New Wave music reviews

This is a truly fun record. The songs all written by the underrated and woefully unknown artist--Martha Davis. She is just unbelievable. The album starts off with Anticipating. Truly strong. When you first listen to it concentrate on Celia, Dressing Up and the beautiful Total Control. Ceila is so darkly funny. Closets & Bullets, talk about a title! It's a record for all rock fans. Head bangers and folk lovers alike. This should have been the start of a new rage. It flopped and they went on to make some pretty awful records. Too bad. Add this, if you can to your collection. Blame me if you don't dig it. Your true friend, Michael Girouard.

I have this on scratched vinyl and since joining the internet this is the only product that I have tried to purchase. A superb Album.

After being a regular at Madam Wong's during 1978 and early 1979, The Motels were signed with Capitol Records on Mother's Day 1979. Recording the song list that had help create a cult following in the L.A. area, the band cut ten songs that encompassed the L.A. sound of that time. New Wave was just emerging, taking the place of disco and punk. The Motels somehow found their way through the crowd of up-and-coming bands with Martha's seductive lyrics and sensual voice. Released in September of 1979, the album and its first single, "Total Control," hit the airwaves. The band began a nation-wide tour. Martha related in a recent interview (found on The Motels website) that the first song of theirs that the band heard on the radio was "Dressing Up" while they opened in Boston. But the album had no chart success -- at least, not in the U.S. In the land "down under," however, "Total Control" went to #7, and Australia began a love affair with the band that would last even to Martha's solo carear in 1987. In the U.S., however, the single only went to #107,but the album did reach gold status in 1980 in the U.S., Canada, and of course, Australia. "Closets and Bullets" was the second single released. The line-up for the band at that time was: Martha Davis (guitar, vocals), Jeff Jourard (guitar), Marty Jourard (keyboards/sax), Michael Goodroe (bass), and Brian Glascock (drums). 1980 would see the departure of Jeff Jourard.Overall, the album is an excellent debut for an excellent band. "Anticipating" and "Atomic Cafe" are timeless, as is Martha's hauting tune "Counting." A must for any Motels fan.-Alan

Search for compilations of new wave and you'll come across a lot of CDs with songs that are more pop than new wave. If you're looking for the real gems that you rarely hear on the radio ... the type of music you loved from those 80s movies like "Valley Girl" and all the Molly Ringwald flicks, this box set will not disappoint. I honestly didn't know a lot of these songs when I bought this CD, but after a few listens I realized there wasn't a single song on this three-CD set that I didn't like. There are some unusual picks, but nothing disappointing, and there are some real standouts like "China" by Red Rockers, "Happy Birthday" by Altered Images (remember this one from the Molly Ringwald movie?), "Love & Pride" by King, "Chamber of Hellos" by Wire Train, "Doot Doot" by Freur, and "Video Killed the Radio Star" by Bruce Wooley & the Camera Club, a much better version than the Buggles' more commonly heard version, in my opinion. Don't let the low price of this CD fool you. This is one of those CD sets that's worth more than the price. Listen and enjoy!

If you like this style of music (How could YOU not!), This is a real deal ! There are some oddities, but there are also some gems. Gary Myricks stuff IS genius, as is the Psych Furs. Wire Train? Simply stunning! What a creative time in rock history. Listen for blends of reggae, punk, dance, and synth. WOW!!! At about $4-$5 per disc, you just can not go wrong. If this stuff doesn't make you want to move, you better check for a pulse!!!!

Recently purchased this cd and it is really great. Way ahead of its time. The guitarwork of Ed Dudley just awesome. I know he did some work in the nineties. No sure about the name, but the music rocks!

i would wager most modern "metal heads" have never heard Holocaust.hopefully this re-release might change that,as they where indeed an important chapter in the "evolution"(some may say de-volution)of metal.
as other reviewers pointed out,this is indeed proto-thrash with a darn heavy guitar tone.compared with most (metal)bands today,it sounds rather tame.however,with its rock'n'roll sensibilities mixed with that distortion and catchy tunes all one can say is it's FUN.
i kinda lump them in with Motorhead,not that they sound like them but they have that mix of styles and timeless quality

This is one of the best metal albums ever.The difference with most NWOBHM albums of the time ,is that this one is much heavier and is actually a proto-thrash lp.No wonder why bands like Metallica , Gamma Ray and even Six feet under(!!!) have covered songs by Holocaust.All the compositions are very energetic and dark while the guitar sound is very raw and distorted.So , just buy it!

