Customer Reviews

Script of the Bridge

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The Chameleons were in a league all their own ... true mavericks with their dense, layered, reverberating guitars. Even on into the 90's, only a few bands, like The Church and Catherine Wheel, have approached this plane of "dual guitar" nirvana. "Script of the Bridge" was The Chameleons' official debut album ("Fan and the Bellows" collected their earlier recordings) and still manages to overwhelm their still-brilliant later albums, not to mention the listener!

So where can I even start? The first song I ever heard from The Chameleons back in '84 was "Up the Down Escalator" -- undoubtedly one of the most ecstatic and intense guitar-pop tunes ever recorded. The songs on this album manage to be ethereal, majestic, brooding, haunting and cathartic all at once. "Second Skin" encapsulates all of these qualities like no other song I've ever heard -- it never fails to get me choked up. In short, this album belongs in any serious rock music collection ... it is one of the greatest musical achievements from the 80's without question.

So the lyrics go in "Second Skin". I got into this band sort of by accident within the past couple of years. I was listening to Spinner.com's 80's alt rock or goth rock channels, & one of their songs popped on. I liked what I heard, but I had never heard of them, so I downloaded a some random songs. After a couple of months of getting more & more, I sat wondering how on earth this great band passed me by!! I went on to get "Strange Times" (which is ONLY 8 bucks on here!!) & later on this one.

Comparing them with all the other stuff out of the 80's, they are BY FAR the most underrated & underappreciated band ever. Any random person I ask who has similar interests has NEVER heard of them!! I'll have to agree with another reviewer, they were just ahead of their time & over people's heads. Sure, they sound reminiscent of 80's sounds used at the time (mainly with guitar sounds), but when you take into account the lyrical content, how the songs are structured, & the singing guitar lines, all these elements just make them a lot more musically interesting than most other groups just trying to cash in. They are just a great band too!! Great, unobtrustive & mellow vocals along with lyrical guitar lines, pounding & moving bass lines (played by the singer Mark Burgess), & interesting drum fills to keep the songs moving.

The first track "Don't Fall" starts the album nicely, & lets you know you're not just in for just another 80's pop album...this
has some substance!! "Here Today" has an addicting guitar intro, along with some other lyrical parts. "Monkeyland" seems like a continuation of track 2, & I especially like the phaser guitar effects at the end. "Second Skin" is my favorite track with the haunting, catchy, if not somewhat familiar sounding synth line, & was also one of the first songs I heard by them.
"Up the Down Escalator" is one of the more upbeat songs, & the title seems fitting in describing the mood of the album.
"Less Than Human" became my 2nd favorite after wanting to hear it over & over & over after a random download, & fit the mood when I was feeling down. I especially like the wailing "whoa"'s at the end, which ends the song incredibly. The rest of the songs flow in & out of each other really well. I think just looking at the titles of all these songs gives you a clue as to what mood & sounds they're exploring. "View from a Hill" ends the album well with it's more mellow, laid-back feeling, but also giving the album some hopeful closure.

I believe they are one of the most influential rock acts out there. It's so obvious they had influenced brit-rock bands like the Stone Roses (another great album not to be missed). It is SO WELL worth the buy if you're just even remotely interested. If you have only heard of a couple of songs &/or like mellow & moving brit-rock bands (like The Cure & the like), you will definitely take a liking here. Thanks to the Chameleons for just being a musically interesting band with some substance...we need so many more bands like them.

Don't Fall, Second Skin, Pleasure And Pain are ikons of the way that existentialism is grafted onto the notes of a song in ways that remain long after the originating years have passed.
Yes, Script Of The Bridge is a masterpiece of intellecutal voice and guitar that also has the capacity to rock, and do so very, very loud. There is a darkness to The Chameleons (UK) and that's ok, even as some music may harken to the brighter elements of life, there is also that part of the post punk music scene that touches the inner Wagner in all of us and makes us want to dance, but to dance with caution.
This album is part of a series of sounds that included Echo And The Bunnymen (Crocodiles, Heaven Up Here, and first 2 EPs), Joy Division (all Factory Records in general), 4AD label bands, Public Image Limited:Flowers Of Romance,
Husker Du middle period, and later, even the Ride: Smile ep.
Chameleons' sound is heavy, and in a good way. Script of the Bridge and Strange Times are companions to a way of looking at the world first explored by the British Romantic poets. Maybe a bit too angst ridden at times, but never lacking in sincerity or craft. Script of the Bridge is a necessary ingredient to any exploration of music in a post punk world.

