Customer Reviews

Fabulous Sounds of the Pacific Northwest/Topsy Turvy

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I first purchased this it was on White Vinyl with strange purple smears, the summer of "85" I think, and Duran Duran was king and drum machines and synth washes were the essential elements of radio music...Yeesh; And the College radio scene consisted of U2 and REM, a little to serious for my taste.

Topsy Turvy was perfect for general beer drinking and college socializing and acoustic sing along stuff too, we all could play along and knew every sarcastic hysterical word Scott sang.

There was real Pop/Rock music being played in the 80's it was just harder to find than we were used to. These guys (The Young Fresh Fellows) were the Beatles to us; instead of "Involvement, Revolution and Dreaming of changing the world" The Fellows were disenfranchised, sarcastic, hysterically funny and completely devoid of egocentrism. If you want a glimpse into a revolution that never happened (because you have to become a part of the "system" to beat the "system")... We did not rage against the machine we giggled at it from our window seat.

This CD is a worthy investment in music history

Is the line on the spine of the original album. That was enough for me to buy it then.
Pure pop for now people! Too bad for you that it doesn't contain the lyric sheet (signed by the band) that was in the original vinyl pressing of Fab Sounds...
Scott transforms great titles into great songs, and on Topsy Turvy proves that he and the band can master just about every genre known to popular music. A modern day Lennon/McCartney in one shaggy-haired package. Drummer Tad is, well, the coolest machine-gun drummer/golfer and lounge sophisticate around (trek, trek). Get it.

These two albums are part of the soundtrack of my high school years. I was so happy to find them on cd! I went to see them every time they played Portland (at underage venues, at least) and they were a great live band, too. Far ahead of their time, I think. FSPN with the interspersing of vintage tourism filmstrip, and both with entertaining liner notes (like another reviewer said, too bad they aren't included with the cds.)
Even if these albums didn't hold wonderful nostalgic memories for me, I would still love them. There are clever lyrics, great music, and great musicians here. This is so different from other music from the same time period, and it doesn't sound dated at all.
You must buy this.
Really.

The Young Fresh Fellows are not especially well-known (except possibly through a lyric in a They Might Be Giants song), and that is somewhat of a shame, since their music is really a lot of fun. Both of their first two albums can be found on this disc, and, while their later albums are also great, Topsy Turvy is probably still my favorite (and apparently also the favorite of band leader Scott McCaughey). Styles range from hard-rocking ("How Much About Last Night Do You Remember?" and "You've Got Your Head On Backwards," for instance) to slower and rather psychadelic (the Sharing Patrol and Topsy Turvy Themes) to country-ish ("Good Things Go" and "Searchin' USA," despite the latter's obvious Beach Boys references). The band's sense of humor is shown in such songs as "Hang Out Right" and "The New John Agar," as well as in the spoken-word introductions to the tracks on The Fabulous Sounds of the Pacific Northwest, most of which have only tenuous, if any, connections with the songs they introduce. The whole package makes for some enjoyable listening, and a great way for those unfamilar with the band (which is probably most people) to find out about their work.

The Young Fresh Fellows are not especially well-known (except possibly through a lyric in a They Might Be Giants song), and that is somewhat of a shame, since their music is really a lot of fun. Both of their first two albums can be found on this disc, and, while their later albums are also great, Topsy Turvy is probably still my favorite (and apparently also the favorite of band leader Scott McCaughey). Styles range from hard-rocking ("How Much About Last Night Do You Remember?" and "You've Got Your Head On Backwards," for instance) to slower and rather psychadelic (the Sharing Patrol and Topsy Turvy Themes) to country-ish ("Good Things Go" and "Searchin' USA," despite the latter's obvious Beach Boys references). The band's sense of humor is shown in such songs as "Hang Out Right" and "The New John Agar," as well as in the spoken-word introductions to the tracks on The Fabulous Sounds of the Pacific Northwest, most of which have only tenuous, if any, connections with the songs they introduce. The whole package makes for some enjoyable listening, and a great way for those unfamilar with the band (which is probably most people) to find out about their work.

This CD contains 2 original 5-star LPs - the first two releases from the Young Fresh Fellows, circa '84/'85. These are both pop/rock gems full of incredibly catchy songwriting and skillful, enthusiastic instrumentation. If you don't have this in your CD collection you are not a music fan. Enjoy!

That's right 2 classic pop albums from the fabulous northwest! See-the original lineup of the fellows lay the groundwork for almost every northwest pop band that followed them (except the Fastbacks, they've been around as long as Heart)! Hear-the first of many Young Fresh Fellow Themes! Buy-This disc! Do it now! Doc Sharpie commands you!

This is a good first album to start with, YFF-wise. Pure pop. I think Fabulous Sounds is the stronger of the two. Their later albums are more heavy on the rock side of things, which is more my taste when it comes to this band. (i think this album is 1984-85) But if you enjoy this, you will really like their early 1990s stuff.

I'm a northwest native who discovered these guys at a mid-80's Bumbershoot and have been hooked ever since. I wore out the first copy of I had of Topsy Turvy, and then its replacement. My third copy was stolen.

Finally, years later I found the CD used, in Miami, of all places, god bless Blue Note records in N. Miami, and my life was again complete.

By the way, all the spoken word stuff on "Fabulous Sounds of the Pacific Northwest" comes from a strange little record published as a tourist attraction by Pacific Northwest Bell, and which I picked up at a local Goodwill recently for $.30. It sounds even weirder without music following it.

Anyway, this is a collection of songs that will get under your skin and stay there. If there's any way to wear out a CD I have no doubt that I will find it with this CD.

This cd would be impossible for me to find in any store, and I am really glad that I chose to seek it on Amazon.com. I wonder how I lived life previously without owning this cd. Surely, life was just a bleak existance.