Lucky Number: The Best of Lene Lovich [Import]

Lene Lovich | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 6, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Metro Music
• ASIN: B0002SLXGK
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #53,528 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Lene Lovich's eerie yet playful vocal style defined an era. Part Bohemian poetess, part art-rock diva; and wholly original, in appearance and sound, she lit up the post-punk scene and inspired the likes of PJ Harvey and Bjork along the way.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I guess you had to be there........, November 13, 2004

By 

J. Bilby "littlebibs" (Kingston, New Hampshire United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lucky Number: The Best of Lene Lovich (Audio CD)

If you were there back in the early 80's and watched all
these flashes that MTV gave us, back when they actually were
trying to make a musical difference and you were open to whatever came
your way....Lene Lovitch made a big impression on me, so did
Grace Jones, The B-52's, Gary Numan, the Cars, Echo, U2 and they
went on and on and on.................................. its great to come across these bit of memories, NEW TOY, LUCKY NUMBER, MEIN SCHMERZ(ITS ONLY YOU),
ITS ONLY YOU, HOME, BIRDSONG, ANGELS, NEVERLAND.. I can hear
Kate Pierson from the B-52's, alittle YOKO ONO from the 70's in there as well. Lene Lovitch was her own style, a European/American concoction, exaggerated vocals, sax, piano, a bit of western
all thrown into the mix,
(a strange mix), but everything that came out during the 80's
was so full of itself, I guess style over substance but it was
fun, now everything seems so dull, this is some great driving/dancin' music, out there musically and worth a listen! I really loved many of these songs in the clubs (drinking sure) If you
love mixing tracks for CD compilations, many of these songs will raise some heads!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tuneful & unique 1970s pop, December 27, 2008

By 

Pieter "Toypom" (Johannesburg) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Lucky Number: The Best of Lene Lovich (Audio CD)

Lene Lovich emerged in the late 1970s new wave on the legendary Stiff label. She remained primarily a UK phenomenon although she was American. What set Lovich apart was her theatrical vocal style best demonstrated on catchy songs like Lucky Number (her first hit), the ethereal Bird Song, the fast-paced Say When and the torch song Too Tender (To Touch).

Most of the hits were written by Lovich and Les Chappel, including the quirky Lucky Number which was a huge hit (Nina Hagen covered it in German on her Unbehagen album). Not all are bright, happy numbers: the acerbic Home and Too Tender (To Touch) with its lovely piano are sad but beautiful torch songs, and there's a great version of the old standard I Think we're Alone Now.

Unfortunately not all my favorites are included. Amongst the serious omissions are One In A Million and the sinister Telepathy. To a degree, the inclusion of some rarities compensates, especially the track Blue which I had not heard before. Lovich excelled as both a quirky pop singer and a torch diva. Fans of, say, Jane Siberry and Mary Margaret O'Hara will find a lot to enjoy in her music.

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting compilation of Lene Lovich's early music, August 12, 2010

By 

ILikeAmazon "ilikeamazon" (Arlington, VA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lucky Number: The Best of Lene Lovich (Audio CD)

For those not familiar with late 70s/early 80s New Wave, this is a great introduction to an important artist from this critical era. Combining elements of prog rock and a bit of early punk, New Wave took music in a new direction, creating a fusion of those elements. In addition to Lene Lovich, others such as Nina Hagen and Toyah pioneered a new blend of melodic but more pointed (and quirky) rock-centered music. Talking Heads '77 might be the quintessential American version of New Wave and is good company to this collection (David Byrne's Psycho Killer isn't far removed from Lene Lovich's Home). After listening to this compilation, I'm thinking that I need to get Stateless-Plus and Flex-Plus on CD (I have all the albums on LP).

Just in case someone's wondering why this isn't a five-star release:
I'm still scratching my head a bit about a) the ordering of the songs this "Best of" CD, and b) as other reviewers have mentioned, some serious omissions (but I can't complain about stuffing 77 min of her great music on one CD).

Another issue: Someone's been tinkering with the mixes on some of the songs. In particular, the English Stiff release of Stateless has different mixes than on the Stiff/Epic release (I believe most were remixed by Roger Bechirian). Having listened to both, I actually prefer the original Stiff versions (being more raw), though one critic praised the remixes as being "needed" to make the songs more melodic. It would have been great to have included the original Stiff mix of at least Lucky Number on this CD.