Customer Reviews

Hot Fuss

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

One year after the Killers' debut album "Hot Fuss" was released, it is now re-released as a "limited edition", with 3 additional tracks that have been available on various singles.

"Hot Fuss Limited Edition" (14 tracks, 56 min.) brings the original 11 tracks first. By now, the first half of the album sounds like a "greatest hits" album, that's how familiar tunes like "Jenny Was a Friend of Mine", "Mr. Brightside", "Smile Like You Mean It" and "Somebody Told Me" now are. But the rest of the album is quite good as well, with tracks like "Andy You're a Star", "Change Your Mind" and "Everything Will Be Alright". The bonus tracks are quite good as well, in particular "Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll" (although the Killers by now are hardly indie). "The Ballad of Michael Valentine" is so-so, but "Under the Gun" is grade A quality and would have fitted nicely onto the album proper.

This re-release is intended to tempt those on the fence that for whatever reason hadn't bought the album yet. Like me. (My 15 yr. daughter had bought it, so I was familiar with the album.) I'm glad that I bought this. If on the other hand you're REALLY into the Killers, your probably have those additional tracks already.

If you're a Killers fan who already has the Hot Fuss cd in its original form, & you're wondering EXACTLY what the differences here are, here you go:

3 b-sides/non-album tracks have been tacked on to the end of the cd.

"Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll" was a track previously only found on the UK verson of Hot Fuss. "Ballad of Michael Valentine" & "Under The Gun" have appeared on several of the band's import singles. All tracks are good, but "Under The Gun" is exceptional & should have been on the album from the beginning.

"All These Things That I Have Done" is a slightly different mix on this edition. The gospel choir from the mid-section of the song is heard longer near the end, as they accompany Brandon during the "don't you put me on the back-burner..." chorus. Not a huge difference, but it adds some more energy. This is the version that radio stations are now playing.

As for the artwork, the cd booklet is exactly the same with 2 exceptions. Besides the obvious cover photo change (from blue to black), Brandon Flowers' solo picture has mysteriously disappeared in favor of a blank, black page. Perhaps he wants us to forget about that shag haircut he had when the cd first came out?

So there you have it. Those are the only differences, but if you don't already have the 3 bonus tracks, I'd say they're WELL worth the ten bucks that I spent on this. Be sure to check out "Under The Gun"!!!

The three bonus tracks,

"Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll"
"The Ballad of Michael Valentine"
"Under the Gun"

are all available on the Killer's 2007 release Sawdust.

If you are looking to buy the Hot Fuss album, buy the Deluxe Tour Edition which comes with a DVD of videos.

Hot Fuss was already an exceptional album, and the addition of these three previously unreleased tracks adds to it's appeal.

The hits "Somebody Told Me," "Mr. Brightside," and "All These Things That I've Done" alone make the album worth buying if you don't already own the 2004 edition of "Hot Fuss." The original 12 songs are catchy and fun, especially the sexy-sounding "On Top" and poppish "Change Your Mind," as well as the fascinating songs of murderous jealousy, "Jenny" and "Midnight Show."

Those of you who already own "Hot Fuss" and enjoy it will be glad to have the three additional songs.

"Glamorous Indie Rock 'n' Roll" is a sarcastic jab at people who say The Killers have sold out due to the popularity of their music. Despite the heavy sarcasm, it is sung in a way that sounds almost like over-the-top sincerity. It is not simply a jab at snobbish indie rock fans - it is a wonderful song in itself.

"The Ballad of Michael Valentine" has an interesting sound and even more interesting lyrics, although it doesn't quite catch one's attention as well as the two other newly added songs.

"Under The Gun" is a short but sweet song. It tells the story of a fatal car crash, an angel "with a criminal mind," and the man she left behind. This has got to be the catchiest song ever written in which the chorus is a repetition of the line, "Kill me now!"

To make a long story short, YES, the three added songs are worth buying this limited edition CD!

Chances are that if you're reading this, you don't need to read another stellar review of Hot Fuss. In my opinion, it's the best debut album I've heard in a long time, and The Killers are the best new band I've heard in probably the last five years.

If you're reading this, I probably don't need to tell you about Brandon Flower's haunting voice, I probably don't need to tell you about the wonderfully infectious riffs and beats that are woven through this entire glorious album, I don't need to tell you how great in general Hot Fuss is, because I'm sure you already know! So I'll just stick to reviewing the three extra tracks...

