New Wave music reviews

Where could you possibly find the hits by the Buggles, Dead Or ALive, Bronski Beat, ABC, Animotion, and Men Without Hats compiled in one production? Only here. This cd is most memorable for the songs, "Radio Killed The Radio Star", "You Spin Me Round", and "Safety dance". It is really worth your money. Get it before it goes out of stock indefinitely.

I simply adore this album. There's nothing better than drying my hair in the bathroom mirror and singing along to those tunes from yesteryear. 90's music lacks the emotion and musicianship of the 80's. The moody & dark rock stars of today simply can't compare to the lyrical depth and meaning found in Starship's "We Built This City" and Was (Not Was) "Walk The Dinosaur". The only disappointment with this album is that it has to end. Where's a Volume II? My Momma don't dance, but this Daddy can Rock N' Roll!

If you're looking for a great eighties compilation, this is a great one. You'll be thinking about all those stupid friday nights when you and your high school friends did nothing but waste time and catalog your memories by music.

Absolutely wonderful. Anyone who loves the memories the sounds of the 80s brings back will enjoy this CD! For the younger people who want to get a taste of the music they missed, this is a great beginning.

The Skids were really defined by the partnership between Stuart Adamson's guitar playing and songwriting skills, and Richard Jobson's lyrics and vocals, and this is the third and last recording of the band in that incarnation. Jobson's lyrics, always determinedly poetic and fairly obscure, head further along that path, here, but the music is still strong, especially "Circus Games," "Hurry on Boys," and "A Woman in Winter." Not the best place to start listening to the Skids -- begin with "Scared to Dance" for that, or better yet, the Virgin "Best of" compilation -- but still a good album of powerful, prententious (but all the better for that) guitar pop, from a band whose reputation has been for the most part (underservedly) eclipsed by Adamson's subsequent work with Big Country.

If you only buy one Skids album in your lifetime, make it this one. I bought my first copy over a quarter of a century ago and it still thrills me when I treat myself to a listen today. In all that time since I played my first vinyl copy, I've never heard anything quite like it. This album is truly unique. It's also one of those rare albums which has no duff tracks and no fillers. If you're new to The Skids, you'll probably play the first 5 songs (side 1) most as they're all big super-catchy anthems. As you delve into the second 5 (side 2), however, the real beauty of this album comes out. All the hooks and super-flashy playing remain, but a rawer emotion develops in the songs along with an altogether darker feel. Adamson never played better than on these tracks. (Even die-hard Big Country fans must surely admit this.) He is equally matched throughout by Russell Webb on bass whilst Jobson and Baillie complete the chemistry beautifully. Credit should also be given to producer Mick Glossop for not over-producing this album. They still sound like a band. You know when you hear this record that they could (and did) reproduce it live. One slight criticism of this CD version is that it contains the single mix of 'Woman In Winter' rather than the full original album version thus missing out a verse and a guitar break. (Most of their greatest hits albums contain the proper version.)
The one thing that amazes me most about 'The Absolute Game' is this: How on earth could such a clever, unique, incredibly played work of musical genius be conceived and performed by Stuart Adamson at only 22 and Richard Jobson at a mere 20 years old? (I don't know what age Webb was, but I'm sure it was something similar.) You'd never guess they were so young when you listen to it.
In summary; buy this album and savour it. You'll be in the presence of greatness.

Commercially it amounts to arcana now, but in it's own out-of-this-world way, this l.p, is monumental. I defy anyone to find a rock guitarist who exceeds Stuart Adamson on this. If you are a real guitar nut, then the Van Halen debut, the Damned's Machine Gun Etiquette and Skids' Absolute Game should all be in your collection. The irony is that , as is so often the case, those who get too far out with innovation and new sounds, influence others and get very little credit for it. Make no mistake, this next-to-last version of the Skids is Stuart Adamson's Skids. It's his vision. It's his BIG SOUND. He was later to make some commercial hay with it in Big Country, but U2 jumped all over it and sold tens of millions, having made it safe for an American audience and the corporate rock scene. Recent guitar polls put Adamson, at best, in the lower reaches of the Top 100. But for a guy who played to write (but who could play extremely well), it simply doesn't get better than this. And Stuart Adamson was a MAJOR songwriter, too, by the time of his death in 2001. He also was an extremely good lead vocalist with Big Country and Raphaels, though he only handles backing vocals on the Skids. As for Skids' threads, one can only hope someone has the bravery to put out the last Skids l.p.; it features very little of Stuart Adamson, but he does show up for one stellar solo on one stellar song 'Iona'.

