5 comments about Retro: Active, Vol. 2.

1. The songs are great but the transfer to digital form was done poorly. The tracks sound terrible. The volume was jacked up way to high and the low frequencies are overwelming. If your looking for the extended version of goodbye horses, I recommend getting it either on the clerks 2 soundtrack(it sounds great on clerks 2) or spend the money on the original 12 inch single. All the other tracks can be found on their original 12 inch vinyl releases on online auctions for reasonable prices. So in love by Omd is a great song but its sounds terrible on this release. Dont bother buying this cd if you like quality sounding music.



2. I bought this for one song that was no longer available to buy on it's own. With that in mind, I'm glad to have the other songs too. You know how you get that feeling from way way way back in your mind and things you haven't thought about in years come back? That's what happened when this was playing in the background. Good music from the teenage and early twenties of my life.



3. I must admit I originally wanted this cd because of the ultra rare 12" mix of Love Parade from The Dream Academy. Many if not all are very hard to finds. I could have done without Tears For Fears on this cd but for the rest it's a true find for people looking for the real eighties dance music. A must have for any serious collector.



4. Attention "Silence Of The Lambs" fans. This CD has the Ultra- Rare Q Lazzarus song (Goodbye Horses) you have been searching for! The hauntingly beautiful music playing while Buffalo Bill struts his stuff is here in all it's glory in a 6 min. 25 sec. extended version! Worth the price of this disc on it's own. However, the rest of the disc will make you want to wax up the dance floor and return to the Synth Pop sounds of the 80's!



5. Good to get some of these old vinyl releases I had such as the OMD, Blancmange, and Human League on CD. I was hoping the a-ha would live up to the asterisk and actually be an UNRELEASED version of the song. The Steve Thompson mix of "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." has been available for a long time on 45 RPM Club and Twelve-Inch Club a-ha CD compilations. I hate the droning cowbell and beat. The rarer 12" mix WITHOUT that droning beat is MUCH better IMO, and is still impossible to find on CD. Guess i'll just have to live with the record...

5 comments about The Isle of View.

1. I;ve been to hundreds of concerts. This is the only one that ever broght tears to my eyes. Id you don't like this you have no soul.



2. I've had this CD since it came out - and it is still one of the CD's in my most listened to pile.
   Such a great live acoustic set with so much feeling added into the songs from Chrissie. If your a pretenders fan or not, you're sure to love it.



3. Love Chrissie's Sound, Style, Poetry you will absolutely love the work she has done here !
   Must Have.
   Turn it up and Hit the Replay All Button.
   
   ENJOY
   
   PEACE



4. Chrissie Hynde's bad attitude was always more refreshing than most - she has no patience for celebrity, no desire to sugarcoat her "message," barely even a desire to give anyone asking her a question the time of day. One of the great shocks of The Isle of View, then, is Hynde's vulnerability in full play. It's an acoustic set, but it's an coustic set of a particular bent - the guitar parts of old get morphed into string arrangements, and on occasion, the songs themselves morph in tone. The result is remarkable - it's not just a shift in tone during a song like "Back On The Chain Gang," it's a somber, moving refocusing of that song's true nature of loss and nostalgia. The best moments of the album are like that - versions of "Kid," "Sense of Purpose," or "2000 Miles" that take the songs in directions you didn't realize they'd gone all along, which proves just what a deft poet Chrissie Hynde can be. It needs to be said that not all the moments are perfect - the laconic version of "I Go To Sleep" is just laconic, and the rejiggering of their obscure debut album song "Lovers Of Today" might only prove that the song should have been forgotten in the first place. Still, by the time Hynde arrives at her last extraordinary "Freedom!" in "Revolution," the strings blazing with galvanic charm, it gets difficult to imagine a much better live attempt than this one - a winning, sly, cleverly concocted minimalist set.



5. I am a lukewarm Pretenders fan, enjoyed the first three albums, felt they lost a bit along the way after that, but still always willing to give Chrissie and friends the benefit of the doubt.
   
   Here they turn in a surprisingly strong live, acoustic set, covering old, new, and forgotten songs from their catalogue, with tasteful backing from a string quartet. Some tunes work better than others: "Private Life" and "I Hurt You" work especially well, as Chrissie's mournful voice mixes perfectly with the delicate acoustic guitar and string backup. "Back on the Chain Gang," on the other hand, is a bit awkward and forced.
   
   But with picture-perfect versions of "2000 Miles," "Chill Factor," and a strong opener, "Sense of Purpose," this is overall a very strong addition to the Pretenders canon, worth picking up for its unique and somewhat experimental handling of these classic songs.

