and raucous voice, were yet another group of talented Australians, but who did not make it in the US the same way Men At Work and AC-DC did.

"Pleasure And Pain", from their second album What A Life! is the first I heard of them, and the polished sound is courtesy of Blondie producer Mike Chapman, who also wrote this song with Holly Knight, with the provocative refrain "Please don't ask me how I've been getting off." Those powerful but kittenish/rough vocals going into how it's a fine line between pleasure and pain, and it's all the same" and collaborator Mark McIntee's guitar work introduced me to them.

The title track to their third album Temperamental is a more rocking affair, although as the liner notes say, "they were too accessible to be called heavy metal, too raw to be power pop." This and the rest of their album was produced by Mike Chapman and mixed by Bob Clearmountain. The second time I heard a Divinyls song was their engaging cover of "Hey Little Boy" originally "Hey Little Girl", also on Temperamental. Amphlett's vocals have a soft, impish undertone once moment, other times she yells out "I'm talking to you!"

The melodic and mid-paced "Back To The Wall" is another favourite here, highlighted by Amphlett's vocals and Mark McIntee's ringing guitars. The sense of desperation concealing a suppressed rage is evident here: "I've been running back all my tears just so the pressure don't show/like a timbomb ticking away/I might blow up somebody" and "don't push, don't shove/you'd better watch what you do." Also from Temperamental.

A more punkish sound comes in another catchy favourite, "Only Lonely" underscoring the sense of alienation and loneliness, "wondering could we get involved?" This was one of the songs here featured in the 1982 Australian movie Monkey Grip, directed by Ken Cameron, which not only had a supporting role for Amphlett, but yielded her a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the Australian film awards. Dating attitudes come through in this song: "You say, come on baby. not on the first date. so I say OK baby, how long must I wait?" and "and if it doesn't feel right, when I put you down, oh baby it's all right. I am only lonely."

The title character in the slower-paced and moody "Punxsie" exhibits a sullen lonely attitude: "such a punxsie thing, you don't talk to strangers."

The rocker "Boys In Town" from Desperate has an intense trapped sound, highlighted by Amphlett's pleading "Get me out of here" refrain at the end, the backing band singing "too much too young", and a great guitar solo. This was the other song featured on the soundtrack EP for Monkey Grip.

The naive schoolgirl tone of "Science Fiction" from Desperate is a catchy mid-paced song, with the title referring to the line "I thought that love was science fiction." There's also a trace of Cold War thinking: "I never thought it would last this long/I thought they would drop the bomb."

The other Mike Chapman-produced song from What A Life! is the longing fantasy "Sleeping Beauty", a nice mid-paced guitar number.

Taken from Desperate, "I'll Make You Happy" is a cover of the fellow Aussies The Easybeats from the 1960's, and the insistent pounding drums and the McIntee/Amphlett combination give this a more punk sound, and is a great way to finish the album.

ONE OF THE BEST FEMALE ROCKERS EVER A MUST FOR ANY DIVINYLS FAN...ALL THE BOYS IN TOWN---BACK TO THE WALL---ONLY LONELY---WHAT A COLLECTION! THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST ALBUMS EVER---MS AMPHLETT YOU MADE ME HAPPY....BUY THIS ONE U WON'T REGREAT IT!

A wonderful "compilation", if you can call it that, of early Martha and the Muffins (later, M+M), a horribly underappreciated Toronto band of the early '80's (and continuing through, at least, 1992). This CD contains the entire Metro Music LP, a briskly stunning piece of new-wave power-pop, as well as a handful of tracks from Trance and Dance and This is the Ice Age (each available in the US previously only as imports). Anyone who listens to the two "Ice Age" tracks will hopefully try to seek out the entire album, as well they should - although never released on CD, even the original vinyl is worth seeking out to anyone who enjoys their pop with a brain, with a Roxy Music-esque twist.

you may love this gem from the early 80's. It has the minimal mood of Wire's Chairs Missing, the saxophone drone of Romeo Void and the sultry/ironic vocal style of Martha Davis and the Motels. It is the epitome of the 80's art school sound. It's modern and spare, but tuneful. It is detached and abstract. It represents the triumph of a redefined and stripped down approach to pop music that no longer exists. Echo Beach is a great song that begins the CD and all the tracks from the original Metro Music grow out of each other like crystals.