This is without a doubt Motorhead's highest point. Every track is just is just a pure headbanging. Needless to say that the title-track is one of rock'n'roll's loudest, most essential anthems. And what is to be said about the closing track: "THE HAMMER"? YEAH! BELIEVE ME THE HAMMER'S GONNA MAKE YOU DIE... ouch!
FIRE! FIRE! A record for you and your mates to pogo to... It's MAGIC!!!!!!

With Ace of Spades, Motorhead gained limited notoriety in America and achieved what few American or British Metal acts have strived for - humor, excitement, and pure joy in the pursuit of debased desires. "Now, hold on *******," some of you are saying, but wait. Motorhead has always taken pride in their attitude, their integrity, and their music. I assure I affront none. It cannot be denied, however, that the lyrical content of "Ace" is practically subhuman - "Jailbait" speaks of statutory rape; "Shoot You in the Back" recalls the glory of Wild West lawlessness; "The Hammer" is an abstract depiction of brutal oppression; and the title track revels in heroic acceptance of the "death card." Despite this, however, I love this album and especially the words. Lemmy is on to something - people who work, sweat, and bleed for a living like to cut loose and just snap their heads up and down to disgusting songs once in awhile. And there's nothing wrong with that - in fact, we all have those thoughts, it is what makes us human - it's healthy and that's what this album's all about, man. Healthy, aggressive, raw energy and power dashed with a subtle sense of humility and humor and no apologies for being human.

This is without a doubt Motorhead's highest point. Every track is just is just a pure headbanging. Needless to say that the title-track is one of rock'n'roll's loudest, most essential anthems. And what is to be said about the closing track: "THE HAMMER"? YEAH! BELIEVE ME THE HAMMER'S GONNA MAKE YOU DIE... ouch!
FIRE! FIRE! A record for you and your mates to pogo to... It's MAGIC!!!!!!

With Ace of Spades, Motorhead gained limited notoriety in America and achieved what few American or British Metal acts have strived for - humor, excitement, and pure joy in the pursuit of debased desires. "Now, hold on *******," some of you are saying, but wait. Motorhead has always taken pride in their attitude, their integrity, and their music. I assure I affront none. It cannot be denied, however, that the lyrical content of "Ace" is practically subhuman - "Jailbait" speaks of statutory rape; "Shoot You in the Back" recalls the glory of Wild West lawlessness; "The Hammer" is an abstract depiction of brutal oppression; and the title track revels in heroic acceptance of the "death card." Despite this, however, I love this album and especially the words. Lemmy is on to something - people who work, sweat, and bleed for a living like to cut loose and just snap their heads up and down to disgusting songs once in awhile. And there's nothing wrong with that - in fact, we all have those thoughts, it is what makes us human - it's healthy and that's what this album's all about, man. Healthy, aggressive, raw energy and power dashed with a subtle sense of humility and humor and no apologies for being human.

For those who enjoy a little dissonace in guitar pop, this EP is just the ticket. Fans of bands like Polvo, Helium, Television, and The Red Krayola will find a lot to like here.

SushiRobo skillfully layers sparse and often bizzarre guitar blips and seasick washes of chords with a tight, no-nonsense rhythm section.

The real strength of this CD lies in the songwriting though. Rick Roberts' greasy street carnival imagery is uncanny, and his melodies are instantly hummable.

This is great stuff, and I'm hoping a full-length album is in the works soon.

All Mod Cons is a quintessentially mod album. For Jam fans, it was quite a departure from In The City and The Modern World. Weller's superb song writing shines with this album. Having been a fan of Weller/Jam for 20 years, for me, it is the best album that they made and is a worthwhile addition to the collection of any fan of not only The Jam, but The Kinks/Who/or Beatles.

If you're a Who/Small Faces/Kinks and early 1960's Brit sound fan, you'll love Britain's best-kept secret -- the power pop sound of The Jam at its finest here on All Mod Cons. Paul Weller is simply 100% throughout this CD. An absolute must for Style Council fans as well.

I bought the CD because of the song "Right on Track" by a band a called The Breakfast Club. The song has almost disappeared completely from the music landscape (along with its 1-hit wonder band). Big overrated hits on this compilation include INXS' "The Devil Inside" and "Keep Your Hands To Yourself" by that dreadful group, Georgia Satellites. Still, there's enough quality 80's stuff on this disc, surrounded by OK B-list filler, to make it worth picking up. These solid tracks include "Only the lonely" [Motels] and "Everytime You Go Away" [Paul Young].

This is a great compilation. With 14 songs, it has enough length that you don't feel bored listening to it a second time. The songs themselves sound good together -- whoever picked them did a pretty good job. I particularly like "Keep Your Hands to Yourself" -- never seen that one on a compilation before. If you're in the market to get a compilation, well, this one's the best one I've seen yet.