Search - :: Dreamscapes [RARE]

Demos, B-sides, so much more!

AngusMcTavish | Auburn, WA United States | 05/08/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"You may have heard "Big in Japan" on the radio when it was new, and you may have picked up on "Forever Young" in the Napoleon Dynamite movie, but even though these songs from 1984 were their two biggest songs, German singer/songwriter Marian Gold and his band Alphaville are still writing and performing music to this day, and DREAMSCAPES is a fantastic compilation of demos, B-sides and other goodies, ranging from pre-history through the 1990s. And with EIGHT discs in this extremely limited set, you're bound to discover some favorites!



Disc 1ne (as written in liner notes) has lots of demos for AV's debut album, FOREVER YOUNG (1984), and there are some rarities that didn't make the album, like two German-language tracks.



Disc 2wo contains demo recordings for AFTERNOONS IN UTOPIA ('86) and a few bits from THE BREATHTAKING BLUE ('89).



Disc 3hree is chock full of B-sides.



Disc 4our is by far the best of the set. Subtitled "Absolutely Gxx Dxxx Live," there are outstanding performances and amazing renditions of their songs, including a version of "Big in Japan" that shouldn't be missed!



Disc 5ive features many demos of tracks Gold recorded for solo projects, some making it onto SO LONG CELESTE ('92) after having to remix them. Great all around, with a number of covers, the most recognizable being Mott the Hoople's "Roll Away the Stone."



Disc 6ix has more solo works, most for UNITED ('96). "Cosmopolitician" is the best track among these, but you also get an "unplugged" version of "Forever Young" here.



Discs 7even and 8ight feature quite a number of oddities, some of which having been written back in the late '70s, well before they first recorded. Some of it does not turn out great ("Montego Bay" is the worst, and this isn't a cover!), but there are other good tracks to make up for them.



Bear in mind as you consider the price that this set was released in 1999, and went out of print soon afterward. By the time I found out the set existed, it was already two years gone.



If you've followed Alphaville as much as I have, you'll definitely want this epic collection. Pop these discs into your player and get ready for a more nostalgic trip than possibly imagined through their history!"