Search - Josef K :: Only Fun in Town/Sorry For Laughing

Excellent, their only 2 albums collected here

Jay M | Dublin, Ireland | 04/27/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Musically, like a cross between Magazine, XTC, Joy Division and Television; Josef K were gone as soon as they had arrived. In their wake they left two stunning albums and many influential singles.On this CD, we get their 'first' album, "Sorry for Laughing" though it was scrapped on release. It was nothing to do with the quality of songs, it was lead singer Paul Haig's insistence that the sound of the album was too polished and didn't reflect their true ethos. So only "The Only Fun in Town" was released initially, showing us a harder, punk-ish edge to their sound. In my view this album does sound better than the more 'polished' scrapped album, collected here after the released one. It's energetic and fresh sounding. Rawer, it contains wonderful angular guitar riffs and deep, deep basslines, very reminiscent of Joy Division. Songs are short, catchy and very melodic.The second part of the CD contains the earlier, scrapped album. Some songs do sound over-dubbed and over produced, but it allows a wonderful comparison between their more rawer, energetic touch to the studio based output.A brilliant collection from an influential and very talented band. They came, they saw, they conquered, and then they quickly disbanded!"

Scotland at its best

Loscabez | Madrid, Spain | 10/16/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Early in the eighties, an incredible convulsion shake our bored ears. I was 16 when I heard Josef K for the first time. There was a change in the way I listened to music. Apart from another great bands (Teardrop Explodes, Echo & The Bunnymen, Wah!, 23 Skidoo,...), Josef K amazed me with a very personal and powerful noise. Nobody played guitars that way and the production was pretty dirt. Noise is the word, a real post punk experience that can be heard nowadays with a certain surprise. Songs like "Crazy to exist" or "Sorry for laughlin", or the dark "It's kinda funny", are an unforgettable reminder of the best era of pop music. Buy this Cd, please, and you'll be surprised."

Cold Clean Fun

Thomas Horan | Chapel Hill, NC | 02/22/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Paul Haig, Josef K's lead singer and guitarist, wrote quick, metallic, jangly guitar songs about the frustration and hunger of youth. The melodic yet disaffected music on this double-length CD burns with integrity. Integrity is what drove Josef K to recall their debut album on the eve of its release due to slick production. It made them wary of self-promotion, even to the point of refusing to speak to their audience when playing live. And it kept their post-punk music minimalistic and severe. Idealism like that can only last a few years, and so did the band. But looking back more than two decades later, this faithfully remastered CD is easy to like and impossible not to respect."