3 comments about Into Tomorrow.

1. I didn't think this disc would be that great as I am pretty familiar with Paul Weller the man and the music. But it IS great. This really sheds new light on the man and you definitely will enjoy it if you call yourself a fan. It could have used some more live footage with songs played all the way through, but it's really not a concert disc anyway. Hope this helps.



2. Great video documentary of Paul Weller's life and career.
   Has interviews with Bruce Foxton (Jam 1977-82), Steve Brookes (The Jam prior to their 1977 record contract),
   Style Council members (Dee C Lee, Steve White, Mick Talbot), and Noel Gallagher.
   Treat it like a movie, and take it in.



3. Ill keep this short and to the point. Its a must own 90 minute overview with priceless footage and interviews- a great and insightful look into Wellers music and life. His childhood "the lost years" after the demise of TSC - Weller narrates along with friends musicians and family. Get it now- there is simply so much unseen material in (the u.s and anywhere). Covers his childhood in Woking up until his latest album As Is Now- long live Wella.

2 comments about Snap!.

1. I had this on vinyl and its unusable now. It was one of my last vinyl purchases and I just HAD to replace it.
   The Jam where my all times favorite group back in the early 80s (when I was running around in very tight trousers and black trenchcoats) but I could never find all the songs and all the singles together, untlil SNAP!.
   If you don't know The Jam, you are missing one very important piece of music history and culture.



2. Paul Weller is often seen as Daddy Britpop. Maybe even more than the Beatles, he was the main influence behind the Britpop revival in the nineties. Bands as Oasis, Supergrass and the Verve all got to pay their dues to Mister Weller and it all started with the Jam.
   
   The Jam rose to legendary status during the dawn of Punk rock. Although they never sounded as raw as the Sex Pistols or the Clash they are considered to be one of the greatest bands of that generation. Their sound is deeply indebted to Northern Soul, Funky and thrilling. Their songs were Snappy pop gems, pure working-class poetry. Unlike other Punk Rockers, their image was pristine, with cool sharp cut suits or expensive leisure wear. They were almost a movement on their own within the Punk scene.
   
   Snap was originally released as a double vinyl (remember those) and then comprised to a single disc. Because not everything of the original vinyl release fitted on a single disc eight tunes were cut form the release. The bonus EP that came with the original release disappeared all together. For decades fans had to make do with either the complete discography on disc or lacking compilations. This atrocity is finally set right with the re-release on disc of Snap in it original form, including the EP and a beautiful booklet. This truly is a must have for anyone interested in British music and an essential for any Punk Rock fan.

5 comments about Up the Bracket.

1. Wow, this album, is just so great, such great songs, it opens with a killer trio that will leave you wanting for more, key tracks on this album are:Horrorshow,Vertigo,Time For Heroes,I Get Along,Up The Bracket,and The Good Old Days



2. I absoutely adore this album. It's intelligent, witty and overall a very good time. I say, buy it now.



3. There are very few albums of the 2000s that look like they'll be viewed as "classics" in years to come; the kind of albums that change the way people view music, maybe even inspire them to start bands of their own. This is definitely that kind of album.
   
   What is it about it that makes it so good? Though this may seem like a digression from the main point of the review, the band's history is inseparably intertwined with their music. The Libertines is a band that ended up attracting a very devoted, loyal fan-base in the UK. The songwriting partnership of Pete Doherty and Carl Barat appears unlikely from a technical aspect, since they are actually quite different (both music and personality-wise). However, their varied vocal and lyrical styles complement each other rather harmoniously. Besides, they had the same objective: to play music, get it heard, and get signed!
   
   The popular British music magazine, NME, heavily promoted the band from their early days up until their demise. The success of The Strokes, a successful American band at the forefront of the "garage rock revival", helped open the door for The Libertines to get signed to a record label (Rough Trade). Over time, The Libertines became well-known for their intense, impassioned live shows, including performances held for fans at their own house! They popularized a "mythology" of the band in some of their song lyrics and interviews: The Libertines were hypothetically "sailing the good ship Albion (also an archaic name for Britain) to Arcadia", a utopian land without rules or authority. This notion has been particularly important to Pete, as he has continued these references in his subsequent band, Babyshambles. It embodies the poetic spirit of The Libertines very well, as it is a metaphor for Carl and Pete's 'quest' to revive a sort of British romanticism in music.
   
