Search - Culture Club :: Waking Up With the House on Fire

An Apt Title

J. Brady | PAWLEYS ISLAND, SC United States | 09/30/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"An apt title, if nothing else. "Waking Up With the House On Fire" is the sound of four young musicians who, amidst in-fighting, drug addiction and lavish extravagance, suddenly came out of their collective fog long enough to realise "hey...we've got an album to deliver!" They were obviously not prepared. While not totally without merit, this collection lacks the emotional and lyrical depth, as well as the memorable hooks and melodies, of their previous offering "Colour By Numbers." A few songs stand out: "Mistake No. 3" is a nice ballad despite its sometimes overwrought vocals, and has a nice solo in the bridge using what sounds like the guitar synthesiser Roy Hay is credited in the liner notes as playing. "Crime Time" is a hopping, swing- influenced number with a soulful vocal turn by the always on spot Helen Terry. "The Dive" goes in several interesting musical directions - from rock to pop to Caribbean in the chorus, and features some fine bass playing by Mikey Craig. Two bonus tracks culled from the soundtrack to the film "Electric Dreams" are tacked to the end, and should have been included in the regular release. "Love Is Love" and "The Dream" are both stronger musically than just about anything on "Waking Up..." The dud tracks ( and there are quite a few ) are marred by desperately silly lyrics ( "The War Song" ), underdeveloped songwriting ( the grating, seemingly endless "Hello Goodbye" ), or just bad performance. Many of these songs have an unfortunate stamp of age on them which comes from over-reliance on pre-set synth sounds and incredibly stiff programming. "Waking Up With the House On Fire" is for the most part uninspired and very simply lazy - a toss off. Non-essential for casual fans, and probably more than just a little maddening and disappointing for Culture Club lovers. However I still play a few of the songs on occasion, and in its defense must add it is much better than the dire album that followed it, "From Luxury to Heartache.""

The Group's last GOOD album

Reginald D. Garrard | Camilla, GA USA | 10/02/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The album is most notable for its hard-hitting "War" and the poetic "Mistake #3". These two singular songs stand as a testament to the writing skills and vocal talent of O'Dowd and company.



Unfortunately, the remainder of the release was typical of the period, having significance only to those of us that were around during the decade. However, the album, as a whole, was much better than the group's next effort, the mediocre "From Luxury to Heartache"."

A forgotten gem

T. Lim | Singapore | 06/12/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Despite all the negative reviews, Waking Up is strangely a very listenable album, which grows on you with each repeated listening. Sure, it doesn't have the instant recognisable hits from previous albums, and many other tracks here, though catchy, seem somewhat lacklustre. You know, it's impossible to top Colour By Numbers and there are bound to be comparisons. I really love the inclusion of Love Is Love and The Dream, two of the most beautiful ballads Culture Club has ever recorded. Don't be put off by what you hear or read, this is an album worth keeping in your 80's and Culture Club collection."