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So... What Happened??

Media_Gold | Glendale, Arizona | 01/06/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Circa 1988 a couple of guys named Mark Long and Marcus Bell formed a group called So and put out this album. The music video for the song "Are You Sure" was played on MTV for a couple of weeks and then *poof* was gone. It's a shame really because I thought "Are You Sure" was fantastic and I was certain that So would go far, or at least farther than total obscurity. If you're really into very good yet relatively unknown 80's new wave/pop music, then I definitely recommend picking up this CD. "Are You Sure" is worth it by itself, and the other songs aren't too bad as well!"

Lost late 1980s music. Sounds like Wang Chung with a tinge o

David | Seattle,WA | 05/06/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Too many songs on here have jazzy bar room singing & music instead of being powerful 1980s power-pop songs. One good song is ruined by some idiotic sounding like the guy from Fine Young Cannibals who is trying to be a cross-dressing Rupaul. Other songs have the background singers squealing like histrionic gospel singers yet on other songs the backup singing sounds really cool & spaced-out.



I first saw the video for "Are You Sure" in the Spring of 1988 and was VERY impressed, now 18 years later I bought this recording. The extended mix of "Are You Sure" is great and ARE YOU SURE should be made into a single cd with 5 different versions of it. If this recording was focused on high-powered pop-rock instead of relying on squealing semi-gospel singers to enhance the songs it would have been a great recording. Some songs sound a little bit like Wang Chung. Make sure to get the cd with the extended version of "Are You Sure." The backup singing on ARE YOU SURE is great but on other songs it sounds bad. It's as if all bands from the United Kingdom during the 1980s had to hire want-to-be gospel singers for backup singing in order for the band to be promoted. It sounds like children are singing backup on "Dreaming" and during this instance, it sounds great.



Regardless of the mistakes on this recording it sounds just as good as what the Fixx, Cutting Crew, Wang Chung, Sting or Simple Minds were putting out during the 1980s and this recording should have been a big hit. There was an awesome video for "Are You Sure" played on MTV around April of 1988 so I hope it makes it to Classic Vh1 or Youtube someday.



The best songs are

1) Are You Sure

2)Dreaming

3)Villians





The other songs are mostly good except for some instances of backup singing which ruined parts of good songs on this recording. Even the jazzy songs aren't too bad but trying to sound like black gospel singers doesn't always cut it and the goofy Fine Young Cannibals adjunct singing taint them.



Nonetheless, this is still an incredible cd (I can't change my rating to 5 stars) and I wish I would have sought it out and bought it in 1988. I wish I knew what the songs are about too because this cd has enough of a captivating sound to make me care what the words mean and what the songs are about.



I would say the extended version of ARE YOU SURE is within the best 10 top 40 singles remixed from the 1980s. The extended version of ARE YOU SURE is a totally awesome, dreamy, spacey song!

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