5 comments about But the Little Girls Understand.

1. After their excellent debut album, the Knack releasd "But the Little Girls Understand". The band plays with energy but the songs are just not that good. Aside from Baby Talks Dirty which is catchy but sounds a lot like My Sharona, the other songs are mostly uninspiring. The reissued version from 2002 includes two live tracks with Ray Manzarek from the Doors. Ray does his thing with the Knack playing backing up and the songs plod along and bring nothing refreshing to this album. All in all, a disappointing release from a very talented and fun band. BnB Beatles Depot



2. Their initial release, "Get the Knack," far overshadows everything else they recorded, but if you liked "My Sharona" and "Good Girls Don't" you'll probably enjoy this release, too. It's pretty much more of the same.



3. While Doug Feiger may boast that "But The Little Girls Understand" was made up of the songs originally slated to be "Get The Knack's" second half of a double album, there is no escaping the fact that these songs are lesser than those of the debut. Recorded at the same breakneck pace as the debut (a mere two weeks, and only 8 months after "Get the Knack"), this time, the expediency doesn't benefit. If "Get The Knack" was a sugary eclair with a tart filling, "But The Little Girls Understand" was the same eclair after the creamy filling had gone rancid.
   
   The problems are evident as soon as "Baby Talks Dirty" kicks in. Essentially the "My Sharona" riff inverted with yet another lyric about slutty girls, it was still catchy and propulsive enough to hit the top 20. I can't fault the band for trying, as the songs are slavish to style. The Beatles dominate, but so does Buddy Holly pop ("Having A Rave Up"), to even covering an obscurity from The Kinks ("The Hard Way"). The songs that seem to push the envelope are even weirder. "Mr Handleman" sports an island riff as the protagonist offers to pimp out his wife.
   
   The backlash had already been in force, and "But The Little Girls Understand" fed the fires. Lacking the cohesion of the debut and, frankly, all that many memorable songs, The Knack was already shooting themselves in the feet. It took them two years after this to create the sophisticated "Round Trip," but this was the seal of doom for The Knack. They were already getting into substance problems, media disasters (they were a notoriously prickly interview on the occasion they even did speak to media), and both Feiger and producer Mike Chapman were not too fond of each other by the album's completion.
   
   It's a shame, because the bonus material on "But The Little Girls Understand" showcases why The Knack were such a sought-after group in the label-bidding wars. Ray Manzarek of The Doors is featured jamming on a pair of live cuts, "Soul Kitchen" and "The Alabama Song/Whiskey Bar." They swing though each with verve, and the Del Shannon tribute "Daughter Of The Law" sounds like a great lost single. The Knack had it, lost it, and never got it back.



4. In the world of 20th century rock music, bands usually had about two albums worth of material worked up from club work by the time they landed a recording contract. As a result, the first two albums tended to be close reflections of each other, and substantial development of the band's sound was not expected before the third release. Music critics who knew this perfectly well still gave the Knack a hard time for the close duplication in this album of the band's initial, explosively successful "Get the Knack." Well, they gave the Knack a hard time about just about everything, and hounded the band to a premature (and thankfully temporary) extinction. Little known until now was just how closely related the songs of "But the Little Girls Understand" were to those of "Get the Knack." Doug Fieger and company originally proposed to Capitol Records a double album debut (!), nothing less than a concept album of suburban 70s teenage angst. The executives predictably balked at the idea, and the Knack sliced their concept into two separate discs, releasing them a mere eight months apart. The two albums should be seen as a single, marvelous moment in rock history, and a fine extended set of raw power pop.
   
   It is understandable that "But the Little Girls Understand" did not get quite an even share of tight little masterpieces that the Knack packed into their debut. But it holds up remarkably well, flying forward at full throttle from the opening track, the top-40 hit "Baby Talks Dirty," through a dozen focused statements of desire, frustration, and fatalism. If one accepts the frequent comparison of the Knack to the early Beatles, then it is to the earliest Beatles of the Hamburg scene, blistering out tracks with a speed-enhanced fury. As for criticisms of the limitations of formula and musicianship -- that's rock'n'roll, man, and the Knack knew this genre far better than most.
   
