Search - Flock of Seagulls :: Platinum & Gold Collection

The only Flock of Seagulls album you'll ever need.

M J Heilbron Jr. | Long Beach, CA United States | 03/23/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Yup. This is it. During their brief visit into our public consciousness, A Flock of Seagulls really made the most of it, didn't they? Almost anybody who was into music back then, can remember them now without any sort of hesitation.



They had a distinctive, if limited, sound with a distinctive, but now horrifically dated, look.



Their initial singles,nicely remastered here, were all over the radio in those early days of "new wave."

"Telecommunication" (a song significant enough to be played twice during their early concerts), "Space Age Love Song" and the one everybody knows, "I Ran (So Far Away)" all sound just as great as they did more than twenty years ago. Propulsive beats, atmospheric synth washes and brittle linear guitar lines all servicing, and let's be honest here, some pretty decent melodies. Simple yes, but you know what? You can still sing/hum them with ease and pleasure. What else is good pop music for?



I don't deny myself simple pleasures when they present themselves...this isn't Springsteen or U2 here. It's just stuff that sound great on your car radio, or playing from the stereo speakers during a busy party.



Several additional songs from their first album are included, "Modern Love is Automatic" and the Grammy-winning instrumental (go ahead and laugh now) "DNA."



Their subsequent, less successful singles are here too, "Wishing (I had a photograph of you)" and "Nightmares".



Some samples of their more generic, less "Flock of Seagulls sounding" later work are also here. They simply prove that change isn't always necessarily a good thing.



Amusing liner notes (it's not a fluff piece...he's not always kind) and photos can be found in the CD insert.



Any music fan compiling songs from that era will need this disc. It's a splendid career summary, representing a very specific genre of music."

Actually 4 1/2 stars because "Transfer Affection" is missing

Frederick Baptist | Singapore | 08/04/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have to confess that I didn't take to the Seagulls from the start. It was only after my younger brother bought their first album and kept playing it all the time that I gradually became influenced.



Up to that time, I had only heard "I Ran" which I thought was okay but no big deal at least not enough for me to want to explore the band more. Then I heard the rest of the album and realised that "I Ran" was actually one of the weaker tracks!



"Space Age Love Song" just blew me away and then track after track of great songs like "Telecommunications", "DNA" (grammy award winner), "Tokyo", "Don't Ask Me Why", "Modern Love is Automatic" etc. Subsequently, thanks to my brother's love for the band, I constantly got to hear the other albums soon after their release. "Wishing", and especially "Nightmares" from their second album really got me hooked; clearly, this was not a flash in the pan band and unfortunately, these ex-hairdressers got labelled as a New Wave band and sort of died along with the whole genre a few years later.



Years later when I took up the guitar and played at gigs, I began to realise just how good the guitar work was by these guys too. As a guitarist, I also understand completely why "DNA" won the Instrumental of the Year Grammy Award too as it's just a great composition showcasing what guitars can do artistically in the right hands. The natural harmonics in the intro still gives me the chills when I hear it today and I wish I had thought of doing that!



Anyways, if you were going to get a best of album of these guys, this one is pretty good and with remastered sound, they haven't sounded better except for my one gripe and why I hesitated giving it 5 stars was because it doesn't have "Transfer Affection" which is a really great track.



If you like this compilation and want to explore more, you can't go wrong with their first two albums which I believe contain their best work."

A Flock Of Do's

Mark Champion | San Antonio, TX United States | 03/20/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Not sure what singer Mike Score is looking at on the cover, but judging from the look on his face it just might be a mirror. The rest of the guys look unpretty weird, too. That said, you can stop here if you're curious about these Gulls (or even if you're a fan, really). "I Ran" is what they will always be remembered for, even if lesser hits ("Telecommunication," "Space Age Love Song," "Wishing") are worthy of your time. As for the rest, it's passable - - serviceable, even - - if a little lacking in the melody department. It helps not to listen (or look!) too closely. Guess that's the point, though. Hit `em with atmosphere, and hope for the best. Well, here it is."