   The Libertines' style is mainly reminiscent of 70s British punk-rock bands (especially The Clash). Then again, there are a few slower and heartfelt tracks, like "The Good Old Days", "Tell the King", and "Radio America", which show the more literary side of the band, as opposed to the cocky, modern tone of tracks like "Up the Bracket", "The Boys in the Band", and "I Get Along". The whole album is varied enough to be interesting and enjoyable, and the band's incredibly distinctive style is a result of Pete and Carl's mixed influence of music and literature alike. The Libertines' debut, " Up the Bracket", has made quite an impact on contemporary British music and will (hopefully!) continue to affect music overall for many years to come.



4. How could they part their own ways? This two vocalists went over to form the Baby Shambles and Dirty Pretty Things. For footage of them and similar groups buy Later with Jools Holland....cool Britania 1 and 2. Excellent band and cd by the way...



5. Having grown up in London in the 70s and 80s, I actually saw the Jam, the Buzzcocks,and a host of other like bands so it is hard for me to appreciate this album; it is derivative to the point of plagarism. If you want to hear this sound, go back to the origionals plus when Paul Weller was in the Jam, he was never an uber-tosser like Pete (of course, even Weller succumbed to the inner-wanker when he formed the Style Council but I suppose one should forgive him for that.)

No comments about The Best of the BBC Recordings 1999-2006.

5 comments about Beautiful Intentions [UK CD].

1. This album is very good. Mel C always stood out from the other spice girls for me, and while I personally found her freshman album to be boring, this one is moving, well written, and beautiful. The songs sound like a cross between Kelly Clarkson and Alanis Morisette but with Mel C's distinguishable voice, which of course definately isnt the best in the business. For critics who cant get over her being a Spice Girl, its your loss, this is great music, from a fantastic musician who is proving her worth as a solo artist, unlike most of the other girls. Bravo Melanie, and I hope the new CD is as good as this one.



2. Melanie C's best CD...every single song is wonderful...I'm in the USA, and I ordered it all the way from England, and I WAS NOT disappointed...worth every penny



3. I must say that i was very skeptical at first about this album. I didn't truly believe that she could pull it off as a solo artist. Geri Halliwell was my example. But this album took me totally by suprise!
   
   Beautiful Intentions was the first album off a recording label that Mel made herself, and was created mostly by her. It is an intense album with very heartfelt lyrics that hit really close to home. I personally will listen to this if i am in the middle of a particularly bad break-up.
   
   From start to finish, Beautiful Intentions delivers a swirling array of music from ballads to rocked out tracks. I believe that the best song on the album is, "Here and Now", because it has the most personal lyrics in my opinion and is one of the prettiest songs on the album.
   
   Overall, Beautiful Intentions is a classic album from a fantastic artist. Having a little something for everyone, it truly is a well-rounded album and is worthy of unlimited praise.
   
   ♥ m.



4. i'm not a kid i am a 19 year old man
   i just wanted to put in my opinion without buying anything
   
   i have boughten this cd but not one this site i have been a fan since the spice girls she was always my favorite to me she was the only talented on and she has really inproved her self as solo artist you can tell she is no longer a spice girl i thinks it sad that she cannot get a record deal here in america with such a beautiful voice and such talent
   
   all in all the cd has a ton of songs that will have you rocking you head to the beat the is only one song that i did not care for and that is good girl obvisously i am not a woman nor a faggot so all the rest and beautifully done with rock hits
   
   
   corey from buffalo,ny



5. i'm not a kid i am a 19 year old man
   i just wanted to put in my opinion without buying anything
   
   i have boughten this cd but not one this site i have been a fan since the spice girls she was always my favorite to me she was the only talented on and she has really inproved her self as solo artist you can tell she is no longer a spice girl i thinks it sad that she cannot get a record deal here in america with such a beautiful voice and such talent
   
   all in all the cd has a ton of songs that will have you rocking you head to the beat the is only one song that i did not care for and that is good girl obvisously i am not a woman nor a faggot so all the rest and beautifully done with rock hits
   
   
   corey from buffalo,ny

5 comments about 1981-1998.