Motorhead live recordings have often been less than stellar, but this one breaks the mold...actually blows up the mold is more like it! What a clean sounding Motorhead album! No faded vocals, much less feedback and indesipherable guitar riffs(noise) that I had come to expect from Motorhead live. 'No Sleep Till Hammersmith' still has the best live rendition of 'Metropolis', but this one is good too. 'Just Cos You Got The Power' is actually better than the studio version, the song just rocks....if you like Motorhead this is a must have album.

The best live metal album ever recorded. This is the reason you go to concerts in the forst place. Would that all shows were of this quality!

THIS AIN'T NO DISCO!
How Sparks Parted The New Wave

In 1979 punk rock was still the rage in England, and disco was devouring America. So where did Sparks fit in? With disco in England of course! This didn't make much sense at all to their fans, but the Maels made the best of both worlds. Their take on disco had a European edge coupled with Sparks' trademark sensibility, which became the perfect formula for a revolutionary new sound that would resonate through the decades. They may or may not have known it at the time, but Sparks were prophetically writing the Ten Commandments of Synth-Pop. Unfortunately, the commandment most often disobeyed by their eventual followers was, "Thou shalt be original!"

In the days when Sparks were releasing an album per year, No. 1 In Heaven was the follow-up to the surprisingly ordinary Introducing Sparks. Ordinary became extraordinary seemingly overnight. As suddenly as Tyrannosaurus Rex became electric warriors, and as shockingly as when Dylan went electric, Sparks went electronic! They got as much flak from their fans as Dylan and T-Rex did in their time, but some of us were hip to this new change, and new fans became enlightened as well. The music press gave the album equal shares of praise and damnation, but its musical prophecy would ring true in due time.

For almost a decade, the usual Sparks album consisted of ten succinct, highly unusual pop songs. No. 1 In Heaven gave us six extended, highly unusual fluid epics; the shortest just under five minutes, the title track being the longest, outlasting both "Hey Jude" and "Bohemian Rhapsody" at 7:27, not to mention the re-mixes!

In 1977, Donna Summer's disco hit, "I Feel Love" - a collaboration between man and machine in a musical Metropolis approximating Kraftwerk at 78 rpm - topped the dance charts worldwide for weeks on end. The conflicting warm and sensual vocal performance over robotic trance music intrigued Ron and Russell who were already bored within the constraints of a 4-piece rock band. Sparks went right to the source and recruited Summer's producer Giorgio Moroder for their radical experiment in marrying pop with dance music. He even received co-writing credits on four tracks. The album was recorded at Moroder's own Musicland studios in Munich. Aside from David Bowie who was also recording in Germany with Roxy Music's Brian Eno, using synthetic instruments for a more decadent ambiance (on his albums Low and Heroes), Moroder was the only producer using automated devices within popular dance music. Moroder took the reins and found Sparks a U.K. deal with the very supportive Virgin Records, and with Elektra in the U.S.

The high-paid fashion models on the album jacket - one white and one black - look cold and sterile yet still sexy, as their lab coats are blown upwards like Marilyn Monroe's white skirt in that famous photograph! Enroute to heaven's laboratory they each hold a microscope, indicative of the groundbreaking musical experiment taking place on this record. The models were also featured on the stylized remix artwork. The "Tryouts For the Human Race" single sleeves and picture discs depicted robotic mannequin hands and test tubes, mixing 2 parts Rock with 2 parts Disco - and just a dash of Chemical X. The results were explosive!

The typically brilliant Sparks lyrics were about fast-paced society ("Beat The Clock") and the first song you would hear in heaven (their own "No. 1 Song In Heaven" of course, which peaked at #14 on earth). "Tryouts For the Human Race" is the album's `sexiest' song. After a suggestive Sci-Fi intro, Russell lends his voice to those feisty sperm cells - a major aspect of sex that is not usually on people's minds when having it - in a production about reproduction. A twisted Biology lesson with a disco beat. On "Academy Award Performance" as well as on the title song, the double-tracked vocals allow him to sing in two octaves simultaneously! Russell's soaring vocals prevailed over the new synthetic Sparks sound. Ron Mael expanded his keyboard repertoire with the Yamaha DX-7 and a Roland JP-8. He favored the coldness and inhumanity of the mechanized sounds and mesmerizing beats contrasted with Russell's glorious vocals. Ron un-slicked his hair and grew it long and wavy, resembling a mad scientist - or was it more "nutty professor"? Russell told England's Melody Maker in 1979, "I wouldn't be caught dead in a disco!"

