Customer Reviews

No Vacancy: Best of

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've followed The Motels since 1982's All Four One album, but it's their greatest hits package that stands out. 19 tracks, all of them great post-punk and punk songs. It's difficult to categorize The Motels because they incorporate elements of punk, new wave and adult contemporary. Their individual albums are not quite as solid as this hits package, but you might want to listen to 1982's All Four One cd. The Motels disbanded in 1985, after the release of Shock. Martha did a solo cd in 1987, and then in 1990 this hits package was released. The hits are all here: "Only the Lonely", "Take the L", "Suddenly, Last Summer" and "Shame" plus other non-hits like "Icy Red", "So L.A.", "Who's Problem Am I?", "Kix", "Total Control" and "Danger". I'd highly recommend this compilation of songs for those who like early new wave/late punk served up with style.

I'd never owned a Motels record before I bought this one, but I'd enjoyed "Only the Lonely," "Take the L," and "Suddenly Last Summer" during their runs on MTV in the early eighties. I bought this CD because I wanted some 80's pop to listen to on the way to work. I didn't know what to expect, but I figured I'd at least like the three songs I knew.

On the first listen, I was just blown away. That usually doesn't happen to me. I normally have to listen to something a few times before I really get into it. But this time, I was just in awe of Martha Davis' lyrics and delivery from the start. Songs like "Total Control" and "Celia" have wonderful story-like qualities. At the end of each song, I was just in awe of the writing skill that went into them. And then there's "Icy Red," which just thrills me every time I hear it. In that case, it's not so much the lyrics that make it a great song, it's Martha's delivery of them. When she sings, "Danger like a flag I wave," shivers go up and down my spine.

Even the relatively straight-forward songs such as the three mentioned at the beginning of this piece, plus "So L.A.," and "Apocolypso" are thoroughly enjoyable to listen to.

The only thing I regret about buying this CD is that it makes me sad I didn't buy the rest of the Motels' Cd's when they were available. You can get three of their five albums on CD fairly easily, but their second and final albums are almost impossible to find in any format at this point. Hopefully Capitol will reissue them someday.

Until then, I'll keep playing the Motels CD's I have, and enjoying Martha Davis' sophisticated songwriting and thrilling voice.

This compilation, first mastered and issued in 1990, has long since been supplanted by several superior remastered compilations.

The best audio is resident on the 2005 Essential Collection. The same audio is also on the now-OOP 2002 Classic Masters CD.

Essential has 15 tracks to Classic's 12, but Classic has the 6 minute version of "Total Control" (a great early track), where Essential carries the shorter single edit.

There are six tracks on "No Vacancy" that do not appear on these two recent compilations (8, 9, 13, 15, 16 & 17).

Both of these compilations also have superior mastering to the 1999 "All For One" Expanded Edition.

So, while No Vacancy has more material than the more recent compilations, the sound quality of the newer discs is much more enjoyable.

Ever been to a motel that's just a "dive"? A "flea trap"? You get the picture - a rundown and neglected motel out in the middle of nowhere where a color TV is modern technology? A place you're forcing yourself to stay at because there's nowhere else to stay in town or you're just trying to save money? A motel that you're finding so dive-ish that it's actually funny? One of those motels that you'll remember 35 years later and laugh about? You get the picture.

The Best Of The Motels: No Vacancy (1990) is a collection of 19 of the best songs by The Motels on one CD. This CD is no dive motel. Instead, it's a 4-star hotel. It's high quality. It's sophisticated. It's a breath of fresh air. The Motels are quite a unique band with a unique sound. Nobody out there sounds like them. Led by lead singer Martha Davis, this band is pop-ish and new wave mostly, but they don't sound like a typical '80s new wave band. They have quite a few songs that have a keyboard or organ that sounds a little on the dark side. They also use the saxophone and light and heavy electric guitar. This band in some ways is like a new wave version of The Doors with a female singer.

Some of the recognizable songs on this CD are Only The Lonely, Suddenly Last Summer, Danger, Little Robbers, Take The L, and Trust Me, but there are a lot of other good songs as well.

If you like '80s new wave once in a while and want to listen to a unique band, then I recommend this CD. The songs have held up very well over time. You'll remember these Motels - in a good way.

Anyone who is a fan of the incomparable Martha Davis will probably want this CD since it has some cuts on it that are just really hard to get otherwise.

