Beautiful Friction

Fixx | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 17, 2012)
• Original Release Date: 2012
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Kirtland Records
• ASIN: B008645YKS
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (85 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,970 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

2012 release, the 10th studio album from the veteran New Wave/Rock band. The band still features the same five members that created almost every one of their previous studio albums (plus live releases) since 1982. Beautiful Friction was produced by Nick Jackson and mixed by longtime collaborator, Stephen W. Tayler with additional mixes from Mark Needham. This collection of new songs, called "among their very best" will allow The Fixx to prove once again that they are always evolving and seeking new musical horizons.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 61 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing CD, Amazing Band July 17, 2012

By JackD

Format:MP3 Music|Amazon Verified Purchase

Four out of five members of The Fixx, vocalist Cy Curnin, guitarist Jamie West-Oram, keyboardist Rupert Greenall and drummer Adam Woods have been together since forming in 1980 except for a brief band hiatus in the mid-90's. Though they've rotated through five bassists, Dan K. Brown is the de facto fifth member, with them during their prime hitmaking years from 1983 to 1991 and also back with the band since 2007. An intact lineup from their heyday! How often can a 30 year old band advertise that? It's a rarity that should be prized since you get to hear the evolved sound of a band over the years without the constant anarchy created by replacement members coming and going all the time. In their heyday, The Fixx landed 14 tracks on the mainstream rock chart which included two early top MTV video hits from their first album (Stand or Fall, Red Skies), their six top 40 pop hits (Saved By Zero, One Thing Leads To Another, Sign of Fire, Are We Ourselves?, Secret Separation, How Much Is Enough?) and big rock radio stalwarts (Deeper and Deeper, Driven Out). A review of their catalog finds an creative mixture of new wave rock, hard rock, progressive rock influences and even some proto-electronic work. They were not an easy band to classify back then as their material always sounded so unlike other artists. The Fixx most clearly belonged under the banner of alt-rock before there was alt-rock. A re-listen to their most succesful album "Reach the Beach" and their best album the subsequent "Phantoms", bears out that determination. Their music was too explorative and wide in range to pigeonholed as simple new wave pop. So it is no surprise that many of the 11 songs on their latest CD fit easily into today's alt-rock scene. In my opinion, "Beautiful Friction" is a revelation. You get the fresh, vital energy of a current alt rock band with the polished wisdom and professionalism of a seasoned rock band all spread across 11 songs. The range of different types of songs on this CD is impressive. It ranges from the blistering atmospheric rock song "What God?" to the acoustic ballad "Small Thoughts", from the rocking, politically-conscious "Take A Risk" to the moody atmospheric "Just Before Dawn". "Follow That Cab" is another rock track which showcases all the elements of the band perfectly. "Anyone Else" is the first single which sounds terrific and whose message is motivated by recent political and social upheaval in the world. Everyone always cries about the slow death of rock and roll but there are numerous potential rock chart entries on this CD and it would be a crime if they didn't make their rightful impact. The Fixx are clearly a band with more to say and a fair amount of jetfuel still in their veins. I've been waiting a long time to hear this record and my fandom for the band all those years ago just got reconfirmed. Cheers to one of the great unsung bands making a late-stage comeback and showing how it's done.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Still energized, and aging like fine wine... July 17, 2012

By Bash

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Although folks are calling this terrific set of tunes a comeback or reunion, The Fixx never went away. Except for a brief inactive period in the 90s, the band has been touring, recording and releasing new music, joined first by bassist Chris Tate and then by Gary Tibbs (bassist for Roxy Music, Adam & The Ants.) New music and a revisualization of some of their 80s tunes (the astounding "1011 Woodland") appeared from the mid-90s to early 2000s as The Fixx toured the US fairly consistently.

In the last decade, the band continued to tour and create new music, taking a few new songs on the road now and again - but none of those songs are on this disc. (Some of them - "Remember Me When I'm Gone," "Falling Apart Together," and "The Other Side of the Story" appeared on Cy Curnin's solo discs. The mesmerizing "Everyone Believes" lives on in my head.)

In 2007, something magical happened: Dan K. Brown, that nearly-motionless, hat-wearing bass wizard you all remember from MTV, rejoined The Fixx after resolving some health issues. The creativity grew and touring continued - the band sometimes shared working song titles via social media and worked together as often as they could to finish recording. (They are family men and live in two different countries, so this took some time.) I don't think all those songs made this disc, either. They just kept finding new ideas to explore.

I'm still absorbing this new disc, enjoying the signature "Fixx" sound while marveling at new and different textures added in. Not a rehash of the past, this is an older, wiser, yet still energized Fixx. The themes are familiar - social/political consciousness, personal responsibility, spiritual evolution, etc. - but the point of view is enriched by experience. The result is a good dash of hope mixed into the observation that things aren't going well and we may have really wrecked it for future generations. There's beauty, edginess, a bit of anger, some whimsy and lots of passion in these songs. I'd say this album was well worth the wait.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars They're baaaccck!! July 22, 2012

By Steve Pariseau

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Back to the elements of their foundation, The Fixx reunite with members from their 80s heyday placing bassist Dan K. Brown back in charge of the low notes, leaving the knob fiddling to masterful mixing engineer Stephen W. Tayler, and gracing their release once again with the artwork of George Underwood. While the music itself is not a dip into 80s synth pop, the quality and drive of the album holds just as strong as Reach the Beach and Phantoms.

With a careful mix of songs dissecting the mistakes, challenges, and imprisonment of relationships, a few political suggestions, and a hard driving and eerie poke at religion Beautiful Friction is a well balanced catalog addressing todays worldwide occupation movements while providing Cy much needed therapy in a display of naked heart.

The album presents several tunes that must be quite personal to Cy. Seemingly drawn from his own life experiences with relationships and laid out for all to see. Just Before Dawn, Beautiful Friction, Second Time Around, Follow That Cab, & Girl With No Ceiling strike me as being about complications of relationships rife with communication breakdowns and misunderstandings gone awry. A failed marriage, a material girl, handcuffs picked and cast aside, blinders removed and eyes wide open. The future's so bright, I hope Cy has a good pair of shades. He's going to need to see now that he's sitting at the wheel.

The song Beautiful Friction's intro brings back fond memories of 90s fan favorite Yesterday, Today. Intertwined is a sprinkling of keyboard samples from Rupert's genius that evoke the mood of Woman on a Train and The Fool.

Take a Risk could easily be included in the rotations of Alternative Rock radio along side The Killers, Franz Ferdinand, Silversun Pickups, etc. It has the opening catchy riff with hard driving rock as a backbone. Although, I will say I'm not a fan of distorted bass.

The album ends on a note of hope with Small Thoughts. Shaman and Small Thoughts explore the reality of distractions eventually working out in time. Give without expectation, be open to receive any return, and toss aside regret.

The last Fixx album from 2003 - Want That Life proved the Fixx can do "mellow" really well but many fans noted it was lacking in any hard driving rock quality. Beautiful Friction delivers where Want That Life left off. Returning to their finest form since the early 1980s, The Fixx have control of their direction and are driving headlong back to success.