Phantoms

Fixx | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Label: Mca
• ASIN: B000008FN0
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #29,332 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

The 3rd studio album from The Fixx, 'Phantoms' is finally remastered and released by One Way Records, with 3 bonus tracks - 'Less Cities, More Moving People' (12 inch version), 'Sunshine In The Shade' (Live) and 'I Will' (Extended Version). --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Ultimate Fixx, May 6, 2004

By 

Alan Caylow (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Phantoms (Audio CD)

Despite the fact that it didn't match the commercial success of "Reach The Beach," this third album by the Fixx, 1984's "Phantoms," is the group's masterpiece. The band's atmospheric pop-rock works to maximum effect on this album, and there's not a single song here that I don't like. GREAT hooks & melodies everywhere you look, with such classic Fixx rockers as "Less Cities, More Moving People," "Sunshine In The Shade," "Woman On A Train," and the Top 40 hit "Are We Ourselves?", as well as "Lose Face" and "Question." The band also score major points with the softer tunes, including "Wish," the dreamy "Facing The Wind," and the absolutely beautiful number, "I Will" (and why this very lovely song was never released as a single I will never know---the Fixx could've had another huge hit along the lines of "One Thing Leads To Another"). The band's performances are sharp, and Cy Curnin's passionate voice is excellent. Their record sales may have begun to decline with this one, but in my mind, it was the fault of radio and the record-buying public for missing out on this great disc. "Phantoms" is an outstanding Fixx album, with some of the best 80's pop-rock ever laid down. It's the best work Cy Curnin & company have ever done, so what are you waiting for? Pick it up, and enjoy the ultimate Fixx.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 3 rescued songs and no more scratchy vinyl remixes!, November 19, 2001

By 

Todd Lewis (Washington DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Phantoms (Audio CD)

I've been a Fixx fan since about day one (in other words 1982) and this album has over time stood out as my favorite of their impressive list of electrifying albums. "Phantoms" is luxuriously lush. It's atmospheric and mysterious, a mental trip through hallucinatory territories. It's every bit as good as "Reach the Beach" and more. The Fixx are an odd band that hasn't fallen as neatly as they should into many people's catagorization of music genres. People are puzzled. Are they New Wave or are they rock? They got enough radio airplay on rock stations in the States to have a huge "rock" fan base but still not quite fit in. They repeatedly show the weird bent sophistication of progressive rock bands like Genesis. They are as capable of weirdness as Devo (just listen to "Question"). They have the askew sensibilities of the Psychedelic Furs or Radiohead.
The icing on the cake with this release is the 12" remix of "Less Cities, More Moving People" (which up until now I had to suffer through listening to on scratchy old vinyl), the **wonderful** extended version of "I Will", and a live cut of "Sunshine In the Shade" (the Fixx are no slouches live!). These three extras are worth the ten bucks alone. The remastering on this disk sounds both vibrant and faithful to the original.
Gotta give credit to these guys because they're such great musicians and songwriters. Synthesizer aficionados will be wowed by keyboardist Rupert Greenal's trademark deep Sequential Circuits Prophet T8, PPG Wave, and Yamaha DX7 textures. Brian Eno fans will know guitarist Jamie West-Oram from his work on "Nerve Net". His guitar work can be heard popping up on Laurie Anderson's "Bright Red", playing alongside Eno and Adrian Belew (of King Crimson fame). Been there, done that....
Three cheers for One Way records, who seem determined to rescue all of the good '80s music that is threatened by the awful and maddening Nirvana of "out of print" that comes from record label indifference. One Way records is a fans' label, putting artistic & nostalgic gems back in print. From Re-flex to Missing Persons, from Martha & the Muffins to Nik Kershaw, Manfred Mann's Earth Band and now to the Fixx, this label delivers.
Keep putting out stuff by unforgettable bands like the Fixx, keeping their albums in print and getting out their lost remixes and b-sides and I'll happily buy away.

27 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars BUYER BEWARE - The 2001 Remaster by Universal Music/One Way., December 19, 2004

By 

Khonsu - See all my reviews

This review is from: Phantoms (Audio CD)

Don't get me wrong. The music that makes up 'Phantoms' by The Fixx is absolutely unique and wonderful. The one star is aimed at the corporation(s) that now own(s) these recordings. In an attempt to give the fans of this music something to enjoy, Universal Music/One Way Records has screwed this one up - BAD. How? They reversed the stereo image. To illustrate this all you need to do is imagine that guitar part that was previously known to reside on the left in the stereo spectrum - in the "remaster" it is now on the right. While that harmony vocal that you had previously heard on the left of the stereo spectrum is now -yup- on the right of the stereo spectrum. Therefore, a complete reversal of the stereo image - in every song, from start to finish. Kids, this is a major bummer.

In 1984 I purchased the vinyl version of 'Phantoms', which I grew to quickly love. So when it hit CD for the first time I added that to my library without hesitation. But like many of those recordings that were transferred from the original analog tapes to CD format in the 80's, I found the sound of the CD lacking warmth and bass response. Because of that reason I hung onto my original vinyl through the years. Recently, when I learned that 'Phantoms' had been "remastered" and reissued - I was hoping to get the listening experience that this music so much deserved when it first hit CD. I am very sorry to say that it didn't happen with Universal Music's "remaster". It's a shame.

The fact that three years after the re-release (it came out in 2001) no one has publicly voiced their discovery of this not insignificant error is a little surprising to me. If I hadn't of A/B tested this "remaster" to both the original vinyl and the original CD release by MCA Records then I may not have caught the reversed stereo image error right away. Thankfully, I did, and HOPEfully someone will do something about it.

I would also like to point out that I am deeply disappointed that Universal/One Way Records did not use the original liner notes for 'Phantoms', which in essence DIScredits all of those people who were originally responsible for producing the music and getting it out there. I see no clear reason for leaving those people out and in their place only giving credit to the "reissue producer" and "remastering engineer". Again, all of this is regrettable and shameful because 'Phantoms' truly deserves much better.