Search - Colourfield :: Virgins & Philistines

A Rare Gem, Indeed!

John McDermid | Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada | 06/18/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album came out in 1985 and was very unique on the music landscape for that period. Fronted by Terry Hall (The Specials, Fun Boy Three), the album for the most part, had a neo-hippy feel to it. Stand out tracks on the album included Pushing Up Daisies, Castles in the Air, Thinking of You and a cover song, Can't Get Enough of You, Baby (later covered by Smashmouth). Fifteen years later, this album sounds as fresh as ever, and this Japanese import is an incredible value for the consumer as it comes equipped with songs from a subsequent Colourfield e.p., as well as 12" offerrings. The import version has altered the original track listing, however, with the addition of ten tracks, it provides the listener with a vast aural landscape which is a step up from the initial ten song l.p. As a collector of rare 12" mixes and albums of bands from the 1980's, this ranks up there, as Chrysalis deleted this album very quickly and I have never found it on the used racks ... little wonder. Earlier on, there was an excellent Japanese compilation for Aztec Camera called Covers and Rare which featured extended mixes of Walk Out to Winter and All I Need is Everything. I made the mistake of not ordering this precious disc, and I don't plan on making Mistake #2 with Virgins and Philistines. Well I've tortured the reader with enough personal musings - now back to reviewing this album. As mentioned, this was released in 1985, among the heavyweights of that era - Simple Minds, The Smiths, U2, Echo and the Bunnymen and The Cure. This album completely stood out from the contemporaries as it was completely devoid of synthesizers and thunderous arena rock anthems. For lack of a better term, it was organic and it was more in keeping with another band which released their debut album in 1985 - The Dream Academy. The Colourfield were for the most part, a three piece outfit consisting of Hall on lead vocals, Toby Lyons and Karl Shale. Echo and the Bunnymen drummer, Pete de Freitas, provided a back beat on most of the tracks, and Katrina Phillips provided some vocals. Fresh out of the Fun Boy Three, Hall penned eight of the original ten tracks. The aforementioned Can't Get Enough of You, Baby and Hammond Song were given the Hall treatment, and they fit very neatly with the vibe of the album. Most of the tracks were very hook-laden, and it made for what amounted to a seam-less album. Stings were added to a couple of tracks, including the delicious Castles in the Air, which features a rare 12" mix on the Japanese import edition. The lyrics are well worth a listen and chronicle some interesting themes including animal rights (Cruel Circus), a domestic coming undone (Take), and love (Thinking of You). Once again, this is an excellent value for someone who is familiar with The Colourfield, and for those of you are who have not heard of The Colourfield, give this one a chance! This remains a Sunday morning classic in my home."

Terry Hall's Cynical Masterpiece

Levon Kazarian | san francisco, ca usa | 11/23/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Colourfield offered a lesson in how to synthesize various genre and period influences into music that is both utterly of its era (part of the "new pop" movement), uses influences from the past, yet even today sounds as strikingly original as the day it was released. The 60s pop and folk references are obvious on this album, but it also shares the crisp production and stainless pop sheen of contemporaries like Prefab Sprout. It is bouncy, upbeat, orchestral pop with a dark vision at its core.



This is Terry Hall's coming of age album. His journey from the idealist anti-Thatcher, anti-racist, political dance music of the Specials, through the neo-primitivism of Fun Boy Three, takes a jaded, cynical turn with his third band, the Colourfield. The album musically inhabits the 60s even as it rips apart the dreamy idealism of the era in "Faint Hearts" and "Armchair Theatre": "you see yourselves as soldiers, with flowers in your holsters, will all this wishful thinking, keep your ship from sinking?" "your brave words will be spoken, as your bones are being broken," "demonstrations pass me by, this must be the age of something" The lyrics offer an endless litany of the hypocrisies lurking beneath the nice sounding illusions of bourgeois leftists. (The album also contains the requisite mid-80s pro-vegetarian song, "Cruel Circus," see the Smiths, James, etc).



Hall also casts his jaded eye on romance in "Take," "Castles in the Air," and "Sorry": In these songs, love never lasts, relationships devolve into petty feuds about possessions ("but me and the cat own the lease on the flat, and nothing you do can ever change that") or become a cold war of cruelty. Even the closest thing to a hit off the album, "Thinking of You," with its sunny chorus, has a dark undertone of mistrust. The real gem on the album is the cover of the Roche's "Hammond Song," which is vastly superior to the original (this is admittedly a personal bias, as strident female folk voices make me want to tear my hair out). It is simply beautiful.



This album always surprises me when I hear it again after a long while. It is sophisticated new pop: glossy outside, troubled inside. Musically each song has hooks and beautiful melodies, puncuated by moments where something else happens, an epic crescendo, a flamenco flourish, an orchestral pounding. It's one of the best of the era, worth searching out and worth paying a premium if you have to."

Don't make the mistake of passing this up

Allan G. Kato | Manila, Philippines | 06/17/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Way back in the mid-eighties, the first song that I ever heard from the Colourfield was the full version of "Castles in the Air." I was so stricken by the vocals of Terry Hall and the wonderful rhapsody that is the song, which combines tango, pop, metal, and classical riffs. I knew then that I had to learn more about the band. After much effort, I discovered the album. I listened to it and found out that there was more to The Colourfield than "Castles in the Air"! Trust me, buying this album won't disappoint you at all. It is so musically diverse that, excepting the great vocals of Hall, you'd think this album was made by different bands.The quirky opening track "Thinking of You" is nothing but fun. Then there are the other notable tracks such as "Take," "Yours Sincerely," and the sad but unrepentant "Sorry."The additions to this compilation are nothing short of spectacular. The band's remake of "Windmills of Your Mind" is better than any other, including the original. It is truly a touching and spiritual rendition. The other exceptional tracks are the self-titled "The Colour Field," which has a very unique sound; "Pushing Up The Daisies," a funny tribute to death; and "Things Could Be So Beautiful."All in all, The Colourfield was a band that showcased the brilliance and genius of 80s Brit rock-pop, yet was altogether head and shoulders above the more popular acts of that time.Trust me, you won't regret buying this CD."