1. Like a few other fans of this band I had to have an inner debate as to whether or not to purchase this box set. The truth being that any serious fan would already have most of this material. This brings us to the "Box-set debate". Should a box set have more previously unreleased things or should a box set have absolutely everything the group has ever done as in the case of the Police box set which claims to have "every note"? The truth here is that spread across three studio CDs this has about 9 or so tracks that are unavailable anywhere else plus some that were only on their previous compilation album. So I was going to have to be buying a bunch of songs I already had at a not-cheap price as this set is apparently out of print and only available at high used prices. But with the excellent inclusion of their live show DVD (although it doesn't include "Yulunga"..was this edited out of the movie...and why as it is on the film's credits?). This DVD also has their videos which were of varying success. The "Yulunga" video is breathtaking and "The Carnival Is Over" video is just silly and much much more pointless than your own imagination when you hear it. The first CD has some very very very cool tracks from their first Peel session that show how cool they were early on and also why they could be forced into the "goth" camp which was a double edged sword for them. It gave them a "scene" to emerge from but carried inapplicable baggage that closed some potential listeners' minds to them. But so what? I do wish one of the CDs was nothing but a full live show of a concert from the "Within the Realm of a Dying Sun Days" or "Serpent's Egg Days" instead of lots of songs from "Aion" and those other albums of which most of us who would be interested enough to buy a box set would obviously already have. So...if you don't mind buying 2 album's worth of stuff you already have to get an awesome DVD and a good 9-11 songs worth of previously very rare or unreleased stuff that is as cool as anything this band has done then go for it. It took me a while to make the plunge and I don't regret it even if I am critical of it. I do wish there were more photos of the group during various eras in the booklet rather than sorta-arty photos of alleyways or leaves n' stuff. Great text though about life being in Dead Can Dance which apparently included being stuck in your London appartment and riding around on a bike. Inspiring. Here's a breakdown of the songs you might not have on this set:
   
   "Labour of Love", "Ocean", "Orion" and "Threshold"; their entire first Peel session which is just grand. Makes me long for the post-punk explosion of the early 80's which was more emotional and interesting than today's alternative music.
   I couldn't believe how well "Labour of Love" sounds. This is an awesome song.
   
   "Carnival of Light" from their second Peel session but I wish they had put more songs from this session on here as I don't know any way of getting them not even as bootlegs.
   
   "Bird" and "Spirit" from their compilation album which I never had because I didn't want to buy a whole CD for two songs...now I have them and they totally rock especially "Spirit".
   
   "The Protagonist", a comp track that sounds good when you're stoned and falling to sleep next to that special someone, especially if you're 18 which I once was. Alas.
   
   "Bylar" from a live radio set for the Echoes show. This one is soaringly beautiful with Lisa Gerrard's pan-Irish avant -folk.
   
   "Sloth" and a version of "The Wind That Shakes The Barley" from a radio set that are nice treats but you'll still need "Into the Labyrinth" as it's a more raw recording of "Wind that Shakes" and the version of "The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove" here is a really lame short edited version that spoils the flow of the song.
   
   "Gloridean" a dramatic Gerrard song left off of "Toward the Within" and is welcomed back here. It sounds like surveying the piled bodies and crying tears of a terrible medieval battle. Awesome.
   
   "Sambaktiki" a funky afro-psychedelic 9 minute instrumental jam left off "Spiritchaser" which reminds me of Talking Heads. Super cool on a hot day.
   
   "The Lotus Eaters" Their last studio recorded song from an aborted album. I hope they do another one someday. I'm a hold out, especially since they toured in 2005. What a show and there are some nice new ones that night which you can find on the limited live albums.
   
   Too much stuff I had already but such a great band that never stayed put and were always unique and they possessed a really excellent emotional impact. The lyrics to their "Serpent's Egg" album seem more and more relevant today as we see our civilization careening towards environmental meltdown for the sake of petty greed and power entrenchment.
   Focus Group



2. While this album contains much of the music I already own, its great to have everything in one bundle. The photos and art inside make this well worth the investment for any collector of this fantastic group.



3. For those who like this band this is a much have set. Unfortunately, this awesome box set is no longer available new on amazon. You can get it on itunes for about $35. That's the original price.



