Search - Love & Rockets :: Express

The best Love & Rockets record - you need THIS version!

Winthrop Harrison | Seattle, WA United States | 11/20/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the high point of Love & Rockets' career. Although I love 'Hot Trip to Heaven' and 'Lift', this is the record where quality met commercialism perfectly. It's also the record where David J's (weird) folk slant matched Daniel Ash's guitar Epics just as perfectly. There's a great chemistry throughout this catchy CD, a band working together. Sadly, that would change.Technical stuff: Besides the original UK album, this CD includes 7 bonus tracks. Two of them ("Angels & Devils" & "Holiday on the Moon") are already available in the U.S. edition. There are 2 USA remixes of "Yin and Yang" and "Ball of Confusion". The USA mix of "Yin" is better than the original, with a really dynamic rhythm section. "Ball of Confusion" is no better or worse than the version you'll find on the '7th Dream of Teenage Heaven" remastered UK edition. But Love & Rockets' cover of Pink Floyd's "Lucifer Sam" is an excellent 'lost' track that all fans should hear, with really great bass and compact poppy excitement, faithful to the fun spirit of Syd Barrett's original. The rare "B-Side #1" and "B-side #2" are only 3 minutes combined, and really don't offer much ("B-side #2" is actually very aggravating). Still, the sound on this wonderful CD is so improved, this is the version you should own, galaxies better than the US late-'80s CD master. My only complaints: the CD doesn't include the tight UK 4-minute version of "Ball of Confusion", despite promises from Beggars Banquet. And sadly, the CD doesn't include the very rare 'The Bubblemen Are Coming!' EP, a joke record where L&R loosen up and take on the fat kooky persona of those Bubblemen (bee-men?) who miraculously showed up at L&R shows in the '80s. None of that is here, and I'm afraid it will slip through the CD cracks."

One of the 3 best albums of the 1980s

ChrisWN | Santa Cruz, CA | 08/21/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This overlooked gem is one of the all time classic rock albums. On par with the Beatles' White Album, The Clash's London Calling & better than Pink Floyd's Dark Side... I bought the LP when it came out in the US & wore it out. It was one of the first CD's I bought, when I got my 1st CD player, & I scratched it up quite a bit. So I had to buy this remaster too even though I already had the original US CD. Well, I have mixed feelings about this re-issue. It takes the original UK LP & adds the alternative & 12" tracks as bonuses, whereas the original US CD substituted some of the tracks w/ the 12" versions & threw in some b-sides for good measure. For me, the original US CD version is better organized. The selected tracks & their organization feels much more like a cohesive whole (a la DSOTM) than did the UK LP. Angels & Devils was a great opener, but its placement on this version seems to bog things down...and "An American Dream" is the perfect closing song. So this version feels very disjointed, despite the fact that it's nice to have the additional tracks (though most of these are not essential)."

At last, the good version of Ball of Confusion!

Daniel W. Kelly | Long Island, NY United States | 12/29/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"While different in terms of song order compared to the original US version of this CD, the real bonus here is the US mix of "Ball of Confusion". It is the version that used to be played in clubs, and is basically the definitive version of the song. The 7 minute version on the original US CD was basically the SHORT version of the song which is then looped in an instrumental take. IT was very annoying. this 6 minute US version is actually the EXTENDED version, so it flows so much better.



The real challenge is getting used to the song order for owners of the original CD---but that's the glory of programming."