The promotional video for "Beat The Clock" featured Ron & Russell (with a bevy of female factory workers), mass-producing life-size cardboard cutouts of themselves in a race against a giant clock. Perhaps this was an `indiscreet' commentary upon the tedium and uniformity in rock/pop music, and the stereotypes within disco, until they were effectively mixed into one medium. Charlie Parker never dreamed that `fusion' could sound like this!

Ultimately, the result of Sparks' stab at disco only remotely resembled the mind-numbing genre. Their special peculiarity predominated and a new form emerged, providing Sparks with two more UK hits. After eight weeks, the title track finally charted, peaking at #14. It was Sparks' first U.K. hit in four years. They performed the second single "Beat The Clock" on Top Of The Pops in November of 1979, which made the top 10. "Tryouts..." reached #45 in the U.K., and although several more 12-inch U.K. singles were issued from the album on a rainbow of coloured vinyl, overall it did not chart well, reaching #73 for one week only. #43 was its highest chart position in Sweden. America saw the single release "Tryouts For the Human Race" (with "No. 1 Song in Heaven" as the b-side). The Maels portrayed werewolves in the extremely rare video, however, the U.S. remained oblivious. Perhaps Sparks' thought-provoking lyrics were too complex for the mindless dancing masses. But subliminally and with the passing of time, the album became a landmark in music history.

Soon after, Blondie would collaborate with Moroder on their smash hit "Call Me". M appeared with the percolating hit "Pop Muzik". New bands emerged from the UK two by two, and climbed aboard the ark that Sparks built; Human League, O.M.D., Gary Numan, Soft Cell, Depeche Mode... The atmospheric Ultravox quickened their pace. At first labeled New Romantic or Synth-Pop, the new genre crossed the ocean and became New Wave (eventually spawning Erasure, the Pet Shop Boys and countless others). The Mael/Moroder-penned track "My Other Voice" contains the foretelling line, "I'll be all you'll hear for years and years and years." European bands were now successful on American radio. Sparks, of course, still were not. Ask any of these groups who their inspiration was, and they will inevitably say..."David Bowie." But we all know who really parted the waves!

- Madeline Bocaro

Hello you all big sound synth fans. This is the ultimate all-synth-all-analog-non-hype album. Georgio and the boys made a monster and this monster is still alive and stomping ... everywhere but in Ibiza and on the dancefloors. Put all the actual DJ's on the trashcan with their pseudo-y'know-big-analo-synth-so-cool-man-an'-sooooo-70'. Nothing's better than Ron playing with jacks and cables. Except for weaker parts (Academy Award ..) the rest is a stunning heavy fast train to "discothèque".

I won't detail the songs as they're almost subsidiary.

Note for today youth : it's quite like Underworld, twice as heavy and then time funny.

... and I'm far not a big fan of Sparks

This is the ultimate in synth-rock! Sparks called in the help of producer Giorgio Moroder and created an album that is the electronic equivalent of Meat Loaf's Bat Out Of Hell. Dramatic and overblown, it works because of the sheer exuberance of the songs, the hypnotic beat, the falsetto vocals and the gripping melody lines. The most accessible numbers are Tryouts For The Human Race, Beat The Clock and the devastating Number One Song In Heaven (also available as a CD single in four remixes). Think of Kraftwerk and Suicide at their weirdest, throw in Donna Summer's classic I Feel Love, and you'll have some idea of what this album sounds like. An essential album for those who love cutting-edge synth/electronic music.

