Customer Reviews

Strange Times

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Chameleons are the lost soul of rock music, and Strange Times is a journey that will never end. If only everyone had heard this record back in 1986, popular music would have taken a radically different course. This record skies to melodic heights unforeseen, while safely plummeting through the depths of melancholy, only to bring you back up time and again. No one did this better than the Chameleons.

In their third, last, and greatest album, this Middletown band of geniuses combine their mastery of guitar delay and reverb with a restraint and commitment to detail that is simultaneously frightening and beautiful. (To U2's Edge, please take notes.) Layer upon layer of choral guitars will make you feel like you're hidden in a lighthouse in Scotland...waiting for the crashing waves and thunderstorms to roll in. And Mark Burgess' voice...weaving, crying in and out of Reg Smithies and Dave Fielding's chiming guitars will send chills down your spine. Fools compare them to U2 or maybe Echo (both great bands), but for those who know the Chameleons, they understand that this is like comparing 3-dimensions to one. BUY this record...it is perhaps the greatest album ever recorded.

Strange Times is a classic. End of story. Why do British bands always burn out at their peak? If anyone was listening in the 80's (and apparently U2 was) they would have realized that this band was going into previously uncharted territory. Often categorized as Gothic, New Wave, etc. Chameleons broke several boundaries and really, in my mind refuse classification other than that they are a band deserving of their legendary status. Strange Times is the swan song of the 80's. Listen to this album and the others and you'll realize just how influential these guys were without getting much credit. They created the reverb, ethereal guitar sound emulated by such greats as The Chrurch, U2, The Fixx and in many ways the Police. The ghosts of Chameleons even haunt some eighties releases by Rush and David + David. Where'd you think tha guitar sound came from on "Welcome to the Boomtown". Listen to Script of the Bridge. Listen to the Chameleons and pay your homage! Where as Script of the Bridge was the White Album of the 80's, Strange Times was the Let it Be. At time incredibly powerful and delicately eerie. The lyrical content is simply amazing as it walks the fine line through British surrealism and wrenching emotional confusion. Thanks for the timeless music guys!

A CD that did not capture me on first listen, sat for years on the shelf and almost traded away before the reprieve. Great music often takes more than a single listen to comprehend, and I'm humble enough to admit that I misjudged my first impression of this band. But all is forgiven now--it has kept an honored spot in the collection for 10 years now. The atmospheric guitars are like sheets of ice. The bass and drums pound it all home. "Swamp Thing" even at mid-volume can make pictures fall off their hooks on your walls. It is a song you experience as much as hear.

It's always hard trying to figure out which Chameleons album is their finest, since the band seemed incapable of writing a ho-hum, or even merely good, tune. I guess this will do, even though it will appear uneven at first (since all of the epics are on the first half) until you realize the charms of the shorter stuff towards the end such as "Seriocity", "In Answer" and "Childhood". The trio of stunners "Caution", "Soul in Isolation" and "Swamp Thing" is quite possibly the most brilliant guitar-rock triptych ever. Possessing unfathomable complexity, ridiculously depth, and grabbing melody, they're just one jaw-dropping riff after another flowing together flawlessly. Mark Burgess' one-of-a-kind voice is an acquired taste but his lyrics transcend the typical melancholic introversion quite often and this is possibly the most passionate singing ever on a studio recording. This is the kind of record you'll be playing ten years from now. P.S. Amazing as it seems, the Chams have reformed and are playing a few shows in Manchester in May, 2000!

This band was one of those rare gems that never got the attention of the masses. Probably because instead of making great pop songs that sounded good on the radio, they made great music that one had to go beyond the radio playlist to discover. This album, Strange Times, captures The Chameleons when they were at their zenith. For those of you who feel lonely or isolated, you'll swear this album was made especially for you.

Strange Times is one of those records I always go to in times of crisis. What some reviewers call pompous delivery by vocalist Mark Burgess I call honesty. The Chameleons bare their souls on this incredible record. The album goes through some great emotional highs "In Answer", "Childhood", and lows, "Tears".

Having bought the LP after hearing the amazing "Swamp Thing" I have since bought the cd. The LP contains one track more than the extended CD which remains one of my favorites: "Ever After". Enscripted on the inner circle of the record during pressing is the advice: "Follow No One-Lead Yourself." The Chameleons were truly one of a kind and this is one of their best.

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.]

I don't know why Strange Times gets a "not quite as good as" Script of the Bridge review by most fans. It is in it's own right a great album. The great thing about the Chameleons is that they really do have a timeless sound. They are by far my favorite band of the 80's and while most of my old punk records sit around collecting dust a Chameleons CD always seems to find it's way into my CD player. Like every album you have had for years and over played you take breaks but the Chameleons always make it back into my favorite pile while other bands are quickly forgotten. Mad Jack, Caution, Tears, and their version of John I'm Only Dancing are my favorite tracks from this album while Swamp Thing is one of my all time favorite Chameleons songs for it's subtle layers of sound, fluid changes, and reflective lyrics. Souls in Isolation could be one of their most haunting/depressing tracks of all time. But the album is as solid and satisfying to the listener as any of their other works.

If there was a should have been year in the Chameleons UK history, 1986 would clearly be it when this album was first released. