Customer Reviews

All Four One

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Only until just recently, I owned this album on vinyl only! I was just a little kid back when this was released and purchaced by my mother. I still remember sitting on the living room floor listening to it with headphones. I would just stare at her picture until, yeah it is to this day burned into my memory. I knew all the lyrics by heart. As I got older, I began to worry about something happening to my record. I tried not to think about how I would cope if I lost the ability to hear all the songs that have meant so much...Then it was finally available on CD format, I was estatic! Only the Lonely, and Take the L are the big hits from the day, but my favorites then as a kid and now have remained the same. Mission of Mercy, Art Fails, Change My Mind, So L.A., Tragic Surf, and Apocalypso are just perfect! They will always remind me of being a kid, a not-so-distant past when vinyl used to spin; playing music meant you had to pay attention because in order to hear the entire thing the record had to be flipped. Which added another dimention to it; which side of the album first would I pick? Someday, I am going to cover either Art Fails or Change My Mind! "Cause the man on the corner got something new and something new is good for you, today!" What else is needed to say...

" All Four One " is one of the twenty best rock albums of all time. The Motels had a timeless style like The Doors. The sound of the cd is outstanding and the added bonus tracks are a plus. My only complaint is the full photo of Martha from the original inside album packaging (which matched the outside cover art) is only a partial. Capitol you almost got it right. I also have the " One Way" cd version which does have the picture, but the sound quality is average at best.

If you were watching MTV back in the early 80's, you'll remember the Motels. "Only the Lonely" and "Take the L" were played in heavy rotation. I liked those songs, but not enough to buy the album back then.

Now that I've started buying the Motels' CD's, I know how much I missed out on at the time. I wish I'd bought their albums back then. Now some of them aren't available any more!

On this album, Martha Davis' voice and writing ability really shine. The CD is just a joy to listen to, from start to finish. Plus, the CD includes a nice historical note from Martha, and a few songs from the aborted Apocolypso record.

I just home Capitol re-releases the remaining Motels albums on CD. I'd love to have 'Control' and 'Shock' someday. Until then, I'll keep spinning the four CD's I was able to get, and keep enjoying Martha's voice and the group's music.

Top down on the convertable Corvette, driving along the Coast Highway in La Jolla, smell of the sea in the air. This album is perfect for cruisin So Cal. Its also great stuff for those who aren't cruisin So Cal. Every song captures the best non-commercial aspect of 80s music. It also is about as close to a definition of what the good California 80s club bands were all about. If you want a small club band sound with solid (not slick) production, this is it. It doesn't get any better!

I think it was 1981. I went to see The J. Geils Band in Detroit. The Motels opened up, and I was stunned. From the first song I was hooked. Soon after, I bought the album, and I've loved it ever since. Only the Lonely, Take the L, Forever Mine...still great songs. In my opinion, they are one of the best, and most neglected bands, from the '80's.

I love this album and its' expanded edition,though some will debate whether it was true to the group's sound.The truth is,that the group's first two albums weren't commercially successful in the U.S.A.,and that a third album that the group recorded wasn't acceptable to Capitol,and wasn't released.The problem wasn't so much in the songs,but in the arrangements.But producer Val Garay(formerly an engineer for Linda Ronstadt) came up with a brilliant idea:get some very slick L.A. sessionmen to fine tune the arrangements,and replace the group members on the instrumental tracks in the studio,leaving the group members the simpler task of immitating the newly improved arrangements onstage.When Garay was asked about the use of sessionmen in an interview with the(long-defunct) magazine "Modern Recording and Music",he said "Maybe they'll be ready(to play) next time",which obviously humiliated the group.Still,the hits(and the use of sessionmen) continued for the remainder of the group's association with Garay.Without Garay and the sessionmen,the hits stopped.Now,some of the songs from the scrapped album "Apocalypso" debut as bonus tracks(including early versions of "So L.A." & "Mission of Mercy" played by the group),and you also get a live version of "Only The Lonely",where the group tries to approximate the studio version that they didn't play on(for the group's original studio version from the "Apocalypso" sessions,see the group's outtakes album "Anthologyland").What Val Garay did in the studio(to get the group hit albums & singles) was correct.Martha Davis(with whomever backs her singing and writing) IS "The Motels"

The "All Four One" cd, recently reissued by Capitol, is a perfect showcase for singer-songwriter Martha Davis who formed and made(along with the sax) the Motels. Althoug I still think the first two albums capture the group's most inspired work (the production, although "rougher", is free from studio excess making the music cleaner and more powerfully driven), this disc was their big break and gave fuller exposure to one of the most memorable voices in rock/pop. It's hard to categorize Martha's voice and her delivery. Vulnerable yet jaded, - angry? no, just remorse and resignation incarnated into music. A simple quiver and faltering of the voice convey more emotion than most of the liberated howlers of the 90's (sorry Alannis). This cd merits distinction because it successfully ushered in a sound that would later be packaged as "new wave" while remaining firmly rooted in the sound and scene of LA. The selections from the Apocolypso effort give us what could be their best single effort, "So LA". Martha's signature voice (less restrained here than in the second version) glides over the unrelenting rythmn of drum and guitar - a mix between 90's grunge (more) and 80's synth (less). Thumbs up to Capitol for reissuing that VOICE of unmistakeable individuality.

