Kajagoogoo – White Feathers

A jewel of the 80s. A great dynamic groovy album. If you want to do something for your system, then take it for cheap money. Audiophile. Extremely underrated album. We recommend.

A jewel of the 80s. A great dynamic groovy album. If you want to do something for your system, then take it for cheap money. Audiophile. Extremely underrated album. We recommend.

after near 40 years, nice too play loud on a hot august night. totaly underated.

Was the US CD ever released in a longbox or just in a jewel case?

Very nice pressing. Audio fidelity is nice and clear. A nice album to add to my 80s collection.

Hi, is this really a gatefold? Does anyone have any more information about it? What is printed on the inner of the gatefold etc?

Too Shy (Midnight Mix) is the Mark Kamins version. This version is also on 1993's compilation "Too Shy-The Singles And More."

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Kajagoogoo, whether by name or their over the top image, is probably one of the reasons why most people dislike the Eighties. Well, the irony is - the Eighties needed this kind of decadence to push things forward, or at least push them around for the time being. It seemed all you ever needed is a ridiculous haircut to go along Top of the Pops and make it big. New Romantics in particular never denied that fact themselves. Some of them aimed for the kitch factor and scored it big - at least for a moment.

Horrific dress codes aside - and Kajagoogoo were a typical boy band of their time - but they seemed to have luckily avoided the bandwagon jump, fitting in with a new wave frame just perfect. The whole of delivery on White Feathers immediately links with their labelmates, and in terms of production also patrons - Duran Duran. Nick Rhodes was after all the main producer here alongside Colin Thurston. While Seven & the Ragged Tiger album provided that group's creative peak, White Feathers silently reflected the light version of Duran Duran with superb keys and irresistable dance rhythms.

Musically, the album is rich and potent with good energy. There isn't much philosophy in it, despite its desperate grasp of such appeal (Ergonomics for instance). It is fun to listen to and rediscover the ghosts of the Eighties new wave confection past with White Feathers - Limahl providing the main blueprint here which served a fine frontman tone to the group. However, inner struggles proved them short lasting, hype rather than talented bunch of musicians which they were.

The title song opener gives the album a good kickstart - it is a typical 1983 groove box. Nice bass slaps and synthesizers subtly informing the track. Too Shy, ironically their best remembered single with one of the most annoying refrains in pop-music history continues a bit slower - the arrangement is great but it is too cheesy the moment things reach the boiling point with the line "Hey Girl - move a little closer".

By the time Lies and Promises reach the ear, we witness a downside to White Feathers. In its instant hit approach this one leans heavily towards catchy rhythm of the opening title track but it is just a filler with little substance and ranks among the weakest examples on the album. Magician Man repairs some of the damage with its discreet exotic brush. The number that closes side one of the LP is simply credited to the group itself. Kajagoogoo is a finely arranged intermezzo.

Side two opens with another, although more memorable, copycat affair. This time its a Too Shy rewrite called Ooh To be Ah (almost like an Abba wordplay with a hint at Dancing Queen). The song arrangement is once again a fine musical achievement in terms of white boy funk, but the refrain burns its sense of perfection. Ergonomics, once again hitting faster on the beat, tries desperately to explain how industry works (all across the land it's made for the hand). Its sincerely naive, funny little tune.

Hang On Now is a deserved hit and is the best song on the whole album (in tone, much closer to lazy jazz pop sound of a certain Everything But the Girl than trendy New Romantics imprint). Where Too Shy and Ooh To Be Ah fail, Hang On Now successfully delivers its fine air of mistique to a standard pop song.

This Car Is Fast ranks along White Feathers as one of the album's finer moments - musically. Frayo is a fine closing number with film noir atmosphere.

In all, the album was a deserved commercial success but this success is also its worst enemy. Kajagoogoo were aspired to a trend despite their playing skills. It's a nasty little bag of tricks that couldn't get away from the bubblegum effect it created just the same. Still it is a fine listen on occasion, most notably birthday parties where guests will feel caught up in their own memory about this band - whether they liked the group or not.