Strange Times (+ Bonus CD) [Collector's Edition]

Chameleons | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 20, 1999)
• Original Release Date: 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Collector's Edition
• Label: Geffen UK
• ASIN: B000026E2S
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #96,341 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Mad Jack

2. Caution

3. Tears

4. Soul In Isolation

5. Swamp Thing

6. Time The End Of Time

7. Seriocity

8. In Answer

9. Childhood

10. I'll Remember

11. Tears

12. Paradiso

13. Inside Out

14. Ever After

15. John, I'm Only Dancing

16. Tomorrow Never Knows

Editorial Reviews

Originally released in 1986, this limited Japanese reissue in the UK new wave renaissance series features 16 tracks including 6 bonus tracks - 'Tears' (Full Arrangement), 'Paradiso', 'Inside Out', 'Ever After', Bowie's 'John I'm Only Dancing', & The Beatles' 'Tomorrow Never Knows'. Geffen. 2004. * Please note this is now a single disc at a lower price.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The stuff dreams are made of, November 28, 2008

By 

Joao Nunes (Portugal) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Strange Times (+ Bonus CD) (Audio CD)

Freshly signed to Geffen, for their third album The Chameleons raised the bar quite a few notches.

The first two albums had turned The Chameleons into a cult among the British indie scene. On the drama/energy level, their songs could rank with anything by Echo & The Bunnymen or U2, but they were not as hype and they never really had (or cared for) the right image. Also, their music had a dark-dreamy quality that had more to do with the 4AD sound. It was difficult to foresee them making it big.

Yet, from the guitar attack that introduces Mad Jack, Strange Times sounds really big. And it does so to its last gasp. All the band's former qualities are pushed up to a higher level creating a more varied set of songs than their previous efforts.

Side 1 comprises four monster tracks.
Mad Jack is a great start and one of the fiercest rockers in their catalogue.
Caution is probably the darkest song the Chameleons ever wrote. For almost 8 minutes Mark Burgess improvises (so tells the legend) one of the best lyrics to reflect the despair and numbness of heroin addiction. I particularly like the the way the volume gradually turns up in the final section until it stops abruptly.
Tears proves that the Chameleons could write a gentle acoustic ballad without losing their face. And the result is brilliant.
Soul In Isolation is my personal favourite Chameleons' song. It starts with a fantastic drum loop and an eery guitar, and then it explodes into that desperate mode that Mark Burgess does better than anyone, then it calms down, and then... By now it is clear that, however raw and intense is the band performance, there's definitely a closer attention to detail in the arrangements and production than on anything from What Does Anything Mean?

Shorter, happier tunes make the second half of the album a little lighter and joyful. The songs revolve around themes like melancholia and childhood nostalgia, but there's an optimistic glow in all of them.
Swamp Thing is brilliant and considered by many the archetypal Chameleons' song. It's also one of their most elaborate tunes. It builds on a haunting guitar line and its unsettling mood gradually changes until an almost cheerful finale.
Seriocity has a somewhat unexpected arrangement that sounds a lot like The Cure.

The album closes with the beautiful dreamy instrumental I'll Remember, that features what sounds to me like a loop of a man screaming followed by a baby crying (?). So, after all the intense emotional turmoil, you actually make peace and leave this album under the spell of this soothing tune, like returning to the mother's womb. Well, not exactly... because as the song fades out, in comes a thundering reprise of Soul In Isolation, like a ghost that comes back to haunt you.

Strange Times is an album of light and shadow, in which you'll find the Chameleons in their darkest, most depressive mode, but also some of their most uplifting tunes. All of this without loosing consistency. Most of all, it has the best song collection they ever put out.

[As for the bonus tracks, most of them are very much welcome. The "original arrangement" of Tears is good (and different indeed) but lacks the distinctiveness and depth of the album version. Paradiso, Inside Out and Ever After are all good Chameleons' songs but wouldn't have a place in this album. The cover of Tomorrow Never Knows is ok but John I'm Only Dancing sounds like a joke and should have been left in the attic.]

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Progressive Post-Punk Gem - Much Imitated, April 2, 2006

By 

ProEvil (MA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Strange Times (+ Bonus CD) (Audio CD)

Chameleons are one of those bands that toiled in obscurity creating a singular sound that other bands would water down and find success with.

They were influenced by the usual suspects themselves (Joy Division, Siouxsie etc.), but brought an epic scope and progressive sophistication to their chosen style.

This album has a depth that rewards many listens and can usually be found in the bargain rack. Give it a try.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sonic Artistry..., April 8, 2005

By 

Spin Doc (SoCal) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Strange Times (+ Bonus CD) (Audio CD)

With some of the most beautiful abstract cover art gracing their album covers, the Chameleons UK are almost obliged to guarantee an album that's nothing short of breathtaking. After just purchasing this album at a steal (less than $8!!) and giving it a good listen, I can truly say that this album does not dissapoint. I must admit, Im in a Britpop phase, trying to revisit the great sounds I couldn't appreciate in my childhood. And, starting to tire of the neo-New Wave movement of the Killers, Franz Ferdinand, etc., I've begun exploring the roots. Bullseye with this one: it's one of the more memorable 80's albums; melodic, introspective, ethereal-sounding, cinematic, abstract.....