CD-Charts Position 201
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Tender Prey

CD-Charts > Music > New Wave and Post-punk
by: Nick Cave

Release Date December 31, 1993
Tender Prey, as another reviewer has suggested, is the album that straddles the great-divide between the more volatile and shambolic early Bad Seeds style (still reeling from the excesses of The Birthday Party, perhaps?) and the polished, professional (though no less volatile) sound of their more heartfelt work in the 90's and the new millennium.

The sophistication of Cave's song-writing was here beginning to take shape, with songs like The Mercy Seat, Up Jumped the Devil and Mercy becoming (sort of) modern rock standards, the former even getting a stripped-down cover version from Johnny Cash on his Solitary Man album. The original incarnation of The Mercy Seat is raw and ferocious in its sound, with The Bad Seeds creating ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 202
Average Rating:

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The Boy Bands Have Won

CD-Charts > Music > New Wave and Post-punk
by: Chumbawamba

Release Date March 03, 2008
I can't believe this album. As a big fan of the old Chumba sound of 'Anarchy' and 'Tubthumper', I've always been wary of the new folk incarnation. Don't get me wrong - I liked 'Singsong' but the doubts lingered. They've been blown away by this, though. The quality on show is stunning - track after track just hits the mark. 'Add Me' is a classic, 'Refugee' is beautiful and angry at the same time, 'Word Bomber' is a bit like the mature Chumba answer to 'Imagine' - I can imagine it sounding a bit mawkish with anyone else singing it, but Roy Bailey's vocal is just fantastic: up there with Robert Wyatt singing 'Shipbuilding' or Terry Woods doing 'Streets of Sorrow' with The Pogues. 'I Wish That They'd Sack Me' has just inspired me to accept a redundancy deal at work and do something ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 203
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China Crisis Collection

CD-Charts > Music > New Wave and Post-punk
by: China Crisis

Release Date September 03, 1990
I bought this when it was first released in 1990,then it was a limited edition with two discs,I don't think I have ever played the second disc in 18 years.So you won't have that problem.

I think China Crisis were a singles band for me,although they did have hit albums.I bought a synth compilation in 1982, which had on it African and White,which did'nt make the charts.Then later that year I saw them on TOTP performing Christian,excellent song I bought that on a 12 inch single.

When this best of was released I was still really only aware of Black Man Ray,King In A Catholic Style and the two songs in the last paragraph.Oh and also Wishful Thinking,suddenly came back to me as I was typing.

The Eighties are the big thing at the moment,with reunion tours,remastered ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 204
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Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark: Remastered

CD-Charts > Music > New Wave and Post-punk
by: OMD

Release Date March 10, 2003
It never ceases to amaze me how in those early days Paul Humphreys and Andy McCluskey were able to create such incredible sounds out of such basic, rubbish equipment. But I guess that's why their music had so much appeal to me. It was inventive and creative.

For me, their self-titled debut album more than any other captured this inventiveness and creativity. Songs like Electricity, The Messerschmitt Twins and Pretending To See The Future have stood the test of time well.

Sadly, after the commercial failure of their 4th album Dazzle Ships they lost much of that inventiveness and creativity, by focussing on trying to write records that sell. Sadly, OMD will be remembered as a middle of the road, 80s pop band; let's not even go there with Atomic Kitten!

CD-Charts Position 205
Average Rating:

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The Very Best of the Cars

CD-Charts > Music > New Wave and Post-punk
by: Cars

Release Date October 02, 2006
It never ceases to amaze me how in those early days Paul Humphreys and Andy McCluskey were able to create such incredible sounds out of such basic, rubbish equipment. But I guess that's why their music had so much appeal to me. It was inventive and creative.

For me, their self-titled debut album more than any other captured this inventiveness and creativity. Songs like Electricity, The Messerschmitt Twins and Pretending To See The Future have stood the test of time well.

