"I had all three of these albums on vinyl and LOVE the boxed set. I am particularly fond of the first two albums - dangerous moments doesn't have the punch of the first two - but you need to get all the songs to appreciate the cleverness of the lyrics.
the quality of the recordings is first rate and they left the songs in album order, so you don't get all confused jumping around.
HIGHLY recommended!!!!"
Martin Briley Fans Pay Heed
Miss State 1990 | Sierra Vista, AZ USA | 12/13/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"For all of you Martin Briley fans tempted to jump on the under $50 dollar cost of the new box set, stop and wait. Do not pay the used or new cost here. Hip O Select is the authorized seller of this set. [...] Even Martin's own personal website directs people to Hip O Direct. This is a rocking set so don't be overcharged when Hip O Direct has it for less."
Brilliant Melodic Rock with great lyrics - This is simply es
Sean Curtin | Warners Bay, NSW Australia | 05/28/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Martin Briley, is for those who do not know, one of the greatest rock song writers of all time. His songs are filled with aspects of real life that many song writers would rather avoid.(For those of you thinking: "Why have I never heard of him?" Well in case you havn't worked it out yet, most great artists don't get to see the light of the recording industry way, thanks to there versions of what we should listen too. BUT, Martin has been writing songs for illedged greats like Paul McCartney, Celine Dion and many others for years, he's a guy who really knows his stuff peoples), Musically these peices are superb. Catchy peices will blow you away and the way the music works with Martin's almost Phil Collins like(at times, it's unique but this is just a quick way of explaining it(It's better than Phils(OK biased fan opinion maybe)), voice is simply magic. Having only ever heard "One Night With A Stranger", and having wanted to hear the other two albums for A VERY LONG TIME, you simply couldn't obtain them without paying a fortune on auction sites like ebay for example. Now here they all are, large as life and as fresh as ever. It was worth the wait too, might I tell you. I'd be surprised if almost anyone couldn't get something great out of all these great peices. Some highly recommended peices on the set are: "The Man I Feel", I Don't Feel Better", "She's So Flexible", "Just A Mile Away From Here", "Dangerous Moments", "Before The Party Ends". That's two of my favourite tracks from each album and you'll just have to buy the set and have a listen to find out which albums there off, if you don't already know.(If you enjoy melodic rock, this set will give you spine tingling dance of joy titilation).
In this single set, you get all three of Martin's Mercury days studio albumns and to top it all off, six great extra demo tracks recorded around these times also.
If your a Briley fan and havn't been able to find these albumns, for goodness sake grab this set as sadly there's only 3000 copies world wide and who knows how long it will take for us to see another release.
Brilliant and absolutely essential for anyone who wants to hear how real song writing and melodic rock music goes together.
Once again, many thanks Martin for making this collection possible, it's a fans dream come true.
Sean A. Curtin"
She wore an apron that was covered in gravy stains...
Tim Brough | Springfield, PA United States | 08/15/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"So begins one of the many should've been hits on the first ever compilation of Martin Briley. "(I Feel Like A) Milkshake" was one of the highlights of Briley's first solo album, "Fear Of The Unknown." Although Briley was something of an unknown commodity -- and even now is best known as a one-hit-wonder via "Salt In My Tears" -- he was a respected writer and session player before the solo albums started. His early credits included Ian Hunter, Pat Benatar and Ellen Foley as guitarist, bassist and songwriter.
So when he got the solo-shot, he loaded all three albums with hook-laden, quirky songs that were melodic and often very catchy. He had a pleasant and obviously British voice, falling somewhere between Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel. The debut contained several memorable songs, but even "Milkshake" was hooky enough to pick up the attention of former Monkee Peter Tork, who recorded it for "Stranger Things Have Happened" and then on his live "Two Man Band." His sense of humor was bizarre enough to have the "Looking For Mr Goodbar" oddity "One Night With a Stranger" or the self-effacing roadkill cover art for this set.
It's a shame no-one else looked to these albums for potential hits. "Slipping Away" and "It Shouldn't Have To Hurt That Much" could have been as big as "The Salt In My Tears." Album rock stations found room for "Put Your Hands On The Screen" (very Peter Gabriel) and the title track to "Dangerous Moments." "Dangerous Moments" was, unfortunately, a momentum killer. Phil Ramone softened the production on a bunch of great songs, and folks looking for the edge previously evident on "Salt In My Tears" were left baffled. It meant that Briley was left in the pop-culture dustbin till now. This marks the first appearance of "Fear Of The Unknown" on CD, and there's also 6 unreleased songs. If you've been waiting for Martin Briley on CD, "The Mercury Years" is a treasure trove. The only thing missing is the DVD (the video of "Put Your Hands on The Screen" stirred a little dust because the 800-number on it belonged to Mercury Records' offices in NYC at the time).
Completing the package is a solid booklet with lyrics and artwork, an essay about Martin and song-by-song breakdown by MB himself. If you miss that kind of eighties sound that Phil Collins perfected, or just hanker for "The Salt In My Tears" or just totally need to get your hands on "Milkshake" (my excuse), then get this before the limited pressings run out."
