Birthday Party [1989] Mutiny - The Bad Seed

[01] Sunny's Burning
[02] Wildworld
[03] Fears Of Gun
[04] Deep In The Woods
[05] Jennifers Veil
[06] Six Strings The Drew Blood
[07] Say A Spell
[08] Swampland
[09] Pleasure Avalanche
[10] Mutiny In Heaven



amg: Collecting the two EPs onto one disc, this release also includes two rough mixes from the Mutiny sessions as a bonus. "The Six Strings That Drew Blood," also later recorded by Cave's Bad Seeds, is a quick brawler like many a past Party classic, Cave hitting a strangled falsetto at points as the group rips along. "Pleasure Avalanche" works on the slow grind trip; Cave husks his vocals over a nicely creepy arrangement from the rest, calling for the titular situation in question with increasing desperation.
(amg 8/10)

Birthday Party [1988] Hee-Haw

[01] Mr. Clarinet
[02] Happy Birthday
[03] Hats On Wrong
[04] Guilt Parade
[05] The Friend Catcher
[06] Waving My Arms
[07] Cat Man
[08] Riddle House
[09] A Catholic Skin
[10] The Red Clock
[11] Faint Heart
[12] Death By Drowning
[13] The Hair Shirt



amg: The initial tracks on Hee-Haw come from two of their earliest proper Birthday Party singles, "Mr. Clarinet" and "The Friend Catcher." Three other tracks included on the 1980 self-titled American-only compilation, the squealing sax and raunch of "Hats on Wrong," the slightly more straightforward punch and thrash of "Guilt Parade," and "Riddle House," surface as well. All showcase the violent, thrashing energy of the Party of legend perfectly; even the organ on "Mr. Clarinet" sounds like it's being strangled as much as being played. Cave may be in utterly hyperdramatic mode throughout, spitting out barks on "Happy Birthday" and braying out the title call on the slow, brilliant burn of "The Friend Catcher," but the band aren't holding back either; Howard's spindly, aggro guitar work complements Calvert's drum punch nicely, balancing nerves and body slam, while Pew and Harvey flesh out everything else in the same spirit. Things aren't quite on the level of sheer sonic pain of later releases, but with the help of engineer Tony Cohen, who brings out the overall performances well, the fivesome is already well on its curious way. The last five songs come from the original Hee-Haw EP, which was also the final Boys Next Door release. While not quite as frazzled as what the group would soon fully mutate into, the tracks do have a more pushing, discordant air than the earlier Boys tracks, Cave still hesitant at points but starting to let go a bit elsewhere. "Faint Heart" has a great breakdown into random vocal mumblings and instrumental nuttiness, especially on piano, while "The Hair Shirt" especially is already the Birthday Party in anything but name.
(amg 6/10)

Big Country [1986] The Seer

[01] Look Away
[02] The Seer
[03] The Teacher
[04] I Walk The Hill
[05] Eiledon
[06] One Great Thing
[07] Hold The Heart
[08] Remembrance Day
[09] Red Fox
[10] Sailor



amg: The third proper album by Scottish quartet Big Country kicks off with the stellar "Look Away," a rocking outlaw tale with very cool guitar work from Bruce Watson and lead singer Stuart Adamson. However, the simple, anthemic choruses and effects-laden guitars are beginning to wear a little thin four years after the band's promising breakthrough. Big Country does little to expand on their sound or lyrical themes and The Seer is somewhat disappointing. There are a few solid tracks like the moody title song (with Kate Bush lending vocals) and the stirring "Eiledon," but the band had done these songs better. It managed to chart three singles in the U.K., with "Look Away" going Top Ten, but the American audience had dwindled to hard-core fans. It's the hardcore fans that The Seer is most likely to be of interest to.
(amg 4/10)

Boston [1986] Third Stage

[01] Amanda
[02] We're Ready
[03] The Launch
[04] Cool The Engines
[05] My Destination
[06] A New World
[07] To Be a Man
[08] I Think I Like It
[09] Can'tcha Say - Still In Love
[10] Hollyann



amg: After rushing their second album Don't Look Back, Boston took eight years to complete the album Third Stage. The long delay is even more surprising considering that their sound didn't change at all; even though only songwriter/guitarist Tom Scholz and vocalist Brad Delp remained from the original lineup, they were the ones responsible for Boston's sound. As such, it is difficult to avoid comparisons with their landmark debut. Third Stage has some strong moments, especially the number one hit "Amanda" where the band blends acoustic and electric guitars to complement the layered vocals. However, the songs are not as strong as those on their debut, and the album is marred by the presence of instrumental fillers and an attempt to cling to a theme of "journey through life's third stage." Thus, rather than focusing on universal topics such as the exuberance and uncertainties associated with youth, the mature lyrics are lost on most of their young rock audience. Given the time between albums and the changes in the pop landscape, it was a little disappointing to find Boston stuck in the same sound. The album still sounds great when it works on all cylinders ("We're Ready," "Cool the Engines"), but the album is not filled with enough satisfying moments. This may be nostalgic pop rock of the '80s, but casual listeners should start with their debut.
(amg 6/10)