   I think one of the main reasons "But the Little Girls Understand" leaves the listener a little disappointed in the end is a misstep in deciding how the album should end. Someone made the decision to show off the band's ability to imitate a number of varied rock styles, including the fine Spectoresque "The Feeling I Get," the rockabilly "Havin' a Rave Up," and the fully orchestrated ballad, "How Can Love Hurt So Much." The latter two tracks are not really up to snuff, and a better solution is sitting right there among the bonus material on this CD: an incredible six minute opus called "Revenge" that has to rank among the most perfect encapsulations of the rock ethos ever put on tape. If this had been the closing track on the album, I think it would have been a much stronger finale. In addition to "Revenge," the bonus material on this CD release includes another lost early effort, "Daughter of the Law," and two live tracks from before the band hit it big, with guest Ray Manzarek of the Doors (Knack bassist Prescott Niles had worked in a post-Doors band with Manzarek).
   
   The Knack began to falter after "But the Little Girls Understand," and broke up after only one more release, regrouping off and on over the years since and putting out three more albums, alas without high-powered drummer Brucy Gary, whose recent passing is much lamented. Of these later releases, only 1998's "Zoom" recaptures all that made the Knack the quintessential power pop band. Look for the touched-up re-release "Re-Zoom" out this year.



5. Reviewer Robert Bryan is correct in saying "The Knack had enough songs for a 2 record debut".
   According to Doug, "we had about two dozen, and picked the what we thought were the best twelve for the debut".
   
   In fact, "Baby Talks Dirty" was one of the very first songs Doug had written in the early 70s, but never got around to recording.
   "My Sharona" came along much later, and was basically a more risqué reworking of "Baby Talks", not the other way around as many mistakingly believe.
   Comparing the two songs, I actually like Baby Talks *better*.
   
   My recommendation: get both albums, combine the songs, and treat the collection as "Get the Knack", the way the band had initially intended.
   In this light, you get the complete musical picture of The Knack circa 1978. Enjoy!

5 comments about New Hope for the Wretched/Metal Priestess.

1. The Ramones may have been there first. The Dead Boys may have been angrier. But The Plasmatics were the ones who wrapped their loud and fast attack around social and political issues in a way that scared Americans. "New Hope For The Wretched" is the East Coast equal to Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables by The Dead Kennedys, all ferocity and harder than bands that came into being years later.
   
   After all, a band that went to the home of Anarchy in The UK and then got banned for actually BEING anarchists should tell you just how for real The Plasmatics were. Each song is a blast of power-riff, with a simple lyric usually repeated 3 or 4 times, a stun-gun solo (or in the case of "Butcher Baby," chainsaw solo) and crashing stop, hardly any song cleared the three minute mark. Decrying hypocrisy, complacency, and mediocrity with a savageness that foretold of metal/punk hybrids to come, Wendy O Williams saw the future in 1980.
   
   Just two years later, "Metal Priestess" shows just how tight a band The Plasmatics had become. Edgar Winter vet Dan Hartman had become so enraptured by Beyond the Valley of 1984 that he begged Wendy and manager Rod Swenson to produce a Plasmatics session. The resulting EP (and The Plasmatics' last release for Stiff Records) was more of the same themes as were on "New Hope," but fleshed out into longer songs. The four new songs include two of the band's best. "Doom Song" and "12 Noon" both roar from the speakers and show the power The Plasmatics could muster up. The speed and thrill of the live "Masterplan" is a testament to the fact that these folks were among the hottest live acts of the early 80's.
   
   That point I can personally attest to. The CD sleeve newspaper quote from Sunbury (January 1982) was from a show I was lucky enough to attend and help promote. When all the local Culture Fascists were decrying the evil circus that was coming to town, my College Radio show was offering tickets to the winning TV set donor for the chance to see Wendy personally smash YOUR TV live! I even made a "Say goodbye to the world as you know it" promo that earned me a greeting from Wendy...who was polite, smart and really pretty funny. That spirit still lives on with these CD's, and made me a fan for life that January night in The Strand Theater where I had to cross a picket line to see one of the most explosive stage acts I've seen before or since.



2. "Behold The Power Of The Night
   Shine That We May See The Light
   Curse The Filthy Hypocrites
   Crawl Into Their Beds At Night
   Ooze From Slimy Depths Below
   Scream Into Their Frozen Brains"
   
   Wendy O. Williams is the most iconic of iconoclasts; all black leather, mohawk, and electrical tape onstage chainsawing through guitars and exploding cars with glee as her band laid down sonic anarchy. This is not your happy, poppy punk rock band. This is music with a message and the very picture of the "art is war" battlecry currently personified by Williams' heavy metal reincarnation, Otep Shamaya. The sound is massive, the filth and the fury tangible, and the contempt for the mainstream palpable in every note and lyric. The Plasmatics were one of the most exciting bands in music history and one listen to this CD will tell you why. I'm actually angry that I put off buying this for so many years. Don't make the same mistake; this is one of the finest punk rock releases I've ever heard.
   
