Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great retrospective of an underrated band, January 30, 2004
The Alarm were one of the better rock bands to come out of Britain in the '80s. Although they were on the cusp of stardom on many occassions, they toured with Bob Dylan and had a few minor chart hits, they never quite made it in America. They were often called a poor man's U2, and although Mike Peters' voice was similar to Bono's, early on they had a distinct sound with their anthemic background vocals and their heavy ringing guitar sound.The anthemic "The Road" and the somber "Unsafe Building" are the two obligatory new tracks which accompany most best-of packages. After these tracks, the album is largely chronological and shows how the band updated their sound throughout their career. The tracks "The Stand", "Sixty-Eight Guns", "Where You Were Hiding.." and the closing tracks "Marching On" and "Blaze Of Glory" are all great anthems from their early days. "Absolute Reality", "Strength", and the epic "Spirit of '76" showed the band sharpening their songwriting skills while staying true to their roots. "Rain In The Summertime" was obviously an attempt at the mainstream with its updated production and its smoother vocals and harmonies. "Sold Me Down The River" from 1989's Change album combined their guitar rock with a synthesized beat. Despite the changes in their sound, most of the tracks here work well although the earlier material such as "Spirit of '76", "Strength", and "Sixty-Eight Guns" are the strongest tracks here. They also do a great job with their version of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)." It's also recommended over their other best-of album The Best of The Alarm & Mike Peters since this is a stronger collection and is more chronological. A great compilation of a band who until their televised reunion had been largely forgotten. Highly recommended.
|
|
|
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Welsh power, April 29, 2003
Funny that people would compare the Alarm to U2, when the former is Welsh and the latter is Irish.
I got into this band with its spiky hair, harmonicas and revolutionary zeal and got swept away. "Strength" still has to be one of the Top 20 greatest, most passionate songs ever. "Give me hope, give me strength, give me something to live for ... Who will light the fire that I need to survive, who will be the lifeblood coursing through my veins, won't someone open up the door and let me out of this place. I've been caged up for so long, I don't know if I'm living or I'm dying."
Those words really drove a spike into my teen angst-filled heart in the '80s and continue to stir my emotions.
Like the Alarm there were so many thoughtful bands with great lyrics. They were out to change the world. In some ways, they made me who I am today. Yahoo.
|
|
|
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
MARCHING ON....,, February 7, 2000
The Alarm was written off in the 80's as U2 wannabes, which I feel is the reason that they never really took off in the U.S.But one listen to this Cd & you'll see how wrong the naysayers were.While I'm tempted to say that the majority of the material here is taken from Declaration & Strength, considering the limited library of work from which to choose, I feel that this Cd exemplifies this fine band.The disc starts out with the harmonica driven Road, into the(unfortunately)truncated version of 68 Guns, and the powerhouse Where Were You Hiding, until before you know it you're at Strength & half way thru the Cd!The beautiful Rain in the Summertime(1 of my favorite videos as you watch while the lead singers tall,spiky hair is matted to his face while singing in a rainstorm)follows,as does Sold Me Down the River(when considering they also sound like Simple Minds, makes one wonder if Jim Kerr was thinking about this song subconsciously when he wrote the similar She's a River 5 years later).The Cd ends with the bonus tracks Marching On & Blaze of Glory which literally explode!Where were you hiding when the Alarm was struggling in America?
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
Interact With Your Music: Discover, listen to, and buy new music, all from the pages of SPIN's digital edition, free to Amazon customers.
by The Alarm 
