Customer Reviews

Listen

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am in agreement about the missing tracks "Last Flight of..." and "Rosemantag". Those were two hellaciously alternative songs, given the time of its original release. I will miss them.

I have waited many years to hear this CD again. I originally had the cassette when first released, but after taking that damn cassette everywhere I went for many years, it faded with the scenery. I have looked for the CD version on ebay and every so often one can find one going for $80 out of some remote village half way around the globe. Now that it is rereleased and two very important tracks were omitted I will still wait for that day I can get the original CD on ebay for $50.

The song Committed was a treat for me since I only had a sound snippet memorized in my head from the one time I had heard the song back in 83. Thanks for the memories.

Anyway, get this CD. It, in my humble opinion, is a work of art. The songs are strong and good. THe Production is very much unique for the time, the reverb fills up your speakers and gives an unmistakeable sense of place while you 'listen'. I wish they would have graced the bottom end of the sound spectrum a bit on the remaster, but then it wouldn't true to how Mike Howlett produced it. I guess I can just use my stereo's EQ.

Dreamy and Hypnotic; Outstanding New Wave Rock

All right, I'll admit, maybe this band from Liverpool, England, took themselves just a little too seriously in 1983, what with the silly hairstyles and odd fashion sense. Maybe they let the Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental in 1982 go to their hair-do's. And maybe my 4-Star rating might be just a bit inflated, being that I've been an undying fan of AFOS since their first record, which is still today one of my all-time favorite albums. But cast all that aside, and you'll find that this is a darn good album, difficult as that may be for the casual listener to believe. While "Listen" departs from the harder-edged sound of the debut LP, it does find its own groove within a somewhat softer and more techno-fied atmosphere. Don't get me wrong; a few songs still rock pretty good, highlighting the work by amazing lead guitarist Paul Reynolds. But for the most part, the in-your-face guitar licks of the first album are relegated to the middle-ground, or background completely, while the drums and keyboards are pushed forward (could it be that the Score brothers; singer and keyboardist Mike, and drummer Ali, wanted their handiwork to overshadow that of Reynolds and bassist Frank Maudsley? Who knows.). In general, the formula works, in the context of the album as a whole. "Wishing" is brilliant, except for the annoying "buzz" sound heard on every single drum beat of the song (too bad that wasn't eliminated for the remastered release). "Nightmares" reminds one of how it felt to be eight years old and alone in the dark. "Transfer Affection" is a lovely ballad, found also on the Flock's "Best Of" CDs. "What Am I Supposed To Do?" is a fast-tempo tune, but does evoke sadness from the listener, as the song is about a painful breakup. "Electrics", "The Traveler", "Over The Border" and "It's Not Me Talking" are all New Wave-Rock oriented, while "2:30" seems to be really not much of anything; just synth effects that open with what sounds like an earthquake. Only "The Fall" causes me to hit the skip button. It's not all that bad, just a bit too slow and a bit too monotonous, even for the `Gulls. Two of the three bonus tracks are worth the price of the disc alone. The grunge-like "Quicksand" could have been a rock-radio favorite, had the group used it as a single instead of a b-side. It still stands up as one of the Flock's very best rock songs. And the live version of "I Ran" (the b-side of "It's Not Me Talking", at least in the U.S.) manages to capture the raw energy of the original studio recording. For some reason, there are two songs from the original CD and cassette releases that are missing from this reissue; "Rosenmontag" and "The Last Flight of Yuri Gagarin." Both were weird techno-flavored instrumentals, which tells me that AFOS, along with other British synth-rock bands and artists (like Gary Numan), were musical visionaries rather than One Hit Wonders. So if you're reading this you must be thinking about buying the CD. Do it, and also what the title suggests.

This is by far the best AFOS album ever. It hits the epitome of the band's talent and puts them inside a genre of music that at the time had no name. This was a dark and brooding album that oozes angst and that ominous gothic sound while at the same time being very new wave. It's not until years later this kind of sound gets more exposed when industrial music hits the airwaves. A Flock of Seagulls were one of the first.

WISHING and TRANSFER AFFECTION are obvously the reasons why most of you would get this album since they are the two most notable hits.

OVER THE BORDER is my favorite in this album and those of you who like electronic music would probably get into it if you got into Gary Numan's Cars. Granted these are two totally different songs, but they both give me the same goose bumps.

THE FALL and NIGHTMARES are definitely for the post modern crowd. Very brooding. Very well done.

The rest of the songs are an interesting mix of new wave style music pushing a little more on the fringes than pop. Still a lot of good tracks here. If you're a fan of 80's industrial or post modern techno-synth music then this one's for you.

The reissue of A Flock Of Seagulls brilliant second album "Listen" disappoints for a number of reasons. First, why has the album never included the beautiful 9:38 version of "Wishing" that was released as a 12 inch single in the UK? Even the US promo EP has a 6:05 version that has the same gorgeous intro as the UK 12 inch. (The US album version clocks in at 5:30, this has been the version issued ad nauseum, except for the seriously truncated 3:58 US 45 version). Second, where are "Rosenmontag" and "The Last Flight of Yuri Gagarin"? I have a former edition of the CD, released in 1992 by Beehive Trading Limited (perhaps UK?) which has these two tracks, as well as "Quicksand", but no "Committed", which I only have on the aforementioned US EP and UK 12 inch. Buy this disc for what's here; the rating is for the "business" end of things, not for the fantastic music.

