Customer Reviews

Phantoms

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I bought this as a tape in a cutout bin, and I couldn't figure it out at first, and almost chucked it. But finally it clicked, and as I was out for a drive one day, I suddenly realized with a rush what a brilliant piece of music I was listening to. This was new music at the time, different and challenging, and it still is. The skill of the players is breathtaking, particularly Jamie West-Orram's skeletal, piercing guitar work.

Everything the Fixx has released is essential in my mind, there's not a bad effort in the bunch, and many, many fine songs that few have heard. This one may represent the high point of their creativity, but even at their advanced age, they still produce great songs; in fact I rate ``Silent House'' from their last CD as their best song ever, at least my favorite, if that counts for anything. Aside from the Cure, I'm hard pressed to think of another group that has remained so vital over such an extended period of time. If you missed it, or thought the Fixx was some kind of 80's dance band, give Phantoms a chance and it will make it's own space in your mind.

C-minus for packaging, but A-plus for sound and bonus material. I have original and promo vinyl on this, and the remastering offers greater clarity, cleaner sound, and is not as harsh in the upper treble--the usual roles of vinyl and CD are reversed in this respect!

I'd rather have the extended mix of "Deeper and Deeper" (the b-side to "Sunshine in the Shade") than a live performance, though--this is such a pensive, moody record that audience noise really intrudes on the band's (and Rupert Hine's!) carefully sculpted sonic wonderland.

But that's a minor quibble--the timelessness and depth of the music shines through. This is, hands down, The Fixx's masterpiece, where the band honed its music making and its life-exploring, inward-directed lyrics to a sharpness and uniqueness unequalled in most of pop music.

This one has been out of print for a long time, but is now faithfully resurrected by One Way. The remastering sounds great, and there's bonus tracks to boot: extended versions of "I Will," "Less Cities," and a live version of "Sunshine In The Shade." If you own the original CD of this, sell it off and buy this reissue, it sounds so much better. Personally, my favorite album by the band is "Reach The Beach," but this is a close second. Legend has it that the label rushed the band back into the studio to get another album out, after the wild success of "Reach The Beach." It is evident on this disc, but the band is so strong you barely notice it. This is still an essential album for your collection of quality 1980's rock.

Of the 80's bands that still hold my affection and attention, The Fixx remain probably the most influential to me.

That they have been regulated as a 'poor man's Police' as others have mentioned, is so true. I've seen it said myself, but no one calls Sting a poor man's Bob Marley. (Well I do.) Besides that point, in style and production The Fixx and The Police were very far apart, not only because of the individual musicians approach to the music and instrument, but in texture, mood and lyric.

One of the standout talents in this band was(is) Jamie West Oram, their guitarist. It is probably where music historians confuse a chorus effect on any guitar to sound like Andy Summers. Not a fair deal at all, because West Oram is such a great guitarist, with a very individual sound and playing style, that it's quite a shame he isn't mentioned more often. The amount of styles he plays in just one song is something to note and learn from. Particularly his chordings and phrasings. It sounds often like he uses open tuning, but its not. His style is so different to Summers in sound, phrasing and mood, that I never understood the comparison in the first place.

The songs of The Fixx have always been some of my favourites, and I still find myself taking these albums out occasionally and re-listening to them. What always stands up are the lyrics, the production, and the amount of great material found on their albums. My favourite has always been their third album PHANTOMS. Most likely because 'Woman On A Train' is just such a great song, and any album with a song this good can't be all that bad, no matter what decade it was recorded in. PHANTOMS also stands out over their other efforts because of its darker and more experimental sounds and mood swings. If it were only 'Woman . . ' on here that impresses, I wouldn't recommend it so highly.