The best overall album released by the Motels, this was not available until 1996, and has yet to show up in any CD store outside of Amazon.com. Contains six hits from their No Vacancy: Best of the Motels CD, including two not on the original album(Suddenly Last Summer and Shame). Even if you have No Vacancy, this is a must for the lead track "Mission of Mercy", my personal fave and a puzzle why this song never made it onto the No Vacancy album. This CD produced "Take the L" and "Only the Lonely", the best known of the Motels' hits(along with "Suddenly..."). Fans will also like the song "Art Fails".

It is one of those stories that became all too prevalent in the 80's; decent band is forced to compromise for stardom. Martha Davis and The Motels suddenly found themselves on the brink of stardom, and their record company didn't like the album they had prepared. An ultimatum was issued - go back into the studio with a producer of Capitol's choosing and his session hacks for a redo or no deal. The band swallowed hard (and nearly disintegrated). Val Garay (who had worked on the original sessions) delivered the keyboard dominated new sessions and "All Four One" was the result.

The final album treads a very fine line between arena rock and the edgy, arty new-wave the first two Motels albums were focused on. Only "Art Fails" and "Apocalypso" (the original album titles) sound like they came from that period. But the polished up Motels also brought lead singer Martha Davis into an even sharper focus, making the torchy "Only The Lonely" into the band's signature hit. The other two radio draws here; "Mission of Mercy" and "Take The L," pulled down radio play and established not only the Motels, but the crossover sound of safe New Wave. As such, "All Four One" is a classic album from the early 80's, helping to usher in a new sound.

There were also a pair of surprises here. Martha turned jazzy for the haunting "Change Your Mind," a major departure for The Motels' albums. The second was the inclusion of an obscure but controversial Carole King/Gerry Goffin song that Phil Spector produced for The Crystals. An ambiguously angry song about relationship abuse (or a cheeky ode to SM, take your pick), the original song was released as a single and subsequently blacklisted from radio. It makes its selection as a cover on "All Four One" all the odder, seeing as the band was fighting Capitol to record an album that would be commercially more viable than the "Apocalypso" sessions had yielded. As such, it was pretty much a backhand to the suits and helped The Motels maintain a semblance of edge.

Granted, the sudden success made the band all the more eager to stay safe (Little Robbers is almost a carbon copy of this and even cleaner). However, there are still plenty of reasons to like "All Four One." And that begs the question; why is this CD and The Motels' library out of print? With "Careful" and "Little Robbers" asking for $50 per used copy, maybe someone at Capitol needs to dig those masters back out.

It is one of those stories that became all too prevalent in the 80's; decent band is forced to compromise for stardom. Martha Davis and The Motels suddenly found themselves on the brink of stardom, and their record company didn't like the album they had prepared. An ultimatum was issued - go back into the studio with a producer of Capitol's choosing and his session hacks for a redo or no deal. The band swallowed hard (and nearly disintegrated). Val Garay (who had worked on the original sessions) delivered the keyboard dominated new sessions and "All Four One" was the result.

The final album treads a very fine line between arena rock and the edgy, arty new-wave the first two Motels albums were focused on. Only "Art Fails" and "Apocalypso" (the original album titles) sound like they came from that period. But the polished up Motels also brought lead singer Martha Davis into an even sharper focus, making the torchy "Only The Lonely" into the band's signature hit. The other two radio draws here; "Mission of Mercy" and "Take The L," pulled down radio play and established not only the Motels, but the crossover sound of safe New Wave. As such, "All Four One" is a classic album from the early 80's, helping to usher in a new sound.

There were also a pair of surprises here. Martha turned jazzy for the haunting "Change Your Mind," a major departure for The Motels' albums. The second was the inclusion of an obscure but controversial Carole King/Gerry Goffin song that Phil Spector produced for The Crystals. An ambiguously angry song about relationship abuse (or a cheeky ode to SM, take your pick), the original song was released as a single and subsequently blacklisted from radio. It makes its selection as a cover on "All Four One" all the odder, seeing as the band was fighting Capitol to record an album that would be commercially more viable than the "Apocalypso" sessions had yielded. As such, it was pretty much a backhand to the suits and helped The Motels maintain a semblance of edge.

Granted, the sudden success made the band all the more eager to stay safe (Little Robbers is almost a carbon copy of this and even cleaner). However, there are still plenty of reasons to like "All Four One." And that begs the question; why is this CD and The Motels' library out of print? With "Careful" and "Little Robbers" asking for $50 per used copy, maybe someone at Capitol needs to dig those masters back out.