But there are other "greatest hits" or "anthologies" out there of the MOTELS that are much, much nicer sonically. It would be hard to go wrong with CLASSIC MASTERS or the ESSENTIAL COLLECTION even though both of those CDs have fewer cuts on them.

Had to rate this down to a 3 STAR because the sound quality of it grates on me and makes me not play the CD all the way thru most of the time.

Hey Capitol, when are you gonna release a remastered LITTLE ROBBERS, the best album that the MOTELS ever did?

This compilation, first mastered and issued in 1990, has long since been supplanted by several superior remastered compilations.

The best audio is resident on the 2005 Essential Collection. The same audio is also on the now-OOP 2002 Classic Masters CD.

Essential has 15 tracks to Classic's 12, but Classic has the 6 minute version of "Total Control" (a great early track), where Essential carries the shorter single edit.

There are six tracks on "No Vacancy" that do not appear on these two recent compilations (8, 9, 13, 15, 16 & 17).

Both of these compilations also have superior mastering to the 1999 "All For One" Expanded Edition.

So, while No Vacancy has more material than the more recent compilations, the sound quality of the newer discs is much more enjoyable.

Martha Davis is an enigma. The backbone and heart of the Motels, she truly emanates mystery. I've always found that the lyrics she writes vary from the confusing to the just plain nonsensical. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, as her vocal style is truly unique - she manages to portray bitterness, loneliness, hatred, sensuality and adoration with equal intensity, a feat that few other vocalists can match. But interpretation of songs by The Motels can be very hard.

My favourite song of all is "Danger", the opening track of their second excellent album, and also (I'm pleased to say) the opener on this collection. But what is she really saying? Is she in love with someone who's out of reach, or is she imagining the whole thing? I can't tell if she has even met this person. It's the inscrutablilty of her songwriting that makes the Motels songs so challenging. Musically they are pretty standard American rock/New Wave fare, although very well produced, with great guitar riffs and drums, plus some fun MTV-friendly synth-pop elements in the later output - but it's the charisma of Davis that give them that special something

Luckily, some of the other songs are more accessible with messages you can relate to. "Celia" has a loud and clear story to tell, and it ain't pretty. "Kix" is a short and sweet ode to getting a hit (of some kind). "Total Control" is an absolutely gorgeous benchmark in rock-angst, as Martha sings plaintively over a very slow and sparse melody about her overwhelming crush on another person. But still, although the chorus is very touching, much of the verses defy interpretation. "Always certain, any moment, maybe you, maybe even you..." What? I sometimes think, Davis just strings together words that sound effective together and makes a song around them. Songs titles like "Icy Red" and "Isle of You" "Take the L Out of Lover" make me think like she is just intent on sounding clever without actually thinking the whole thing through (I swear "Icy Red" is about NOTHING!!).

Anyway, back to the album. "No Vacancy" is the one to go for, if you want a collection. If you want the whole albums, too bad for you, as the best one ("Careful") seems to be unavailable on CD. (I guess the reason No Vacancy gets my vote for the best collection is because it contains so many songs from "Careful"), and "Shock" seems likewise to have disappeared. The second best album "All Four One" can still be found, and contains other good tracks missing from this collection like "Mission of Mercy" and "Art Fails" and "Tragic Surf" - all superb. Otherwise, there's a really good selection on this CD. .

I've spent a lot of time in this review dissing Davis for being such a pretentious wordsmith, but she's one of a kind, a real characterful vocalist with a wonderful voice, so I still rate The Motels as a group worthy of much attention. Try to track down this album and see for yourself.
Adrian Griffiths

Best Of-No Vacancy-Motels is a super alblum!! It takes me back to the most wonderful decade of the 20thcentury "THE 80'S. "Shame", "Cries and Whispers" and "Suddenly Last Summer" are my favourites. It's too bad they don't play songs like these on the radio anymore.

I have owned this twice and it was stolen each time. So I will buy it again. Most of the tracks are not available for download, legal or otherwise, yet they're almost all worth having. They were not the mega-chart-toppers of the era, yet when you listen you will realize that you heard these songs and were affected by them. After the rock-bottom vapidity of the late 70's, the 80's recaptured the energy and passion that had made the 60's so transcendent. But they did so in a completely new vein, and the Motels captured the combination of modernity and nostalgia better than any of the better-known bands. This compilation is as complete as you can hope for in a "best of" collection, and if you don't own their entire catalogue, this is the one to get.

I replaced the cassette so I am a fan. The CD areeived in excellent condition.