Less Cities, More Moving People is just awesome. Not a word I use often, just because it sounds so . . . but Less Cities has a great shuffle, a great sentiment, and a vocal melody that stands out and stays in the memory. Cy Curnin is an underrated singer, and actually a much better one technically and emotionally than Sting. Curnin's vocal range and dexterity is always impressive, and there is always different things he does with his voice from song to song, that use the voice as a creative instrument as much as any guitar or keyboard. 'In Suspense' is just one of my favourite Fixx songs, from the way the song opens, to the way Curnin actually sing 'because i'm in suspense'. What I've always also liked about The Fixx are the background vocals. They're always interesting and become as much a part of the main vocal by offering a counter melody. What I'm trying to describe here is what Brian Wilson used to vocally arrange for The Beach Boys. Where Good Vibrations has multiple vocal lines that are as strongly identifiable as the main vocal. The Fixx possess this ability (though not sounding like The Beach Boys at all!).

There's always something interesting going on in Fixx songs, and especially for me with PHANTOMS.

The Fixx were the recipients of a well-deserved and successful 80's career, but tend to get overlooked or carelessly categorized as a thin imitation of the Police by revisionist musical historians, in their haste to dismiss most of 80's pop as a bad disco hangover. This is their last truly great album, probably the artiest thing they ever did, and contains plenty of evidence that they were anything but one-hit wonders (in fact they had quite an enviable string of easily-recognized hits during the 80s). "Lose Face" is a solid opener, but its the complex, intertwining melodic hooks of "Woman on a Train" which really define the character of the album. The near-ska of "Sunshine in the Shade" is another fine deep cut and highlights the cutting rhythm work of Jaime West-Oram. "Less Cities, More Moving People" is another cut from the grain of "Saved By Zero", a mysterious, subtle slow-burning song with a beaut of a chorus. The album's most easily-recognizable track is the hit "Are We Ourselves" - a driving new-wave standard, again showcasing West-Oram's luminescent arpeggios. Its the dreamy, ethereal closer "Phantom Living" that I admire the most - definitely a studio masterpiece and a textbook example of 80's pop production, the core of which is built on top of moving sheets of vocalist Cy Curnin and eerie Rupert Greenall keyboard work over which Dan K. Brown's tasteful fretless slides. West-Oram's guitar solo on this song is an amazing piece of work, recalling at once Andy Summer's noise over "Synchronicity II" but peppered with uniquely jarring finger-slaps. All in all more polished, mature and worthy successor to their masterpiece _Reach The Beach_, although for neophytes I would recommend _Shuttered Room_ or the aforementioned _Reach_ before checking out this one .

I still like this album! I still play Sunshine In The Shade and Are We Ourselves, which have some of the catchiest sounds of '80s new wave rock! I found myself turning the cassette a lot for both songs which were exactly on the same place on it. But they had some strong arrangements on a lot of the songs such as Woman On A Train and the jumping guitar and percussion heavy, Police-sounding "Facing The Wind." I like Witness and its guitars standing out in the song. A few songs move like fast-moving trains, such as Less Cities, More Moving People. In a nutshell, songs like Are We Ourselves and Less Cities would describe today's situations like the Iraqi war and 9/11. The messages are very meaningful in the songs' lyrics. This was a very strong followup to the album before it and although they lost ground afterwards, the band was at their best level with this album.

This is my favorite of all the Fixx albums, even though it failed to live up to the commercial success of its predecessor, Reach the Beach. This album takes some getting used to, but repeated listening reveals this album to be even more cohesive than Reach the Beach (although RTB is a good starting point for for the uninitiated).

On Phantoms, the Fixx use a background of funky bass lines and erratic rock guitar to paint a textured portrait of latter 20th century isolation and self-alienation. Throughout the album, the tortured vocals of Cy Curnin embody the struggle for self-realization in a nightmarish, almost surreal landscape. Although they employ synthesizers, the Fixx have probably brought more humanity and "organic" feeling to that instrument than any other band.

Their sound is the sound of modern man fending off those forces that would dehumanize him, while searching for a little sanity and higher ground. I have listened to this album hundreds of times and it's one of my all time favorites. Stand out tracks include "Phantom Living", "Are We Ourselves?" and "Sunshine in the Shade".