Track 12: "Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll" - This is my favorite of the three. The chorus is a TAD repetitive, but it's more than compensated by the change-ups in rhythm and Brandon's stellar vocal performance throughout, though my favorite part is Brandon's brief falsetto at the end of the line, "bet your, your bottom dollar on me." The song soars and your heart will soar along with it.

Track 13: "The Ballad of Michael Valentine" - The worst of the three. The melody is halting, I like the lyrics but the song just doesn't really go anywhere. The chorus really takes off at first, but then lets you down when Brandon's voice turns screamy and cracked. It's clearly intentional, and it's quite Bowie-esque in my opinion, but I feel that it just really doesn't work with the rest of the song, and pretty much spoils the whole thing for me.

Track 14: "Under The Gun" - I really believe that this song should have been on the original release of the album. It has "single" practically written all over it. The song is catchy yet moody, the lyrics are inspiring, and it's much more interesting guitar-wise (as well as being a better song in general) than "Andy, You're A Star" - which is my least favorite song on Hot Fuss. But that's just my opinion :)

So, while it may not seem that way, I think that these three extra tracks were definitely worth buying the album again, although I agree with another reviewer who stated that we should have gotten the rest of the b-sides that have been released.

In a generation where artists like the Killers are rare, I can't believe anyone would put them down. I think everyone needs to stop classifying music, I mean how about we just let it be MUSIC and not this....or that....or too much like this band, or not enough like this band! I'm tired of it...It's as simple as this...The Killers is GOOD music, It doesn't get stuck in a rut where you could even begin to tag a genre to it, and that's what I like. I mean I don't really go for what's on the radio, but when I heard Mr. Brightside for the first time It was extremely refreshing, It just wasn't like all the other pop garbage out at the time. Basically I'm not going to say what are the best songs because you buy an album to listen to the whole thing, and that's what you'll get when you buy Hot Fuss, an album where EVERY song is good, no fillers, all heart. That's what it is all about for me!

Can I just say that I love the Killers? They are awesome. To the people who claim that they're "sell outs" or "too commercial"... well, what's wrong with catchy, danceable songs that are performed by talented artists? Nothing!!! It's like the unbelievable dance music of Duran Duran and David Bowie re-surfacing for the next generation.

The original Hot Fuss was a really great CD, one that you could just listen to over and over again without getting tired of it. Definitely the best songs are, "Smile like you mean it", "All these things that I've done", "Believe me Natalie" and "Midnight Show."

With the addition of the three bonus tracks, this CD just gets better. "Glamorous Indie Rock and Roll" and "The Ballad of Michael Valentine" are good listens that fans will appreciate, but "Under the Gun" has to be one of the best songs that I've heard all year. I think it may be even better than the radio singles "Somebody Told me" and "Mr. Brightside".

This CD is great. Enough Said.

This album isn't really necessary to buy, because if you already have Hot Fuss you can get the other three tracks on iTunes. (I went and got it the day it came out because I'm a fanatic.) First of all, the whole album is excellent. They had to do something to tide us over, because their sophomore disc isn't due out until next spring. (!!) Indie R&R is a more open sounding track, in my opinion, and so is Michael Valentine. They don't really fit with the rest of the cd, but are of course still awesome. Under The Gun, however, could be the next Mr. Brightside. I think it should have been on there to begin with. It's probably my favorite on the album.
So I do love The Killers, but I think they could have given us a little bit more material. Maybe even a second disk, with like the videos and rarer b-sides.

Don't let my rating fool you, I like The Killers and when I bought Hot Fuss shortly after its release I liked the material. However this is a flat out bad "limited" edition. We'll have to wait and see if it is truly a product that will only be produced for a short amount of time. With the amount of extra material that The Killers have it is better to just by the extra tracks from itunes(napster, sony connect, etc.) and save yourself the money. The three tracks are good but nowhere near worth rebuying the entire cd. So If you don't already own Hot Fuss then this is a good purchase, however if you already have the cd then don't buy into the band/record label just trying to keep themselves relavent and make more money.

Come on. If you're going to rerelease this amazing album, give us MORE than just 3 bonus tracks. We should have gotten ALL the import single B-sides, including really hard to find tracks like Show You How, Get Trashed, and Who Let You Go. and with so much space on one disc, they should have thrown in some of the remixes of the 2 big hits to make this a really worthy "limited edition" for the fans. Fans looking for the Mylo mix of "Somebody Told Me", long out of print on import CD single, should check out the compilation "Twisted". It's on there in it's full length, along with a ton of other retro sounding alternative bands.