This album kicks off with Phil Collins' neo-motown version of You Can't Hurry Love and takes the liustener on a tour through the styles and the songs that dominated the UK charts in 1982. There was a heavy soul influence back then, as demonstrated by Dexy's Midnight Runners, ABC and Robert Palmer, while synthpop was very much in fashion in the form of Human League, Soft Cell, Talk Talk, Yazoo, OMD and Kraftwerk. Layla by Derek And The Dominoes was a re-release from an earlier era, and is joined by other classic rocks tracks like Eye Of The Tiger by Survivor and Centrefold by the J. Geils Band. Culture Club's pop reggae, Eddy Grant's I Don't Wanna Dance and Madness' House Of Fun represents Jamaican music, whilst great club tracks include those by Kool And The Gang, Grandmaster Flash and Donnie Calvin. My favorites are Only You, a beautiful soulful song in Alison Moyette's incomparable voice, Maid Of Orleans, the classic by OMD, Golden Brown, a hypnotic rock ballad by The Stranglers and Annie I'm Not Your Daddy by the delightful Kid Creole And The Coconuts. Other great songs are Promised You A Miracle by Simple Minds, Celebration by U2 and the catchy Mickey by Toni Basil.

Of course every U2 fan already owns A Celebration, either the original single or on a bootleg CD. But this is the only officially released CD on which this track (highest position in UK charts: 47) is currently available and that makes this compilation essential. Regardless of the other songs (which other songs? what's that other disc for anyway?) I give it 5 stars

I never cared for "Now That's What I Call Music"... In fact, I hate most of them. But that's because they usually put on songs that are popular at the time they were made, but this one is a flashback on the '80's. I don't own this album, but I know most of the songs, and they are really good songs, much better than Jojo and Ciara and whatnot. If you want to buy a "Now" album, buy one of these... Or the UK imports to show off to your friends. (Americans still think it goes up to 18.)

This excellent UK compilation from 1983 gives the listener a fine perspective of the music of the times. It includes a colorful spectrum of styles, from synthpop (Human League, Yazoo, Kajagoogoo, Heaven 17) to pop reggae (UB40, Culture Club), to alternative (Siouxsie, The Cure, Public Image Limited) and more. Some of my favorite songs and those that have proved to have timeless appeal, include Billy Joel's Uptown Girl, Frankie Goes To Hollywood's massive hit Relax, New Order's equally huge hit Blue Monday, Eddy Grant's brilliant reggae number Electric Avenue, The Banshees' cover of Dear Prudence and Fun Boy Three's charming Our Lips Are Sealed. Great rock numbers include U2's New Year's Day and Tina Turner's Let's Stay Together, whilst singer-songwriters like Joe Jackson (Steppin' Out) and Nik Kershaw (I Won't Let The Sun Go Down On Me) always produced great work. In Nobody's Diary, Yazoo established their unique electronic bluesy sound, whilst KC and the Sunshine Band and David Bowie gave us perennial dancefloor favourites in the form of Give It Up and Let's Dance and Public Image and The Cure pushed the boundaries of experimental rock. 1983 was a great year for music and this album is a treasure trove of some of the era's best songs.

Nothing beats these imported titles for great 80s music! You get a great blend of American and European hits on 2 CD sets. Pick your favorite years and relive the magic of the music!

Praying Mantis is one of those bands of which I haven't been following their career, mainly because of the fact their albums haven't been very easily available in this part of the woods. So it's very hard, no it's impossible for me to compare Nowhere To Hide to their earlier work. Except for the fact that this is the same line-up as on their former album, but that's an easy one, because that's in the liner notes. To be honest I didn't know what to expect from Nowhere To Hide. And so I didn't have any idea that a band that's been around for so long and has known so many line up changes could sound so fresh and energetic. The repertoire on this album is delicious sounding Hardrock with an AOR edge where on some of the tracks it's still clearly audible they head from the NWOBHM era. Just take a listen to I Can't Stop The Fire and you'll know what I'm talking about. One by one the songs are top notch. There's only ten of them on this European release, and that's a pity because I just can't get enough of this kind of material, the more the better! Most striking are the guitar- and vocal harmonies which are first class. I haven't heard many albums with such smooth guitar and vocal work on it lately. My compliments! The solos are spectacular as well. No endless technical ego-trips (although that can have its moment as well occasionally), but just very tasteful melody-lines. Well, what more can I tell you? This is just one of my favorite albums of 2000 and very often it's harder to review a completely brilliant album than to review one that has a few minor flaws. Nowhere To Hide has surprised me in a very positive way and certainly leaves a hunger for more. So I'll think I'm going to try to get me their previous album. To start with, because I believe I have some catching up to do...