4. I congratulate the ones that reviewed before me. They even found words to describe this Box and Dead Can Dance.
   
   Because I just don't know how...
   
   .



5. I had two of their albums already. This one is by far the best. I don't like the packaging much though. It's in the form of a small hardback book. There are four discs; 3 CDs and the DVD of Toward the Within. The music is absolutely phenomenal. My coworkers asked me "What style is it?" There is no one specific style. It's a conglomeration of Medieval sounds, Arabian music, Indian music, light rock, and others.

5 comments about Brave.

1. It has taken many spins of this disc to determine what I thought of this band and this album. This is my first exposure to Marillion and I had no idea what to expect. The band is very talented and the production is so slick that no one instrument really stands out. Please know that I liked what I heard right away, but I just could not select a category to put this band into and I still don't. It's progressive and it rocks but even if you turn up the volume it doesn;t really rock very hard. It's like soft rock or something. Anyway whatever it is, I am going to buy some more of it because it is "soothing" and "melodic" and it makes me feel good. This band is very different from most others I listen to and they are a welcome change. It's raining right now as I type this review and the music seems very fitting. Thanks Marillion! - Ciao



2. After Marillion moved in a generally more commercial direction for their previous album "Holidays In Eden" the band did an about face and put out "Brave" which is one of the most uncommercial albums of their career. "Brave" is a concept album that tells the story of a runaway girl who attempts suicide by jumping off a bridge. The album tells her life story. The album was augumemted by a film that also fleshed out the tale. The music on this disc is for the most part dark and brooding. It tends to be an album that Marillion fans tend to either rank as one of their best ever or as one of their most pretentious. It is another one of those discs that had to grow on me over time. When it first came out I thought the concept was solid, but the music was somewhat lacking. The beginning and the end of the album were great, but it bogged down a bit in the middle. Over the years I kept coming back to "Brave" from time to time and appreciate it more with each re-visit. This is not at album that you listen to while driving down the road in your car. "Brave" is an album that you listen to on a good stereo or with headphones while you can sit down and really concentrate on it. The individual tracks don't work that well by themselves (with a few exceptions), but taken as a whole this is a brilliant piece of work. As mentioned prior, the majority of the music on this disk moody and dark. There are a few heavier rock sections such as "Hard As Love", but you are not going to find a lot of the more high energy Marillion on this one. The final section of the album consisting of "Brave", "The Great Escape", "Last Of You", "Falling From The Moon", and "Made Again" is simply gorgeous contains everything that makes Marillion great. "Brave" is not an album for casual listening. It needs to be consumed as the whole that it is. The album may not grab you at first, but give it time and you may find it to be a very rewarding listen.



3. So after CLUTCHING AT STRAWS, singer Fish left the band. In comes Steve Hogarth for 1989s SEASON'S END, a terrific balance of staying true to their art and moving forward. Next came HOLIDAYS IN EDEN, an obvious attempt by he band and the record company to go for popular appeal. HOLIDAYS has some terrific material, and I would that all pop had its level of musical integrity. So what did the band do next? A friggin concept album--and guess what? They scored a huge hit with the fans. BRAVE is what Marillion listeners were waiting for since MISPLACED CHILDHOOD. BRAVE is moody, depressing, tragic, touching and rocking. It may make you cry. It certainly will hold your attention if you let ot sink in and if you really listen. I bought the CD upon its release many years ago. I listened to it several times and some tracks caught my interest while others did not. That's fine. Many years later I began to give the album as a whole more attention. The full picture began to develop for me. Generally, BRAVE will show up as one of the top Marillion albums among fans, and it deserves to be.



4. This is a conceptual album, I have to admit that when it came out, I was still stuck in Fish's era. My opinion at the moment was that Marillion could never create an album as strong as Misplaced Childhood. This was a mistake, Brave is a masterpiece and the ending track "The great escape" is one of the greatest from the band, after all these years, I can tell that this is one of my favorite Marillion's album, if not my favorite.
   Highly recommanded for any progressive music fans !



