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Eighteen years after it's debut, Men Without Hats' fourth genuine album (discounting the Freeways EP), The Adventures of Women and Men Without Hate in the 21st Century, is still a wonderful listening experience. Short on funds, I sold it long ago only to find that I really wanted to hear it again in the actual 21st century. While it lacks the haunting beauty and integrated richness and fun of its predecessor, Pop Goes the World, Adventures is a solid album with lots of entertaining and beautiful songs that should delight any Men Without Hats fan. Adventures represents a more mature sound from Rhythm of Youth and Folk of the Eighties (Part III) so it lacks the youthful zip and frivolousness of those offerings. What it does offer is Ivan's voice at it's best and Men Without Hats' lyrics at their most poetic. Ivan and company gave us something memorable with the opening track, 'In the 21st Century': "Hope the world don't tire of the way that we're puttin' her down. Hope the universe don't say 'I'm still expanding but your time is up.'" It's great to know that someone said those words before the '90's, and the messages of the album grow increasingly more relevant as we progress through the 21st century. For those of you worried that the album might be 'preachy,' don't fret. It was an optimistic look forward into the coming century filled with hope and wonder. Those considering expanding their Men Without Hats collection should seriously consider purchasing this one, though in this reviewer's humble opinion, nothing can touch Pop Goes the World which I would like to nominate as the best album of the 20th century. Anyone looking for great dance or party tracks will probably not get a lot out of this offering since Adventures is a primarily intellectual album. There is a notable exception to this statement: 21st Century Safety Dance is a nice dance track, though it is full of cliche` samples that detract from the artistic integrity of the album as a whole. And please don't hesitate to contact this reviewer if you have a vinyl copy to sell.Read full review
I bought this CD as a surprise birthday gift for my husband. He really likes this band and has all of their music on vinyl. He loved the CD. Now he can also listen to the music in his car.
I like Men without Hats, their quirky sound actually hits a cord with me, but this album didn't. Trying hard to get into it but really couldn't.
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