Customer Reviews

Face to Face

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

 

 

Originally released in 1984 and now available on compact disc after 22 years. Thanks to Wounded Bird label for this release. The sequence of the songs in this album do not drop a beat. Lead female singer's voice is at times soft and at times husky. The rest of band put their heart and efforts to deliver a very good product. "Under the gun" and "10-9-8" (my two faves) are available here in their original and extended versions. Which makes every penny spent worth the wait. I'm giving five stars to this recording and a million stars to Wounded Birs records.

The debut album from Boston's Face to Face has finally been reissued! Originally released in 1984 on CBS/Columbia/Sony, I thought this would never see the light of day on CD. I also thought the rise of the California punk band with the same name in the 90's would also be an added complication. I need to be more optimistic.

Singer Laurie Sergent's voice is perfectly paired with the band's pop prowess. The upbeat rhythms and new wave nuances blend to create one of my all-time favourite 80's pop albums. With production by super 80's producers Arthur Baker and Jimmy Iovine (now head of Interscope) this cd is a must-own for any 80's pop fan!

As a side note I should mention that Laurie Sergent's career didn't end in 1988 with the break up of Face To Face. She went on to record a solo album in the late 90's and is currently the singer for Twinemen - which is made up of the remaining members of the band Morphine.

I guess you couldn't really appreciate this CD if you never saw the live show which was innncredible. I worked for this band as well as til'tuesday and The Cars who were all playing the same clubs in and around Boston and New England in the same era. Laurie Sargent had the phenomenal range in her voice and the duelling guitar leads were nothing less than intense. If they ever had a chance to cut a live CD they would have went much further. Its a shame they were sold shot by their record company who thought they were going to make it as a disco band. This was high energy at its best, dance from start to finish, a marathon that was great to watch. These guys were hot.

10-9-8 and Out of My Hands are the stand-out songs here. But the real story is the pre-internet supression of raw talent that Face-To-Face represents. They had it all: two guitars, thumping bass, Charlie Watt's drum kit, and female vocals that could scale and sustain while also gunning her motor like a Harley. Combine it with Pop sensibility and punk ethics, with a healthy respect for guitar hooks and you should have had a band that wiped up the charts. Instead payola crap supressed and distracted us. A pity: with bands like this reaching a broader audience Alternative Rock would have arrived a decaded earlier.

I have been looking for years, and I'm so pleased they're finally releasing them!!! Hard to believe there was ever a time there weren't CD's being made, eh!?

I do understand what the detractors are saying, if you choose to look at their music as generic or derivative, but I so loved this record, and the rest of their material. I would love to see them get more fans and credit for the efforts they put in. I do think the second record is more personal and developed--this record was a contest winner for them for competing in a Battle of the Bands in Boston, so I don't think it's as "produced" as it could have been, but I love 80's music, so if you do too, and you're looking for more like the Motels and Pat Benetar, check them out! I still sing "Face in Front of Mine" in the shower.

From what I can see, the mpgs on my page are not the correct ones--Make sure you see 10-9-8!!!!

I just ordered this--in a flurry of excitement, and I can't wait to hear "Out of My Hands" again. The song is a true Boston moddin raak classic, and when F2F disappeared off the airwaves it was a sad day. SO psyched to add this gem to my collection.

Okay. A few days later. Got the CD. "Out of My Hands" is definitely the best track. The other songs don't compare. "10-9-8" is cute, but...see above.

Remember when MTV was only music video's? I remember Michael Jackson, Madonna, and yes, Face To Face. They were playing in the clubs in Boston as well.

THIS ALBUM IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE LARGEST DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY. EACH SONG HAS IT'S OWN IDIVIDUALITY AND ANY ARTIST LOOKING FOR A BOOST IN THEIR CARRIER WOULD DO WELL TO REMAKE ANY OF THESE SONGS.


CHRIS P. KENNEDY

I was very pleased with the product I orderd.I was also pleased with the manner in wich it was delivered.

Unless you were living in Boston during the early eighties, you've probably never heard of Face to Face. In their favor, they had a charismatic female vocalist named Laurie Sargent and a single called "10-9-8" that really deserved to be a hit, thanks in part to the streetwise beats of "shakin" Arthur Baker, a NYC producer and hip hop pioneer who had already delivered club hits for New Order, Freeez, Afrika Bambaataa and other underground dance talents. "Face In Front of Mine," a gorgeous pop ballad, should have been the follow up single and might have consolidated the band's burgeoning reputation. But Face to Face failed to capitalize on their initial chart success in part because on much of this debut they over-rely on worn out New Wave clichés and shallow lyrics instead of solid melodies and original ideas. Face to Face abound with live energy, yet they rarely manage to sound like much more than a well-rehearsed bar band who cannot appreciate the difference between affecting listeners and just entertaining them. The result is a couple of radio-friendly tracks (All Because of You, Face In Front of Mine, and 10-9-8) buried in the middle of a forgettable, derivative album recorded by a regional one-hit wonder striving to emulate Blondie, The Motels, Pat Benatar and most of the other acts then in heavy rotation on the FM airwaves. Even this CD reissue, which includes no rarities and lacks the original stylized cover art, is a pretty perfunctory release. I have fond memories of "10-9-8" and the black-and-white video shot to promote it, but the bulk of this record will only appeal to the determinedly nostalgic.