Customer Reviews

Living In Oblivion : The 80's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2

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

 

 

Correct Track Listing:

1. "Mickey" - Toni Basil 3:36
2. "Get It On (Bang A Gong)" - The Power Station 3:43
3. "Lay Your Hands On Me" - The Thompson Twins 4:09
4. "Let Me Go" - Heaven 17 4:13
5. "Love Plus One" - Haircut One Hundred 5:36
6. "Heart And Soul" - T'Pau 4:15
7. "Just Got Lucky" - Jo Boxers 4:42
8. "It Ain't What You Do (It's The Way That You Do It)" - The Fun Boy Three; Bananarama 2:57
9. "The Jam Was Moving" - Debbie Harry 2:58
10. "Love Missile F1-11" - Sigue Sigue Sputnik 3:45
11. "88 Lines About 44 Women" - The Nails 4:57
12. "Only The Lonely" - The Motels 3:13
13. "Living In A Box" - Living In A Box 3:03
14. "Walking On Sunshine" - Katrina & The Waves 3:58
15. "Running Up That Hill" - Kate Bush 4:52
16. "Church Of The Poison Mind" - Culture Club 3:30
17. "Destination Unknown" - Missing Persons 3:40
18. "Never Ending Story" - Limahl 3:28
19. "Mickey (Spanish Version)" - Toni Basil 3:36

Never has a song touched me so deeply... Oh, Mickey, you're so fine and, yes, indeed, you blow my mind!

I don't understand why people keep reviewing the Living in Oblivion series and whining that these aren't the songs they heard on the radio. There are plenty of compilations out there with all the 80s radio hits. This series has a lot of the great songs that didn't get much radio play. I knew all but one song on this disc because in the 80s I was hanging out at postpunk/new wave clubs and listening to college radio. For anyone who truly loves new wave/club music from the 80s, this is a great collection.

The truth is, with 80's collections, the more songs it has that you want, the better it is. This "Living In Oblivion" series is no different. I find "Volume 5" to be the best, others may not. Like most of them though, I really love half of what's here, the rest is still ok. My favorites are the excellent "Get It On (bang a gong)", "Lay Your Hands On Me", "Heart And Soul", and "The Jam Was Moving". Others I'd call classic are "Running Up That Hill", "Destination Unknown", and the infamous "Never Ending Story". If you can find this for a few bucks, it's well worth the trip down memory lane.

As a big 80's pop music fan, I must say that I was pleasantly surprised at this compilation. I bought used at a low price. This cd really lets you hear the way music sounded in the 80's. Some titles I wasn't familiar with but they were all good. Could have done without the foreign version of "Mickey." You may even recall hearing some of these songs in 80's movies like "Living in a Box" in "Can't Buy Me Love". Worth picking up for avid 80's fans.

Like the other four entries in the Living in Oblivion series, this disc is pretty hit and miss. There are some great, now-lost tracks here, ones that I'm happy to have on disc again (Mickey, Get It On, Lay Your Hands On Me, 88 Lines ..., some others). And then there are songs that I never heard in the 80s(and by around 1981 I was listening to a LOT of radio), and I don't think I was missing much.

If I had my way, I'd try to condense the 5 CDs into 3 -- there are enough gems to fill three CDs easily, and about 2 CDs worth of songs that I would just as soon see slip back into oblivion.

Like the other discs in this collection, this CD has some really big hits from the 80s. Unfortunately, like the other discs, it has a lot of obscure songs that just don't deserve to be categorized as "80s Greatest Hits." Bananarama's "It Ain't What You Do, It's the Way That You Do It" is a catchy tune, but it's not even on Bananarama's own Greatest Hits CD. They had so many hits during the 80s, why include this one? I was also bothered by the Spanish edition of Mickey. The valuable disc space could have been used much more wisely. This CD has some interesting material. But to call it an 80s greatest hits collection is a stretch.

For some reason this review seems to show up on Living In Oblivion Vol 1 (and so do others). This is a review of the Vol. 2 disc.

Hmm. The tracks selected for this CD are kind of interesting, a bit more obscure (to American ears, anyway) than most 80's collections. The only real mega-hit, T'Pau's 1987 smash "Heart and Soul," is butchered by the low fidelity of the track--a problem plauging this CD in its entirety to an extent, but the T'Pau track is by far the worst. It sounds almost like it's mono, but I'm not sure.

Still, a few of the more obscure features make this an interesting compilation. DJ's doing 80s stuff might want to throw on the Spanish language version of Toni Basil's "Mickey" (provided along with the regular version)--it's a Hoot! Power Station's cover of the T-Rex early '70's hit "Get It On (Bang A Gong)" is one I recall from the 80's--though unequal to the original, it is worth playing from time to time. Some of the other well-known tracks by the Vapors, Motels, Thompson Twins, Missing Persons, Culture Club, Katrina & the Waves, Thomas Dolby, Naked Eyes, Talk Talk, as well as the English version of Toni Basil's Mickey, are best acquired elsewhere where the fidelity is better.

There are some real wacko tracks on this CD not generally available elsewhere. Most notable is "88 Lines About 44 Women" by the Nails (who??), a definitely R-rated discussion, of, apparently, the "artist's" female conquests. It amuses a little (if you like crude off-color sex puns, that is) but does not overwhelm either, and it is not an under-17 track (which is a shame since the humor in is is more like under 13). The Fun Boy Three with Bananarama track "It ain't what you do," is another obscurity that, probably, deserves its fate. The remaining songs I haven't mentioned I will leave to Rest In Peace, as they are all vintage forgettables except for the strangely out of place "Neverending Story," which surely is available elsewhere with better fidelity.

In sum, maybe buy used, but for God's sake don't buy this mediocre effort new.

(For a different, very interesting perspective on this CD, read "Atlanta Native's" post.)

I have Vol. 1-5 and I personally think #2 is the best. I know it's sappy and lame, but I love The Neverending Story and it always makes me think flying dogs, of course!

This CD was really good; great content, and the seller was very prompt and provided a terrific quality CD for just a little cost! I was replacing one I already had, so this CD is a keeper for me!