Customer Reviews

Art of Falling Apart

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

 

 

Why 3rd time effort? Some people forget about "Non-Stop Esctatic Dancing" which was their 2nd effort and judging from the quality of said album compared to this and the first one, I'm not surprised. This remastered version, however, sounds a lot better than my lp version of this good grown up effort by the band except that some tracks still seem to be too bottom heavy and the highs not quite there.

About the tracks though what I mean about growing up is that the quality of the music and the lyrics is a far cry from what's on their freshman effort. That's not to say that "Non-Stop...Cabaret" isn't good; on the contrary it's one of my favourite albums of all time but the subject matter and the choice of lyrics for this album are much more complex and serious and show a band that's developing and growing.

Other than the not so great apparently "remastered" sound, the reason this only got 4 stars from me is the fact that the bonus tracks other than the brilliant "It's a Mug's Game" actually detract from and spoils the enjoyment of the cd. The Jimi Hendrix medley was really awful and did nothing to enhance the disc and really should never have been added. This was just pure filler material to make up the space.

Otherwise, there are many great tracks here like my favourite, "Numbers", "Kitchen Sink Drama" as well as "Where the Heart Is" and "Loving You, Hating Me."

This and their first album are by far the best work Soft Cell have ever done.

Beautifully remastered, this is arguably the best album they've made. Includes bonus tracks "Martin" "Hendrix Medley" "Barriers" and "It's a Mugs Game", the first two ONLY available on this cd! Totally indispensable.

If you like Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret and Non-Stop Ecstatic Dancing, then there's a really good chance that you will enjoy this album, as well. I say "really good" because this album is not exactly the same style as its predecessors...

Songs like Where The Heart Is, Kitchen Sink Drama, Loving You Hating Me, Barriers, and It's a Mug's Game are the ones on this album that evoke the same carefree, upbeat feeling of the two Non-Stop albums.

And then, there are the songs Heat, Baby Doll, The Art of Falling Apart, and Martin. I'd consider these songs to be a bit darker in tone than the rest of the album and the two previous albums. They sound like they would've fit in well on Soft Cell's next album, This Last Night in Sodom.

So, because The Art of Falling Apart is almost like a mix of the Non-Stops and This Last Night, I'd say it's a very balanced album. And although it isn't my overall favorite of Soft Cell's, it still has really great songs! Some of the songs may take a few listens before you can really get into them. The song that I love the most is The Art of Falling Apart. It's such an incredible song! Definitely one of my all time favorites by Soft Cell!

A lot of people seem to be criticizing the songs "Martin" and "Hendrix Medley," but these are great songs! Yes, they are both 10 minutes in length, but good none the less. Hendrix Medley contains 3 songs (Hey Joe, Purple Haze, Voodoo Chile), so it really doesn't feel like a 10 minute song when you listen to it. Martin does drag slightly, but it's still an interesting song. It's actually based on the film "Martin" from 1977, and if you watch this movie, then the song becomes even more intriguing.

So, I'm not gonna lie, you might have to listen to it a couple times before considering it to be a GREAT album. But, upon one listen, it should at least be considered a GOOD album. You'll probably find some songs that you love, and others not so much.

this is something of a companion album to 'this last night in sodom' in that they both have more 'marc and the mambas' elements than the other soft cell works. if this is a less menacing collection than 'this last night..' it's not by much. equal parts charging and angry as it is sympathetic and broken this was an utterly genuine time for soft cell who seemed to be intent on stripping off any previous gloss and cleanliness to reveal the drug-infused mania that is this album. the fact that the (what was a bonus vinyl 12") EP including the Hendrix covers AND the absolutely essential 'it's a mugs game' are here make this possibly the most important soft cell collection to own.

I must admit I have been a die hard Soft Cell fan since 1982. The is one of those albums that needs to grow on you. I have had the vinyl release with the bonus 12" of extra track for almost 2 decades now. It is nice to have them all on one disc for your listening pleasure.

If you are here reading about Soft Cell, you probably already know a lot a bout this duo. At the very least, you are familiar with their repeatedly played "tainted love", an absolute must have for parties and collectors of the new romantics/new wave style.

The art of falling apart is a good reflection of the duo's feelings and torment in 81-82. For starters, the duo absolutely hated their star song (Tainted love) at this point. There were also tensions with the record company about what had to be included in the record, and what could not be included. Finally, there seemed to be emotional and existentialist struggles from both Marc Almond and Alan Ball... Just look at the cover pictures of the album, with the masks coming on and off; more than a subliminal message in fact.