   Here's The Plasmatics in a nutshell: their cover of all-time saccharine oldie "Dreamlover". One might have expected this to be a grab at a little radio play or some new fans due to the exceptional catchiness of the original tune and the way classic pop songs translate so easily to the simplicity and energy of punk rock. But then you hear Wendy O. William's contemptuous groan/grunt delivery and the sloppy, noisy guitar riffs and realize this is hardly the same song, nor is it meant to be. As if that wouldn't turn off any less-than-hardcore potential fans enough, there is a section of the song where the entire band turned off their headphones while recording and began freestyling without the ability to hear what the other players were doing. The predictable result was a pure unadulterated chaos of bizarre guitar noise, simultaneous soloing bass & drums, and confusion for a rather long stretch before the bassist begins the chorus and everything falls back into place for the amusing finale. Other standout moments of "New Hope For the Wretched" include ridiculing businessmen ("Monkey Suit") and couch potatoes ("Living Dead"). The guitar riffs are often catchier than you'd think and there is also some surprisingly creative drumming here. Contrary to the belief of some, this is not music for dummies; far from it. The best thing about great punk rock is it never loses it's relevance. The sheer noise and aggression is as unbearable to mainstream music fans now as it was then and the lyrics in all their simplicity have not lost an ounce their truth. A million emo bands on meth could never duplicate the energy of this album. Also included are a few live versions of some of the album's tracks which are even more raw than the studio recordings.
   
   As an added bonus to this all-time great punk album, we are treated to the wonderful "Metal Priestess" EP which delivers what it promises. A scalding hybrid of the band's punk fire of a mere year earlier and a newer heavy metal sound anticipating the thrash metal movement of the 80's led by the much-improved vocals of the ultimate punk frontwoman. William's delivery on this slice of awesome is a lot less off-putting than on the album that preceded it and really cements her place in the forefront of all-time great punk rockers. Her snarling, sneering, and even singing delivery on MP is much more suitable to the band's sound than the angry/sexual groans and grunts of before. The songwriting is also very much improved on the EP and it's addition to this package really drives this CD to the top of any hardcore fan's must-own list.
   
   "New Hope for the Wretched/Metal Priestess" is a twofer not to be missed by anyone who dares call themselves a punk rock fan. It sounds great (in that old-school indie, low-budget production kind of way), the words are the very language of sexuality and political anger, and Wendy O. Williams was pure electric fire. She is very much missed. For those who already worship at the altar of Black Flag, Minor Threat, Bad Brains, and MDC, this CD is a given. For casual punk fans more familiar with groups like Green Day, NOFX The Sex Pistols, and The Ramones this is a great way to test the waters of true hardcore punk rock before diving in. Either way, check this out.
   
   "Neutron bombs, and chemical food
   Cowboy politics, and man on the moon
   Murder, and rape, and chemical waste
   Pollution and death, home of the brave
   Racism television, corporate God
   Polyurethane breakfast, Formica lunch
   Insipid ideas, and conformative rules
   Collapsing cities, archaic schools"
   
   Yup. Still relevant. Eerily relevant, even.



3. First, it should be pointed out that this is a 2-fer and so it's an excellent value. You get what were originally two separate releases pretty much for the price of one. You can find New Hope in an imported release but you pay more and don't get Metal Priestess a classic in its own right. I keep my commnents separate. NEW HOPE is without a doubt one of the American Classics, a classic punk album that in certain ways has no equal. The cover is anti-artist Rod Swenson who put the group together around Wendy and did all the stages, conceptual stuff and design at his classic excessive best. The album was nearly a disaster though and as excellent as it is, it could have been better and hence my reason for the 4 stars here instead of 5. The first problem is that this was certainly not Wendy's best line-up as far as backing band, but given the simplicity of the music this might have been dealt with if there weren't production problems during the recording. Producer Jimmy Miller had to be removed from the recording by the record company due to his heroin problems and Swenson and the Ramones engineer and later producer Ed Stasium had to try and save the project in the post production. They did a great job, but if these problems had not been there it could have been better than it is. This is all covered in the terrific DVD Wendy O. Williams and The Plasmatics: The DVD - Ten Years of Revolutionary Rock and Roll that recently came out so I won't go into it further here. It is no doubt a classic, and one of the best punk albums ever made, but although some will say I'm being too hard, it is the fact that if the basic tracks had been put down differently it could have been even better. With Metal Priestess, as a great and pioneering first step towards the later more complex metal records of the group, there was a new drummer and a new bass player which were a huge improvement, and no producer problems. In this one Swenson worked with wunderkind Dan Hartman (originally from the Edgar Winter group and who later went on to produce James Brown) who got some great sounds. The political "12 Noon" is a unique song and Wendy really rocks out vocally on the Doom Song and Black Leather Monster which foreshadow the incredible vocsals she'd put out later in her career. Words aside this package rocks and is a great value. A must for any collector.



