New Wave music reviews

Jesus of Cool was a jukebox, spinning out a series of perfectly crafted - and decidedly quirky and subversive - pop singles. In contrast, Nick Lowe's second album, Labour of Lust, is the work of a bar band, in this case Rockpile, playing the hell out of the same type of songs. Naturally, the result is a more coherent sound that may be a little less freewheelingly eclectic, but it is no less brilliant. Recorded simultaneously with Dave Edmunds' Repeat When Necessary, Labour of Lust benefits from the muscular support of Rockpile, who make Lowe's songs crackle with vitality. Working primarily in the roots rock vein of Brinsley Schwarz but energizing his traditionalist tendencies with strong pop melodies, a sense of humor, and an edgy new wave sensibility, Lowe comes up with one of his best sets of songs. Not only is his only hit, the propulsively hook-laden "Cruel to Be Kind," here, but so are the rampaging outsider anthem "Born Fighter," the tongue-in-cheek, Chuck Berry-style "Love So Fine," the wonderful pure pop of "Dose of You," the haunting "Endless Grey Ribbon," the druggy "Big Kick, Plain Scrap!," and the terrific "Cracking Up," as well as his definitive version of Mickey Jupp's "Switchboard Susan." It's an exceptional collection of inventive pop songs, delivered with vigor and energy, making it one of the great records of the new wave. - Stephen Thomas, AMG

what can I say.. been a fan since 1979 (when you could play such things as "Love so Fine" unedited on the radio..one of the best ) Pure pop sensibility fused with a jolt of punk roots. Humorous , witty lyrics put to songs so catchy as to be unforgettable. Nick was not made for the MTV generation, he would never have passed "Go" in the video age. But don't pass up this rare gem ..excellent ! Of course you remember "Cruel to be Kind" -look deeper , into tracks like "Switchboard Susan "and "Ccracking Up" on to "Without Love" and "Skin Deep" . Hip before his time, he himself said " What I have is style & an eye for style" in a review at the time..this album is a classic & a few of the best tracks didn't make it on to the also-excellent "Basher" compilation..don't pass it up -if you like anything he's ever done --get this ASAP !!!

great album by a very good band. never get tired of. some classic songs. cannot think of a better album from the period. wonder what happened to the band - whatever such a waste.

Not a dull moment on Eddie and the Hot Rods second LP. A masterful job from each member of the band from start to finish as they race thru the title track and other songs like "Telephone Girl" and "Ignore Them". If you like high energy rock, then you will love "Life On The Line".

As British pub-rock fed into punk-rock, bands like Eddie & The Hot Rods were caught deliviously in the middle. They were more accomplished instrumentally (and compositionally) than the punks, but they caught the fire of the latter's energy and teenage abandon.

This LP represents the 'Rods second and best effort, adding a bit more of a melodic edge through the addition of guitarist Graeme Douglas. Many bright moments to be heard, including the superb UK chart hit, "Do Anything You Wanna Do."

This import reissue is listed elsewhere as containing nine bonus tracks.

My favorite Sparks CD and I have them all.
Check it out and then go to an all-you-can-eat buffett.

Sparks has made the best and most innovative album of their long career. Classical music arrangements performed entirely on keyboards, multi-tracked Queen-like vocals and a healthy dollop of Moby is best how to describe this outstanding effort by the Brothers Mael. I bought "Lil' Beethoven" as an import last year, and have been playing it incessantly ever since. Easily one of the best and most innovative albums in years.

Since the brilliant and manic two-minute symphonies that gyrated through "Kimono My House" and "Propaganda", there has been a persistent classical undercurrent to the work of the Mael brothers. On "Lil' Beethoven" they completely give in to the impulse and give us some amazing music which, despite some rather sunny leanings, keeps their cutting and occasionally dark humor completely intact and fully capable of cutting to the truth.

Latter-day prog bands should take note of these song structures: the music here is immaculately aware and inventively structured. Almost anything on "Lil' Beethoven" will beat the sometimes aimless musings of "Spock's Beard", "Porcupine Tree" or "Tool". Since none of these bands is capable of making even the most rudimentary observation of the human condition, we need to thank Sparks for asking "What are all these bands so angry about?"

The lyrics are, as usual, funny, revealing and unexpected. They take the old "How do I get to Carnegie Hall?" joke and turn it into five minutes of music serious enough to laugh about. In fact, I'd encourage people who need to have a favorite track or two on any given album to set that preoccupation aside and make sure to really listen to everything going on here.

More than usual, Russell Mael's vocals become an instrument. Manipulated, looped, filtered and fuzzed, his singing actually leaves the typical notion of singing behind in favor of treating the human voice as a unique sound source. While we're largely spared guitars and drums, Ron Mael's keyboard work makes the most compelling argument for the synthesizer since Wendy (Walter) Carlos' landmark "Switched on Bach". The sound here is massive, well-rounded and impeccably detailed. The interplay between musical ideas and the power of digital manipulation is profound and well-balanced.

