Customer Reviews

Adventures in Modern Recording

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I actually own a genuine record album version of this second foray by the same gentlemen behind "Video Killed the Radio Star." This series of sessions was made in 1981, just after Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes participated with YES on their 1980 album "Drama." More exploratory than "Age of Plastic," their debut album, this group of songs is mostly driven by Trevor Horn, but musical elements clearly foreshadow Downes' coming work with ASIA and Horn's future as one of Europe's premier music producers (Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Seal). Bonus tracks include two singles, "Fade Away" and "Blue Nylon" plus a 12" remix of "I Am A Camera", known as "Into the Lens" on the YES album "Drama." My only regret is that I can't read Japanese kanji, as there appears to be a lengthy interview and history inside the CD booklet.

Oh Trevor Horn. What craziness have you come up with on this record. I'll be the first to admit there is a reason why the Buggles never gotten past Video Killed the Radio Star. That being said I am happy to have this album. It takes concepts from Trevor's previous album and moves into a different level. Does that level work? Well... no better than his first album, but for the Buggles fan it's a great addition.

The biggest drawback on Buggles music is that while the song concepts are fantastic when a song gets to the chorus the limitations start to really fall away. It's like Trevor Horn couldn't find that catchy or melodic hook to take the song to that next level. That was evident on the Plastic Age album and it's evident here.

For example I AM A CAMERA is my favorite song on this album. It has an awesome CR 78 drum machine playing some tight rhythms and the verse is as beautiful as any song you can imagine. But then the chorus comes in and it just sounds like Trever ran out of creative juices and just coasted through. In spite of that I still say I AM A CAMERA is an awesome song, but it's just an example of what to expect.

Another cool song of note is VERMILIAN SANDS. It's another song with some sweet flowing chords putting you in a nice laid back mood. The chorus isn't so bad, but still limiting. Funny thing about the song is that it breaks into a fast coctail jazz riff near the end and kind of goes on for a while (using drum machines and synths throughout). Feels out of place, but the song is still good.

The previous release of this CD was back in the late 80's and it had become extremely rare. Now people get another chance at grabbing this album along with some additional upsides for one the CD is remastered so there's better fidelity. Also you get bonus tracks. Lots of them. The original album had nine songs on it. This remastered CD has 19. Not bad, huh?

I guess what I'm saying is the music isn't perfect, but the creativity is at a level you just don't find anymore. That makes up for a lot. Plus now you have a CD packed with much more Buggles goodness than previously released. You won't find any VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR type songs in here. However if you listened to The Age of Plastic and really liked what you hear there is a very good chance you will feel the same way here.

Out with the old and in with the new, the rise of technology - the underlying theme of the Buggles. It's cleary been the case since the initial release of Adventures (just listen to restored versions of the works of Simon and Garfunkel, Bill Joel, Blue Oyster Cult, etc - how's that for technology?). Foreshadowing? Too easy. Insightful? Perhaps. Interesting? I'd say so.

The album packs an interesting punch. The different version of "I am a camera" included here (also appearing as "Into the Lens" from Yes's Drama, same lead vocal) is IMHO by FAR the better version. It's slightly understated and often down like a real sense of loss flows through it, but it lashes out, too. It's certainly one of the standout tracks.

Lenny ("scientific, so scientific... but you were walking on glass"), Inner City ("run... one last train for the inner city run..."), and Adventures in Modern Recording ("so carefully directed for modern mass appeal") are excellent tunes that easily could have appeared on Plastic Age, the Buggles awesome debut showcase. The other tunes are just okay.

I purchased the Japanese issue with the 3 extra bonus tracks (includes a saucier version of "I am a camera," a spicy "Blue Nylon," and a bbq "Fade Away." perhaps these are wholly accurate descriptions, or perhaps I am hungry for chicken wings. more than likely it's both). This CD is NOT complete without these three tracks. They really add to the dynamics of the compilation. The Japanese issues also includes all of the lyrics in Japanese and English. Theres's other material within the booklet, and if could read Japanese, I'd comment on it.