4. Released in 1980, "New Hope for the Wretched" is an anti-rock album that's intended to assault the senses, leaving listeners bruised and battered. Emerging from the New York punk circuit in the late 70's, the Plasmatics were a loud, uncompromising ensemble that cracked the status quo of the music industry and collapsed the foundation of mainstream America. And of course, the band was fronted by the one-of-a-kind Metal Priestess herself, Wendy O. Williams, a former stripper who uttered every album's lyrics with furious, gutteral snarls. A true icon in the music industry, she carved a bleeding trail for other hardcore, female-fronted acts, including The Lunachicks, My Ruin, and Otep.
   This CD is an amplified masterpiece of dynamitic metal TNT. With its frantic drumming and raw guitars, "New Hope" features extremely loud and simplified anthems of violence, sex, and non-conformity. Although most of the songs were recorded in a studio, the sound was given as little buffering as possible, so it oozes the blood and sweat of an untamed stage performance. Some of the album's tracks, such as "Tight Black Pants," "Test Tube Babies," "Corruption," and the psychotic "Won't You" are spontaneous metal tunes that will melt your eardrums and leave your brain completely hemorrhaged! "Concrete Shoes" is a brutal and blistering song that's somewhat inspired by 1930's gangster flicks; with her incredibly angry growls, Wendy portrays a Mafia boss who tosses a corpse into the Lower East River. The album also features the single, "Butcher Baby," a hostile war anthem that conquered the Top 40 charts in the United Kingdom. "Dreamlover" is a romantic rock track that includes the over-the-top "noise jam," where the band members turned their headphones off and isolated themselves in different parts of the studio. By doing that, no one could hear what notes the other members were playing. This results in a 2-minute cacophany of beautiful chaos; the Plasmatics might as well have played their instruments while riding in a truck at 90MPH, only to skid off the road and tumble down a hill in a ball of flames! And, of course, don't forget the Plasmatics' underground classic, "Living Dead," a rebel song that addresses the damaging, 9-to-5 pressure society inflicts on its citizens. In addition to "New Hope from the Wretched," this CD package provides the entire tracklist from the band's EP, "Metal Priestess," a record that contains a slightly more polished rock sound. Skull-bashing tunes like "Doom Song," "Lunacy," and "12 Noon" are the first ones to dive into the cult bucket of sci-fi movies, festering zombies, blood rituals, and the coming apocalypse. Also, Wendy O. William's live rendition of "Sex Junkie" is as sleazy as the pages of a Hustler magazine. As a whole, this CD is a violent labor of love from a group of anti-art pioneers; it's a album that no death metal group has been able to imitate since.
   While being the first stage act to fuse punk anarchy and speed metal, the Plasmatics became well-known for their dangerous theatrics: they sliced guitars in half with a chainsaw, smashed television sets with a sledgehammer, and detonated cars in front of a gawking audience. If that's not obscene enough for you, the lovely Wendy often performed topless onstage, displaying as much raunchy behavior as in one of her a XXX videos. She was a shock rocker who could have brought Marilyn Manson to his knees! Purchase this album when you can, freaks! While American buyers are slowly sinking into the artificial mud of Barbie doll clones, Wendy O. Williams's memory must be kept alive and well! The Plasmatics will live forever!



5. This 2-in-one Plasmatics package contains the loudest, fastest and most hardcore rock music I've ever heard. When you press the play button on your CD player and hear the very first track, you will feel like you've been hit by a runaway train! Personally, my favorite track is "Dreamlover," because of its 2-minute long noise jam where the band members are isolated from one another and randomly play their instruments however they wanted...it's chaos at its best! Another favorite is "Living Dead," which is an absolute classic. Most of the tracks are raw enough that you almost can't tell whether they were recorded in the studio or if they were performed live on stage. "New Hope/Metal" is worth the money; get it while you can.

4 comments about Peel Sessions.

1. I love this e.p. it is wonderful to here these songs performed in such a way makes me feel like i have stumbled onto the holy grail. it is wonderful to hear boys don't cry and 10:15 on a saturday night live because youu can't really find them on show, paris or the cure live.



