Quit Dreaming and Get on the Beam [Import, Original recording remastered]

Bill Nelson | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 11, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 1981
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import, Original recording remastered
• Label: Ume Imports
• ASIN: B000AQBAH6
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #188,490 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Digitally Remastered Edition of the Former Be-bop Deluxe Frontman's 1983 Solo Album Release that Originally Appeared in the USA on the Enigma Label.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New Wave Classic, November 26, 2005

By 

Marshall Boswell (Memphis, TN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Quit Dreaming and Get on the Beam (Audio CD)

Bill Nelson, the guitar wizard who led the brilliant Be Bop Deluxe from glam rock to new wave in the Seventies, entered the 80s with this extraordinary debut solo album produced by legendary British producer John Leckie (XTC, Simple Minds, Lucy Show). After Nelson broke up Be Bop Deluxe in 1978, following their extraordinary techno swan song "Drastic Plastic" LP, he formed Red Noise, a New Wave five-piece that produced one album, "Sound on Sound," which would eventually function as the template for the first two or three XTC albums. "Quit Dreaming," which began life as the second Red Noise album, eventually transformed into Nelson's first full-blown post Be Bop Deluxe solo album, producing a couple of UK hit singles ("Banal," "Do You Dream In Colour?") and climbing to number 7 on the British charts. In its new remastered form, with a clutch of crucial bonus tracks, the record sounds as current as it did 25 years ago. "Living in my Limousine" predates Flock of Seagulls (whom Nelson would later produce), "A Kind of Loving" taps into early 80s ska, "Youth of Nation on Fire" and "Life Runs out Like Sand" boast an exotic Asian air, and ""Banal" has the marks of a classic piece of postmodern new wave. Buy it now, before it disappears from the market.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite Bill Nelson recordings, May 22, 2011

By 

TBo (Chicago) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Quit Dreaming and Get on the Beam (Audio CD)

If you are reading this, you probably know that Bill Nelson has a lot of recordings that have been released over the past few decades; possibly the most prolific artist ever.
This LP came out shortly after the Sound on Sound LP in the heyday of the new wave movement. At that time it stood apart from everything else in its compositional approach, and also narrative content.
As far as I know, it was Nelson's 2nd solo release, pushing the aggressive atmospheres of the Sound on Sound LP into a more expansive realm; less heavy drums in the mix, more subtle synth flavoring, more inventive lyrics. I managed to snag an import vinyl copy at the time of the release and have been playing it ever since. The recent re-release on CD with re-mastering is a welcome event. My favorite tracks are: UHF, Do You Dream in Color, Limousine, and Banal. If you're a Bill Nelson fan, you probably already have an earlier version of this, but the re-mastered disk clarifies some of the sonic details of the LP.

4.0 out of 5 stars Remaster nicely captures a "dreamy" sound for Bill Nelson's "second" solo album, August 19, 2011

By 

WTDK "If at first the idea is not absurd, the... (My Little Blue Window, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Quit Dreaming and Get on the Beam (Audio CD)

Meant as the second Red Noise album, Bill Nelson's "Quit Dreaming & Get off the Beam" sat on the shelf at EMI for over a year before a brave soul at Mercury heard the album and decided it was worth releasing. The timing couldn't have been better--Nelson had been listening to the growing New Wave movement and crafted his own version.

"Quit Dreaming" seems like the natural progression of Be-Bop (as did Red Noise); Nelson's guitar is still there (unlike the follow up album where Nelson focuses on keyboards and sythesizers more)but there's plenty of keys and his brother Ian on sax providing color to the music.

The songs are as unusual as ever--Nelson's obsession with trying new gadgets, rhythms and musical structures make this both fit in with the Be-Bob-Deluxe albums and also stand out by some of the unusual choices for this album.
The album benefits from Nelson supported by additional players (unlike the follow up album where Nelson plays all the instruments on all the tracks same for one and additional percussion support).

The remaster by sounds quite good--the album doesn't have as much the DIY feel of the follow up album (although it was recorded at Nelson's studio just as the follow up was). There are dynamics and the production has a nice clarity not evident on previous versions.

If you throw in bonus tracks which doubles the length (these include his 12 inch EP, b-sides and some remixes) and you have an essential album for Nelson fans.

Recommended.