Book of Days

The Psychedelic Furs | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 10, 1989)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B000008JNB
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #50,603 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Shine

2. Entertain Me

3. Book Of Days

4. Should God Forget

5. Torch

6. Parade

7. Mother-Son

8. House

9. Wedding

10. I Don't Mine

Editorial Reviews

Audio CD

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite Furs album, June 25, 2005

By 

trainreader (Montclair, N.J.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Book of Days (Audio CD)

While "Book of Days" has a similar melodic sound to the Psychedelic Furs previous album, "Midnight to Midnight," it is darker, and superior in every respect -- musically and lyrically. This categorizes "Book" as a truly superb album - in my opinion the band's best - since "Midnight" is quite good. Here, Richard Butler sings of feelings of regret, hopelessness and squandered time, which is a marked departure to the feel-good theme of the previous album.

Interestingly, "Book" starts off with one of the less stellar tracks, "Shine," a song which doesn't reflect the general tenor of the album. It can be argued that, on all of the band's previous albums, the first track is the strongest one on the album, or close to it. This is definitely true on the prior two: "Midnight" ("Heartbreak Beat") and "Mirror Moves" ("The Ghost In You"). The second track, "Entertain Me," is probably my favorite song on any Furs album (tied with "India"). "Entertain Me" starts off with what sounds like a jet plane or a race car, which leads into an intriguing bass line, reminiscent of The Cure's "Shiver and Shake." I wonder if Kurt Cobain was influenced by this song when writing the lyrics for his masterpiece "Smells Like Teen Spirit."

The title track, "Book of Days," about a women who feels she's wasting her life away, is superb, as is "Should God Forget," "Parade," and "I Don't Mine." There is no filler on this album, and it can be listened to repeatedly without getting stale. Perhaps the debut album of "The Psychedelic Furs" was more innovative, but I believe that "Book of Days" remains the band's seminal work.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Too Good for the Masses, Obviously, November 15, 2003

By 

Dan (Kodiak, AK United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Book of Days (Audio CD)

I love the Furs and find each one of their albums and their differences (sometimes subtle, sometimes not) enjoyable. I am utterly flabbergasted that "Book of Days" and the following year's "World Outside" failed to sell. Both albums are similar in style with "Book" being the slightly better of the two, but they are poetic, haunting, and musically fantastic.I'm further surprised that both the Furs and their label Columbia are treating both CD's like "red-headed stepchildren" by practically denying their existence. On the remixed early Furs releases, the liner notes show a list of ALL Psychedelic Furs releases and "Book" and "World" are both missing... Such a shame that because they didn't achieve commercial success they now are blighted from corporate memory... and future sales.If you can find "Book of Days" and you are a Fur's fan, I strongly suggest buying it... and "World Outside" too.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a criminally overlooked album, August 17, 2003

By 

jpn67 "jpn67" (nyc) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Book of Days (Audio CD)

an angry, brooding, but ultimately uplifting masterpiece. according to most accounts the band was repenting for the sins of their previous album "midnight to midnight" (which was weak for the furs, but strong, were it by any other band). the result was a pure, unadulterated, unrelenting onslaught of songs that blend together and become a cathartic whole greater than the sum of its incredibly perfect parts (much like "loveless" by my bloody valentine, another obvious ten best for the 80s).

the grinding wall-of-noise 'melodies' form moody landscapes over which richard butler paints bleak and melancholy tales from the depths of despair. the title track is my favorite, depicting the longing for change in the world of a person whose life is one endless chain of wrong decisions and missed opportunities. my other favorite, "torch" packs the equivalent punch of all the other tracks with nothing more than an acoustic guitar and cello. not many bands can pull that off.

depite all the doom and gloom, i find the album absolutely beautiful and cathartic. it is a genuine work of art, existing outside of timelines, eras and classifications. it stands alongside the greatest works of opera and jazz (both of which have the power to evoke deep emotions in me).

in summary, it is one of the greatest recordings of all pop music - the furs set out to pay pennance for their previous album, and in doing so they gave the world a gift that i hope may actually one day be understood by a larger audience and accorded the praise and respect it deserves.