2. This is a must have for all big Cure fans, especially those of their oldest punky sound. All 4 of these tracks are gems... maybe not superior to the orignial versions but fun alternate versions that definitely are not inferior... if your the casual Cure fan then skip over this because its unfortunately only 4 tracks... but for all of those hardcore Cure fans... do not pass this one up... especially if you like Three Imaginary Boys... i also suggest getting the sessions of the Bauhaus and Joy Division...



3. The versions of classic Cure material found here seem much cleaner and somehow more heartfelt than those on "Three Imaginary Boys". "Killing An Arab" is great, probably the best version I've heard.



4. Virtually every artist to lay down tracks in Peel Sessions succeeds in bringing together a concise vocabulary of their work at a given point in time. Usually the time that John Peel records his select groups, that group is doing its finest works in progress. The Cure session is no different than the rest. Armed with only four tracks, and not even with Boys Don't Cry (the group's first big single), The Cure rip through the set with precision rhythm and a deft ska-punk mentality which made them stars in the early game. This album is a must-have !!!

3 comments about Knife.

1. I originally bought "Knife" on CD back in 1986, listened to it initially, and put it away without much thought. It's not that I did not like the album; I just was not enamored with it. Recently, I dug it out of storage and gave it a fresh listen and have completely changed my mind. Roddy Frame's sophomore effort as front man/songwriter/guitarist/singer of Aztec Camera is truly a wonderful work. Frame's songwriting is more complex than on his debut "High Land, Hard Rain" and the songs benefit greatly from Mark Knopfler's production. The addition of keyboards to fun, upbeat tracks like "Still On Fire," "Just Like The USA," and "All I Need Is Everything" do not detract from Frame's playful guitar work, nor does the trumpet work on "Head Is Happy". The other tracks are on the mellow side but are well written and a pleasure to listen to. Most importantly, this CD is timeless. It does not sound dated in any respect. I am glad I rediscovered this CD think you'll find it a strong effort.



2. there are times in your life when you know that something profound has happened to you, and thats how it was when i first heard this soul wrenching dictionary of emotion.I still get transported to another place by its timeless melodies like i did when a friend had it on as background music 17 years ago. Back then i understood that with its power i could change the world, and now that im older i feel like it has grown with me, and its aspirations have matured like mine.Now i just want to understand the world, these lyrics give me that ability. Buy this album and let its haunting beauty crawl all over you, i swear nothing will ever move you so surely



3. The soul of this album comes to life in the song "Backwards and Forwards". The poetic lyrics in combination with the captivating, energetic voice of Roddy Frame makes listening to this track a fascinating experience. This album never loses its appeal, even after playing it for fifteen years.

5 comments about Feline.

1. Imagine my surprise many years ago when I first bought this album on a cassette expecting more tunes in the vein of "Rattus Norvegicus" and got instead a set that was so radically different it was hard to believe it was the same Stranglers, had it not been for the unmistakable voice of Hugh Cornwall and Dave Greenfield's keyboards, which now featured much more synth and much less Hammond organ.
   "Feline" is a superb ethereal CD that might conjure up images of the Doors without the pretension at times, but primarily excelling in Euro-pop style. "Midsummer Night's Dream", with its cascading synthesizer opening and spoken word lyrics tells the listener that this time around, it's time to chill.
   "Ships That Pass In The Night", with its flamenco guitar and beat and "Golden Brown" probably evoke the quieter Doors moments best, ala "Moonlight Drive", "I Can't See Your Face In My Mind", or most of their second album "Strange Days", for that matter.
   The outstanding cut, the title track, is both dreamy and languid, the hooks taking one to a moonlight river bank and stars overhead. It's a moment you don't want to end. "All Roads Lead To Rome" is Euro-pop personified, with a bouncing hook and soft spoken lyrics. All in all, the Stranglers prove with this CD that they were, and are, by far the best musicians of the whole punk scene, and were resolute to show that at least some of the hairpin and mohawk crowd knew how to play. Hence, they are still with us, three decades later. A must have.



2. Each time i listen to this cd, i get more and more amazed of how the Stranglers were able to combine great melodic knowledge with very inspired lyrics, plus a notion of elegance which no other punk (or ex-punk) band could ever achieve. You could still surprise people in any electro-clash or in-crowd club with All Roads Lead To Rome (super-classy electro pop song!) or Permission. One of their artistic highs!



3. If you look at most of the punk bands from the mid to late 70's, they had pretty much rode their one trick pony into the ground and were the stuff of historians by the time this album came out. I rank this album up there with the best stuff the Stranglers ever created. Why? They were able to re-create themselves into a terrific sounding New Wave band. So few groups are able to do that. I mean, look at the Stones -- they haven't written anything new since "Tatoo You"!!

