Customer Reviews

Pop Art

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

 

 

I've loved this group for years now. Few people are aware of them and thats a shame, because they were ahead of their time both image-wise and musically. Vamp would've been more popular if their album had dropped during the "Alternative" craze of the early 90's instead of prior.
A Brittish "punk" rock group so to speak, the music of "Pop Art" had attitude. Wendy James, the frontWOMAN of this all male group had a tremendous voice, often singing in a "breathy" whisper type voice, only to be set into an occasional scream. She does this so well, that no other group sounds quite like Vamp. The men who back her up are skilled musicians as well.
Here are some examples of how Transvision Vamp were ahead of their time.
Long before Lil Kim named herself "Queen Bee", we have Wendy James claiming (in "Hanging Out With Halo Jones") "Well they used to call me Queen Bee, til I threw the throne"..."Hey now, I'm a girl of the times, A child of design. Romance, romance is cool..but I've got things to do."--Great strong lyrics with female ego that you see in today's music. "Trash City" has the whole futuristic thing going on. Then theres the fast-paced "I Want Your Love" where Wendy croons and pleads "I don't want your money honey, I want your love. And I don't want your car, baby, I want your (moan). I don't want your friends, they don't need a mention! I just want your love and all of your attention!"... Great lyrics, great song. "Psychosonic Cindy" has a pulsating beat that so well executed it surpasses any pop rock song of today. "Sex Kick" is just what it seems. A sexually aggressive song that pushes the envelope without breaking it. Then theres "Tell that Girl To Shut Up"... "Well you got that girl and she lives with you, and she does just what you want her to. And when I call you on the phone, she says you're not there, but I know your home. You better tell that girl to shut up. You better tell that girl I'm gonna beat her up"... Any woman who has been hated on by a jealous girl can totally dig this song.
Vamp slows it down on "Sister Moon" and "Wild Star" "Wild Star" is sung in an edgy breathy voice and has more great lyrics..."Oh you're a wild star king, you're my hero. You make the neon silver screen glow. You made all the stars fall right out of the sky, And all of those stars fell right into my eyes. You don't move...you just glide. You don't cruise, you just ride, ride, ride, ride on in." There's a tribute to Andy Warhol. (Andy Warhol's Dead") and the 60's like "Revolution Baby" giving this dynamic album more balance musically.
This is a pop album, but it's a pop album with many influences and much flair. Talented musicians, a distinctive frontwoman, and terrific lyrics make "Pop Art" a WORK OF ART". This should be in every music fan's collection. BUY IT...You snooze, you loose!!

Pop Art was the first Official Transvision Vamp album. With 2 top 10 singles in australia and around the world. It was the album that put vamp on the map. As a result of this albums sucess, Velveteen was destined to be a sucess. Transvision Vamp were ahead of thier time and therefore didnot last as long as they may have. If this album were released today one would expect a much bigger audience, given the development of the alternative scene in the last decade.This is a great album, one tat can be played many times without wearing thin.

By the time this album came out I did not have any chance to listen to it-in Medellin Colombia 3 radio stations controlled all the music in english, and they never dared to play Transvision Vamp, those latin-american stations were, in the 80's, controlled by the American Top Forty.
I got acquainted with this band in the 90's ,so I used to play it along with Nirvana and Hole and Stone Temple Pilots, and when you think of it,songs like Revolution Baby, I want Your Love,Sister Moon, Andy warhol's Dead,etc, can be seamlessly included on a playlist with all those alternative rock bands from the 90's.
Yep, this is 90's music created (and massively ignored) in the 80's, that can wow you now in the 00's.
If you like The Go-go's,Blondie and even Le Tigre and Hole, hurry up to listen this band!!!

I can't believe I still listen to Pop Art, it's completely disposable, trashy pop-punk, I bought it when I was 18 because the blonde singer was so hot...I bought this album (on cassette, no less, which still sounds great on any stereo!) when it came out, after seeing their video for "I Want Your Love." Gloriously decadent, corny..and full-on pop, "I Want Your Love" was a Top Five hit in the UK back in '88. I couldn't believe how good this song was... and how much I loved the singer for this nobody band (as far as the US was concerned). Amidst a trash-strewn teenage girl's bedroom, the band bashed out the song beneath posters of Brando, Dean, Marilyn, and the Sex Pistols. The guitarist and bass player copped moves right from the Clash. Yep, these guys had it down, and I was sold. Right influences, right look, but... something got lost in between.

