Customer Reviews

Sorted Best of Love & Rockets

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a good collection of tracks by one of the great, less heralded bands of the 80's, spawned of course from the breakup of one of the great bands of all-time, Bauhaus. For that reason alone, the CD deserves its 4 stars. However, the selection is imperfect at best and so I can't give it the 5 stars that a "Best Of" Loves & Rockets should garner.

The first 4 tracks are all excellent choices; "Kundalini Express" was an underground mega-hit up there with The Cult's "She Sells Sanctuary" and "Dog End of a Day Gone By" is a wonderful inclusion that thankfully was not overlooked. That leads us to "Yin & Yang the Flower Pot Man", a decent song but not one of the better ones on "Express"; I would have greatly preferred "All in My Mind", especially the brilliant and captivating acoustic version. "Holiday on the Moon" is also unnecessary and should have been scrapped to make way for a song from elsewhere in their catalogue. "So Alive" was their big U.S. hit so it has to be here; it's a good song but it never really represented their sound well in my opinion. "No New Tale to Tell" was one of those great underground singles from the 80's that stands as an alternative classic - Not sure how the 'Donnie Darko' soundtrack missed it actually. The grinding, feedback-laden "No Big Deal" was better than its album-mate "So Alive" and is properly included here; unfortunately the fuzzy, charged-up "Motorcycle" is left off. "Haunted When the Minutes Drag" is another fine inclusion from their first full-length as is the album-ending instrumental "Saudade"; I am very happy they included so many tracks from "7th Dream of Teenage Heaven" but wish they have made room for "God & Mr. Smith" which should have been the replacement for "Holiday on the Moon" or one of the newer songs maybe. "It Could Be Sunshine" is also a great pick with its raucous combination of post-punk and straight punk. Another omission is "The Light" from "Earth Sun Moon", an ominous but mesmerizing piece that is surprisingly catchy.

All in all, a fantastic collection that could have been made stronger with a few simple changes. Still, as a big L&R fan in the 80's I know there are better ways to enjoy this band: listen to "Earth Sun Moon", "Express" and "7th Dream..." and also pick up "Everything" or "Night Music" by Tones on Tail - these showcase the band at their best. This album is a decent starting point for news or casual fans but may leave aficionados disappointed.

Last year, Love And Rockets finally came out with their best-of compilation.

It's worth the purchase for any newcomers to the band since it has lots of their best songs such as Kundalini Express, Dog End Of A Day Gone By, and No New Tale To Tell. It's also essential for the longtime fans too because it has the rare 7-inch versions of Ball of Confusion and Yin & Yang The Flowerpot Man (the ones that were used in the music videos). Plus a single version of "Mirror People" which is way better than the one on their album "Earth Sun Moon".

Personally, I didn't think Holiday On The Moon and It Could Be Sunshine should of been included on here, I would of preferred to see All In My Mind, Motorcycle, or If There's A Heaven Above to make the cut but unfortunately they didn't.

Well, if you bought this and liked it, I recommened picking up Express next.

Several of L&R's signature tunes rightfully make their appearance here, along with a couple of questionable selections. My personal favorites are well represented here...the psychedelically-tinged sing-along "Kundalini Express", the mind-altering masterpiece "Yin and Yang and the Flowerpot Man" and the subversive pop classic "No New Tale to Tell", in which Messrs. Haskins, Haskins, and Ash use a flute solo to an even greater effect than one of Ash's savory, understated, yet compelling guitar refrains. While I was happy to see that "Mirror People" and its explosive riffing were included along with the stately tone poem "Haunted When the minutes Drag", I disagree with the inclusion of any of the material recorded after 1989 other than "Sweet Lover Hangover".. If that makes me an elitist urban sophisticate, so be it; but the band took a left turn at a tangent when they flipped over to techno from which they never recovered.

I'm a long time fan of the group, but am a little puzzled in the arrangement of this compilation as some of their best tunes were omitted in exchange for some of their lesser work. For example, "Holy Fool" and "Sweet Lover Hangover" shouldn't be on this list. Intuition tells me they're on the CD for marketting purposes to sell the album than anything else as younger fans know these songs more than the others. Other suspect choices include: "It Could Be Sunshine", "No Big Deal" (this mix anyway), and "Holiday on the Moon". While not bad songs in their own right, they would never see daylight on my Love and Rockets top 20 list. Some songs I was hoping to see were "The Light", "An American Dream", "My Drug", "All In My Mind", "The Teardrop Collector" and a few others.

To do a proper Love and Rockets greatest hits album really requires 2 discs as they really have that much good material as they also tend to write longer length songs than your average rock band. This would also provide the opportunity to slip in a few lesser known tracks that only existed on B-sides of the obscure singles. "BikeDance", "Lucifer Sam", and the alternate mixes of songs that were often better than the album versions such as "This Heaven (Lost in it mix)", "RIP 20 C", and "Mirror People" (which forntunately made it on this disc).

If you're new to Love and Rockets, this is not a bad sampler disc, but be aware that some of the regular albums will have just as much punch. Newcomers should start with "Express" then move onto "Earth Sun Moon", then "Lift" to get a taste of the full gamut.

