Customer Reviews

Getting Away With It / Lucky Bag (7-Track Remix EP)

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

 

 

When the single "Getting Away With It" hit the airwaves in late 89/early 90, I fell instantly in love. Even without knowing anything about the group, I was able to identify the New Order and Pet Shop Boys elements (I didn't know about the Smiths) - a fact that I was quite proud of, and I immensely enjoyed the results. Labeled here as an EP (after all, it took almost a year after this single was released for me to find Electronic's first full album), this first single from Electronic's self-titled debut was a relative radio and dance floor hit here in the States. This release served as a great introduction to this ingenious conglomeration of members of New Order, the Smiths, and the Pet Shop Boys.

I'll go ahead and discuss the songs in the order presented here (the tape has "Lucky Bag" interspersed to break up the mixes of "GAWI"). The Full Length Version is the fun NO/PSB combo bouncy dance tune you heard on the radio and will find on the album. The Extended Version is different from what I was expecting, since the verse orchestrations are pared down some, and they introduced some funky (even for New Order) guitar work. The break in the middle seems contrived and doesn't add much since it's so shallow and unimaginative. Then what's weird is the song picks back up again, but it sounds like they just pasted in the original, since the funky guitar and pared down verse orchestrations are gone in favor of the original orchestrations. The main redeeming quality to this mix is the string section solo at the end that sounds every bit of PSB. Light and airy, the Instrumental version is very relaxing as Bernard and Neil's voices waft through your head as just a memory. A nice feature is that they decided to pick up the orchestral solo from the Extended Version, which makes for a pleasant ending. Remixed by Mike Pickering and Greame Park, I don't care much for either the Nude Mix or the Vocal Mix. While the new orchestrations are somewhat interesting in the Nude Mix, the minor harmonics are disturbing and not nearly as fun as the original. Also, there are some definitely 808 State influenced elements, from orchestrations to the way the ending is handled. That's not to say it's a bad thing; it's just blatantly obvious. The song just isn't the same song any more, and the only thing tying you back to the original are Neil's backing vocals (Bernard's vocals are dropped completely). Maintaining some of the elements from the Nude Mix, the Vocal Remix reintroduces Bernard's vocals and the main piano line, tying us back to the original song. They also added some funky jungle beat drums and some odd pan flute programming. Then we get to "Lucky Bag," a bonus song that does not appear on Electronic's debut. This is a fantastic techno instrumental piece that is a very fun bit of New Order-ish fare (circa Republic). Very dance friendly and relatively deep, Lucky bag is a great addition. My only complaint with the original version is that the song ends so abruptly. The Miami Edit is almost better than the original with even more dance friendly drum beats and more programming depth.

Overall, I give the "Getting Away With It" EP 4 stars. I really loved this song and its lyrics, and this was the only thing I had to live on of Electronic for almost a year before the full album came out. I'm somewhat disappointed in the remixing, though, hence no full 5 stars. Both New Order and Pet Shop Boys had awesome remixers at their disposal back in the late 80s/early 90s. Why those remixers weren't used here is somewhat beyond me, though it might have been to try to get away from the standard NO/PSB sound. They certainly achieved a new sound with the remixes, but I'm not overly impressed.

Fans of New Order and the Pet Shop Boys should definitely have this one. You'll find elements of each band in this release with satisfying results. Fans of Electronic that picked up on the band at their second or third album might want to pass this up, unless they are also NO/PSB fans. Electronic had not quite found its voice in these initial offerings, so they tended to sound like some combination of New Order or the Pet Shop Boys (I never really heard any Smiths influence, but then I'm not a huge Smiths fan).

This is the one that started it all. If you're a fan of any of the bands involved, this release is a definite must have for your musical history archive.

