Customer Reviews

Lucky Number: The Best of Lene Lovich

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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!

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.

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.

This disc represents a lot of what the late 70s to early 80s new wave movement had to offer-at its very best.

What a great party. With "kids today" looking just like me and all my friends circa 1978, when I saw someone besides me and my old college roommate Monty, remembered who Lene Lovich was....and actually made "best of" album, I had to get it. It's just like I remembered.... upbeat, electronic, quirky, dirty, theatrical,off the wall.... perfect.

Mix this up with some B52's and Devo and you'll be pogo-dancing in no time.

This is a release for a real new wave fan. Anyone who is familiar with Lene Lovich definitely knows something about the new wave genre. This compilation includes interesting liner notes about Lene's career and the two standout hits, "New Toy" and "Lucky Number". The music company also took the time to ensure that the re-issued music was transferred properly to preserve much of the original sound quality. Cool!

Since 1999 iI havebeen using Amazon and thier marketplaces and I always find the products I am looking for it and if they don't have it they get it for me!!! I have not been let down in 10 years I always come back!!!!

Thanks ,

Joseph F. Frustaglia A. K. A. Talho

Love Lene even though she is decidely odd. Don't try to make sense of her lyrics, just enjoy the melody and the infectious sound effects she adds to such classic cuts as "Bird Song". Lene is not for everyone, and is not to be confused with the lead singer for Aqua, but for those of you that want something that doesn't sound like everything else you hear on the radio today, get this cd.

Why? Because it's her last name, and...alright, I know it's a stupid name pun, but I couldn't resist. And anyhow, I do: I love Lena Lovich.
Before Gwen Steffani, before Christina A., Avril, and a bunch of other singers that are now doing things, which some younger fans think new, there was Lena. Of course, she wasn't alone: creating new sounds and discovering different approaches, Lena was in the company of Siouxsie, Nena (Hansivonavich), Dale, and maybe a few others.

I don't know if the whole package stands the test of time, but "Lucky Number" "New Toy" "It's Only You" and "Be Stiff" are great, powerful, semi-lost nuggets (well, I don't know if Jack-FM would include them in that ipod_shuffle programming that they have).

Me? I love the whole collection. I said; I love Lena.

In Europe Lene Lovich was best known for her hit "Lucky Number" she sang a single together with Nina Hagen and also was in a Dutch film together with her ( "Cha Cha ", with Herman Brood ). Somehow she has always been in the shadow of the outrageous Nina Hagen .Still, if you listen to a song like "Bird song" and listen to it well enough, you'll discover that Lene Lovich is more than just a singer of popmusic. She 's always been a fan of and was inspired by Yma Sumac, queen of exotica music. Birdsong was a tribute to Yma Sumac , who's 4,2 octave voice sang even higher than birds sounds. It's not easy to compare Lene Lovich with another artist , but if you want to get back some great '80's memories , buy the CD....