Customer Reviews

Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits Of The '80s, Vol. 1

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

 

 

Since all of these songs date from 1979, the title "New Wave Hits of the '80s" is a little misleading but subsequent volumes in this excellent series explore that era in depth. If you were around a radio during the latter half of 1979, then this disk will be like going back in time. To a time where disco still ruled, Jimmy Carter was in the White House and inflation was something like 20 percent. Time capsule from hell!

But what a collection of catchy songs. "Ca Plane Pour Moi" hits you like a freight train with it's endless chords and nonsense lyrics (even in French.) "Warm Leatherette" by The Normal makes even Ric Ocasek (of The Cars) seem warm and fuzzy by comparison. The excellent "One Way Or Another" by Blondie is one of the few songs on this set you still might hear on the radio today.

I was really into this kind of music back in 1979 but I found a few tracks on this disk that even I didn't know about (and they are quite good): "Too Young To Date" by D-Day for example, how did I ever miss that one! The lyrics have to be heard to be believed.

Standouts on this disk are as follows: "Hey, St. Peter" by Flash And The Pan is an excellent track that should have gotten more airplay back then. "Local Girls" by Graham Parker and "Girls Talk" by Dave Edmunds are worth the price of this disk all by themselves. Then you have monster hits like "Cruel To Be Kind" by Nick Lowe and "My Sharona" by the Knack (is it possible to get tired of hearing this song?)

You got the very first clip ever to be played on MTV ("Video Killed The Radio Star" by The Buggles) and the bar band classic "Dirty Water" by the Inmates. You got Tim Curry doing the name-dropping classic "I Do The Rock." Even the Ramones make an appearance with "Rock & Roll High School."

The disk ends with the infectious "Money (That's What I Want)" by the Flying Lizards. The only reason I give this four stars and not five is because of the inclusion of a couple of marginal tracks that really have no place here such as the very lame cover of The Monkees "I'm A Believer" by Tin Huey. If you were anywhere near a radio in 1979, you've got to get this disk!

The first volume of Rhino's New Wave Dance Hits collection is a superb collection of songs that range from big hits to obscure gems. "My Sharona" by The Knack was the number one single of the year from 1979 and despite the fact that never became the new Beatles, the song is a classic with it's hypnotic, thumping bass line and adolescent lyrics. Blondie's obsessive "One Way Or Another" has a punk sneer with a pop gloss. The Buggles' "Video Killed The Radio Star" is best known as the first video ever played on MTV, but it is a fun song that has held up well over the years. Veteran rocker Dave Edmunds does a roaring version of Elvis Costello's "Girls Talk" while Graham Parker has fun on the sprightly "Local Girls". Rock Horror star Tim Curry does a credible job on "I Do The Rock" and The Flying Lizards put a new spin on the old chestnut "Money (That's What I Want)". The set would be worth buying alone for Nick Lowe's power pop masterpiece "Cruel To Be Kind". The song was Mr. Lowe's lone hit in the US and is a perfectly crafted piece of music that stands up against anything to come out this era.

...daring to release a huge 15 volume set of New Wave/No Wave music from the late 70's thru the 80's. Most of the songs on this first volume should probably better be called "postpunk" than "new wave", but let's not get hung up on words. The first five tracks make this album worth the money alone - Blondie's stellar "One Way or Another", Plastic Bertrand's one shining moment "Ca Plane Pour Moi" and so forth. The rest of the album is perhaps spottier - hitting notable highs ("Money (That's What I Want)", "Video Killed the Radio Star") and some not-so-highs ("I Do the Rock", where Tim Curry sounds like he's trying really hard to be cool). An excellent start to an excellent series. Odd note - this series doesn't contain the Depeche Mode song "Just Can't Get Enough" on it...but then again, EMI's LIVING IN OBLIVION series didn't contain the Anything Box song "Living in Oblivion". Hm.

A throwback to new wave radio hits of the eighties, this album is an authentic collection of those little ditties that have been stuck in your head for over a decade. One-hit wonders in all their glory, classic party songs, and whatever you can place in between, this disc will be spinning in your stereo - even if your friends are present. The Buggles' infamous "Video Killed the Radio Star" is an obvious choice but not ridiculous, as would be Cyndi Lauper's anthem "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" (believe me, I've seen it on a new wave compilation). The only surprise I found was the clever placement of Tim Curry's fabulous "I Do The Rock," a song that went virtually nowhere on the charts but is held in the memory of Tim's cult fans. In conclusion, although this is not the definitive 80's record, it is worth a listen if you need a fix for breakthrough rock.

