New Wave music reviews

Black Sea stands as one of XTC's finest albums. Both Partridge and Moulding are in top form and Andy never topped the chaos and energy of this great album. English Settlement brought an acoustic element to the band's sound (which would be further developed on the underrated Mummer).

This Japanese import has great A sound (it was remastered by Ian Cooper) and features the original artwork (including the green bag that the original album was housed in). Lyrics are included in both English and Japanese. Sadly, Virgin chose not to include any info on the making of the album (there are a couple of books you can turn to for that info though). None of Xtc's contemporaries (whether it be the Clash, Police or Jam) ever came close to Partridge and Moulding in both lyrical depth and melodic creativity.

The glitter/glam slam of 1972-75 was perhaps the finest, if not funniest, 15 minutes for prefab teenypop designed specifically to irritate parents and separate children from their allowances. Unlike "Velvet Goldmine," which went overboard on Roxy Music and rock-critic cred, this raucous tribute includes three selections from David Bowie's seminal "Ziggy Stardust," but the spotlight really shines on the interchangeable hit machines that defined the era: the Sweet (before they dropped the "the" and invented Def Leppard, Poison and 1980s glam-metal in general with "Sweet Fanny Adams"), Suzi Quatro, Slade, Mud, Gary Glitter and his Glitter Band, many of whom were masterfully manipulated behind the scenes by songwriters Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman (who went on to produce Blondie and the Knack) and producer Mickie Most. The lack of any bonafide stars beyond the Donnas doesn't detract from the giddy sense of the absurd that permeates the proceedings; you can practically hear the bands stomping the floor with their vintage platform shoes as they chew up riff-o-rama tribal nursery rhymes such as "Wig Wam Bam," "Can the Can" and "Gudbuy T'Jane." Toss in a generous helping of T. Rex and Velocette's touching take on Mott the Hoople's elegiac "Roll Away The Stone," and you've got one of the best cover albums in the history of this justifiably-maligned genre. Props to El Lay deejay legend Rodney Bingenheimer, the Dick Clark of glitter, punk, new wave, alternative and everything cool, for godfathering the process and getting it so right.

THE FLIRTS ARE GREAT. THEY HAVE SO MANY JAMS THAT PEOPLE DONT EVEN KNOW ABOUT, LIKE THIS ONE HERE. THIS IS CD THAT IS SOUGHT AFTER BY MANY, AND I AM VERY FORTUNATE TO OWN THIS ONE, THIS IS A COLLECTORS ITEM SO GET WHILE YOU CAN. THE CD IS FILLED WITH GREAT CATCHY TUNE LIKE "NEW TOY","YOU AND ME","VOULEZ VOUL", "ISLAND BOY", AND OF COURSE MY FAVORITE "OPPOSITES ATTRACT". ON "OPPOSITES ATTRACT" (TRACK 9)BOBBY "O" DISPLAYS HIS LOVE AND PASSION FOR QUALITY DISCO MUSIC, TRY IT OUT!

One of my favorite songs and videos from 1983 was "Come Dancing" by the Kinks. I really loved the different kinds of instruments used in that particular song. I recently heard it again on the radio during a retrospective salute to the music of the 1980's. I decided to try and find a CD that had "Come Dancing" along with some other '80's hits from my youth. I discovered the album "British Invasion" and purchased it right away. To my delight, the album had all original recordings of those wonderful songs that reminded me of how I used to be a huge MTV fan. The album was full of memories for me!! Besides "Come Dancing," it has such standard early MTV artists like Duran Duran(Hungry Like the Wolf), Billy Idol(Eyes Without a Face),and Eurythmics(Sweet Dreams.) This a great album and I was really surprised at the low price. You get twelve great songs for under $10!! The best part is that all the songs are all the original recordings. Just like I remember them.

LISTEN FOLKS THIS CD IS BRILLIANT...BRILLIANT! BASICALLY IT BRINGS BACK THE EXCELLENCE OF THAT ERA'1977. THE CLASSIC POWERTRACKS ARE FROM COCKSPARRER,'PUNCTURE','THE UNWANTED', the CARPETTES, USERS, KILLJOYS, MANIACS, SNIVELLING SH_TS, AND MORE, MORE. I HOPE THIS MEDIOCRE REVIEW OF MINE WILL BE ABLE TO GIVE SERVE THIS RELEASE SOME JUSTICE.WITHOUT QUESTION,I GIVE THIS CD *6* STARS.