Praying Mantis got their claim to fame in 1981 with the NWOBHM classic "Time Tells No Lies". Always the more melodic of the bunch, things looked great for the band of brothers Chris and Tino Troy. But bad luck and bad management made them miss the boat. After transforming into "Clive Burr's Escape" and "Stratus", they disappeared from the face of the earth. Until 1990, that is, when they were joined by Paul di'Anno and Dennis Stratton (both ex-Iron Maiden) for a NWOBHM 10th Anniversary concert. Things took off from there (mainly in Japan) and they've had quite some highs and lows (and different singers!) since then. Things really started to look bright for them when singer Tony O'Hora replaced Gary Barden and "Forever in Time" was released, a powerful album mainly about loss and coping with it.

And now there's "Nowhere to Hide". Released earlier this year in Japan by Pony Canyon and now by Frontiers/Now & Then, with a bonus track. After "Forever in Time" (a contender for my favourite album of all times, by any band) I didn't think their new one would be as good. Not to worry, there's no shame in not being able to reach perfection twice. But how was I to know these guys could do it?

To come to the point: "Nowhere to Hide" is a brilliant album. Filled from start to finish with their trademarks: powerful melodies, huge harmony vocals, twin guitars and emotional lyrics. No filler songs in sight. Practically every song is an epic, with lots of surprises and dramatic changes of mood in each one.

Again, the lyrics are wonderful and meaningful - something lacking in most of the rock scene today. Survival seems to be the main theme on this album, in more than one way, evidenced by songs like "Future of the World", "S.O.S." , "River of Hope" and the title track. Other songs are more personal:"Whenever I'm Lost" is an emotional `thank you' from Dennis Stratton to his son, and the epic bonus track "Naked" is about the baby daughter Tino Troy lost earlier this year. You can't get more emotional than that...

So, if you like your music melodic, powerful and emotional, this is an album you can't get around. Nowhere to hide indeed...

Musically, like a cross between Magazine, XTC, Joy Division and Television; Josef K were gone as soon as they had arrived. In their wake they left two stunning albums and many influential singles.

On this CD, we get their 'first' album, "Sorry for Laughing" though it was scrapped on release. It was nothing to do with the quality of songs, it was lead singer Paul Haig's insistence that the sound of the album was too polished and didn't reflect their true ethos. So only "The Only Fun in Town" was released initially, showing us a harder, punk-ish edge to their sound. In my view this album does sound better than the more 'polished' scrapped album, collected here after the released one. It's energetic and fresh sounding. Rawer, it contains wonderful angular guitar riffs and deep, deep basslines, very reminiscent of Joy Division. Songs are short, catchy and very melodic.

The second part of the CD contains the earlier, scrapped album. Some songs do sound over-dubbed and over produced, but it allows a wonderful comparison between their more rawer, energetic touch to the studio based output.

A brilliant collection from an influential and very talented band. They came, they saw, they conquered, and then they quickly disbanded!

Early in the eighties, an incredible convulsion shake our bored ears. I was 16 when I heard Josef K for the first time. There was a change in the way I listened to music. Apart from another great bands (Teardrop Explodes, Echo & The Bunnymen, Wah!, 23 Skidoo,...), Josef K amazed me with a very personal and powerful noise. Nobody played guitars that way and the production was pretty dirt. Noise is the word, a real post punk experience that can be heard nowadays with a certain surprise. Songs like "Crazy to exist" or "Sorry for laughlin", or the dark "It's kinda funny", are an unforgettable reminder of the best era of pop music. Buy this Cd, please, and you'll be surprised.

Another one of the most amazing albums in the world, buried beneath all that radio-friendly garbage. Though they vanished in 1982 with No Wave and the rest of punk music, this could have been released yesterday. an amazing take on the sound of the Velvet Underground, it has their jagged edges, but they find their own voice. God, The Only Ones are the Only Ones for me!
Here is what our local paper, "The Tulsa World", said in an excellent summation of this band and this album:
"Before there were the Replacements, the Psychedelic Furs, there were the only ones-a group of romantic punks with a penchant for pop and a healthy dollop of heroin chic. "Another Girl, Another Planet" has been covered to its nub, and no wonder."

right from the first track this album is quality, with Peter Perrets nasal, but expresive voice, and meaningful lyrics, the only ones hardly put a foot wrong. I could listen to Another girl, Another planet every day for the rest of my life and never get bored, but the album is more than just this song. Slow tracks like, the whole of the law, and no peace for the wicked balance out the fast pace of city of fun and another girl another planet, making this album a trgically unoticed master piece. (peter perret in the one are good too)