A superb compilation of the New Wave/New Romantic 80's sound
fetish_2000 | U.K. | 09/10/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is one of those niche releases, that is the musical accompaniment for the phenomenal selling "Grand Theft Vice City" Ps2/X-box/PC game. Mining a period in the early eighties when "Miami Vice" was the 80's cop-show of choice. But this is no ill-conceived release, rushing out to make a quick buck of the back of the game. (Well, actually it is to some degree, but the tracklisting / Compiling here is sublime).
After the amusing radio-show styled presenter, introduces you to the cd with his own blend of amusing kitsch. You're transported back to the musical hey-day of early 80's FM radio-rock/Pop.
"Frankie Goes to Hollywood's" sublime "Two Tribes" is a perfect starter, and proves to be the perfect catalyst to get the listeners attention fully. It's step above the usual Pop tracks and it's combination of outspoken lyrics mixed with dance orientated sounds, means this is certainly one of those tracks from the 80's that has worn well, and actually stands up remarkably well.....in fact I'd go so far as to say it one of the best highlights on an album with lots of choice cuts.
"Kim Wilde" was destined to forever live in the shadow of someone like "Blondie", but her biggest hit "Kids in America" is aptly represented here, and to be honest it a fairly good stab at the knowingly cool bumblegum-pop that Blondie do so well, and actually enjoyed heavy rotation on radio on it's initial release. But the more ambitious & Detached sound of "Blondie's" own "Atomic" is the next track, and as excellent as Kim's effort is, it just can't match the sassy cool, and beautifully realised new-wave sound of Blondie's effort. (although it is nice to have a direct comparison of the two).
"The Human League" toss their synth-pop hat into the ring with one of their earlier hits with the slightly weird, off-kilter synth's of "(Keep Feeling) Fascination", and anyone that was familiar with their own unique of New Romatic, will have a hard job wiping away the nostalgic tears, when they hear this one. Easily one of their finest singles.
"Nena's" one hit wonder of "99 Red Ballons" features here, but the hugely disappointing thing is that its the German version.....Why???, is the question most people will asks themselves when they first hear this track. It's still as truly fantastic piece of catchy throw-away pop music, but having the English language version would have been infinitely more preferable. (one assumes there was a problem licensing the English version). Nonetheless this still remains one of the quintessential 80's pop tracks. (obviously depending on your view of that musical period).
"Corey Hart's - Sunglasses at Night" will even been familiar to those that haven't heard the original, due to the sublime "Tiga & Zyntherius" club/dance remix of this track, which surprisingly apart from being noticeably slower and lacking the dance beats of the remixed version, with the tempo radically altered and pedalling an atmosphere that is far more moody & gloomy. This is still well worth checking out for those that are only familiar with the 2000 remix edition.
For those that view the whole 80's musical scene with great suspicion and think it was a period in music they'd rather forget, or you've played the "Grand Theft Auto" game, and the music drove you distraction, It's highly advisable you give this a miss, and this album works firmly on the premise of 'Nostalgia' & retro, to make it's mark with the listener.
Some will also bemoan the slightly 'Cheesy' nature of the tracks here, and there are a couple of tracks ("A Flock Of Seagulls' - I Ran (So Far Away)", "Tears For Fears - Pale Shelter"), that just about manage to stay on the right side of cheesy. But to criticise the compilation for being cheesy is slightly missing the point. It is (to some degree) supposed to be a retrospective of the music genres that made a large portion of 80's music (Rock, Hip-Hop, Soul/R&B, Pop, etc...), and so will sound dated in comparison to what we're used to today. But remarkably (due to some excellent compiling), the vast majority of the works here are excellent efforts, and I found that looking past the nostalgic attachment with the songs here, there still remains an incredibly solid set of tracks to enjoy & digest. Maybe not an essential purchase for those that didn't hear this the first time around, but if you did enjoy these songs on their original release, you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy of this superb collection of 80's retrospective. (better still, if your varied with your music genres, pick up the box set with all 7 albums)."
Great Songs but Missing...
Alex | Cranston, Rhode Island United States | 09/05/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"All of these songs on here are great, but it's missing "Obsession" by Animotion. Obsession was clearly playerd throughout the game, and on Wave 103, and its in the Vice city game booklet, so, what happened here?"
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1
