Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Some excellent stuff here, 13 Jul 2008
I've still got this album on vinyl and it's quite remarkable, not least for the fact that it contains versions of songs by bands that went onto become very successful, most notably Soft Cell, Blancmange and Depeche Mode. Indeed, Soft Cell's superb Girl With The Patent Leather Face is a rarity and it's here in its glory: "Two-faced baa-aaaa-by/Shiny-y-y baby!" Marc Almond sings. Blancmange contribute an early version of Sad Day which ended up on their debut album Happy Families and the version of Photographic Depeche recorded here is a lot better (and faster) than the version on Speak & Spell (in my opinion). The The's quirky untitled piece is classic pre-Uncertain Smile era Johnson and slots in nicely between Burning Blue Soul, Cold Spell Ahead and Soul Mining two years later.
You've also a few oddities like B-Movie's Moles and that "bright red surreal lipstick" whose title I can't remember. There's also a heavy Bowie influence on the lead track by Illustration as well as some quite arty stuff but it's a very good album and gives anyone new to early 80s British electronica an idea of what was going on away from the charts by bands that would soon hit them.
It's great to see this out on CD at last too.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic to have such a collection of rareties re-released, 1 Jun 2008
In its day this album was a seminal collection of New Wave and electronica - it contains some very early performances by subsequently quite famous bands. For example, to my knowledge, its the only place that Soft Cell's 'Girl with the patent leather face' was ever really released. Until this version its only been available on vinyl and quite hard to find in reasonable condition at that - so for all of you who are interested in the early years of New Wave and electronic music I'd suggest that this slice of nostalgia is a 'must have'.
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2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Long Wait!, 20 Sep 2008
I can remember walking to the ends of the earth to try to find this album in record shops and at record fairs (couldn't afford the bus fare). I gave up after about 10 years and then forgot about the aklbum completely. There were no e-Bay, or other online auctions, so choice was limited.
When I saw that it had been released on CD, I had two reactions. The first was, "fantastic, I can listen to it at last", the second was "those poor people who have held on to it (or even just bought it) as a rarity, and spent way too much on it!". Needless to say, I bought it and now, having heard it, I wish that I hadn't. But, let me explain why. Due to all the hype around it's rarity, it was a fashion accessory. If you knew someone who had it, you had to be their friend to get to hear it (don't even think about borrowing it!)! As such, it was filed in my memory somewhere under "earth moving" and "Revalation". When I listened to it, I heard a lot of dated synth pop music, which has lost it's context over the years. ABSOLUTLEY, in the days it was released it would have set me alight, and I would probably have it filed under "nostalgia" now, but I didn't hear it then, and I'm finding it difficult to like now. I'll keep trying though!
So, if you are thinking of buying this based on a rose tinted view of the past then just be careful - I wouldn't want you to have the same experience as me. The good thing is that I didn't release a fortune to get hold of it, and had I seen a vinyl version somewhere (not knowing about the CD release), I may have bought it, and been really T'd off!
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