I have loved listening to these guys since the "Halfnelson" days. Todd Rundgren knew there was a special talent at work in their music and their world view. Sometimes things got silly. Sometimes they bent a little too far in the direction of a particular style. But they have always been interesting and entertaining in a way that has tended to push the listener rather than simply reassure him or her. Much more than pure pop for now people, "Lil' Beethoven" is smarter than it is funny, and funnier that it is smart.

When Sparks received a makeover from non-electrically powered instruments for some of their best known synth/guitar tunes on Plagiarism, it seemed very much like a one off. Five years on though, they've taken the idea forward and constructed a whole new album of songs based on the concept. What makes this album so brilliantly original though, is that the majority of songs sound like they were written specifically as melodious dance tracks, with the repetition of catchy phrases at the core. But, aside from the odd finale or chorus, there are no beats, few synths - not as we have come to know them on Sparks albums anyway - and only the odd guitar. Instead we get lush orchestrations, some of Ron's most fluid piano, and whole choirs of Russel. Once again, Sparks prove that pioneering doesn't have to be hard work, for the listener at least.

The Mael brothers are extraordinary by any measure, and this is the most remarkable album of theirs I have heard in many a moon. The sheer skill and brains behind it are beyond praise. You get the impression they can just do anything they want, musically, intellectually, artistically. There are rave reviews from London newspapers on the back and they are deserved. This is really astonishing music, glassily shimmering with wickedly clever, glittering shards of lyrics. There are echoes here of John Lennon at his most iconoclastic, and Radio Head, but the album is in a class by itself. It's gorgeous to listen to, piquant to decode. There are a couple of weak, repetitious tracks, such as Your Call's Very Important To Us, a smart idea that goes nowhere, and Wunderbar, which seems aimed at German audiences who are sehr, sehr Kuhl, and sometimes the lyrics verge on psychobabble, deliberately so, I guess.

But I've never heard anything quite like this in my life. It's an astounding piece of work. It is very "out there," very "beyond," very Twilight Zonish. I did not think the human brain could work so strangely, or come up with such a hall of mirrors with such exquisite, gorgeous-sounding acoustic reflections and super-reflections. It is bizarre and at the same time indescribably beautiful. Highly recommended.

Sparks' weird and wonderful opus, Lil' Beethoven commences with "The Rhythm Thief". We hear the words, "I am the rhythm thief - say goodbye to the beat." In the darkness we envision the Mael brothers in burglar masks, unplugging drum machines world-wide from disco to disco like a pair of sinister Robin Hoods!

The mischievous baton-wielding, sneaker-wearing character on the cover of Lil' Beethoven could very well be Ron Mael's inner child. Devious in his neat, respectable on-stage appearance and operatic presentation, our maestro lashes out at hip-hop hypocrisy, popular culture, and at life in general. The bitter bard conducts the proceedings, `scratching' and `sampling' behind the synth, with Russell `on the mic' rapturously rapping `the message'. Move over Grandmaster Flash!

Lil' Beethoven is not only Sparks' Sgt. Pepper - in fact, it could more likely be their Never Mind The Bollocks! It has more balls than Balls, more angst than Angst In My Pants, and Plagiarism only touched upon the plethora of musical genres emulated here. Each song is a strange, smartass symphony that so eloquently and elegantly ridicules everything that is wrong with music and with life today. Never mind Pet Sounds...this is Sparks' `Pet Peeves'! The classy presentation undermines the rebellious nature of the lyrics. Sparks don't mind making public enemies because they so much admire Public Enemy! Once again, to their credit, no one except for their fans will appreciate this masterpiece for many, many years!

The album's second selection, "How Do I Get To Carnegie Hall?" answers its own rhetorical question many times. Vaudeville is alive and well in this tune. Russell seems possessed by the ghost of Henny Youngman as he endlessly repeats the question (almost as maddening as Abbot & Costello's Who's On First? routine!) However, his golden voice returns to lament, "Still there is no sign of you."

Yes, real-life affairs should really take precedence over some bands' hissy-fits as stated in "What Are All These Bands So Angry About?"

The romantic "I Married Myself" is simply beautiful. Congratulations to Russell! He is a much better match for himself than that old Jacqueline Kennedy! This song maintains a certain theatricality despite its simple arrangement. Ron is still grappling with the traditional concept of the `love song'. He can out-write anyone with his beautiful melodies, but always throws in a curse word (as in "The Angels") or an odd situation as his signature mark.

"Ride `Em Cowboy" wavers from Victorian to Wagnerian. The song is simultaneously complex and minimalist.

"My Baby's Taking Me Home" begins with simple piano, and an old-fashioned megaphone affect on the vocals, but it becomes more lavish and ultra-modern as the song progresses. The multi layering of Russell's voice seems infinite. Then the song steadily expands with a long momentous crescendo, invoking grand cinematic visions.

"Your Call Is Very Important To Us. Please Hold" (who else would start a second sentence within a song title but Sparks?!) picks up where Kraftwerk's "The Telephone Call" left off. Rather than making weird computerized noises, Sparks allow us re-live the frustration of that cold familiar teasing phrase repeated ad-nauseum over a strangely beautiful yet angry classical piano trill amidst more orchestrations.

