Customer Reviews

Gold: Best of Spandau Ballet

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

When I saw this collection I jumped at the chance to buy it.

For Spandau Ballet fans like myself this is the ultimate collection.

It covers their years on Chrysalis as well as their not so good years on Virgin - in which "Through the Barricades" was not a good CD but they managed to put 2 of the 3 good songs on this CD including the title "Through the Barricades" and "Fight For Ourselves", surprisingly missing was the first single from this CD "How Many Lies".

However they go from beginning to ALMOST end of their musical career including songs from their first album "Journeys to Glory" through "Through the Barricades". What is missing are some cuts from their last album in 1989 "Heart Like A Sky". Which I have and put Spandau Ballet back in top form with songs like "Be Free With Your Love", "Raw" and "Crashed Into Love", unfortunately those are missing too.

Otherwise this is still a 5 star effort with "Chant No.1", "She Loved Like Diamond", "Gold" (peaked at no.29) in the US, "True" (peaked at no.4) in the US, and their last top 40 hit-my favorite "Only When You Leave" (peaked at no.34) in the US. Though they weren't a smash here in the US they remain one of my favorite bands of all time and of the 1980s.

Half a lifetime ago when I was 19 (I am 38 now) I saw them in concert in San Francisco at the Warfield and they were fantastic with Hadley at top vocal form, John Keeble on drums, and of course the fantastic Steve Norman on sax.

A great band that is missed. Hadley went onto a solo career with 2 albums his later he did a remake of Duran Durans "Save A Prayer" and totally out did the original, making it a new classic.

Back to this set, a definite buy for the Spandau enthusiast. Spans their careers full circle omitting their last album, but there are so many songs you can put on one CD.

Maybe next "The Best of Spandau Ballet 2 CD Collection".

Spandau Ballet were one of the more popular names in the British New Romantic trend in the early 1980s. Owing a debt to Roxy Music, among other bands, the five-man British group wrote smooth, polished pop tunes that often blended blue-eyed soul, new wave, and lite jazz. By the time Spandau Ballet broke into the American market with their famous Top Ten ballad "True," they were already stars in England with a handful of hits. "Gold: The Very Best of Spandau Ballet" is a 2000 compilation released by Capitol/EMI, and it's the best collection on the American market, as it features the band's singles from 1980-86, apparently remastered. (Material from their final album, 1989's "Heart Like a Sky," is MIA). Aside from "True," there's the effortlessly elegant "Only When You Leave," the soaring "Gold," "I'll Fly for You," and the title track of their 1986 CBS release "Through the Barricades." Soon after, the band dissolved, and lead singer Tony Hadley went on to pursue a solo career. But we can always turn to this collection, which gives a clear snapshot of one of the most stylish bands of the 1980s.

Spandau Ballet. Warming us with their Brittish charm and James Bond good looks across the decades. This original boy band still inspires some of the greats today with their vast variety of music and sound. The versitile musicians with their many chart topping hits, intrigued us in the 70's, astounded us in the 80's, and wowed us in the 90's. Here in the new Millenium, their greatest hits are imortalized in CD and DVD format. Gold, the title of this CD is just that. Gold, and not to be missed.

I admit, I rediscovered Spandau Ballet after hearing the song "Gold" over and over while playing Grand Theft Auto-Vice City in 2003. So I bought this CD recently. It's a very complete Spandau collection for the casual fans. Die hard fans may find a missing song they think should be included but the major hits--"Gold," "True," "Communication," "Chant No. 1," are all here. I'm not too much feeling the black and white cover, but the booklet and interior design make the set a very impressive "best of" collection.

Together with such great groups as Duran Duran or Human League, Spandau Ballet is a very important part of the history of the 80's pop music. Their charm, elegance, perfect domination of the binomial vocal/instrumental, the fine british appearence, are trademarks of their own. "Gold" is essencial for those who, like me, feel the 80's as an era of great music. And also for those who want introduce themselves in this genre. The music of Spandau Ballet is almost perfect in terms of execution. "Gold" is just the right name for it...