5. Concept albums are curse words to the music world today. Or so they say. Most people would say who cares, as long as the album is good. Well, Brave is not good, it is a total MASTERPIECE. The album will make rock, make you think, and make you cry. The whole album is a storyline about a girl with a rough childhood and attempts suicide. The music of the album fits the lyrics like a glove. This is lyrically Marillion's best work. Put your headphones on and listen to this with lyric booklet in front of you. Listen to the stand outs like the pulsating rocker Hard as love (definitly a song to get your frustrations out.), to the beauty and fanfare of the song Great Escape, and the beauty of Made Again, along with the other great songs on this album. you will be hooked onthis album after the first listen. ENJOY!

4 comments about Travis at the Palace.

1. OK, look. I love this band. If you don't own one of their last three albums, just get one of them. Trust me. Therse guys are great. Now, the DVD review...
   
   This DVD presents their music live and and the band performs very well. I wish the band would have strayed more from the album versions, but the music is excellent. You'll like listening to this DVD. I said "listening" to this DVD. And having said that...
   
   I also have to say this DVD is one of the most distracting editing jobs I've ever seen outside of a bad three minute MTV video.
   
   It is not the band's fault, of course, but I have to be honest... I wanted to kick back and watch a Travis concert. For that purpose, this DVD is quite unsatisfying.
   
   It seems like every single song is great in the audio sense, but visually every song is an annoying collection of one or two second clips... maybe more like half-second clips. It's like this (read the following as fast as you can and you'll get the idea)...
   
   BANG, BANG, BANG... in focus, out of focus, somebody's ear, some kid in the crowd, a pick on a string, a shot from behind the band, another from over there, and over here... look! someone's leg in front of a face, sweat on someone's face! Hey, here comes the guitar solo, cool! I want to see... But what's that?! A hand! Whose han... I think that's the drummer's han... now there's the back of a... the front of... what the... is that... the crowd, some lights. Here's the part where... is that... where Healy... woah, what was that?! There's an eye, there's a guitar with... that's a cymbal and he's... a light! A face! A crowd, another ear! Is that a chin?! It IS a chi... someone's wrist! A face! More lights with some... is that... he... AAHHHHHHH!
   
   I found myself saying, "Enough already! I see that you can splice a thousand camera shots into one song! Yes, it is pefectly synchronized! But can I please just watch someone in the band perform for 10 consecutive seconds?! How about three?! Just give me three consec... Oh, man! Stop! Stop!!!!"
   
   A very impressive computer was used, I'm sure.
   
   But I want to see the BAND perform in concert. Wasn't that the idea?
   
   Anyway. I can't wait for a DVD that has as its priority showing a concert by this fantastic band and not just high tech editing with the band as the soundtrack. Someone dropped the ball on this one.
   
   So I give the BAND 5 stars! I give the editors 0 stars.
   
   Combine those scores and you get... 4 stars. How? Yup, the band is THAT good! Did I tell you I love this band?



2. I have watched this Dvd, Travis- At the Palace more than 5 times since i bought it a month ago. This is a live concert where Fran Healy sings a list of 22 songs picked from their various albums.
   
   Travis are not only the most down to earth and charitable rock stars ever, they are also the most Real and amazing live performers. This Dvd is a must-have for any Travis fan or even people who liked Travis songs but never got around to buying their albums. Simply put, the songs sound better performed live.
   
   To kick off the show, Happy To Hang Around was the perfect choice. Loud music to warm the crowd up, Travis then sang another two songs, Writing To Reach You and Re-offender before Fran Healy greets the crowd.
   
   One of the best tracks performed is The Beautiful Occupation where Fran gets all sweaty and starts marching when he sings the chorus. His vocals are almost fading sometimes but at the same time it still retains the sincere tonality of his voice.
   
   Your favourite classics from The Man Who such as Driftwood, Turn , Coming Around are all bona fide performances.
   
   The suprise of the night was when Fran got the piano in and played Some Sad Song, a hidden track on 12 memories even though the only song he can play on the piano is that. I really applaud his courage in doing this and he was really consistent and never missed a note.
   
   Since it was christmas time, Travis did a remake of Last Christmas, originally done by George Michael with Santa Claus shaking the bells on stage. And of course, how can Why Does It Always Rain On Me be excluded? It is no doubt the crowd pleaser and everyone was singing along to it. Even though i wasn't there at the concert, i could feel the "thing" that everyone was feeling. singing the song along with Travis.
   
