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I put this cd in tonight and while the first couple of tracks played, I was transported back to the happiest time in my life. I really loved the 80's. The title of the album is a nod to future days and yet the music on this disc hasn't even remotely stood the test of time. It was awesome when it came out, but years later, it bears the unmistakable tried and true tricks of 80's production. The writing is typical for the time period. Usually, this kind of music doesn't survive well. There are a couple of tunes that seem to transcend, but most don't.
Despite the somewhat lackluster start to this review, let me say in defense of this band, when they were at the top of their game, (which was essentially during this record), they were enjoyable, fun to listen to and down right wonderful. There's a Beatles' cover if you're into The Beatles. It's a fairly straightforward rendition with little to no inventive use of instruments or additional arrangement. It hums along and falls right in line with the somewhat haphazard theme of the overall record.
The highlights of the CD are of course the songs they released as singles and got lots of attention on the radio. 'Don't Mess With Doctor Dream', 'Lay Your Hands On Me' and 'King For A Day' are all miniature masterpieces in a tapestry of boring average tunes. I'm not going to go into this much further because quite frankly, I can't think of much to say beyond this. The rest of the record neither excites or bores me. It simply is, and that's enough for me to leave it as is and move on.
For those of you who really like Thompson Twins, take heart in knowing I enjoyed subsequent albums more and will write more generously about them in the future. As for "Here's To Future Days"... My final word is: A BLAST BEST LEFT IN THE PAST.
THOMPSON TWINS - HERE'S TO FUTURE DAYS
01. Don't Mess With Doctor Dream
02. Lay Your Hands On Me
03. Future Days
04. Roll Over
05. Revolution
06. King For A Day
07. Love Is The Law
08. Emperor's Clothes
09. Tokyo
10. You Killed The Clown
11. Breakaway
Each year, Astralworks releases a sampler of albums they're planning on releasing. I picked up this sampler because it had an edit of The Chemical Brothers track, "The Boxer". I later got a version of the single with the edit on it, but I still have this interesting piece of music in my collection. The opening track is enjoyable. K-OS delivers a strong vocal on this number. It features a rapped verses over a sung chorus. I quite like it. The VHS Or Beta track sounds like a total Cure ripoff. It's ok, but the similarities in vocal delivery with Robert Smith makes it almost unbearable. The next track by the Caesars is also ok. Nothing to write home about. The 22-20s sound like an alternative country band circa The Cult. I like this number a lot. In fact, I could picture this number in an episode of 'True Blood'.
The Röyksopp song is also nice! The lead singer reminds me of Teri Nunn and some of those early 80's female new wave singers. Except she has an accent. Still, it doesn't detract from the track. A Band Of Bees sound like something from the 60's. They have that whispy sound favored by bands from that period. I can't even think of a band they resemble because I've never been partial to that sound. The Gabin song however, is another track I like. Dee Dee Bridgewater has a great voice and she delivers an excellent performance on this track. I could take or leave the Turin Brakes track. It's got elements of country. But nothing overly fascinating. The Athlete song sounds almost like Owl City. It's followed by one of my favorite tracks on the entire record. It's by Audio Bullys. It's a techno remix of Nancy Sinatra's "Shot You Down". I just love these old songs remixed and new versions released. Someone did it with a couple of Elvis Presley songs not too long ago and I loved them.
The Black Dice number sounds like something you'd unleashed a two year old on an unsuspecting synthesizer. Very incoherent. The Juan Maclean number is fluff electro at its finest and enjoyable to listen to. It has a wonderful bass line and features shouted party lyrics. The Ben Watt number is probably my second favorite number on the record. It's different and features a spoken narrative over the sparse arrangement. Next up is Kraftwerk's live version of "The Robots". This number is entertaining and exciting to listen to. Makes me wanna hear Kraftwerk live. Shape:UK's offering is another example of fun house party beats in the grand tradition of C&C Music Factory and Black Box. The vocals are great and you will totally groove to this number. It's definitely one to blast out the window. The Beta Band sound like a grunge leftover band trying to sound important after their genre collapsed. It's not a bad song, but it's not exciting or remarkable either. Why Astralworks chose to include some of these songs and not others is a giant mystery. It certainly shows a broad spectrum of styles, but also demonstrates a limited vision on what the label is producing as far as artists. Still, not a bad listen and fun to have.