THIS COMPILATION BRINGS BACK PRECIOUS MEMORIES OF THE EARLY 80'S CALIFORNIA SCENE. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE GREATS HERE:YOUTH GONE MAD,SIN 34,GEZA-X, DEMENTED,REDD KROSS,the most rare SADIST FACTION,CIRCLE ONE, AND SO,SO MUCH MORE. ALL THESE CLASSIC HITS ON A SINGLE COMPACT DISC. '5'STARS ALL THE WAY.

This is only the best of the best and this collection is mixed together wonderfully with obscure interview out takes and other rare treats shoved in between songs. This is one of those compilation sets that provokes you to go out and buy a whole slew of records by artists that you weren't previously too sure about. The best song on there is "Vengence" It makes me wish I could hear it on vinyl. The only thing missing from these Burning Ambition sets is something by the Posers. Oh well, you can't have everything...

Friends, metallians, I rerely give 5 stars but I have to on this masterpiece by Samson. There is no Bruce Bruce (Dickinson) on this one, but new guy Nicky Moore sings powerfully in a more bluesy tone. Fast hard rockers all, great performances everywhere, best Samson I have ever heard.

Make no mistake about it: The success of Walking on Sunshine was nothing but an enormous albatross for this group. They wanted...desperately, overwhelmingly wanted...to lose their one-hit wonder status. To be known for something, *anything*, else.

Unfortunately, Break of Hearts didn't do it, and after listening to it, I have some idea why. It's servicable rock, yes, but that's all that it is. There isn't anything distinctive, bold, powerful, or even all that fun (MAJOR minus points for the bazillionth "girl/world" pairing in Rock 'n Roll Girl). I listen to Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, The Gin Blossoms, heck, even Puffy Amiyumi, I can sense spirit, heart, the willingness to be different. They take the rock sound and *do* something with it. That's someting I'm just not getting from Break of Hearts.

Nothing horrible, but nothing great, either. If you're a fan of straight-up vanilla rock, you're going to love it. In light of that, why they weren't more popular is beyone me. :-)

She is often overseen, but Katrina is a strong singer and performer. All her albums are strong too. This one has the hit "Rock'n'roll girl", but also quite some more good songs like "To have and to hold" or "Crush on you". Katrina & the Waves are far more than a one-hit-wonder

.....but you should just get the entire Budokan double-disc. If you are reading this you are already interested enough in the whole concert. Even if you already have the single-disc version, buy the double and give the single disc to a good friend who will appreciate it.

If you have the single-disc version and think this is the way to save a few bucks over the double disc, because it contains the 'rest' of the same concert, you'd be somewhat correct in a narrow sense. The double-disc puts the whole show in order and also contains other video footage on both discs. This contains other songs from the same Budokan show as the original release and also has some songs from a separate show there like a year later. And the band do not endorse this release.

Buy the double-disc and crank it.

...Two reasons. Number One: It sounds better
than the original mastered copy of the LIVE
@ Budokan, which was copied from the original
tape. And (B): The song selection isn't the
same old Ain't That A Shame, I Want You To Want
Me and Surrender that us Cheap Trick fans have
heard for decades now. This LP is also w/ cuts
from the Dream Police Tour of 1979 (well, three
cuts anyway), and you can tell by the dress code
these guys have on the cover and inside of sleeve.
Also: Don't miss Budokan: The Complete comcert to
hear what we've been missing all these years. Tom
Petersson's best work with Cheap Trick yet, is here!

Let me tell you, Cheap Trick is at their absolute best in the live setting. This CD represents the raunchier songs from the first three albums vs. the more commercial "At Budokan". Since the release of the Complete Budokan 2CD set this has become obsolete. However, it contains live versions of tracks not available on "Complete". These songs may actually not have been part of the Budokan concert but stand out in their own right. Classic Cheap Trick. Get it while you can.