First introduced to M+M via Mystery Walk on vinyl. Recently started collecting on eBay, this being the first I picked up on CD. Played this CD every day since it arrived. Martha/Mark, it's time for another album!

Wow. I have this CD in constant rotation in my car and at home. Marian's voice is as powerful as ever; the songs are essentially re-invented and updated by still wonderfully crafted. If you a longtime fan or new to the group's recordings, this CD is essential.

Instant Classic.
Yes, those are only re-makes of their old hits but done so exquisitely that it is hard to compare them to the originals. You won't find here a boring and so typical two minute bass line showed in the middle of a song - so we can call it a `remix'. Instead, you will find here a complete recreation of the original idea, only this time circa 2001.

Forever Pop is vibrant and powerful. And on "Sounds Like A Melody" you wish your amplifier could go all the way to `eleven'.

P.S.
Extra / hidden track and a half (just like the one on "Stark Naked...") is a nice touch.

I first heard of this CD from KaZaA! I did a search for a song and the Forever Young remix (which does sound like Cher's Believe) appeared by accident. I downloaded it, fell in love with it, and scoured the Internet to find the source. To my amazement there was a whole CD full of Alphaville remixes. I bought it from Amazon.com's marketplace and I haven't regretted it a bit.

I've only had it for a week but I'd say my favorite songs are all except tracks 2, 5, 6, and 10; not that these songs are bad but the other ones are just so good -- I'm pretty sure these will grow on me though. Contrary to some sites track 13, the Eiffel 65 remix of Big in Japan, is not 14 minutes, it's only 3:30. There's a hidden remix, or two depending on how you look at it, of Jerusalem starting at 5:30. I don't know why Alphaville hid them, they're awesome! Much better, IMO, than the one listed, track 6.

I have pretty eclectic musical tastes and this CD is a perfect match for me. It moves from Cher sounds, the Forever Young remix, to spoiled brat enjoyment, the Jet Set remix, to 80s Sting-style rock, the Red Rose remix -- my favorite song BTW. Did I mention the Forever Young remix sounds like Cher's Believe?

Anyway, awesome CD whether you're an Alphaville fan or not.

Este grandes exitos contiene gran parte de los exitos de Nick con Haircut y sus primeros a�os como solista en Arista, algunos canciones se encuentran en "12 que antes no se pod�an conseguir en CD como es el caso de Goodbye Yesterday, Love all Day y Warning Sign. A su vez difiere de las otras dos recopilaciones que salieron al mercado: The Best and The Very Best of y creo que las supera. Es una lastima que no se incluyan canciones de sus �ltimos 4 discos pero escuchar este te llevar� indefectiblemente a comprarlos.

Goodbye Yesterday es unclasico de los '80 que mereceria la posibilidad de ser escuchado en la red. Ojala pudieramos. GRACIAS.

awesome cd. brings back lots of great memories. about the only cd i can listen to over and over

When I bought this album, not too long ago, I was not expecting something like this...........I was expecting the same old [stuff] that some of the survival 80's bands play these days, but I got excactly what I wanted and dreamed of from these guys. This is by far thier most mature, complete, and powerfull album to date. "HAPPY" is to REAL LIFE as "SALVATION" is to ALPHAVILLE. This is a very powerfull album as far as music and lyrics is concerned. The future sounds of synth-pop are very evident here. The album starts out hard with a bang with songs like "Everything Explodes", "Virus", "I Did What I Did" and "Happy" that are very powerfull, dark and hard. The future of synth-pop with a kick of industrial/goth. My personal favorates "Deep Sleep", "Learning How To Breathe", and "Meltdown" blew me away from its compelling sound and lyrics. They are not as hard and upbeat as the others, but really stick to your head from their perfections. There is a remix of "Deep Sleep" that is just great. Other good songs include "Satisfied" and "Skin". PERFECT 10 ALBUM

I didn't expect much as many 80's synth bands seem to have gotten really dark and industrial in their sound by the late 90's (think Information Society). Even this album's cover art made me think it would be quite harsh. Instead, you get a perfect late-90's electronic sound that is a natural evolution for the band. You can really hear how the band has changed with the times, from 80's "Send Me An Angel" synth-pop to the bouncy euro-dance of the early 90s with "God Tonight" and now a blend of synthdance and electronica that sounds fresh even as I listen to it today in 2005, over half a decade later. Some parts remind me musically of Depeche Mode or New Order. A brilliant and unfortunately overlooked album that you should definitely check out.