Although "The Age of Plastic" was a great album, Adventures is much better. The title track is very good, as is the rest of the album, but I think the best cut is "I am a Camera". Anyone else who likes this song may want to pick up the CD "Drama" by YES(ATLANTIC 16019-2) and listen to track 4, "Into the Lens" Same song,different spin. I highly recommend Adventures. Well worth the purchase price!!

This review is regarding the sound quality and not the material. I have two issues with the sound. First of all, the main tracks of this reissue have been sourced from the same digital audio source the 1997 Japan CD used (or perhaps the 1997 CD itself). The tracks line up sample for sample, so clearly there has been no new transfer from the mastertapes of the main album. That's nearly forgivable, since the tonality is decent and the audio dynamics have been maintained.

But more disturbingly, as noted by another buyer in a former review that seems to have vanished, there is virtually no audio content above 16k, except for 3 of the tracks, Dion and the last two tracks. So besides those tracks, this is basically a low-fi CD. I can't say what occurred, but I can say this happens when one compresses a wav file down to an mp3. So if you like mp3's, you'll love this "compact disc."

I'd like to recommend buying it for the excellent bonus tracks, but I can't condone supporting a company that has such a low regard for sound quality. Unforgivable.

Shortly after christening the HMS/SS MTV's maiden voyage in mid-1981, this was released on Perfect/Carrere/CBS (some countries). Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes were just out of Yes, which went DOA for a couple years. One track from the LP, "Drama", "Into the Lens", was recycled as "I Am a Camera",, leaving off Messrs. Squire (who has a cameo here), Howe, and White. Downes appears on just half the original LP, before he and Steve Howe would join Asia. Horn would reunite with Squire and White for a new improved Yes (he produced and co-wrote only this time; "90125")
"Vermillion Sands" towards the end tries to create big band on synths.
This album isn't easy to find. I found the US LP last week. MTV wasn't everywhere yet, so the album diappeared. It deserves a legal worldwide re-release, if you know what I mean.

I first acquired this album as a Yes-obsessed teenager who had just discovered Drama and the first Buggles album. While I was initially upset that it didn't sound more like the first Buggles album, I've come to love this just as much as The Age Of Plastic. It's definitely the more experimental album, but the songs are solid and you can hear Horn developing production techniques he would perfect with subsequent albums such as ABC's Lexicon of Love and Yes's 90125, and of course lots of other mega pop hits.

This second Buggles CD is largely a solo effort by Trevor Horn, and the loss of personnel shows a little bit compared to "The Age Of Plastic", but it is extremely likeable nonetheless. A few female vocals (as in "Video Killed the Radio Star" and "Johnny Monorail") would have helped the sound, and a couple of more solid songs would have given the original CD a little more substance, but what is there is delightful. The bonus tracks are mostly merely interesting, not fantastic. For example, the alternate version of "On TV" made me grateful for the additional work and thought found in the final studio version...the alternate was interesting, like a tribute performance by a local cover band, but just not quite as good. Still, any Buggles music is worth having. It's a pity there isn't more of their first-string material.

A friend of mine turned me on to the Buggles around the time the first Asia album came out (I was a fan of Geoff Downes and his incredible keyboard layout), and I ended up liking this album way more than "Age of Plastic," which to me sounds, well, plastic.

Tracks like "Vermillion Sands" and "I Am A Camera" have a very warm, 80's analog sound to them, even more so than anything on the previous album. This was one of the few albums I've bought in which I've liked every single track on it, and it's definitely got a special place on my iPod (lovingly encoded from vinyl, no less).

It's a shame that most people can't get past "Video Killed the Radio Star" when you mention the Buggles--if they even have heard of them at all. This album shows that not only do they have a sense of humor, they're damn good musicians too.

Duo's second and final effort - gracing our ears for the first time in 1982. Think I might actually like this album a bit better than their first one 'The Age Of Plastic' (see my review). Tunes here I dug the most were Trevor Horn's "Beatnik", "I Am A Camera", the should-have-been a hit "On TV" and "Rainobow Warrior". I happen to catch Asia's all-four original member tour as support for Yes - here currently is what inspired me to check out these two synth-pop novelties. Some music junkies (including myself) have simply written the Buggles off as a lame-o musical project of years gone by. This isn't quite true - these two musicians actually had something to say. If you have the time, do listen for youself. Glad that I did.