Customer Reviews

Best Of Images in Vogue

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Having been a fan from back when this band was still together and producing new material, I was thrilled when I found this Best Of. Ideally, I'd love each of their recordings to become available on CD (since my tapes and record albums aren't going to last forever), but ya take what you can get.

If it had been up to me, I'd have left off tracks 10-14 (their version of "Grapevine" (as in 'I heard it through the') is just plain silly). These are songs that I had never even heard until I got this Best Of! I would have been much happier with "Masks" or "For Germans" on this disk. And while extended mixes are always nice bonuses, they really should not replace the original versions (this remix of "In The House" is gawdawfully LONG).

OK, that said, the rest of the tracks take me back to good ol' CFNY (102.1, the Spirit of Radio!), the early-mid 80's, and a sound that no one else had. This was the epitome of 80's Canadian pop. I can't really say "If you like X you'll like them," because I can't think of any other band that sounds quite like they do. Give the samples a listen. If the samples pique your interest, you're sure to like the rest.

Ps. the final track on this CD is not an extended mix; rather, it is an "Orchestral Version". This means it is essentially the same song as track 3, with no drums. I think it's keen. :)

If you were into the New Wave of the 80's or want to be a part of the memory now, then sample this album. Like the great Canadians Platinum Blonde, this group's life was way to short. The fact that there are re-mixes proves the songs...Get in to the music with "Save It" and enjoy Images great sounds.

The only song I knew by Images in Vogue was the balladesque "Strangers" and this was the only CD i could find it on, so I bought the entire disc. Needless to say, I soon got my hands on Collection version 2.0 and Collection version 3.0 because Images In Vogue is simply a stunning 80s new wave act. On this collection alone, you will hear echoes of Ultravox, Erasure, Anything Box, A Flock of Seagulls, and for me, most clearly, Icehouse. Much of the music is synthesizers and drum machines, but Images in Vogue isn't afraid of melodic new wave guitar rifts, part of what makes their music so similar to Icehouse. The vocalist as well has a similar sound to the singer of Icehouse, and the melodies and arrangements of the songs walk a fine line between new wave and synth rock of the 80s, with each song sounding fresh and different, and not particularly following the formula of either style.

'Best of' is the hardest of the 3 greatest hits CDs to find, but it is crucial if you want a handful of extended mixes not on the later volumes. Conveniently, the original versions of these extended versions are on those later volumes, so completists can have the original mixes and the 12" versions.