I am so thrilled to have come across this cd. I cannot believe it wasn't a bigger success. I didn't even realize Real Life made anything after the '80s, but when I came across it on here, I had to check it out. From the first listen, this album became one of my favorites of all time. It's perfect. There is a ton of variety, yet all the songs have an underlying, almost comedic darkness to them. There isn't a bad track on here. My two least favorites are probably "Satisfied" and "Deep Sleep," but even they are great songs that I rarely skip past. My favorites are "Virus," "I Did What I Did," and "Learning How To Breathe," followed closely by "Everything Explodes," "Girl Jesus," "Skin," and "Meltdown." The entire thing is an innovative masterpiece. Many of the sounds common to today's synthpop, futurepop, and EBM can be found on Happy. Highly recommended. I'm hoping it's re-released soon...maybe under A Different Drum??? *hint hint*

Ok,I do not own this cd but I do have 5 studio cds + the
live disc which are represented about 80% of this package.
I guess i rate the band 5* but this cd 4* only due to me not knowing about 20% of the material here.Nits makes 50% slightly strange tunes and 50% beautiful popsongs,which is a great combination,because things never get boring.Did have a chance to see these guys in Toronto,and they were super tight.Please
come back.

They have many albums and many faces. Since 1974 they changed a lot. I can not tell they changed in a good way or bad way, whatever they did, do, will do is great. You can not put them in a box, `ok, they play this and this kind of music` and store them on a shelf with a tag of the genre. Every single album is a gem from the Nits and they are all different from each other. Every time you get a new work of Nits you`re surely gonna be surprised of what they have done. They have all kind of stuff. It`s been almost 30 years they started. The singer/songwriter/lyricist Henk Hofstede is a genius, the drummer Rob Kloet is brilliant (not an every-corner-has-the-same-pop-drummer type of musician). They always have excellent members in the band.
This album is a sample of their work but they cannot do a `Greatest Hits` as one piece together. It`s great that`s for sure but you need to listen to their entire work. The best band has ever been on this planet.

I've been a big fan of this band since 1987 (their hit "In the Dutch mountains"). Their music touched me because the lyrics and music are simply wunderful. Subjects of their songs are of such variety, that it is a pleasure to hear them. The last 11 songs on the CD are live songs taken from their 1989 hit album "Urk", as far as I am concerned the best they ever did. These songs were made with love.

too much sab influence for them to be original, but still very good if you like sab doom. The singer sounds more like John Gallager of the early 80's metal band Raven (before they sold out in the mid 80's), mixed in with a bit of Todd Rundgren (especially when he was in The Nazz). I kind of picture this as early Sabbath mixed with early Raven played slowly.

these guys apparently missed the Ozzy years of black sabbath and decided to fill the gap loooonnnng before the likes of Cathedral began the Sabbath worship that is more or less a genre unto itself...
compared to metal nowadays,most of this will sound dated and somewhat simple,but dont let that scare you off!!most of the NWOBHM bands sound dated now,but you have to give 'em credit for contributing to that glorious punk influenced "do-it-yourself" noise racket!!

This is a great and unique album. Very heavy and melodic, similar to Sabbath's album Technical Ecstasy. Geat guitar riffs and very unique straight ahead vocals. Requiem of Youth and Love on Smack are classics in my book. Quietus is the best tune on the album, very early Sabbath like, nice jam at the end. Overall I would rank this album as one of the best early 80's NWBHM releases. Sadly the best Witchfinder General song, Soviet Invation is not avaiable on CD, only on rare ep vinyl.