Punk Goes 80s

Punk Goes... (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 7, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Fearless Records
• ASIN: B0009G3BAQ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #126,229 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

This is the fourth installment in the "Punk Goes" series, and features the coolest new punk bands covering such artists as Tears For Fears, Modern English, Oingo Boingo, and The Bangles. Includes exclusive tracks by Sugarcult, Reliant K, Early November, Motion City Soundtrack, Rufio, and more. Previous "Punk Goes" comps include "Punk Goes Acoustic", "Punk Goes Pop", and "Punk Goes Metal".

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Missing The Boat, June 8, 2005

By 

veganpunk (Metairie, LA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Punk Goes 80s (Audio CD)

We have two options here.

Either I have grown too old and far removed from youth culture to understand what constitutes new "punk" these days, or 14 of the 15 bands who contributed songs to Fearless Record's Punk Goes 80's, the latest installment of their entertaining Punk Goes... series, have really missed the boat here.

God knows that we do not need another argument over what defines "true punk," so I'll do my best to steer clear of that debate. If I can, however, let me just quickly say that just a few years ago the word "punk" was still -more often than not- being used to describe relatively intense music featuring characteristics like aggressive guitar strumming, uptempo drumming, unpolished vocals and raw production. Given that fact, when I dropped $11.99 at one of the registers at the local record store (well these days it's more like the local corporate mega appliance monster mall) for a disc entitled PUNK Goes 80s, I was not expecting to hear what we were given here.

In my opinion, when a modern band takes a classic 80s song and reworks it to include their own special flavor all while keeping the song's basic backbone, it can be a really entertaining affair. I loved the older Vagrant Before You Were Punk records for this reason, and I will never grow tired of my Me First and the Gimmie Gimmies records. But I knew we were in trouble here when the first song on this disc, a cover of The Bangles' Manic Monday performed by Reliant K, started. Long story short, it sounds almost identical to the original. In fact, the same can be said for almost all of the tracks here. Sugarcult's version of I Melt With You, for example, does nothing. And what was Rufio thinking when they submitted their version of Don't You Forget About Me to Fearless? Out of all the bands here I at least expected them to give us an uptempo version of one of the biggest hits of the 80s. Instead, they just plod through the song as if they were playing a wedding reception. Nu emo superstars, Midtown, simply added a techno intro to their standard performance of The Outfield's Your Love. Lame.

To add insult to injury, most of the bands who did choose to rework their song choices to fit their style actually chose to take a more pretentious mellow approach. While it would maybe be interesting to hear The Early November do a really slow totally accoustic version of Huey Lewis' big hit Power Of Love on one of their own records, it's probably not what I or anyone else who would happen to buy this record would expect to find in this setting. The same goes for the Jamison Parker track. Who would have ever thought that it would be possible for a "punk" record to present a version of Everyone Wants To Rule The World that actually sounds whimpier than the Tears For Fears version? Amazing.

Earlier in this review I mentioned that at least one of the 15 bands here got the point of a punk cover album. That band provides the one bright spot on this otherwise forgetable disc. The last track, a cover of the popular song Video Killed The Radio Star performed by Amber Pacific, is the only track on Punk Goes 80s that actually bears some of the "punk" characteristics I mentioned above. It's fast, somewhat raw, maintains the integrity of the original, and provides us with the fun we have come to expect from "punk" covers over the years.

I hate writing negative reviews. I really do. Unfortunately, this disappointing compilation left me with no choice. Punk Goes Pop and Punk Goes Metal were both tons of fun. This one, however, is disposable. Sorry folks.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get Over The Title, November 14, 2005

By 

Bunny Lane "the scribe-ler" (NYC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Punk Goes 80s (Audio CD)

First off, in this day & age...anything titled "punk" is not the 70's rebellion most want it to be. Nowadays, punk is anything with a distortion in the amp. But you know what? Get over it...times change. It's all about the music, not the label.

Moving on, standout's on this CD are the Gatsby cover of "Just Like Heaven" (although the TBS cover found online is better); "Straight Up" by Halifax & "Manic Monday" by Relient K. All songs bring something to the original while at the same time staying true to the band that made the songs famous.

The CD, as a whole, is satisfying if your into this type of music. If your not, then it's going to blow...obviously.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 80's kids will appreciate this .., June 11, 2005

By 

nikkie (S.L.O) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Punk Goes 80s (Audio CD)

I don't have high expectations or am i looking for ''ground breaking''. These bands did fine with these songs and i am happy they picked these songs to cover . Emery pulls through with their stamp (lead singers great screams) , sugarcult did a far better job with their cover than anyother punk revival band has and the early november puts their touch on ''Power Of Love''.

The cd brings some newer bands that are floating around out there ''Amber Pacific , Gatsbys American Dream etc.''

Brazil covered ''Wrapped Around Your Finger'' beautifully.

These punk revival bands show they can keep up and you know you like to sing along to these songs ...

Early 80's kids will understand ...

It's an all around fun cd and i give it 5 stars .