Now that this is finally out, I see that it is almost as good as I expected. 15 remastered songs from every album except "Hot Trip to Heaven", so that album must have been pretty bad. The big hits are all present. "Kundalini Express", "Ball of Confusion", "No new tale to tell", "Holy Fool", and of course "So Alive". I personally would have liked a second track from "Lift", something else from "Earth-Sun-Moon", and at least one song from "Hot Trip to Heaven". But at least the first four albums do have 2-4 tracks taken from each one. Also, the songs I did not know are all as good as the ones I did. So if you're looking for roughly the best of "Love and Rockets" remastered on one cd, get "Sorted". It will go perfectly between your "Cure" and "Depeche Mode" best of's.

It's been a long wait for a proper compilation from Love & Rockets. This is a good collection of tracks, but it could have been a lot better. As with any best-of release there are bound to be a song or two omitted that should've been included. "Sorted" has a few glaring omissions.
First, it's unfortunate that this CD excludes "If There's a Heaven Above" from their first LP. Second, the track "Lazy" off of Earth Sun Moon, though not a standout single, shows the band's musical versatility. Third, a former #1 import single and highlight of their self-titled LP, "Motorcycle", with its feedback finale, should've been included.
"Sorted" begins and ends brilliantly however, first with the guitar-intro rumble of "Kundalini Express", finishing with the laidback instrumental "Saudade".
The CD is a good starting point for those who are unfamiliar with Love & Rockets beyond their hit, "So Alive". For those of us already acquainted with most of their material, the CD lacks content.

Love and Rockets is one of my favorites from the 80's. L&R made some of the most 'atmospheric' music from the 80's that really set them apart from the synth-pop and power-pop groups from that era. If 80's music were a schoolyard, you would probably find L&R hanging around with the likes of Joy Division, Jesus & Mary Chain, Echo & the Bunnymen, and of course Bauhaus. Or they would probably be in a corner all to themselves. The point is, L&R made some of THE best darker, gothic sounding, moody, ambient, depressing, uplifting, sinister, sensual, quirky, cool, and hip 'alternative' music...EVER. If you ever want to experience being in a drugged out, dream-like, audio-sensory high, look no further than this group. This collection, while acceptable at 15 songs and around $10, is sorely missing this aspect though. Here's my version of what their 'best of' should be; or at least, the songs that will put you in that special (drug-free) 'high'.

Disc 1: The hallucinegenic-inducing songs=

* Haunted When the Minutes Drag
* All In My Mind (acoustic version) (the regular version sounds so upbeat and happy, the acoustic version sounds like the soundtrack to man's impending doom. j/k, sorta)
* An American Dream (brilliant slow opening, then it gets fast:0(
* The Light (dark, ominous, but in a good way. then again most of these songs can be described like that)
* Waiting for the Flood
* Earth, Sun, Moon
* I Feel Speed (love this over-looked, hypnotic song. it will put you to sleep, or put you in a dream-like state of consciousness. don't listen to this while driving)
* Sweet F.A. (a deceptively sweet, quiet, and catchy acoustic number)
* Judgement Day
* Deep Deep Down (off their electronica-influenced cd, LIFT. this is not electronic-sounding at all. this song is like sex. it builds and builds, climaxes, then keeps on going, snuggling with you until you fall asleep. or hit repeat and do it all over again. it's a moody(yet kinda rocks), sexy(and kinda raunchy), almost sinisterly wicked-sounding song. at over 9 minutes, the second half is waaay repetative, unless you're already under it's sensual hypnosis and grip like i was. gee, i must really like this one)
* Party's Not Over (off LIFT too, but not electronic sounding either)

Disc 2: The other greats=

* Kundalini Express (their best ever? it's fast, and tripped out!)
* Yin and Yang the Flower Pot Man (actual title of song)
* All In My Mind
* Ball of Confusion(big commercial hit)
* Mirror People
* No New Tale to Tell (personal all-time favorite)
* So Alive (the other big commercial hit)
* Rock and Roll Babylon
* Sweet Lover Hangover (sounds mainstream, shoulda been a hit)
* Holy Fool (it IS mainstream, but still not a hit...but who cares)

To die-hards, hopefully my list doesn't offend too much. To newcomers, download away and check out what you're missing(to the timid and uninitiated start with 'disc 2'). Btw, they also have a video collection on dvd for under $20 that's worth owning.

It would be almost impossible to make a greatest hits album of Love and Rockets without leaving some of their great songs out, but it seems that they actually omited some of their best songs ever, for instance "All In My Mind" or "An American Dream". I would not recommend this album very much, the tracks selection is poor.

A decent collection, but you'll need to supplement this with "Express," "Earth Sun Moon" and "Love and Rockets," three great CDs.

I enjoy too many Love and Rockets songs to disagree with any inclusions, voiced in the reviews. Both the moody side and frentic side of Love and Rockets tends to be lengthy in time. A two disc set semms mandatory to enjoy the Best of Love and Rockets, partly as the reviews have mentioned a great song like "Motorcycle" needs to be included but equally the next song, "I Feel Speed" has to be included in tandem.