The finest K-Tel album ever? This album NAILS 1981 new-ro postpunk, with the notable omission of anything by Ultravox MK II. Heavily weighted towards the Virgin Records stable (as it should be). I never owned this album as I already had everything on it (except The News - who were they?) but I admired a friend's copy.

This is a low water mark for Ferry, who was probably trying to still crack the US market with this dull ballad from the "Phenomenon" soundtrack. The song, by Bernie Taupin, is soporific goo. Not his finest moment either. The faceless production (by a hard-to-believe Trevor Horn) adds nothing to the end product either. The real reason to buy this single is that the listener got the full length versions of two earlier, and far better, songs for soundtracks on CD for the first time; "Is Your Love Strong Enough" from Legend and "Help Me" from The Fly remake. Both of these are far more worthy efforts than the bland A-side.

I was pleasantly surprised to see this CD at the merchandise table at the Ladytron concert I attended in my hometown on April 17, 2009. It sold for $10 instead of the $12 for their full studio albums, so I assumed that it might be a quick 5 track EP or such, since the cover has almost no information. I bought under the assumption that I might never see it again.

When I popped it in the CD player after the show, I was amazed to see it was pretty much a full concert at the Astoria, London from last summer. For an electronic band, they are smart enough to have a drummer playing live acoustic drums, abetted by drum machine sequences on occasion that he plays off of, in a move reminiscent of Ultravox in their heyday. The live (Vox Phantom!) guitars fatten their sound and the vintage Korg and Moog synths they favor all combine to make a warmer and more powerful sound than their albums (as great as they are) contain.

So for my money, this live CD is almost how I'd prefer to hear the band! The care they take in performing live showcases their stronger, later songs in the best possible light. The earlier more "cold-wave" material of the first two albums does get short shrift with this approach. Only two cuts from "604" and "Light & Magic" are included here. Though I almost prefer the fatter, live versions and wouldn't mind seeing them tackle more of their back catalogue in this robust live fashion.

The only cut that comes off less powerful live is actually one of my very favorites of theirs, the incredible "Fighting In Built Up Areas" from "Witching Hour." The unerring insect-like precision of the studio cut with its chittering percussion synths contrasting with the fat arpeggios that shoot through the song make the hairs on my arms stand on end. Live, it seems a little diffuse. But overall, this is an album that shows their considerable live performance strengths in a compelling fashion.

I first heard of Gardening By Moonlight in a 1983 John Foxx interview where he was asked what he enjoyed listening to at that time. That's where I first heard the name Virginia Astley and also GBM. Seeking them out then became a priority. Amazingly enough, I soon found them in the used bin of my favorite record store - Crunchy Armadillo Records. The duo consisted of drummer/vocalist John Johnson and keyboardist Duncan Bridgeman. Johnson was in The Skids and earlier, Wayne/Jayne County's Electric Chairs. Actually, I was long familiar with D. Bridgeman at the time. He was in the cult Compact Organization band Shake Shake and as of 1981 was in Foxx's band on keys with his partner from Shake Shake, Jo Dworniak on bass on both the Garden and Golden Section albums. If you're not familiar with them, and I would not be shocked if that were the case - they were issued on an obscure Island Records label [Interdisc] I've never seen any other releases on, they are a unique synth duo from 1983 with A Peter Saville Cover. Need I say more? No bass/guitars save for a few, sparing touches on 1-2 tracks... BUT violins & cellos are all over it! Imagine Shriekback and maybe a little Depeche Mode [circa "Construction Time Again"] with mixing by Adrian Sherwood [who actually did mix much of this]. Tasty, dubby, unique stuff.

If this album has any weakness, it's that there really are only seven songs here. Track 6, "(Is It Safe) Strange Views," is a dub mix also serving as the b-side of the debut single, "Strange News." The final track on the album, "Method Again" is a six minute dub of the entire album, ala "Top Ten Again" from the Flying Lizards, "Top Ten," which appeared the following year. Not surprising since Johnson also played with The Flying Lizards on their much-sought-after "Fourth Wall" LP, so David Cunningham may have nicked the idea of ending the album with a dub mix of the whole album from GBM!

The sombre title track gets things off to an unsettling start, but the listener is rewarded immediately afterward with the brilliantly arranged, "Letters." Why this was not a single, I can't say. The Speak & Spell hook is a classic of its kind, followed by very-Depeche Mode sounding synth riff sounding like a lost bit of "Construction Time Again" swirled into the vibrant mix. The interplay between Johnson's vocals, the sound FX and the rhythm bed is pretty contagious!

The next track is the sumptuous "Diction & Fiction," which was the band's second single. The electrofunk music bed is peppered with tasty percussion that heightens the tension in the cinematic tune. Lovely! This is followed by "Whistling In The Dark," the band's final single [only on 7 inch]. Another acme is the leadoff track from side 2, "Weights + Measures." I will forgive you for thinking you are listening to a "Care" outtake from Shriekback as this track develops with as glorious a reptilian noise as anything from Barry Andrew's band.