The songs pretty much rockthough, except for the opener, "Trash City," which tries way too hard to be futuristic and cutting edge, but just sounds ridiculous and stupid. The song's decent, rockin' along, spacey, copping "Swoop swoop" from Lou Reed (like I said, their influences were impeccable) with Wendy growling stuff like, "Hey boys, I'm a planet queen!" and "So grab your gun and let's go!" Wait, I'll save that for the video. "Watch out, here I come!"

Next up is the sublime "I Want Your Love," with Wendy cooing and sneering and sighing and moaning. Oh, yes, I love it, I do indeed. The chorus is perfect, perfect in the way "Sheena is a Punk Rocker" is perfect. The drums are tight and propulsive, the guitar buzzes along properly, and the climactic tension is captured exquisitely.

"Sister Moon" is quieter, almost reflective--Wendy's voice is a gentle, aching whisper

"Psychosonic Cindy" and "Revolution Baby" are two great rockers,exuberant and electric, loud and sweet. Actually, the latter may be the coolest song here, with Wendy (or whoever writes the lyrics) quoting Bobby Dylan's "Twenty years of day school and they put you on the night shift" at exactly the right moment. And you can't disagree with Wendy when she says "Music's gonna be my revolution, and you can be my revolution baby!" I mean, are you gonna say no to this chick?

Side Two starts off with the Ramones-esque "Tell That Girl to Shut Up." Hilarious girl-fight lyrics; good cover of Holly & the Italians.

"Hanging Out with Halo Jones" is based on a British comic book character about whom I know nothing except that the song kicks ass. You know these are two super-cool chicks, Halo and Wendy, and all the boys wanna hang out with 'em. "Andy Warhol's Dead" name-checks their philosophical fore-father (and is the "William B." she sings about ol' Bill Burroughs? Betcha!).

I don't even think Pop Art is in print anymore! No matter--I've seen it in used record shops plenty. I even have their video compilation. Yep, Wendy James is dead sexy, and I'm still listening to it 15 years later.

I first heard this album in a music store and had to ask who it was. I've been a fan ever since. While Transvision Vamp is not currently together, their music lives on. I recommend this and all their albums for their hot tracks and insightful, youthful lyrics!

Excellant disc! If you into Transvision Vamp or you are discovering them for the first time, this is the disc to purchase!

Their first album, and a little inconsistent and shaky at times--they haven't quite hit their stride and some of the first tracks feel like they need a little more work.

HOWEVER--it is worth buying this album for just one great song: "Hanging Out With Halo Jones"! Here they have found the attitude, the atmosphere, the power and the glory of dramatic timing and massive reverb that became their trademark. Hey, and Wendy would be perfect for the lead role in the movie version of Halo Jones (if they ever make one)... and this song would be perfect for the opening title theme (as the scene zooms in from space onto 25th-century Earth...)

I got the original Pop Art LP for free b/c their label was giving out thousands of free promo copies to college radio stations across the U.S. The band was being pushed hard as the new art-pop-punk sensation, like some sort of latter-day Blondie. To cut a long story short, Pop Art became an underground favorite for being laughably bad. The music is catchy, but it's about as punk as Vanilla Ice is gangsta. All the songs are trashy, but Andy Warhol's Dead is guilty of the most bombastic lyrics (sample: "Andy's not dead, Andy's not dead, Andy's not dead, Andy's not dead, he's just asleep").

I can only assume that the band was created in a record-label focus group ("we like hot chicks who can rock and sing and are pretty and who beat up other girls and who are really, really edgy, but in a sexy barbie doll kind of way, and who are cool enough to have heard of Andy Warhol"). And in the sense that the 90's saw every pop band struggle to find some "attitude" so that they could be marketed as alternative, then Transvision Vamp really were ahead of their time. Mind you, it still makes me smile and I did go to the trouble of replacing my old scratched vinyl copy, so I guess I have to give it 2 stars. For those of you with a kitschy streak, I'd recommend hunting through the used record bin at the local goodwill -- you can probably pick up an old vinyl copy for under a buck.

As an interesting side note, Wendy James went solo a few years later -- releasing an album called Now Ain't the Time for Your Tears with songs written entirely by Elvis Costello. This was a bit of a shock, as Wendy was universally despised by music critics (who at that time believed that Elvis could walk on water). The album bombed, which then fuelled the rumors that Elvis hated Wendy and gave her his old c**p songs as a way of spiting her for daring to request a collaboration!