Axe Victim

Be Bop Deluxe | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 30, 1998)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Caroline
• ASIN: B000006ST5
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,227 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

1990 reissue of their 1974 album with live versions of 'Piece Of Mine', 'Mill Street Junction' & 'Adventures In A Yorkshire Landscape' from 1977 as bonus tracks. 13 tracks total. A Harvest/ EMI release. Standard jewel case.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One Of My Favorite Albums!, May 3, 2002

By 

Chuck Potocki (Crown Point, Indiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Axe Victim (Audio CD)

While this is not my favorite Be-Bop Deluxe album, it's one of my favorite albums overall (check out my Listmania list). A very competent starting point for a band that shined brightly (albeit briefly), and launched the career of one of the most prolific but vastly underappreciated musicians of our time. Bill Nelson has always been an innovator and was never afraid of experimentation, even if it meant him falling a bit out of favor with the "mainstream" audience. One listen to this album and you'll wonder how you missed hearing Nelson's fluid and fiery guitar playing, and why he wasn't even more well known.

I really get tired of people constantly referring to Bill Nelson and Be-Bop Deluxe as mere Bowie clones, which is totally NOT true; while Bowie's influence is apparent throughout this album, Nelson managed to draw upon that influence and go even further to expand it and create something new; a rare feat by any stretch of the imagination! The best tracks are the beautiful "Adventures In A Yorkshire Landscape", "Jets At Dawn", "Love Is Swift Arrows", and "Night Creatures". Nelson's guitar playing is nothing short of incredible on the entire album.

You definitely can't go wrong here; this is a classic and a half!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Transportation to the best part of the 70s on a Jet at Dawn, December 18, 1999

By 

Robert H. Nunnally Jr. "gurdonark" (Allen, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Axe Victim (Audio CD)

Be Bop Deluxe was one of the best, and certainly one of the most overlooked, of the 70s progressive rock bands. Its leader, Bill Nelson, is a fascinating lyricist and dynamic guitarist. This first album showcases many of the band's strengths--Nelson's appealing melodies and idea-filled lyrics, the guitar work filled with ringing notes and glissandi (Nelson's style in this time period became extremely influential--it is similar to the most melodic "Flame/Sky" era of Carlos Santana's guitar style) and a driving sound satisfying to even the most art-rock-resistant fan. The glam influences on the band are apparent here--"Jet Silver and the Dolls of Venus" has strong Ziggy overtones, and the music has a more acoustic feel to it than the later eras of the band. For me, the twin centerpieces of the album are "Adventures in a Yorkshire Landscape" and "Jets at Dawn", both languid, lyrical pieces which showcase both Nelson's way with a lyric and his coursing, redeeming guitar style. Many other songs also entertain, though-- "No Trains to Heaven" has a gutbucket riff combined with a lyric devoted to seeking the kingdom within, while "Love is Swift Arrows" contains the marvelous lyric "oh goddess in heaven whose number is 17, dressed you in blue jeans this year". Whether you are a Be Bop Deluxe fan who never got around to picking up Axe Victim or whether you have not discovered this wonderful, neglected band--this CD is right for you.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars WARNING: NOT A REMASTER, February 24, 2005

By 

Marshall Boswell (Memphis, TN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Axe Victim (Audio CD)

Four stars for the album, which is superb. But if you're in the US and you have this already, and were hoping to upgrade, forget it. Despte the fact that Astral Werks has been trumpeting these Be Bop Deluxe rereleases on its site-- with expanded booklets! Whoopee!-- these are, in fact, straight reissues of the old 1990 CD editions. Expanded booklets my ass: these booklets have been scanned from the old ones. And the mixes are identical to the 1990 editions. These so-called new editions are roughly as far, chronologically, from the original CD editions as those editions were from the LP releases. But no improvements have been made in this case. Another sterling instance of a record company simply not giving a damn. You should wait for the upcoming boxset, which Mr. Nelson is preparing even as we speak.