A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS - LISTEN

A Flock Of Seagulls were a huge group in the early 80's. I remember really liking certain songs of theirs and this was the first record I purchased from the band. On cassette no less. I loved the album and bought more. My fascination with them has waned over the years, but I still love these earlier numbers. I was fortunate enough to see them play live back in the early 90's. That was amazing. I met Mike Score and he signed my CDs. Wow, awesome experience.

My biggest complaint about this record is the missing tracks of 'Rosenmontag' and 'The Last Flight Of Yuri Gagarin'. Both of these tracks were on my cassette and were two of my favorite numbers on the record. Apparently, they were limited to the cassette release and the original CD. My copy is a re-release with different added tracks. The first track, 'Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You)' is a typical song for the band. They are considered a synthpop band and part of the New Romantic/New Wave movement, but I don't consider them synthpop. The keyboards play a major part in the song make-up, but the group is augmented by heavy guitars, bass and live drums. Not the traditional make up of a synthpop outfit. 'Nightmares' is a more sinister sounding number. It's interesting. Not exactly my favorite track on the album, but it's moody as all hell and that's in their favor in my opinion.

The next track, 'Transfer Affection' is one of my favorite Seagulls songs. I just love the tune. It's just lovely from start to finish and continues the tradition of computer/science fiction based lyrics. Who knew the world would change in such a way that these songs would seem more appropriate today rather than back then. I consider the concept of transferring sentiment online and it strikes me as way ahead of its time lyrically. 'Electrics' is another great tune that I love. It's so odd. There's the precision of the music and the moving vocal delivery of Mike Score enhancing the track and giving it soulful feeling. The rest of the songs may lack the catchy hooks that set some of their better tunes apart, but they are all interesting and fit the wonderful sound the Seagulls created at the height of their fame.

The one thing I also want to point out here is the mood of this record. When you listen to the disc as a whole you get a better appreciation for what I'm talking about. There's a feeling, a story happening here. It's hard to put your finger on a running narrative, but there's an organic feeling to the flow that seems to make perfect sense. I would always listen to this record straight through playing one side after the next. And I loved it as a whole. Although the individual tracks may not hold up under scrutiny by themselves, as a whole they make an incredibly moving record I've loved for years. I really need to find a copy of the earlier version with the missing songs that have become as much a part of this record to me as the original track list.

The additional tracks at the end are quite nice. I'm a big fan of 'Committed'. I really love that number. The live version of 'I Ran' is also wonderful. All in all, this is a record from a wonderful time in my life and I'm so happy about it. My final words: A PERFECT MOOD FROM A GREAT BAND.

A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS - LISTEN
01. Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You)
02. Nightmares
03. Transfer Affection
04. What Am I Supposed To Do
05. Electrics
06. The Traveller
07. 2:30
08. Over The Border
09. The Fall
10. (It's Not Me) Talking
11. Committed (Extended Version)
12. Quicksand
13. I Ran (Live)