There are 2 must own Chameleons albums, this being the first, Fan & Bellows being the second. If you are a fan you should own every album they ever put out. And my personal favorite is their Peel Sessions album. The Chameleons are difficult to categorize but their music is often introspective, reflective, and lyrical while being wrapped in a cozy blanket of guitar brilliance. While their songs are melodic, they can also rock. They have a unique gift for creating a complex sound while making it immediatley acceptable to the listener. You can't go wrong with this album or any other except a few of their live releases.

Long after we are all dead and gone, this album will finally get it's just deserves as one of the greatest albums of all time; likewise, in the future, some important someone will "discover" the Chameleons, and they will finally get their justly deserves status as one of the greatest rock bands ever. The problem is that this album, and this band, were too far ahead lyrically and artistically (it's not every day that a rock band actually seeks to tackle the question of the meaning of life, but the philosophical Chameleons did nothing less than that!) Buy this CD! Every song is masterpiece, and that is no exaggeration. "Second Skin" is the best, but not by much, because EVERY SONG is stunning. Also, the lyrics to "Monkeyland" and "Thursday's Child" alone ought to earn Mark Burgess a place among the noteworthy poets. As if all that were not enough, Reg Smithies's cover art is both unique, dazzling, and charming.

Back in the mid-1980s I owned a copy of "Script of the Bridge" on cassette and wore it down to an unlistenable hiss. Unfortunately, by that time I couldn't get a replacement copy, so I've gone without for about a decade. I'm ecstatic to find that it's been re-released on CD. This album, along with a handful of others (U2's "Unforgettable Fire," The Fall's "Bend Sinister") got me through my excruciating High School years without killing myself, for which I'm grateful. "Don't Fall" still sends shivers down my spine like no other song I've heard. Until a few years ago I'd never met anyone else who'd even heard of the Chameleons; hopefully the new milennium will put that oversight to rights.

GENIUS from beginning to end!

I still wonder why the hell i didn`t discover this earlier...i`d thrown all my you too see these? to the toilet....oh no,the environment doesn`t deserve that..i`d like to thank Mr. Google and Mr. Kazaa for giving me the opportunity to discover and listen to this band.Just one listen to Second skin and i was aware that rock music was not dead,only hibernating....
Lyrics are dark,intense,reflexive and introspective (post punk era),dealing with fear,human condition,trust,religion..trying to provide us with answers to our own existence.("i must be less than human in God`s size" ).Guitarwork here is pure ornament, one heavy chorused and delayed guitar on the one side of the bridge sings to the other muted stacatto guitar on the other side keeping permanent connection.I wonder what these guys could have done if they`d used today`s guitar multieffect racks.Drummer John Lever is the secret weapon of the band leading the rhythm section with mastery.If dinosaur bands such as U2,The Cure,The Mission and recent ones such as Interpol,The Stills don`t fulfill your expectations try this,you`ll blame yourself for having missed it.It`s my case.
P.D Spread the Word

A friend gave me a copy of this album overtaped on a used cassette in Madrid, Spain in 1991. I listened to it for years wondering if I would ever come across their albums (before the days of internet). Now, needless to say, I have this on CD as well as 8 other releases by this amazing band. This is their finest. It is gothic pop at its best and will chill your spine and make you dance at the same time. For fans of New Order, Joy Division, Bauhaus, etc.. These guys get it done in a different way but there is a connection. If you are even only a mild fan of BritPop, you owe it to yourself to add this to your collection. It is as stunning a debut as the Stone Roses' first album. I'm not kidding! Proceed to checkout!

Hi America Paul from England here to tell you about the best album by the finest guitar band to come out of my country.The title track 'Dont Fall' begins the story,it simply blasts out of the speakers,grabs you by the ears and demands your attention.Anyone who has experienced the Chameleons,live or on record,will know that the guitaring of Reg Smithies and Dave Fielding is as electric as you are ever going to hear.All the tracks on this album have a pure quality about them from the fast(ish)pace of'Up the Down Escalator and A Person Is'nt Safe'to the haunting melodies of'Second Skin and Less Than Human'.I have owned this album since it's original release date back in 1983 and it has been my favourite ever since(I think I will have this album played at my funeral!)So there you have it,my recommendation is BUY THIS ALBUM NOW! you won,t regret it.

This album ranks in my top three of all time, especially because of the consistant mood it evokes throughout. 'Second Skin' (a song about life after death) is one of the most beautiful songs from this post-punk new wave era in music history. A huge 'shame on you' to the reviewers who took the time to make little remarks about musical imperfection on this album -- can't you see that perfection is not what makes a good album? It's mood, it's all in the emotions that music can evoke, not whether the musicianship follows the latest issue of Guitar Player magazine. Bottom line: if you like moody music from the UK, buy this album at whatever cost!