This is the debut single of the supergroup Electronic, featuring New Order's Bernard Summer and Johnny Marr of the Smiths, with additional vocals from Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant. Together, they collaborate on a single that results in pure, mellow bliss. "Getting Away With It" is laid back and gentle Europop that's not showy or overproduced, yet it's powerful in impact. Featuring a lush orchestral arrangement from Art of Noise's Anne Dudley, the song's string section adds a classy touch to the production. This single also contains an extended version, as well as a more dance-oriented remix. It's never too late to revisit a fine single as this, and if you haven't bought it already, it deserves to be in your collection.

i have always been a fan of NewOrder and also have liked The smiths and when i heard that the singer (Bernard Sumner) of NO and the guitarist (Johnny Marr) of The Smiths were coming together and making a new band i had to listen. this group incorporates the best synths and vocals of NewOrder style with the wonders on the guitar of The Smiths' Johnny Marr. a must have single to hear different styles of the great songs...GET IT!!!!

Not exactly what I would expect when three great talents of eighties alternative/dance scene come together but it is still impressive and very danceable. Probably has survived the test of time more so than other dance hits of that era - especially some acid house etc.

Those who enjoyed "Release," the latest album from the Pet Shop Boys, will love "Getting Away With It." The song is a beautiful pop gem with excellent vocals by Neil Tennant. Though Electronic is primarily a New Order/Smiths side project, Tennant shines the brightest on this track. His vocals add much depth to the song.

It was 1989 this single first came out in the UK. Hopes were high for Bernard Sumner's solo project, since everyone in England had finally realised they loved New Order [ when TECHNIQUE came out] then Johnny Marr's involvement upped the stakes, then the PSB's prescence here pushed it even further.

And finally it's out!, and you buy the 12" and see the arrangements are by Anne Dudley [ Art of Noise / ZTT ] and there's even David Palmer [ ABC ] on drums. 80's pop summit meeting?

Myself, from a project called Electronic with this involved, I expected a dancefloor stormer wild lots of padding, but instead it's a mild, melodic little number based around mid-tempo, unobtrusive "real" sounding bass and drums; very pleasant orchestral arrangements and lush Neil Tennant harmonies cushion a typically flat, naked Bernard Sumner vocal. Very underplayed overall, but the chorus swells up so irresistably that it really works. The Extended version is just that, an old fashioned 12" version, likewise the instrumental. I kind of hoped there'd be a harder dancier version at the time, but it never materialised. The Nude and Vocal mixes I never heard [sorry], but Pickering and Park were never my cup of tea, and Lucky Bag ia a very very throwaway dance-pop instrumental, with a dry papery sound. A genuine B-side.

And then, a long wait, and Get The Message - more unexpected pleasures - and then the first album. The best. After that it was a slow slide downhill [over the hill?] for Sumner / New Order and Marr: they never managed to sound this spontaneous and unforced again - RAISE THE PRESSURE sounded cheesy and dated for the most part, and TWISTED TENDERNESS overproduced: like New Order's GET READY, it was tired old man's rock. Even the PSB began to fail after 1993's VERY.

So this CD's like a snapshot of when they were all great, and surprising, and unsettling, and reliable, and predicable all at once.

You'll be surprised what happens when these three guys combined their talent. The result is a very danceable music that just picks you up and bounces you all over the floor. The feeling and the sound is perfect. Although it only has one song with different versions (6 to be exact), each has its own unique blending and rhythm. Get this album!

Neil Tennant (of Pet Shop Boys) sings with Bernard Sumner (of New Order). Some nice disco-esque guitar licks from the Smiths' Johnny Mar tighten up the arrangement of silky synth strings and a very nice 126 bpm drum machine ticky tack. This is like the last half of the synthy eighties in full bloom.

Although catchy enough in its own right, this song reeks of missed opportunities. People rave about Johnny Marr being part of Electronic, but when Johnny Marr is known for being a jingle-jangle guitarist, his contributions to a bog-standard 126bpm dance track such as this could have been made by Fred the Milkman and you'd never know the difference. Similarly Bernard Sumner (of New Order) brings nothing to the track... and last, but not least, Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant phones his vocal in, making the whole affair sound like a very shoddy Pet Shop Boys b-side. A waste of three talented individuals.