Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
19 track resume of the good Cap’n, 7 Sep 2003
Rather predictably this 19 track collection of Captain Sensible’s solo output from 1982 to 1984 for A&M begins with his truly awful cover version of ‘Happy Talk’ which somehow reached #1 in the UK charts! Thankfully the rest of the disc more than makes up for it with plenty of humour and some catchy, melodic tunes. There are 2 other covers – Paul & Barry Ryan’s ‘I Love Her’ (recorded years before The Damned, minus the Captain, had a hit with Barry’s ‘Eloise’) and an excellent version of Pink Floyd’s ‘It Would Be So Nice’. Highlights of the CD include the uptempo & joyous ‘The Power Of Love’, the acoustic guitar-led ‘Sir Donald’s Son’, 2 tracks with a very English feel (‘A Nice Cup Of Tea’ & ‘Yanks With Guns’), his other big hit ‘Glad It’s All Over’, and the hilarious Chic-esque funk-rap ‘Wot’. The autobiographical ‘Croydon’ is co-written with Robyn Hitchcock (Soft Boys) as are 4 other songs, notably the superb ‘It’s Hard To Believe I’m Not’. There’s also a version of ‘Thanks For The Night’, later released as a single by The Damned. Best of all is the fantastic non-album single ‘There Are More Snakes Than Ladders’ which is an absolute classic and deserved to be a much bigger hit. Those only familiar with the Captain via The Damned should note that vocally he’s a bit reminiscent of Julian Cope, and the sound’s more pop (in a New Wave sense) than punk. The ‘80s production makes it sound a bit dated in places, and some of the tracks are a bit plodding. But overall it’s a bargain price, well packaged with informative sleevenotes, and a must for anyone looking for an introduction into the mad world of Captain Sensible.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Man Who's Gotten Everything, 3 Jul 2007
Captain Sensible (diamond geezer, one of the best, blah blah), is in an admirably unique position.
For a start, his musical legacy is actually rather good. He produces sharp, warm little pop tunes at the drop of a beret, that DO stand up to close scrutiny. If you (like me) have a deep and profound understanding of everything to do with pop music, you'll spot very quickly that the trick here is to take him completely seriously.
This achieved, you can then begin to position him in pop's hierarchy, and of course start making sage pronouncements that he's better than Springsteen, solo Weller and Robbie Williams.
Not really that startling when you think about it.
Listen to 'Martha the Mouth' and name me one song from the over-rated trinity aforementioned (yeay!) that's better. Cant do it can you? Don't worry, you've just challenged 'absolute rock truths' number 273 and triumphed easily. Feel good? Come on in, the waters lovely.
Secondly he has a priceless punk pedigree as a guitar player in those evil masters of dark, dry-ice inhaling, satanic, manic, violent disorder (etc) the Damned! Gasp!
Think what you will, they were there first and deserve some respect for that, erm...and that's about all. Better than Chelsea....maybe.
Best of all in my opinion, is the fact he seems to have some sort of cod-philosophy, which he expounds slivers of every now and again, without ever having any intention (or intellectual ability!) of revealing its, obviously deeply subversive, ideology.
This is absolutely brilliant! Imagine Madonna having-something-interesting-to-say-to-her-fans, or deadly serious rock kids NOT falling sound asleep every time Bono opens his mouth. You're imagining a bigger, brighter world.
He's embraced the pop deity, sold his soul to the fun-demon, and he's writing things like "And now the time has come to say, farewell dad and your baked-beans, and the tv set, that I blew." in a song about selling out (the punk rockers' perennial dilemma) and moving to America!
This, of course, aint NEVER gonna happen, but why he's not a bigger star mystifies me. Why has he not replaced Richard Madeley or Gordon Ramsay? Why don't we see him, mad as a badger, EVERY DAY? Think how much better our kids would turn out, watch the crime figures plummet!
"And rice doesn't burn, in a Japanese urn, it's reality!" Is it just me? This stuff is terrific! Leaves you with a smile, and who, in this decade of total pop miserablism, is gonna knock that?
Madly looking forward to the dream duet of Sensible and that other neglected genius - John Shuttleworth. Seriously.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
'Excellent And Fun Pop To Put A Smile On Your Face', 10 Sep 2008
The secret to our Captain's early to mid 80's pop success was built essentially around three things. 1) A great ear for writing a good pop song 2) The right producer (GENIUS Tony Mansfield produced all of the hits) and 3) A fun sense of humour. While many will claim to HATE his cover of Rodgers and Hammerstein's 'Happy Talk', there are a great many (like me) that will tell you they love it. Why? Because it was, and still is, the kind of song that can bring a smile to your face, a gloriously lighthearted and unabashed slice of pop froth that was just FUN. Those kind of records are extremely rare in todays rather musically depressive or aggressive musical climate and, as such, this album is like a breath of fresh air. All the Captain's hits are here and most of his best album tracks to. 'Martha The Mouth' must surely be one of the best of the non-singles and, for fans of producer Tony Mansfield's band New Musik, this is worth buying for this track alone. 'Royal Rave Up' is also a hilarious slice of fun as the Captain's vocals sound a bit like a posh version of the pepperami in the adverts! HA HA There are some more serious songs though and tracks like 'Yanks With Guns' and 'Sir Donald's Son' show us a glimpse of some of that 'Damned' angst. Overall however, its the fact that this album is one to listen to on any day at any time that makes it such a repeat listen and I will always salute 'Mr Burns' for the classic 'Wot' and the HORRENDOUS choice for a single that was 'Croydon'. Excellent stuff.
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