If you are inclined to check out The Plasmatics just for the outrage factor, this single is a good place to start (and perhaps end). The vinyl provides the only beauty here, looking like Brach's nougat candy. The tracks are primordial thrash - whether you would want to call it called thrash punk or thrash metal is a tossup to me. The finished product is heavily laced with the sonic bludgeon of Wendy O. Williams guttural vocals. In spite of being familiar with The Ramones already, I can't recall ever hearing anything this fast at the time! But don't look for their black humor here. The end result is fast, exhilarating noise garnished with paradoxically depressing and dismal subject matter. Rod Swenson managed to create outrage and even some heavy-handed social satire - but at what cost?

This album is the debut by the group that wouldn't have great success until 9 years later - then known as Underworld (mk II). This is very hi-tech postpunk and can be seen as laying the groundwork for their later [more boring] techno success story. This music has more melody and hooks but conversely, seems more technologically perverse to me since they had to work -hard- to achieve these effects in 1983-84. John Hudson is credited for "electronic sound processing" and co-production and very few artists were digitally sculpting sound like they were at this time. Around 1983 electropop had begun to really bland out and get MOR. This could never be mistaken for tripe like Naked Eyes!

This is some of the most creative electronic rock music I've heard. It's full of traditional rock values passed through a perverse digital filter. The b-sides are if anything, more beserk and unrestrained. The 2 bonus tracks appended on the US version of this CD are from their more traditional sounding follow-up album. But this album, with Propaganda's "A Secret Wish" represents the peak of electronic rock to me until it all evaporated. Their later phase as the more conventional rock band Underworld [1988-1992] was much less interesting to me and the techno phase [93-current] even moreso. The longer they persevered the less stimulating [yet more successful] their output became.

This album is the debut by the group that wouldn't have great success until 9 years later - then known as Underworld (mk II). This is very hi-tech postpunk and can be seen as laying the groundwork for their later [more boring] techno success story. This music has more melody and hooks but conversely, seems more technologically perverse to me since they had to work -hard- to achieve these effects in 1983-84. John Hudson is credited for "electronic sound processing" and co-production and very few artists were digitally sculpting sound like they were at this time. Around 1983 electropop had begun to really bland out and get MOR. This could never be mistaken for tripe like Naked Eyes!

This is some of the most creative electronic rock music I've heard. It's full of traditional rock values passed through a perverse digital filter. The b-sides are if anything, more beserk and unrestrained. The 2 bonus tracks appended on the US version of this CD are from their more traditional sounding follow-up album. But this album, with Propaganda's "A Secret Wish" represents the peak of electronic rock to me until it all evaporated. Their later phase as the more conventional rock band Underworld [1988-1992] was much less interesting to me and the techno phase [93-current] even moreso. The longer they persevered the less stimulating [yet more successful] their output became.

Decadent techno-funk just made for cruising the slick, night streets of Berlin at 4:00 AM. in your DeLorean. If cocaine were music, this album would be the result. The band declared that this album was designed as accompaniment for "screwing and taking drugs" and I wouldn't dispute that. The slink factor here is off the map.

Zeus B. Held's production technique reached its acme here with the height of analog technology mixing beautifully with the nascent digital tech of the day. This album sounds like it cost a fortune in 1982 dollars and you can hear every cent spent. De Harris' surgical guitar licks heighten the tension. My favorite white funk album ever [sorry Heaven 17!].

A word about the bonus tracks. The cut "Love Shadow Smokey Dialogue" is not the same cut as on the A-side of the "Love Shadow" UK 12" on Arista ARIST 12483. It is a shorter, alternative mix. I believe that all of the bonus tracks are from the double play UK cassette since I have all of the UK 7" and 12" singles from this album period, and most of these cuts are not represented on those. Only Streetplayer - Mechanik (Mutant Mix Mechanik) (7:13) on ARIST 12456 may be the same track as Street Mechanik (7:17) on this release. I'd have to to A/B testing.
Does someone have the cassette to enter in the database to confirm?

Decadent techno-funk just made for cruising the slick, night streets of Berlin at 4:00 AM in your DeLorean. If cocaine were music, this album would be the result. The band declared that this album was designed as accompaniment for "screwing and taking drugs" and I wouldn't dispute that. The slink factor here is off the map.

Zeus B. Held's production technique reached its acme here with the height of analog technology mixing beautifully with the nascent digital tech of the day. This album sounds like it cost a fortune in 1982 dollars and you can hear every cent spent. De Harris' surgical guitar licks heighten the tension. My favorite white funk album ever [sorry Heaven 17!].

I was initially less than enamored by Bronski Beat's emergence into the world. In a nutshell, I really HATED Jimmy Somerville's falsetto singing! No matter how I might like the music [what I heard then was not ultra compelling] I didn't want to know. Imagine my surprise when Somerville ditched the band and he was replaced by a singer I could stand. Moreover, the song that cought my ear, "Hit That Perfect Beat" was a super hi-nrg stomper that was breathtaking in its BPM, yet it offered a great synth guitar solo [it sounded like a single sampled plucked string with some sweet pitch bending] that contrasted with the grain of the beat. Excellent!

So I got the album and found it to be a varied program of music that mostly succeeded. The other single "C'Mon C'Mon" was a McLaren-eqsue blend of Afro hi-life pop and Appalachian fiddle. Best of all was the crystalline ballad "We Know How It Feels" featuring some great vocal arrangements. The only track here that let me down was "In My Dreams" which sounded far too much like a Howard Jones track for my liking! Overall, a strong album. Too bad this lineup of the group broke up after this.