9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Light Poured Out Of Them, April 29, 2004
This review is from: Maybe It's Right to Be Nervous Now (Audio CD)
Maybe It's Right To Be Nervous Now (a line from the song Philadelphia) collects all of the b-sides, alternates, and rarities that appeared on the Scree compilation, the bulk of Magazine's now out-of-print live album Play, and the complete radio sessions recorded for John Peel's legendary BBC program. The liner notes contain no essays or interviews, but production and recording information is provided for each track, and there are lots of wonderful photos.
Fans who already have Scree and Play probably wish that the Peel Sessions were available separately. But I don't see how anyone could really regret acquiring this three-disc box.
The music is icy, Nietzschean post-punk for disaffected intellectuals. Magazine use the angular riffs of punk, the eerie synthetics of prog, and the fluid bass lines of soul to augment Howard Devoto's wry lyrics, which he delivers with deadpan precision. You can spot traces of their work in almost everything that came after them, but nothing sounds quite like them.
If you're a first time listener, start with their third album, The Correct Use Of Soap. If you've heard them already, maybe it's right to purchase this now!
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent, August 26, 2001
This review is from: Maybe It's Right to Be Nervous Now (Audio CD)
This package is a total treat for Magazine fans. Some might look at this collection and think that they're really scraping the bottom of the barrel but actually I would call this the best collection of Magazine's material, even better than any of their albums. The track selection is excellent and the sound is as well (live tracks etc.). Fan of Magazine? Save some bucks and pick this one up; its an amazing collection from one the very best post-punk bands and one of the most interesting footnotes in rock history.
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Post-Punk 101 ("What's Post-Punk?"), April 25, 2002
This review is from: Maybe It's Right to Be Nervous Now (Audio CD)
Ever wonder what the heck people are talking about when they mention "post-punk"? Simply put, the term refers to, in general, UK bands that shined in the few short years between Punk ('76-'78)and New Wave ('81ish onwards).
Although the most famous post-punk band would be Joy Division, a closer examination of the era reveals Magazine a close second. And like JD, Magazine grew out of the punk movement: Just as Joy Division were the punk band Warsaw, Magazine lead-singer Howard Devoto was in the (excellent) punk band The Buzzcocks long enough to record what is now considered the first independent punk record, The Spiral Scratch EP (Now available as the CD Time's Up), in 1976. But apparently, sweet vocal harmonies over three-chord riffs weren't exciting enough, and so Devoto left to form...
Magazine, best described as Kraftwerk (loads of synths, courtesy of keyboardist Dave Formula) meets The Damned (arch mannerisms, all-too-clever cynicism), but that's just the surface of things. Barry Adamson's bass work; gritty, edgy and in-your-face funky all at once, as well as John McGeoch's guitars; thin and sharp punk riffs one second, Mediterranian-inspired swirls the next adding the aggresion and tension, not to mention John Doyle's competent drumming laying a backbone... all fuse together to create a truly unique sound. Oh, and biting lyrics weaned on loads of existentialism and dour German philosophy.
Well, that covers just about the first half of the first disc on this ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL 3-disc compilation. And if it means anything to you, I'll bet you my life savings at least one member of Radiohead dropped whatever he was doing when this baby dropped in the record stores.
The 80's (as documented on disc 2) saw Magazine expanding their musical references: Sly Stone covers ("Thank You"), piano ballads ("Song From Under The Floorboards"), glam-rock regressions (The unbelievable "Vigilance") and, er, disco? ("Thinking Flame"). Some might argue that by the end ('81), Magazine had gotten too over-produced and too lush-sounding, that they'd washed the grit from under their shoes and forgotten the menacing vacuosity and punk edge that made them so exciting. Despite the tongue-in-cheek kookiness though, there's nary a whiff of boredom in the latter stuff...
...although, in a manner of speaking, there is on disc 3 (all the BBC Radio 1 Sessions): The cover of the Buzzcocks' "Boredom", which is the real highlight.
If you've read this far, I'm afraid you've wasted a great deal of your personal time. You should have listened to "The Light Pours Out Of Me", "Rhythm Of Cruelty" or "Give Me Everything" instead and let the music speak for itself. And if you did both and are still unimpressed, then I've wasted your time. Sorry. You can go back to listen to Belle and Sebastian now.
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