True is simply a beautiful song. It will be played 100 years from now. Spandau Ballet may be one hit wonders, but who cares? They have left behind something that has touched millions of people, and will continue to touch those that were conceived while their parents played this.

What we have here is what it says on the front of the jewel case: The Best of Spandau Ballet.

Often unfairly marketed as the poor man's Duran Duran early in their career, Spandau Ballet matured from their new wave-esque beginnings of To Cut a Long Story Short', through the early to mid 80's with True and Gold, probably their strongest songs here and onto 'Through The Barricades'. Personally there are one or two songs on here I would have omitted however I'm not going to complain. In all, a decent (and decently mastered) set of songs.

This is the original boy band, they play their own instruments, and they stomp Nsync and Backstreet Boys into the ground. Tony Hadley's voice is one of the best in all of pop music, and it's a shame that most people only remember them for their single "True." Other great songs are the haunting and elegant "Gold", the diabolically funky "Chant No. 1", and the maginificent "Round and Round". I wouldn't say this is a substitute for the albums, though. You should definitely buy the "True" album, and probably Parade and Journeys to Glory.

I'm surprised how few reviews have mentioned the excellent 24-bit digital remastering featured on this excellent Spandau Ballet single disc retrospective from Chrysalis/Capitol Records. I bought this disc over 7 years after it's original release, since I could not find any mastering credits on the Internet citing any upgrade in sound. However, I finally took a chance and purchased the release, expecting great sound since it's released by Capitol Records. I was not disappointed!

The flatness and dullness of those '80s masters are long gone. Capitol has given these recordings life! Hits such as "Communication" and "Musclebound", for example, sound punchy and clean with their crisp drums. Ballads such as the classic "True" and the overlooked "Through The Barricades" have never sounded better with their underlying bass and soaring vocals. While the liner notes do not cite any mastering engineer the sound has obviously been upgraded using Capitol's 24-bit remastering technology -- a technology that surfaced a year before the time of this release, giving older recordings much added width, clarity, kick, and brightness.

Note that all versions featured here are not the album versions. Some tracks are featured in their 7" single edits/versions, including "Gold", "Instinction", "The Freeze", and "Musclebound". Capitol also licensed two tracks from the band's 1986 Epic/Sony release, 'Through The Barricades'. The first two hit singles from that project, "Fight For Ourselves" and the title track, make an appearance at the end of the disc. "How Many Lies", the third single from 'Barricades', is missing in addition to any tracks from their 1989 'Heart Like A Sky' effort. Considering that this is a Chrysalis/Capitol release fans should be satisfied with the two non-Chrysalis tracks included since they are licensed from another label.

In America, Spandau only hit the Billboard Hot 100 four times (three of those entries made the Top 40), while in the U.K. it was a totally different story. From 1980 to 1989 the band hit the U.K. Top 50 a total of twenty times! All seventeen tracks included here charted in the U.K. Top 50, with "She Loved Like Diamond" being the only one to miss the U.K. Top 40. Fifteen of these tracks landed in the U.K. Top 20, and ten of them made the U.K. Top 10!

Most Americans probably think of the band as a group that sang mostly ballads and pop gems, such as "True", "Gold", and "Only When You Leave". However, their early material from 1980 - 1982 consisted of new wave rock, pop, and synth productions. Tracks like the funky "Chant No. 1" and electronic "The Freeze" sound nothing like the music that was to come from 1983 onward. Give yourself a chance to discover the European hits, and you'll be surprised to hear that the band has much more to offer!

Highly recommended.

This group takes me back to my teens and early twenties and let me tell you the music is timeless. True is a classic song period. 'Gold', 'Lifeline' and 'I'll Fly for You' round out this incredible collection. Does not sound dated at all. At least not to me it doesn't.