I grew up listening to the cassette version, the songs here are in a different sequence and they omitted 2 outstanding tracks from the original, "Rosenmontag" and "The Last Flight of Yuri Gargarin" which could have easily fit on the CD. Somehow this difference takes away from the impact of the album (as I remember it), which is a bit disappointing. After all, do we really need another version of "I Ran"? Overall though, it still remains a timeless piece of new wave nostalgia, still sounding as fresh today as it did 20 years ago.

Not the true Listen album! The Real Listen CD back side has 1) The Electrics 2) The Traveller 3) 2:30 4) Over the border 5) It's not me talking 6) Quicksand 7) Last flight of Yuri Gagorin. What your ordering is a portion of Listen, but Tanglimira is worth the purchase alone "IN MY OPINION".

Flock Fan.

With the Cherry Red label's hit or miss releases, I was concerned about this one, which is perhaps the strongest album from the band. However, it turns out the sound quality is superb, even on the bonus tracks. This reissue of Listen is crucial because of two 12" versions that were not on the previous release: Wishing and Nightmares. So good to have them appear here, along with several of the b-sides from this period. One really important thing to note is that there seem to be TWO versions of Wishing out there. The one on here runs 9:13 and has a drum only ending. On several compilations out there, the song runs slightly longer at 9:36, and the ending has the drum pattern along with a bit of instrumentation. Until buying this CD, I never even knew there was a version of the 12" with an alternate ending.

Noticeably missing are the two b-sides from the Nightmares 12", which might disappoint purists, but honestly, they are both very long experimental instrumental tracks that are not particularly enjoyable to listen to IMO. The tracks on this pressing are all strong in their 80s new wave feel and make this a flawless line-up of songs.

I didn't discover A Flock of Seagull's music until 2002, at the time the only CD's I could find were the Best Of/Greatest Hits collections I've since collected the albums. I have all 3 CD releases of Listen the first Beehive version, ($87!) the second [Superfecta] version, and this third version from [Cherry Pop] I love the production/texture of this album the songs seem to split into three different themes: Romance, an Orwellian future, and outer space, my personal favorite tracks are Wishing, Transfer Affection, What Am I supposed To Do?, Electrics, Over The Border, The Fall, (It's Not Me) Talking, and most of the bonus tracks as well. I think AFOS were a cut above most of their contemporaries they were innovative and took new wave into a more progressive direction, Just buy this CD, you'll love it especially on those cold, cloudy winter days!

I was lucky. I found a CD of "Listen" including "Rosenmontag" and "The Last Flight of Yuri Gagarin" for $8.00 at a flea market. This was 1995 and the vendor didn't know what he had and I didn't know I was getting a bargain. I had no idea this CD could fetch ten times that price later on.

"Listen" is my favorite AFOS album. Conny Plank's aura is all over the album, though Mike Howlett did most of the production. I prefer "Listen" to the first one because it's darker with more menacing melodies and synth work. The melody of "Wishing" is still one of my favorites. "Over the Border" is also one of AFOS's best songs for it's menacing synthesizers and angry guitar riff; it demonstrates Flock's aggressive and paranoid side, which went underutilized. This song is preceded by an eerie bit of musique concrete called "2:30." "Quicksand" and "The Fall" follow in the same vein as "Over the Border."

Dumb lyrics were always a problem for the band. The lyrics on "What Am I Supposed To Do," "The Traveler," and "Electrics" are the the album's biggest weakness, and I'll leave it at that! WAISD has a terrific Duran Duran-style bass line and the kind of soaring synths and lead guitar we loved so well on "Space Age Love Song," so just ignore the words and have fun! Mike could have also used some more voice lessons. Even Mike Howlett's superb production couldn't hide Mike Score at times straining out of key. He was still straining when I saw him live in 1988 and by the mid-90s, his voice was shot to hell.

If you've got the time and the means to obtain the CD with "Rosenmontag" and "The Last Flight of Yuri Gagarin," do so. These instrumentals represent the Conny Plank-influenced progressive/experimental path I wish the band had taken. They're marvelous. Furthermore, if you've got access to a turntable, the "Nightmares" 12" is worth searching out. The 12" version takes the haunting guitar break about 90 seconds longer AND it has the FULL-LENGTH versions of the aforementioned instrumentals. The "Nightmares" 12" and the Superfecta release of "Listen" might cost less than finding that rare Beehive release of "Listen," which has the same tracks as the Arista cassette release, which is what I bought back in '83.

In the year 1983, we were introduced to (among other things)both Listen by A Flock of Seagulls AND the CD. So why it took 22 years for Listen to come out on CD (and why we were stuck with nothing but 'best hits' albums by A Flock on CD during this time)is quite beyond my comprehension. But as they say, better late than never. Now I have to agree that it would have been FAR better to include the omitted songs than get another version of I Ran (like you can't find this song in enough places already). But I guess we just have to take what we can get. And an actual CD beats scratchy old vinyl (or a CD-R made from scratchy old vinyl) ANY DAY. If you like A Flock Of Seagulls, or if you just like New Wave in general (Admit it, you do. After all, you entered A Flock Of Seagulls as a search parameter. And Deftones and Linkin Park fans don't do this!), this CD is a must-have. Give your turntable a rest and hear this album WITHOUT the pops and scratches!