Sadly, after the commercial failure of their 4th album Dazzle Ships they lost much of that inventiveness and creativity, by focussing on trying to write records that sell. Sadly, OMD will be remembered as a middle of the road, 80s pop band; let's not even go there with Atomic Kitten!

CD-Charts Position 206
Average Rating:

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The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads: Remastered and Expanded

CD-Charts > Music > New Wave and Post-punk
by: Talking Heads

Release Date August 23, 2004
I was lucky enough to see the Heads live,and this reissue of the early 1980s album was well overdue.Put simply,they were one of the best live bands I've ever heard,and this,especially the second disc,does them justice at last.
The original album has been expanded to include music from the 1978 tours and the full setlist of the 1980-81 band-check the version of "Animals" and "Once in a Lifetime".
Highly recommended,and if you're new to the Heads,it's much better,and better value,than any of the compliations/greatest hits CDs that are on offer.Enjoy!!

CD-Charts Position 207
Average Rating:

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Sparkle in the Rain

CD-Charts > Music > New Wave and Post-punk
by: Simple Minds

Release Date January 06, 2003
The good:

Mel Gaynor's drumming. It's not muso drums or trying to be a drum machine stuff. There's bits of this LP where the drums sound like something that prefigures drum'n'bass. What it is, is genius. (Genius is a word much overused, but never used in a drum context. Just ask Stewart Copeland)

Jim Kerr's vox - I've never known what Jim Kerr is on about, but he definitely means it. Although on the weaker songs Kerr does sound a bit like what Bono would sound like if he'd run out of ideas.

Street Hassle - an unlikely success. Takes the military drums and tune of the original and turns it into Harlem Gospel. Immediate, quixotic, sparkling. One for the headphones. New Order's cover of Sister Ray, and Spacemen 3's Ode To Street Hassle are the only other VU/Lou Reed covers that ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 208
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Secondhand Daylight

CD-Charts > Music > New Wave and Post-punk
by: Magazine

Release Date March 12, 2007
I love Magazine: have all the vinyl, saw them live, own all the previous CDs, all the compilations, all the 2007 remastered discs (Virgin EU pressings, not Caroline, which is the label they've been released on in the U.S.).

When comparing tracks on the 2007 remaster with those on the "Maybe It's Right To Be Nervous Now" box set released in 2000, the tracks on the box set are vastly superior to any other release, and are closest to the original vinyl releases. The 2007 tracks sound muffled. One has to wonder what the heck happened.

Suffice to say, this album is 5 stars, but the remastering drags it down to 3. If you own the box set, keep it, and don't be duped into buying the 2007 remasters.

CD-Charts Position 209
Average Rating:

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Tom Tom Club

CD-Charts > Music > New Wave and Post-punk
by: Tom Tom Club

Release Date December 03, 2007
Beginning life as an off-shoot from Talking Heads while David Byrne worked on a solo project, Tom Tom Club has endured for over twenty-five years on and off, and this debut album has remained a strong seller, though its follow-up, Close To The Bone, remains mysteriously unavailable.

Thanks to the electroclash movement Tom Tom Club sounds more contemporary now than it did a decade ago, and many of its hooks and beats have been sampled over and over. The best known tracks are the singles Genius Of Love and Wordy Rappinghood, though as they were initially signed by Chris Blackwell to the British Island label, Wordy Rappinghood was not released as a single in America at the time. It was a huge hit in Europe, though, and was revived not long ago by Chicks On Speed. The album works well as a whole, full of light and bounce and rhythm. ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 210
Average Rating:

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Time for Action : The Very Best of Secret Affair

CD-Charts > Music > New Wave and Post-punk
by: Secret Affair

Release Date May 24, 1997
After not hearing my vinyl copies of the albums of this band for over 15 years, I had forgotten just how good they are. The tracks still sound fresh and not at all dated. Highly recommended if you don't have any of their albums, or if you just want a "best of" to stick in the car so you can sing until you've got a sore throat ;-)