Business as Usual

Men at Work

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 11, 2003)
• Original Release Date: February 11, 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B000088E77
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,127 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very cool - but not perfect!, December 16, 2003

By	Ian Johnston "teknokon" (Independence, MO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'd just like to say that Business As Usual was one of the formative influences in my life when I was growing up. I loved Men at Work then and still do. This album never fails to conjure up the nostalgia for my early adolescence with great tunes, quirky lyrics, and Colin Hay's incredible vocals. Overall, it's a tremendous album, which deserves much respect.

Naturally, then, I was excited to see it remastered with bonus tracks from the band's "Golden Era", and snatched up a copy right away. The new remastering is excellent and it is superior in sound quality in many ways to the original CD that has occupied my player for so long. The liner notes are helpful and give a nice retrospective for fans of the band, along with a lot of unique pix of the lads.

Which brings me to the extra stuff. The bonus cuts are a very cool and welcome addition. I loved Crazy and F-19 (an experimental ditty if there ever was one), but was frankly puzzled by the addition of the live tracks from the "Brazil" album. Why? I was hoping to get live performances from the "Business as Usual" era, but was instead confronted with two tracks that I already have on another disc! This was somewhat disappointing to me. Why not include live performances from 1981 or thereabouts instead of the reunion concert tracks? Another glaring omission is the b-side "Anyone for Tennis?" which should be on this disc but is sorely lacking.

All that aside, the two 1980s-era b-sides and the remastering make this a must-have for any MAW fan. Enjoy!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars World-class pop., March 29, 2003

By	M J Heilbron Jr. "Dr. Mo" (Long Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The phenomenal ascent of Men At Work had to be seen to be believed. I was present at their Universal Amphitheater concert during one of the first weeks this album was number one, and I saw a group of guys completely taken aback, but genuinely appreciative towards our applause and enthusiasm.
In retrospect, their first album is world-class pop music. It had a definable, unique sound...borrowed from a few sources, sure, but gelling into a wholly original package. The singles were marvelous radio singalongs, but the rest of the album has variety, depth and some impressive musicianship!
The remastering has resulted in the crisp sonic reproduction of a sound that will take you back twenty years, in the time span of a sax break. If the name "Men At Work" gives you any sort of fond recollections, this will be a most worthwhile purchase.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Though uneven and not for everyone, this is a very good jazz/blues-influenced rock debut by Men At Work! - 4.5 stars, January 3, 2006

By	C. Cross - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Most people know Men At Work for their hit single "Down Under" (and for good reason) and possibly for their other top 100 singles "Who Can It Be Now" and "Be Good Johnny" . These 3 songs are great 80's rock tunes that alone make the album worthy of a purchase (they at least help its appeal), but the album does contain several other good tracks too. Unfortunately it's all kind of a guilty pleasure which hurts its possibility of being a classic. It's also pretty uneven so chances are you'll skip several tracks. The lyrics aren't that great, but like their singles they're simple and catchy enough to have fun singing along with. The singer I think is sort of love-it-or-hate-it for most of the songs. Its three hits move it up from a 4 to a 4.5 (it's also a kind of unique album musically - it's mostly jazz/blues influenced rock but it has a little new wave thrown in). Overall a very good debut that 80's rock fans and those with an open mind will probably like (and its relatively cheap price certainly helps). Recommended!

Highlights include:
"Who Can It Be Now?
"I Can See It In Your Eyes"
"Down Under"
"Underground"
"Helpless Automaton"
"People Just Love To Play With Words" (kind of)
"Be Good Johnny"
"Down By The Sea" (kind of)