   OK, I'm biased because this was the album that introduced me to the Stranglers and now I love everything by them up until Hugh left. Still, "European Female" is one of the best songs ever!




4. This is by far the best albumn in my collection of over 2000 and having worked at a music store in the early 80's....I heard it all. If you think you are buying a Stranglers CD you might be disapointed. I saw this band do this albumn live and it blew me away! They have never done anything close to it before or since. It is in a class of its own. Great albumn to drive with late at night....every song flows perfectly. You gotta hear it. If you like simple driving melodies with a beat you can count on...this it it. Ok maybe Shriekback (My Spine is the bass line) is good to accompany it. I highly reccomend this timeless CD and I only wish there were more like it somewhere...



5. Should've followed my first instinct and purchased "Raven"! Oh well, caveat emptor.

3 comments about Compact XTC: The Singles 1978-1985.

1. This is one of two strong compilations of XTC, and recently reissued on the Caroline label. "The Compact XTC" has a lot of great material on it, but considering that it's a straight reissue, it suffers from not being updated. The singles here represent XTC up to the album "Big Express," leaving off such classics as "Dear God" and "Mayor of Simpleton."
   
   What you do get here, though, are the first singles from two arty albums. "This Is Pop" is a strange mix of satire and earnestness...like the band disdained the machine but loved it as well. (No mean feat in the punk rock days of the late seventies.) But by "Drums and Wires," XTC had made their first major statement. Biting but catchy, "Drums and Wires" polished down the rough edges to allow for the wittier songs to subversively insinuate themselves, like the brilliant tale of "Making Plans For Nigel." In a distinctly British scenario, our lad Nigel is a boy who "likes to speak and he loves to be spoken to." It laid the groundwork for such delightful political rants like the Kinks fueled "Towers of London" and the danceable "Generals and Majors" (which would have been a hit if American radio hadn't been terrified of new wave and the RSO original release of "Black Sea" hadn't been still-born by the record company's collapse). There's also the instantly catchy cartoon heroics of "Sgt Rock (Is Going to Help Me)," a nerd anthem for all who never got the girl, but at least got the graphic novel.
   
   Shortly afterwards, Andy Partridge's disdain for and strain from touring left him physically exhausted, so he abandoned the road to work on music and start a family. The album that preceded the stoppage shows that perhaps he was feeling tired of the pop rat race, as "English Settlement" held psychedelic overtones and a more rustic feel. The hit UK single "Sense Working Overtime" sums that train of thought up best. By "Mummer," though, that bite began to taste bitter, and "Funk Pop a Roll" (not included here) snarls at what must have been their early distaste for Geffen records. Just the same, "Love On a Farmboy's Wages" could easily be the most beautiful song the band ever recorded, and "Wonderland" is nearly as good.
   
   The following record. "The Big Express," finds the band floundering to maintain a sound; "The World Over" was probably the best song on it. "The Compact XTC" closes with one last statement, the anti-complacency anthem "Wake Up" from "Express," and it does show the more psychedlic form that the next album would revel in. It took Todd Rundgren to enter the production booth (and the trippy Dukes of Stratosphere side project) to make the band deliver the rejuvenated "Skylarking." But that is where this CD cuts off, so you'll either need to get the "Upsy Daisy Assortment" of the two disc import of "Fossil Fuel" to get a full collection. As a result, "The Compact XTC" holds a four star rating.



2. Wait til your boat... is in the "Waxworks" vinyl and cd.



3. For those unfamiliar with the great British rock band, XTC, prior to Skylarking, this is truly a marvelous place to begin from their Barry Andrews days of hyperactive, "new-wave" gems ("Science Friction" and "Statue of Liberty") to their post- touring start. This singles' package is a joy - great diversity and noticeable stylistic changes over this time span. Of course, XTC's British top 40 hits are all here (Colin Moulding's classic "Making Plans for Nigel" & "Generals and Majors"; Andy Partridge's "Senses Working Overtime," "Sgt. Rock (Is Going to Help Me)", and "Towers of London" - all gems!) "Wait Till Your Boat Goes Down" is super, too, and it won't appear anywhere else. Enjoy!

5 comments about Armed Forces.

1. Amazing! Abba meets kraftwerk as sung by a twitchy paranoid buddy holly/woody allen composite. Live stuff on disc 2 really compelling



2. On his third album, Costello's lyrics are just as sweaty, cynical and paranoid as ever, but the music was opening up very steadily. No one would confuse this with the sort of songs he was releasing ten and fifteen years from now, but there was an unmistakable sense of flowering pop. In fact, there's hardly any hint of his ahead-of-its-time post-punk style on here (excepting the lyrics, of course).
   
