Customer Reviews

Best Of

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Criminally underrated, The House of Love wrote achingly beautiful music that contained a mixture of shiny ringing guitars, pseudo-psychedelic melodies and bursts of noise. A revolving door of guitarists, an uncaring british public that was more interested in a club-conscious pop scene and poor record sales doomed the House of Love by late 1993. The loss was ours indeed. Although not as comprehensive as I would like, this compilation does include most of HOL's best songs. Omitting material from their last album, it focuses on their first three outings. All the big ones are here: shine on, I don't know why I love you, Christine, and the georgeous Safe. Do yourself and favour and find out where bands like Coldplay got their inspiration from.

IN THE LATE 80'S/ EARLY 90'S, WHEN THERE WAS SO MUCH GREAT MUSIC COMING FROM ACROSS THE ATLANTIC , I REMEMBER HEARING A HYPNOTIC TUNE CALLED "I DON'T KNOW WHY I LOVE YOU," AND FROM THAT MOMENT ON, I INSTANTLY BECAME A "HOUSE OF LOVE" FAN. THIS "BEST OF..." ALBUM IS DEFINITELY WORTH PURCHASING! THE TURBULENT GUITARS ON SONGS SUCH AS "I DON'T KNOW WHY I LOVE YOU", TO THE SOMEWHAT MELANCHOLIC, AMBIENT SOUNDS OF "SHINE ON" AND "CHRISTINE", TO THE MELLOW "BEATLES AND THE STONES", AND "THE GIRL WITH THE LONLINESS EYES" MAKE THIS CD AN EXCELLENT CHOICE FOR ALL" HOUSE OF LOVE" FANS (AS WELL THOSE UNFAMILIAR WITH THEIR MUSIC). BELIEVE ME. YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED... HEARING THIS CD MAKES ONE WISH THAT THE BAND HAD NEVER BROKEN UP.

This review is not about this album, but about the band. Without HOL, there would be no Radiohead, no Blur, no Coldplay, etc.... Simply one of the most underrated bands of all time. Moody, introspective, poetic lyrics. Simple yet stunning musicianship. Almost impossible to compile a "Best Of," from this band. I would highly, highly recommend the Peel Sessions (if you can find it) and Spy in the House Of Love. A late-80's collection of singles and b-sides. All defy accurate description.

It's simple, really. House of Love is one of the few bands with their mood. And I don't know how else to explain it. Situated somewhere between lethargy and honey, HOL songs produce this feeling, in me at least, unlike any other. Now, you can read the other reviews in this section for discussions about their slinky, rhyming guitars, or their lyrics, or whatever, but it's the mood of these songs that have always appealed to me. See if you agree. One of the most beautiful-sounding bands ever.

Should have filled the gap when U2 and the other 80's supergroups were in a creative slump at the end of the decade. That they didn't in terms of sales was inexplicable but their influence can still be felt today in recordings by Radiohead and Coldplay amongst others.

I recently picked up the latest edition of the AMG Rock Guide and was looking through it, searching for music I didn't know but thought I should try. I scribbled down several promising looking titles and trotted off to a few of the many used CD stores in my neighborhood in Chicago. I had written down five titles by House of Love but turned up only THE BEST OF HOUSE OF LOVE. All I can say is: Good lord! I have a very large and very extensive music collection, but I'm perpetually learning that there is still some amazingly great music out there that I have never heard.

This CD absolutely blew me away. One of my favorite rock genres, if not my favorite, is any of a variety of forms of pop, whether you style it as Power Pop, Brit Pop, Alt Pop, Indie Pop, or Rock Pop. I personally am unable to distinguish between the various Pop permutations. This is Pop with a hint of shoe gazer aesthetic. I'll just leave the label at that. What this disc contains is a string of absolutely gorgeous rock songs. The second I heard on a first listen "I Don't Know Why I Love You" I knew these guys were stellar.