The collection of songs reflect all this and go from upbeat ("Forever the same", the opening track, and "Martin", the closer on the original release), to sarcastic ("Where the heart is", "Numbers"), with a touch of kinkiness - actually more than just that - on songs such as "Heat", "Baby doll". There is also sort of a visionary side to the music of Soft Cell, especially on the track "numbers", which is a strong criticism of our world become materialistic, where the individual doesn't really count as a person... but a as number. Just remember that this album is almost 30 years old ! It is also released after the acclaimed "non-stop erotic cabaret" (Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret), which apparently was too "glossy" for the duo, thus the "darker" feeling found on the songs here.

I had this on tape many years ago and this edition offers of course a much improved sound (the tape was already quality cr-o2 though), together with 2 extra tracks after the Hendrix medley. Not a great addition though, these two tracks sound more like discards, which they probably are.

The duo was going to sort of disband after this, with the exception of a new release in 2002 (Cruelty Without Beauty). The art of falling apart completed you might say. Incidentally, I see many similarities between Soft Cell and Tears for fears. Same period, same type of sound at times, a duo in both cases, few albums, fights and torments ending up in the dissolution of the band. TFF was probably a tad more "commercial", or at least I believe they sold more albums than Soft Cell; but in both cases, excellent music at times and both worth to be listened to closely, if you haven't done so already !

In short, an album reflecting torment and a critic of the grand-guignol of the society, as perceived by Marc Almond and Alan Ball. But with brilliant and very intense moments. An album you need to add to your collection if you are into that post-punk period with so many relevant artists (Spandau Ballet, OMD, Tears for Fears, Thomas Dolby, the Fixx, Nik Kershaw, etc.). Soft Cell never really made it on the U.S. market. Their songs were considered too daring and bizarre by the record company (so, very little promotion), who apparently feared censorship as well...

I will end with the final comment you will find in the booklet of this cd : "There is no musical barrier of people's acceptance. The only musical barrier is the media (Music press, radio & television). Remember, what people cannot see or hear, they cannot think about - some bizarre ?". So true...

This is a great addition to my Soft Cell collection. It dose not have as many songs on it as Non Stop Erotic Cabaret, but it is a great album. I was impressed with how different this album is from other Soft Cell albums. It is a lot of fun to listen to. My favorite song is Numbers.

Being a huge fan of Soft Cell, I loved this album when it first came out. It is the follow up to "Non Stop Erotic Cabaret" the duo's debut.

Listening to it today, It still sounds good but at the same time, a little dated here and there. Some of the songs also run a little long and some sound completely 80ish.

The CD as a whole has a more sinister tone then their debut. While "Non Stop Erotic Caberet" sounds as though they had a blast making it, Art of Falling Apart" sounds a bit more like it was a chore. This is not to say it isn't a good Soft Cell offering. Songs such as "Forever the same", "Martin", "Heat", "loving You, Hating Me" are highlights. Then there is the demented "Baby Doll" which demonstrates just how twisted these guys really are. {in a good way}

After enjoying their first two albums, I picked this one up the second I saw it at a local CD store. I gave the album the best possible listening experience, headphones, eyes closed, not being distracted by the phone or anything else. I found the album agonizing to listen to all the way through. I love early-synthesized electronic music, so it came as a surprise that I found this album to be such displeasure. The writing mainly focuses around the grittier side of life, drunk bullies ("Forever The Same"), drugged house wives lusting over the paper boy ("Kitchen Sink Drama"), strippers ("Baby Doll"), and a child growing up to be a murderer ("Martin"). The lyrics sound bohemian and immature, like reading through the journal of an angstful 15 year old that hates everybody. The duo's lead singer Marc Almond mentions in the included liner notes that they wanted to create a dirtier sound with this album. The previous "Non Stop Erotic Cabaret", featured some rather seedy writing at times, but on this album it's used to excess. "Martin" is especially difficult to listen to clocking in at arround 10 minutes; the song is little more than a few keyboard noises with the lead singer saying "Martin" repetitively. The Hendrix melody is about as awful as you may imagine it to be. In `82/'83, there were so many more interesting albums coming out. If you want dark synthesized music, why not check out the first 2 albums by The Human league, "Reproduction" is especially good. Or OMD's first 3 albums, they have all been remastered recently with interesting bonus material. You can do a lot better than this album, if you insist on owning a Soft Cell album; why not check out "Non Stop Ecstatic Dancing".