   But "Armed Forces" doesn't suffer from it; in fact, its very trademark transition is what makes it rank nearly on par with his first two near-masterpieces. "Senior Service" and "Accidents Will Happen" are the two best, but check out the R&B funk of "Moods For Moderns" and the sharp lyrics and attitude of the potential-disaster-turned-marvel "Party Girl." Although he'd rarely be as good as this again, he out-lasted some of his populist influences (the deadly punk movement and Buddy Holly), and not just because he managed to, um, live.
   
   Best cuts: "Senior Service," "Accidents Will Happen," "Moods For Moderns" "Party Girl," "(What's So Funny `Bout) Peace, Love and Undersanding," "Sunday's Best," "Oliver's Army," "Green Shirt," "Goon Squad"



3. While his previous album (This Year's Model) was a jugular-grabbing blast of new wave sneer, Armed Forces is a sumptuous musical buffet. Although Elvis (and the Attractions) still have an obvious affection for all things mean and rockin', this album is just as informed by pop, soul, and disco as it is by rock and punk. The arrangements are often lush and spacious, casting aside the breathless, compressed fury of This Year's Model in favor of a more textured and intricate approach. Thankfully, Elvis Costello is a great, versatile songwriter and the Attractions (Elvis included) are a great, versatile band, so it all works incredibly well. The lyrics revolve around Costello's favorite topics: Bitterness, jealousy, paranoia, fascism, cynicism, and of course, love. The result is a more varied and sensual (if not necessarily better) album than its predecessor, and a major step forward in Costello's artistic development.
   
   Armed Forces opens with the beautiful lament of "Accidents Will Happen," which sees Costello contemplating the death of a relationship while a dreamy piano-driven melody twists around behind him. "Oliver's Army" is a lush, candy-coated gem... with lyrics about military propaganda. Sandwiched in between these two classics is the hyperkinetic, unrelentingly vicious disco-punk of "Senior Service," which sees some ambitious young hothead gleefully contemplating a violent coup. There's also the pained, prematurely sober "Party Girl," and the tense throb of "Green Shirt." "Moods For Moderns" marries an infectious melody to a stomping rhythm and soul-inflected vocals, while "Sunday's Best" is a sharp, bitterly satirical, and unsettlingly catchy classic. "Two Little Hitlers" brings together the album's twin themes of political and emotional oppression, portraying interpersonal struggles as violent confrontations between megalomaniacs, and vice versa. Great melody, too!
   
   Yet another fantastic addition to the Costello catalogue, if y'ask me.



4. The bonus disc alone makes this worth most of the price. The Hollywood High live songs (9 of them) are amazingly well recorded, very energetic great performance, with an enthusiastic crowd that doesn't intrude on the music. If you remember the live "El Mocambo" bonus disc that was part of an EC boxed set several years ago, well this is FAR better than that. The Hollywood High set alone could have been released as a great live CD, possibly the only reason it wasn't was because it would be seen as too short. The "bonus disc" here has other songs (B sides, etc.) not from the original "Armed Forces" which are worthy and interesting as well.
   
   As to the original studio album ("Armed Forces", the supposedly main disc), it's great, though not up to "This Year's Model" which is easily my favorite EC album. The lyrics on the album are especially great. One problem I have though is that the sound quality should be better. I don't know what the problem is, if the source tape is somewhat degraded or if the remastering has been over or under done. It's not terrible, just seems like it should be substantially better fidelity for a recording of a successful (by then) artist at that point in time. That's why I'm knocking off one star, otherwise it would get five stars from me. But the Hollywood High part alone would get five stars, so you might think of this as a great live album plus bonus studio tracks.



5. With the legndary Nick Lowe producing, Armed Forces turned out to be an album of very catchy tunes which masks the bitter satire of the lyrics. The arrangements are especially great on songs like Busy Bodies, Green Shirt and Big Boys. My favorite track is the lilting ballad Oliver's Army, but every single song is tuneful with a unique pop appeal. Costello is amongst the most literate and versatile of rock musicians and especially on this album, the tight writing and clear melodies are prominent, whilst The Attractions must be the best band he ever recorded with. Armed Forces is classic of late 70s poprock.

1 comments about Stray Cats/Gonna Ball/Rant N' Rave with the Stray Cats.

1. I'm so glad they have the classics from their first UK album on CD now.
   
   Go to Briansetzer dot com to hear the older songs.
   
   Amazon UK has a better price.