 |
This debut album was perhaps the best debut album by any band in the New Wave Era, if not the entire decade of the 80's. This first band from Liverpool to go Gold or Platinum since the Beatles, the band came out with a sound that since has been much copied, yet still remains years ahead of its time. A Flock Of Seagulls were founded by Mike Score, who was a guitarist for a popular UK band called Tontrix. Score also owned a hair salon and his friend and co-worker, Frank Maudsley, would go to a room above the salon after work to play music. Soon, Ali Score ( Mikes older brother ) would come and sit in on the sessions. They soon realized they had something going, yet lacked another guitarist, so that Mike Score could play the keyboards and sing. They went thru a few guitarists, the most notable being Willie Wu, until one day Maudsley told the band about a 16 year old friend of his, Paul Reynolds. Things clicked from there and soon Mike Score and Reynolds created a unique sound to the guitars. This sound has been dubbed " Guitar Wash " and has been much copied since. Edge of U2's whole career is based on this sound. The band set out to play the Liverpool scene and was discovered by UK music legend Bob Nelson, who was starting his own label and quickly signed A Flock Of Seagulls. They made one album together. " TELECOMMUNICATIONS " was a big hit and soon the band was signed by Arista/ Jive records. The first song on the CD is " I RAN ". This song was one of the first songs played by MTV, who owes a lot of their success to A Flock Of Seagulls. The song revolves around aliens and a strong bass backbone. This song rose as high as #4 on Billboard. The next song was also a huge chart topping success, the lovely ballad " SPACE AGE LOVE SONG ". This songs video introduced the world to Mike Scores famous " Waterfall " haircut. The next song, " YOU CAN RUN ", is a fun, eery jaunt many say was a pre-cursor to the big hit of their second album " NIGHTMARES ". This is followed by the fabulous " DONT ASK ME ", a fast moving melody that never got the airplay it deserved. " MESSAGES " was a song that was a huge hit in underground dance clubs and is very pleasing. Their first big hit " TELECOMMUNICATIONS " follows. The next song, " MODERN LOVE ( IS AUTOMATIC ) " starts out with a feel of outer space falling upon the listener before it breaks off into song. The next song is my personal favorite and a great deal of fun, " STANDING IN THE DOORWAY ". The guitar riff along with Scores vocals makes your whole body shake in rythm. " DNA " follows and won the band an Emmy for Best Instrumental and shows the bands stregnth is intrumental music that would follow. The last song on the set is the ominous, fortelling "MANMADE", where Score warns, " Man made machines make music for the man. Now machines make music, while the man makes plans. A second generation, a generation lost, while the man prepares for the holucaust. Man made machines to control the days. Now machines control, while the man obeys. A second generation, a generation lost, while machines prepare for the holucaust. " Reynolds then goes crazy on the guitar while Score plays the synthesizer to give off special f/x. A brilliant song! The UK version of this CD includes the song " TOKYO ", which Arista for some reason does not include in the US release. This is a fast, fun song that ranks amongst the bands best and now can be found in certain compilations of " THE BEST OF " This album is a MUST buy!Read full review
I was a bit older than the kids who bought this when it came out, but I did like the I Ran single and bought the Space Age Love Song single. The album is pretty good techno-pop. I've never heard the entire album, so I bought it. It's a good freshman effort and if you want to know how to play I Ran, The FoS will show you on Youtube. Wanna go back? Buy this.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Me gusta mucho este grupo y este primer lp es el mejor de todos ellos.Muchas gracias a este gran vendedor por todo.
Awesome
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best Selling in CDs
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Save on CDs
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- You may also like