It could be argued that much of what's included in this set actually belonged on a 70's collection, but that's beside the point. You get pretty good bang for the buck with this disc unless you have already invested in another collection that includes some of the more common songs on here. (By common I mean songs like The Knack's "My Sharona". Good, but is it new wave?) By contrast, songs like Blondie's "One Way Or Another", Nick Lowe's excellent "Cruel To Be Kind", Graham Parker's likewise brilliant "Local Girls", Dave Edmunds' "Girls Talk" or The Flying Lizards' version of "Money", are nothing short of brilliant inclusions. Plastic Bertrand's "Ca Plane Pour Moi" never struck me as great, but when I played this disc in the car with my daughter and her friends one day, they shocked me by singing along with the song word for word. Turns out it made a Mary Kate & Ashley movie soundtrack. (And I haven't seen Vol. 1 since.) Great stuff, but "Video Killed The Radio Star"? Was that necessary?

Okay, okay. It was kinda lame. All these fools in torn sweatshirts and polka dots and red clothing and skinny ties bopping around like a bunch of Russian dancers slipping on banana peels... Big hair, big arm movements, big cocktails, big credit cards, big 12" vinyl platters... No one had heard of CDs yet, let alone the internet... It was "New Wave", baby... The Rest Stop on the highway between Punk Rock and Grunge. If you weren't there this CD gets a 2. If you were, then "Warm Leatherette" and "Gidget Goes To Hell" are reason enough to get this disc. To hear the delightful strains of The Normal, Suburban Lawns, or (really reaching...) The Flying Lizards, without a nickel taped to the tonearm, is easily worth the twelve bucks. Along with a number of recognizable "One Hit Wonders", there are a handful of tunes that you won't know by name, band or title, but will be bopping along with after the first notes. They have been ingrained in our culture through car commercials, bumpers for talk shows, and even muzak. You don't know 'em but you know 'em. Throw in the Ramones anthemic "Rock and Roll High School", and "My Sharona" (revitalized in the movie Reality Bites) by The Knack, featuring Doug Feiger, the brother of Dr. Jack Kevorkian's lawyer, and you have a CD that can only be compared to a Long Island Ice Tea... It has a little bit of everything, you like it, you can stomach it as a whole, and too much of it will definitely make you sick and make you forget things. If this isn't enough, this is one of two CDs known to be in print that contains one sample of the works of that Always A Bridesmaid And Never A Bride of L.A. bands, the above mentioned Suburban Lawns. While Gidget Goes To Hell is a real finger snapper, their best effort, Flying Saucer Safari, may be lost to the ages... See you at the Swaps for that one... Johnny Hardrock

A few of these songs on this disc are pretty common amongst 80's fans (Blondie's One Way or Another, Nick Lowe's Cruel to Be Kind, The Knack's My Sharona and The Buggles VKtRS) but there are a few seriously excellent unknown gems on this disc that a majority of the people will enjoy I think. Starting with Ca Plane Pour Moi from Plastic Bertrand, then skipping to Graham Parker's Local Girls. The highlight of the disc is Tim Curry's (Rocky Horror Picture Show) insane song, I Do the Rock which seems to get better with every listen. Out of the entire collection, I give this one a rating of 7.5 out of 10

New Wave was the term used to describe the music that came after punk rock in the late 1970s and early 1980s, although certainly it included post-punk music as well. However, I never really thought of it sas "dance" music, which means nothing because I never went dancing to disco, techno, or anything in between. So this might be Volume 1 of "New Wave Dance Hits" but I just think of it as a solid New Wave collection. New Wave might have been the pop music of its time, but it retained the vigor and irreverence of punk music as well as being musically more sophisticated with its interest in electronics and such. This collection has the virtue of including the songs that defined the change in music, namely the Knack's "My Sharona," the Ramones "Rock & Roll High School," and the song that heralded the creation of MTV, "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles. These sixteen tracks are devoted more to the one-hit wonders like Tim Curry's "I Do the Rock" and "Gidget Goes to Hell" by Suburban Lawns rather than the big name groups like Blondie (Nick Lowe and Graham Parker are not quite in Deborah Harry's league). But once you get beyond "One Way or Another" you are dealing with Plastic Bertrand and the Flying Lizards rather than Duran Duran, Culture Club, and the Pretends, which is fine, because the point of a hit collection like this one is to add songs you do not have to your music library. In that regard, Volume 1 of "New Wave Dance Hits" should easily provide you with a half-dozen songs worth having.

It always makes me long for the simpler days of jelly shoes, parachute pants, and Duranies. A must have for anyone who can remember seeing the first video on MTv when it aired.

Cruel to be Kind - Nick Lowe - that was my song at the time. New Wave was alive and well in 1981. Four stars overall!