Customer Reviews

Standards

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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?

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.

I have suddenly gone all retro. Firstly in my reading and now my music. I had forgotten how good The Alarm were. The lead singer's voice ( Mike Peters) is so rousing and powerful that he gives a lift and inspiration on every song. Give me stength - yes indeed.

There's not much more praise I can heap on The Alarm than what other reviewers have. From the first time I heard these lads in the early 80s until today, I can't get enough. I still check music stores for imports I might have missed. Power, glory, a voice to make your body shake with delight, and darn good guitar work. What more could you want from a now defunct (I'm still mourning) rock band?

Like many of the post-punk bands to spring up in the wake of The Clash and U2, The Alarm pounded out revolutionary anthems that boiled over with angst and purposeful sounds. The sound, early on, was all acoustic, but the songs were roaring forces with big meaty choruses. They even refered to their works as recordings of "electric folklore." "68 Guns" and "The Stand" (inspired by the Stephen King book, no less), were undeniably catchy songs, and the bands' earnestness was infectious. Problem was, they were constantly walking in the shadow of U2, and the comparisons were deserved. Like Bono and the boys, the best of the Alarm's work sounded out calls to arms with a questioning conscience. The albums were frequently uneven affairs, with Mike Peters' reach often exceeding his grasp. Even with that in mind, the members of The Alarm were great musicains. Drummer Twist, bassist and songwriter Eddie McDonald and guitarist Dave Sharp combined chops and energy to make The Alarm always come across as dramatic and passionate.

It's also why this collection punches harder that just about any Alarm album. With the exception of "Strength" and "Eye Of The Hurricane," most full length Alarm's efforts were madly uneven. But all these albums were worth holding on to for the extraordinary singles. "Standards" is a rather lofty album title, but a dozen of this CD's tracks live up to the moniker. The Alarm was defiantly into big statements; just listen to how many times words like hope, faith, strength and spirit pop up in the lyrics, and also note how many of these songs are about the confrontation of authority and agonizing over the potential conforming of their young lives.

The Alarm was also a killer live band. I saw them play a NYC gig on the "Change" tour, and they had a crowd lustily singing every song and pumping their fists in the air with abandon. Neil Young joined them onstage for an encore of "Rocking In The Free World" and everyone left that club soaked in feverish sweat. They were that convincing. "Standards," when blasting at full volume, will remind you about just how moving anthemic rock can be, and just how easily a great song can sweep you off to another plateau.

Recommended to fans of Big Country, Simple Minds, The Call and (naturally) U2.

The Alarm wrote some socially potent songs in their time and they still resonate now. One of the forgotten bands from a period that is better off forgotten they are one of the diamonds in the rough. I have had the opportunity to meet Dave Sharp who is still playing his hard traveling music. I reccomend you check him out if you are ever in New Orleans. Just swing by the Kerry Irish Pub.

Although some of the early classics like "68 Guns" and "Where Were You Hiding" have escaped relatively unscathed, the incomprehesible move of remixing and re-recording songs like "The Stand" and "Blaze of Glory" from their powerful originals to boppy Top40-style tones and beats seriously damages both the quality and credibility of this album. The inclusion of much of their toothless later material doesn't help either. If you never heard the Alarm's first album "Declaration" in all its glory, you may enjoy "Standards", but if you remember the power of the original versions, you're in for a big disappointment. The only saving grace for this album is that, with "Declaration" now unavailable, there's nowhere else you can find ANY version of what were some of the greatest songs of my youth.

The Alarm never got the acclaim they deserved because of the rotten critics. Who is this guy anyway? the Alarm was a powerful band with insightful & deep lyrics. This "hits" collecion is a nice sample of the depth of the Alarm's music, but there is so much more out there.

The case, insert and the disc arrived in perfect condition. But one track is not good, the disc stuck in these song and I have to manualy move forward.