"It just cannot get any better than this. Back in 1988, I was given a cassette demo version of this album by a record store owner who thought it was just another hair metal band. I wore it out, as I did two cassette versions afterwards. If one is capable of actually wearing out a CD, this would be the first to go in my collection, but I would have three extra copies just in case. It is to modern music what oxygen is to life. I've been listening to this for 16 years now, and there is just not a bad note on this album. If you take out the three tracks from the 1987 self-titled e.p. ("White Coats", "The Charge", "Chinese Whispers") and leave the other twelve, it is obvious what I mean. To this day, I don't think NMA have done a song as chillingly reckless as "I Love The World" -- a song so good that it can could close the album as well as it opens it -- and it's psychotic headlong rush to avoid mankind's self-destrucive tendencies while simultaneously being dragged down by them is still one of those moments that rock music was invented for. "Family" is almost agonizing to hear as Justin Sullivan sounds so pained and angry that you can almost become the song's protagonist just by closing your eyes. "Archway Towers" still scares the pants off of me. "Vagabonds", "Green and Grey", "125 MPH", "Stupid Questions" -- undeniable classics. The inclusion of "Nothing Touches" (previously an obscure b-side) only makes it better. Yes, you can make logical comparisons to U2 before they got confused in the 1990s and stopped being angry at what they were seeing. Yes, you can say that they inherited the Clash's mantle as The Only Band That Matters. You can say that they flat-out rock, they're the only ones who have anything to say, they're the Last of the True Believers, et cetera ad infinitum. It just won't suffice. Hear. Listen. Dance. Believe."
An Almost Perfect Album
David Schaich | Cambridge, Massachusetts | 01/05/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I got New Model Army's "Thunder and Consolation" at the start of finals week. That was a mistake. I definitely spent far more time memorizing the album's lyrics, singing along with the songs, or just staring out into space while "Thunder and Consolation" played on infinite repeat than I actually did studying and writing papers.
I have no regrets.
To put it briefly, "Thunder and Consolation" is an incredible album, with a mix of styles and hardly a sour note. This CD edition includes three songs (The Charge, Chinese Whispers and White Coats) from New Model Army's 1987 "White Coats" EP, as well as Nothing Touches, a song from some other source.
I was first captivated by The Charge, White Coats and I Love the World, all of them intense songs featuring heavy drums, electric guitars and aggressive lyrics. Then I fell in love with Ballad of Bodmin Pill and Vagabonds, the latter featuring brilliant electric violin work from Ed Alleyne-Johnson that meshes perfectly with crunching electric guitars. After that it was the slow, acoustic, heartfelt Green and Grey and Nothing Touches that stole my attention.
225, 125 mph and Family are also excellent - all quicker, more upbeat songs. Family Life and Archway Towers are slower, haunting, and wonderful. The only song I actually don't like is Chinese Whispers, which combines obnoxious lyrics with annoying music that reminds me of Toni Basil's Hey Mickey (not a good thing). I'm also not crazy about Inheritance, which is half-spoken, half-sung over solo drums.
I'm a newcomer to New Model Army, but "Thunder and Consolation" and their more recent album "Eight" have me hooked. Even though their politics seem a little luddite for my tastes (I'm on my way to becoming one of the "people in the white coats" challenged in the last track), that doesn't detract from my enjoyment of "Thunder and Consolation". This album is pretty much as close to perfection as you can get. I urge you to check it out as soon as you can."
Don't Be Fooled by Amazon Reviews!
playloudrepeat | St. Louis, MO | 12/11/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"One of the problems with CD reviews is they seem to be written by diehard true believers. For example, a band like Red Hot Chili Peppers, where the musicians clearly have some talent, is effusively praised, yet I can't find a single release of theirs that I particularly like listening to, as a rock and roll fan.In the eighties I was a young unmarried professional, with plenty of disposable income, and I listened to a lot of new wave bands that I thought were just fantastic. Over time many of those bands diminished in my eyes, as there is only so much noise one can take before you want to get back to the basics.As for New Model Army, though, I still find their music to be timeless. This is only a three piece band, and yes they use electronic keyboards to fill out the sound, but what music they make! Far from being indescribable, it is based on traditional English and Irish folk music, but with a loping beat and absolutely killer pop hooks. Many of their songs could be loosely categorized as protest songs, but this band just flat out rocks no matter what the subject.Other reviewers here have breathlessly compared New Model Army to U2, and if you've fallen in love with U2's brilliant War, for example, you might think that these other reviewers are a little bit crazy. They are not. New Model Army is the real thing, and the Thunder and Consolation CD, and Ghost of Cain CD, represent this band at its best."
The Soundtrack Of My Youth
charlieheston | Portland, Or United States | 01/22/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a perfect album (or as close as you're gonna get anywhere). Perhaps "Nothing Touches" can get a wee bit boring, but from the opening fade of "I Love the World" to the closing ENOUGHS of "White Coats" this album is one of the most underrated and unjustly unheard rock n roll masterpieces of the late 20th Century. I met Justin Sullivan in 2003 after hearing his voice nearly every day since 1993. I was able to express what his songs and this album have meant to me. The yearning and defiance. The injustice and the sadness.
Sorry to be melodramatic, but it's a great and timeless recording. Full of energy and passion."
Top 10 List
charlieheston | 09/19/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I concur with every review here. This is by far one of the best releases of all time. I've often decribed NMA as the band U2 would be if they retained integrity beyond Joshua Tree. But really NMA defies comparason. The album fits in my top 10 list perhaps slightly behind The Pixies 'Doolittle'. If you ended up on this page it was for reason, and with NMA get Thunder and Consulation, and Ghost of Cain."
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1