Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
the girls show how it should be done!, 1 April 2007
the original album was never released on cd at the time..were cds around then! it did get a limited release a couple of times but for along time it has been hard to find!
it a great showcase of early 80s pop! i love it because its what bananarama where all about..great pop tunes that stood the test of time..although vocally not amazing the harmonies are outstanding! it was raw and fresh at the time and not formulated like the albums they did with stock aitken waterman.
the big hits are here "shy boy" "really saying something" "na na na (kiss him goodbye) as well as "cheers then" which flopped - due to being a slow chrstmas feel song and not as chirpy as the previous singles and the first release "aie-a-mwana" which isnt polished but is catchy!
"dr love" is a great pop number which i knew from tracie! - paul youngs pop starlet at the time "young at heart" a cover of the bluebells no.1 hit but which sounds totally different!
although you never venture into celine dion seriousness as any time..every track is perfect pop..its young..its fun and the girls can show girls aloud ect how to do it..and they write a lot of their own songs!
a perfect summer album no matter how old or young you are!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The beginning of all things..., 21 Mar 2007
This debut album from Bananarama marks the starting point for collectors of perhaps the most enduring and best loved girl group of all time. Having been affectionately remastered and expanded to include rare, and hitherto difficult-to-impossible to find B-sides, Bananarama fans are being spoiled with this series. And about time too!
"Deep Sea Skiving" is a somewhat uneven affair at times, and there were infinitely more consistent studio albums to come, but one can't help but adore it in spite of its occasional rambles and bizarre mis-steps. Those singles - even the less successful ones like "Cheers Then" - still sound glorious, as does the original "Young At Heart" which went on to be re-recorded as a smash hit (and eventual #1) by The Bluebells.
From these enjoyably humble and occasionally shambolic beginnings one of the greatest pop acts of our time emerged, making this album a key component in contemporary musical history.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
'Girls About Town', 20 Jul 2008
Skip the first two songs on 'Deep Sea Skiving' (Both covers. One a stinker by Paul I-Was-Talented-Once Weller), and head straight for 'What A Shambles' as the start of Bananarama's debut album proper.
From there on, it's a stompin' rock/dance excursion into retro-Motown and early Brit-pop.
The Nana's (The best-selling girl-group in the history of the world I remind. No, it's not the Go-Go's (!)) have a rather naïve, flat, almost deadpan delivery but this is more than compensated for by great song-writing hooks and clever, uncluttered arrangements.
Highlights are many: the Dollar-like 'Cheers Then' is a monster; 'Boy Trouble' is quite touching in typically distant Nana fashion, and the album's closing number 'Wish You Were Here' is almost anthemic in a surging, terrace chant sense.
This kind of pop doesn't date the same way as the sound of hair-metal or synth-duo's. OMD's 'Architecture and Morality' for example, still stands up brilliantly, but it's recognisably of it's time. 'DSS' could've been recorded last week.
Image-wise, though manufactured cutie-cuties, I always found them rather sexless. A bit dungarees and worthy-women's-groups earnest (but totally meaningless) sloganeering.
The BIG hair only half gives it away, guys of course, had big hair in the 80's as well (Oh for the days of the centre-parting!).
'DSS' is the essence of Bananarama before they went all SAW, high-nrg and high-tech (ie; dead!). The cover is awful (Don't 'View Large' for God's sake!), they look about 14 and gawky in a mock-up aquarium, and inside, they pose innocently with....banana's. (!) Who thinks these things up? (Warning: creative genius at work).
Two years later they were having none of this, they were sophisticated diva's after a sharp injection of glamour. Still not sexy, but now with records that stank. Such is the inevitable, almost organic, decline of the many in music.
But we have 'Deep Sea Skiving' and it's worth having. Nothing profound, nothing sacred, nothing demanding or controversial. Comfortable in its own skin you might say, and ultimately, extremely enjoyable.
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