I don't know if the cuts on this album represent the best of the House of Love or not. I don't know their other albums. Looking at the exorbitant prices sellers are asking here on Amazon for their various albums it looks like it might be difficult to find their other albums. I know simply this: this is a great collection of songs. The disc is just relentless in showering you with great songs. "Beatles and the Stones" feels inspired by the music of the Smiths without being tainted by any of their angst (which I love when listening to the Smiths because they can pull angst off, but please spare me it in anyone else). The music of "The Girl with the Loneliest Eyes" is as good as the title. The first time I heard "Shine On" I was convinced it was one of the best singles I'd ever heard and on the tenth listening I wasn't sure I was wrong. "Never" is a rollicking guitar and tom tom driven gem. Reading reviews both here and in the AMG Guide I am anxious to hear "Love in a Car." If those who know it would have chosen it over other songs it must be fine indeed. My only complaint with this disc is that it flags a bit toward the end.

I suppose most serious music fans do as I do when I hit the rounds of music stores: pull out my "want list" and go in search of the thirty or forty hard to find albums that online sellers are asking too much for. Now on my list are 1988 and 1990 eponymous albums. They sound like they are worth searching for.

Meanwhile, some kindhearted (or heck, just plain greedy) music house should consider making available more of the music of these guys.

Ever since happening upon the "Marble" video on MTV in
August 1991, I've been an avid fan of HOL, and this CD is a really well-chosen collection of their strongest tracks. However, I have to take issue with the lack of songs from their final album, Audience with the Mind, and the lack of enthusiasm for this album in the liner notes. It was indeed a brilliant album, and is one of my favorites of their strong catalogue. And c'mon, is the song "Let's Talk about You" really one of their best, or is it just a catty post-Bickers snipe? I say replace it with "Sweet Anatomy" perhaps....this is the main reason I gave the CD just 4 stars. That aside, I highly recommend this CD.

The Ocean Blue, Tears For Fears, The House Of Love, and World Party are possibly their equivalent, during an era of "alternative" pop bands and "120 Minutes," The House Of Love are largely forgotten, at least in the states.

I will admit I barely remembered them and had completely forgotten they existed, until, gulp, an automatic internet recommendation led me to this compilation CD in early 2008. I can't believe I've gone this long without discovering their music. I vaguely remember the "Beatles And The Stones" video on MTV's 120 Minutes in the early 90's. I didn't give it too much thought then, but what a great song.

Highlights of their singles here include Shine On, Beatles And The Stones, The Girl With The Loneliest Eyes, Crush Me, Christine, and I Don't Know Why I Love You, which were their most popular tracks. But every song on this compliation is excellent, and due to their accessible style and sound, this CD is a great first or only buy.

Fans of The Ocean Blue, INXS, The Cure, Love And Rockets, Tears For Fears, World Party, and others of that era, may be drawn to this band, and you may end up liking them just as much as those bands possibly.

By far the best UK guitar group in that period between The Smiths and the Stone Roses. Guy Chadwick has one of the most soothing voices in rock, which when combined with Terry Bicker's spine-tingling guitar produces some moments of pure pop beauty.As well as their most famous songs like Christine and Destroy The Heart, this CD also contains some of their lesser known tracks, like the unbelievably gorgeous Girl With The Loneliest Eyes. My only quibble with this compilation is the selection of some of the later tracks chosen over far better earlier stuff, but as an introduction to one of the most underrated bands ever, this CD does the job just fine.

This kind of band is definetively why its worth paying for a CD instead of downloading. HOL brought to the world of music songs with charisma, passion, melody and energy. On top of that, their lyrics have something to say about life. Drown the soul/and through the eyes/You'll see a future/so cold and lonely/Hunt the tiger/and kill the jungle/how money cooks/inside us all/ (You don't Understand): That's something few bands make as equal exciting in poetry. As others have said, they're an underrated band, but that made them sort of underground, which is why HOL is a real treasure planet Earth has yet to discover.