My final words: EXCELLENT DEAL SINCE IT WAS FREE. I MIGHT CONSIDER PAYING FOR IT.
ASTRALWORKS - FOLLOW OUR TRACKS: 2005
01. K-OS - Man I Used To Be (Edit)
02. The Chemical Brothers - The Boxer (Edit)
03. VHS Or Beta - You Got Me
04. Caesars - It's Not The Fall That Hurts
05. 22-20s - Devil In Me
06. Röyksopp - What Else Is There?
07. A Band Of Bees - Those Are The Ghosts
08. Gabin Feat. Dee Dee Bridgewater - Into My Soul
09. Turin Brakes - Over And Over
10. Athlete - Half Light
11. Audio Bullys Feat. Nancy Sinatra - Shot You Down (Edit)
12. Black Dice - Snarly Yow
13. The Juan Maclean - Give Me Every Little Thing
14. Ben Watt Feat. Estelle - Pop A Cap In Yo' Ass
15. Kraftwerk - The Robots
16. Shape:UK - Back To Basics (Edit)
17. The Beta Band - Dry The Rain
The Dirty Shame is a solo performance featuring Tyler Spencer (AKA Dick Valentine) of Electric Six. I'm not sure I totally understand the entire concept of this record. Or even why it was made at all. Considering what a huge E6 fan I am, it's hard to look at this record objectively. Truth be told, if it wasn't for the music he was doing with E6, I wouldn't even bother with this record. At first listen, there's nothing to really pull you into it. Maybe there's a better way to discuss it...
Here's what's missing: The infectious hooks of E6 material. It's also lacking the funky cross genre adventurism of subsequent Tyler Spencer material. The music is rather straight forward rock. Guitars, drums... Very little effects or synth layering happening here. The dynamic vocal delivery of the Dick Valentine personae is also missing. With one exception, "Vengeance And Fashion" features some bravado, but far less than the E6 version from 'Fire'. The tempo is also more reserved than the majority of E6 material.
Here's what's included: The brilliant lyrics by Spencer are present and accounted for. Though he plays heavily on cliche at times, Spencer seems to brush past the obvious and say something new and unique every time. He develops original ideas and tackles some strange subjects while he's at it. This record is no exception. Take the odd strained narrative of "The International Sign For Radiation"... He leaves as much to the imagination as he reveals. Starting by describing the death of his young mother to the abuse suffered during his father's "nightly" visits. You're not quite sure exactly what he's saying to you. Or maybe you're just hoping you don't understand it. Either way, it's quite brilliant.
I actually found this rare gem of a CD at an Electric Six concert and picked it up for a paltry $10 (paltry when you consider what I've seen it selling for on Ebay). I've been curious to discover what Tyler's side material was like. I must say, of the two projects I know, I prefer Evil Cowards to The Dirty Shame. But I wouldn't consider my E6 collection complete without this odd record filling out the edges.
As I mentioned, I wouldn't have picked this disc up if it wasn't for the Electric Six. The material, although interesting and lyrically compelling isn't enough to make it stand out in my mind. It's more of a collection of demos I could see E6 making more aggressive through better arrangements. My final words: COMPLETE COLLECTION MATERIAL!
THE DIRTY SHAME - SMOG CUTTER LOVE STORY
01. The International Symbol For Radiation
02. Chinese Restaurant
03. Say Goodnight, Crazy Lady
04. Hospital Bed
05. Vengeance And Fashion
06. Commit No Crime
07. I Thought You Was Dead
08. My Love Is A Knife
09. Surgery
10. Turn Your Parents Against Each Other
11. Who's Gonna Suffer All Your Industrial Accidents?