"Ugly Guys With Beautiful Girls" is a humourous headbanger (disguised by a sweet sounding intro and outro) about a preposterous topic that has dumbfounded many since the phenomenon became prominent in music videos in the 80s.

Any Broadway show-tune composer would envy "Suburban Homeboy". He's a modern-day "Yankee Doodle Dandy"! Now That's Entertainment!

- Madeline Bocaro

THIS IS THE BEST OF SPARKS....

I am speechless. You don't ever grow tired of this infectious pop melodies and operatic performancies. If you have any musical taste at all BUY THIS NOW!

I believe that this is by far the best album from Iron Maiden. Being a live album, Maiden is "caught in the act" at their best. Having attended this show myself at Long Beach Arena, I can tell you first hand that almost nothing is lost in this recording. UP THE IRONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is a great NWOBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal) band that came out in the late 70's and laid the groundwork for bands like Metallica and Megadeth. In fact, Metallica cites such bands as Tygers of Pan Tang, Diamondhead, and Motorhead as major influences on their early music. This CD has great guitar playing by John Sykes (who went on to play in Whitesnake and Blue Murder) and Robb Weir. Both guitar players are fantastic. The singer Jon Deverill is very good and has a great voice for this type of hard rock music. Overall, the quality of the CD is excellent for a live recording. It's up there in quality with Ozzy Osbourne's Tribute and Iced Earth's Alive In Athens.

All of the songs were recorded on the first two Tygers albums, Wildcat and Spellbound. However, live, these songs are more raw and have a greater punch. This CD is the closest thing you can get to actually being there.

Great band. Great songs. Great CD. Buy it.

Hi, just to say that it sounds good, full of power, I just listened to this one (recorded 1981 live) & to the recent Mystical, which sounds flat, not same singer anymore.

OK, in fact, I didn't want to make a review, sorry ...

I was at these shows, changed my life as a 17 year old. I have a beat up VHS of the clips they ran on MTV when Iggy hosted 120 Minutes. His band was tight, the track list exquisite.

I WAS THE DJ/MD AT THE RITZ. IGGY ALWAYS RULES. THIS IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF JUST THAT.

My best friend Luke was one of the lucky ones,he was there in 1986 at the Ritz and was witness to what is, in my humble opinion,the greatest live performance in Rock&Roll history.I have been looking for a copy of IGGY POP'S live at the Ritz for over ten years and now thanks to Amazon.com and the internet I have found a truly breathtaking CD recorded in New York City.From the opening song,"I Got A Right" to the final song,IGGY and his group will blow you away with some of the coolest guitar riffs and rocking bass lines with a poppin' beat,and of course lyrics that speak volumes by the man himself.This CD is right up there with the greatest rock recordings from Led Zep,The Stones,Ozzy&Black Sabath and a few others that we all love.This CD has IGGY'S best tunes including some stooges stuff as well as the "Blah Blah Blah" songs wich were from his then latest album circa 1986.Any fan of Rock will love this CD,but for any hard-core IGGY POP fans this is truly a compilement of some of his finest work.I would highly recommend this CD to anyone. Although this is my personal favorite IGGY has some really great CD's that are all top notch music.Thanx Amazon for finding this awesome piece of music history...

I was at these shows, changed my life as a 17 year old. I have a beat up VHS of the clips they ran on MTV when Iggy hosted 120 Minutes. His band was tight, the track list exquisite.

I WAS THE DJ/MD AT THE RITZ. IGGY ALWAYS RULES. THIS IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF JUST THAT.

My best friend Luke was one of the lucky ones,he was there in 1986 at the Ritz and was witness to what is, in my humble opinion,the greatest live performance in Rock&Roll history.I have been looking for a copy of IGGY POP'S live at the Ritz for over ten years and now thanks to Amazon.com and the internet I have found a truly breathtaking CD recorded in New York City.From the opening song,"I Got A Right" to the final song,IGGY and his group will blow you away with some of the coolest guitar riffs and rocking bass lines with a poppin' beat,and of course lyrics that speak volumes by the man himself.This CD is right up there with the greatest rock recordings from Led Zep,The Stones,Ozzy&Black Sabath and a few others that we all love.This CD has IGGY'S best tunes including some stooges stuff as well as the "Blah Blah Blah" songs wich were from his then latest album circa 1986.Any fan of Rock will love this CD,but for any hard-core IGGY POP fans this is truly a compilement of some of his finest work.I would highly recommend this CD to anyone. Although this is my personal favorite IGGY has some really great CD's that are all top notch music.Thanx Amazon for finding this awesome piece of music history...

I love Saxon , this is from a 81 show in Europe , with the definitve saxon line up , They rock , while this Cd is from over 20 years ago , the stuff sounds great today , I never understood why Saxon was'nt as big in the States as Priest or Maiden , they definitively were in the same league , this cd kicks , if you like great guitar work and metal the old fashion way with balls , buy it
Saxon Rulz

Well kids here is another live and screaming cd from one of the grandfathers of late 70's early 80's english heavy metal. A must have for for true saxon fans