   Damn those lucky people, i bet it was an amazing amazing night.
   
   So if you're a Travis fan, you must own this because it is absolutely stunning and if you don't hate Travis and think they are okay, get it coz it will easily change your mind. Let travis blow you away with sincerity and their down-to-earth performances & personalities.



3. Such a performance, Travis on fire !!!. Great concert. It's a pity this band has been so ignored by the mass media. Neverthless fans know this group is fantastic. Fran's voice is outstanding, as the rest of the band. This is a pleasure, get it now !!!!



4. This dvd is a very faithful portrait of the energy and charisma
   that the band performs on stage. The image is much better than their previous dvd and the sound is a great 5.1 surround. That being said, i highly recommend that DVD for anybody who is already a Travis fan and also if you're not cause it is the best way to discover the band! You also get to go behind the scenes with the band with an interesting "shot by the band" documentary. Its a great music dvd to own!

5 comments about The Sensual World.

1. Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3EQH071FSE6KI My name is Jeremy Gloff. I am a musician (check me out on Amazon!) and retro music enthusiast. If you enjoyed this review make sure to check out my Amazon user profile to check out my other reviews. I am always up for making new friends and discussing the music I love!!!



2. Close to two decades a friend introduced my to Kate Bush via Hounds of love. I love the tracks on the album, yet when the same friend played some of her other works I was not as impressed and so Hounds became my one and only Kate Bush.
   
   Then recently reading some information on her I came across some reviews of the Sensual World and I listened to the tracks and it was like it picked up right where Hounds of Love ended.
   
   Listening to her wonderful voice combined with the layered melodies and insightful lyrics sends a shiver down my spine and electricty to shoot over my skin.
   
   A masterpiece and not to be missed.
   
   Close your eyes, listen and immerse yourself in aural triumph.



3. Every song on the Dreaming was utterly awesome. She peaked with that album, and it went downhill from there. Hounds of Love was half brilliant and this one has 3 songs I really like (the title track, "Never Be Mine", "This Woman's Work"). Aside frome these, the album ranges from uncompelling to downright lame. If this is her most "mature," as others have argued, its her least interesting.



4. I received this product quickly and in good condition. I enjoy most of the songs on the CD and happy with my purchase.



5. Hounds of Love's amazing personal narrative of a woman's spiritual struggle stands as one of the finest monuments ot the music world, and Kate Bush no doubt thought she could never emulate it. On "The Sensual World", the mystical themes are gone with the exception of the charming "Heads We're Dancing" which provocatively deals with the transformation of her lover into Adolf Hitler. In its place, are highly earthbound themes like the difficulty of remaining committed in modern society.
   
   The remarkable thing is that Kate manages still to show all her trademark qualities to great effect. The opening title track is as brilliant as "Running Up That Hill" or "Rubberband Girl" even though its lyrical theme relates not to spiritual experience but to sexual experience. "The Fog" is really dark and enchnating, and continues the romantic focus to beautiful effect with its combination of simple percussion rhythms with beautiful strings. "Reaching Out", though equally dark, is truly dense and dramatic and retains the unique, dense signature sound of her previous two albums.
   
   The intimate and touching "Deeper Understanding" and "Walk Straight Down the Middle" (omitted from some issues) really show that Kate could carry on her feminine mystical style into earthbound material about a woman's daily life. Especially on the latter song, the arrangements are lush and beautiful, and her trademark femininity only gains, as it does on the nearly tearful "This Woman's Work". Apart from the title tune, though, the real gem is "Never Be Mine", featuring the Trio Bulgarka's remarkable vocal style to create, through combining the voices, a beauty nobody had heard in popular music before.
   
   Even the extremely tearful "Love And Anger" lacks nothing in intensity, whilst "Rocket's Tail (For Rocket)", though seeming undistinctive at first, has more passion than anything Kate ever did except "Top of the City" on The Red Shoes. Its lyrics, even devoid of mystical languages, still express personal struggle as only Kate Bush ever could
   
   All in all, even without the intensely personal and mystical struggles found on her previous two albums, Kate Bush was an exceptional and unqiue talent. Her "earthbound" album "The Sensual World" (as its title suggests) is, but still all the femininity and complex narriatives remain for all to hear.

5 comments about Head Over Heels.

1. Although The Jesus & Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine deservedly enjoy the accolades accompanying their respective positions as pioneers of the shoegazer genre pervasive in the late 1980s, the JMC's fellow Scots, Cocteau Twins, can be identified as a crucial component in the (semi-) popularisation of the style.
   
   Following the departure of bassist and founding member Will Heggie, Head Over Heels relies almost exclusively on the Twins' two strongest suits: Robin Guthrie's often-abstruse guitar production, and Elizabeth Fraser's wraithlike vocals (which she lent most famously to the 1998 Massive Attack single 'Teardrop') and indiscernible lyrics.
   
   The result is something of a synthesis of the trite precepts of punk, rock, dream pop and new wave combined to otherworldly effect. Although far removed from it's ominous predecessor Garlands (1982), Head Over Heels paradoxically both maintained the (considerable) critical and (modest) commercial appreciation the band had previously garnered, and signalled the dawning of a band honing their influential sound.
   
   A central ambivalence in the album's sound is that although Fraser's iridescent vocals could pass as lullaby ('Sugar Hiccup'), Guthrie's coextensive opaque guitar layerings and vapourous arpeggios ('Glass Candle Grenades') are often their very antithesis. The variance works however, as the album sweeps effortlessly from would-be requiem (the dirge-like 'The Tinderbox (of a heart)' and would-be jazz ('Multifoiled') to would-be U2 ('My Love Paramour') and back again.
   
   Indeed, Robert Fripp (King Crimson) and The Edge (U2) are as present in Guthrie's guitar as Will Reid and Kevin Shields (The Jesus and Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine respectively).
   
   Fraser's voice is the central attraction however, with a transcendent quality that can be deciphered in the work of vocalists as diverse as Jeff Buckley (with whom she was romantically involved), Bjork, Thom Yorke (Radiohead) and Chino Moreno (Deftones).



2. The songs on this album are good. Unfortuneatly, I learned that the remastering left something to be desired in the mid-range of most of the album. I do not own a copy of the original, however, I would purchase that instead.



3. Ignore the whiny naysayer that cried a river because the Cocteau Twins "weren't anything like Siouxie & The Banshees"...By the end of the CT's career they were better than they ever were, whilst S&TB were pop-encrusted shadows of their former selves and glory.
   
   This is one of their top three albums (if not their best, competeing with the PINK OPAQUE and THE MOON & THE MELODIES). Still can't stand the track "Sugar Hiccup", though...definitely the least favourable on the album.



4. I am always up for a change and a chance offering. When I heard that the "twins" were compared to Siouxsie and the Banshees, well I thought it deserved a hear-see. This is echo chamber crud. Voices that are incoherent and music that sounds as if play in a trash can (appropriate place to place this CD) Sorry, Siouxsie could expell better music and sounds through their intestinals track better than this.



5. Most albums feature music which reveals the era in which they were recorded. But "Head Over Heels" by Scotland's Cocteau Twins doesn't sound like it belongs to ANY era, even though it was released in 1983. A beautiful rush of etheral magic, "Head Over Heels" stands in a class of its own. The slow-moving opener "When Mama Was Moth" has vocalist Liz Frazer delivering hypnotic (yet incoherent) chants, while the brooding "The Tinderbox (of a Heart)" marches along in all its dark glory. Things get upbeat in "In Our Angelhood" with great melange of guitars, and the single "Sugar Hiccup" holds up well. I've owned this CD since my days in college, and I like it more with each listen. The melodies these guys craft are some of the most beautiful I have ever heard. Mainstream listeners may not realize it, but the Cocteau Twins are among the most influential acts of the last 25 years, developing a unique and distinguished sound that would inspire later genres known as trip hop and ambient. Indie label 4AD re-released "Head Over Heels" with remastered sound supervised by Robin Guthrie. At first, I was reluctant to buy this CD, which, after all, was already reissued by Capitol in 1991. But the sound quality of the new 4AD release is a definite imporvement over the original, featuring a full-bodied sound that projects much better than Capitol's edition. So, even if you already have the Capitol release (or if you have no copy of "Head Over Heels" at all), you should make the upgrade and buy this great album reissued by 4AD.