Bob Geldof [1986] Deep In The Heart Of Nowhere

[01] This Is The World Calling
[02] In The Pouring Rain
[03] August Was A Heavy Month
[04] Love Like A Rocket
[05] I Cry Too
[06] When I Was Young
[07] This Heartless Heart
[08] The Beat Of The Night
[09] Truly, True Blue
[10] Pulled Apart By Horses
[11] Words From Heaven
[12] Good Boys In The Wrong
[13] Night Turns To Day
[14] Deep In The Heart Of Nowhere



amg: A year removed from his work organizing the Live Aid concerts to raise money and awareness concerning famine in Africa, ex-Boomtown Rat lead singer Bob Geldof released his solo debut. Deep in the Heart of Nowhere features a host of name performers ranging from Midge Ure (Ultravox) to Brian Setzer (Stray Cats) to Eric Clapton lending a hand. The lyrics are a bit self-conscious and overreaching at moments, but, with all of the talent on board, the album does have some winning tracks. The single, This Is the World Calling, barely scraped into the charts, but is an anthemic plea to the cosmos with a heavenly background vocal trio of Maria Mckee, Annie Lennox, and Alison Moyet. "August Was a Heavy Month" and "Love Like a Rocket" both contain fluid, melodic guitar work from Clapton, with the latter being an infectiously catchy lyrical take-off on the Kinks' "Waterloo Sunset." Unfortunately, the second half begins to waver and the album, overall, is unfocused and less than the sum of some pretty spectacular parts.
(amg 6/10)

Bread [1985] Anthology Of Bread

[01] Make It With You
[02] Dismal Day
[03] London Bridge
[04] Anyway You Want Me
[05] Look What You've Done
[06] It Don't Matter To Me
[07] The Last Time
[08] Let Your Love Go
[09] Truckin'
[10] If
[11] Baby I'm-A Want You
[12] Everything I Own
[13] Down On My Knees
[14] Aubrey
[15] Diary
[16] Sweet Surrender
[17] The Guitar Man
[18] Fancy Dancer
[19] She's The Only One
[20] Lost Without Your Love



amg: Originally released in the UK in 1977 as the Sound of Bread and as ^Anthology) in the United States, this is a solid collection for these soft rock giants of the early '70s. Contained within are all of their hits, plus some delectable gems unknown to those familiar with Bread only from the radio. This set begins with "Make It With You," which hit the number one spot in 1970, and ends with the group's last Top Ten hit, "Lost Without Your Love" from their reunion album of 1977. Other Top Ten hits include "If," "Baby I'm-a Want You," "Everything I Own," "It Don't Matter to Me," and "Guitar Man," which reached number 11. The popular songs have held up well, but perhaps the most interesting cuts here are the lesser-known ones, like "Dismal Day," "Down on My Knees," and "The Last Time." David Gates and company had quite a run, and this anthology shows why.
(amg 8/10)

Big Audio Dynamite [1985] This Is Big Audio Dynamite

[01] Medicine Show
[02] Sony
[03] E=MC2
[04] The Bottom Line
[05] A Party
[06] Sudden Impact!
[07] Stone Thames
[08] Bad



amg: Elbowed out of the Clash, Mick Jones responded forcefully with Big Audio Dynamite, a modernist audio-terrorist outfit whose 1985 debut, This Is Big Audio Dynamite, seemed all the more futuristic when compared to Joe Strummer’s reductionist retro rejiggering of the Clash on Cut the Crap. Strummer may have been intent on shedding every experimental element of the Clash’s prime, but Jones, in collaboration with longtime friend filmmaker Don Letts, picked up where Sandinista! left off, anchoring BAD in dance and rap, building the group’s debut on layers of samples and drum machines. As is often the case, what was once forward-looking seems inextricably tied to its time in retrospect and the clanking electro rhythms, Sergio Leone samples, chicken-scratch guitars, bleating synths, and six-minute songs of This Is Big Audio Dynamite evoke 1985 in a way few other records do. Nevertheless, BAD’s boldness remains impressive, even visionary, pointing toward the cut-n-paste masterpieces of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, and since Jones did not abandon his innate gift for hooks — if anything, he found ways to create rhythmic hooks as well as melodic ones — it’s quite accessible for an album that is, at its core, avant-rock. [Legacy’s 2010 double-disc expansion of This Is Big Audio Dynamite remasters the original eight-track LP and adds a second 12-track CD. Befitting BAD’s futuristic dance bent, almost all of these are 12" remixes of the album’s singles — “Medicine Show,” “E=MC2,” and “The Bottom Line” — including no less than four previously unreleased mixes — and there’s also the outtake “Electric Vandal,” plus the B-sides “Albert Einstein Meets the Human Beatbox” and “This is Big Audio Dynamite,” with every last one of these 12 songs extending the modernist sampledelia of the album proper.]
(amg 8/10)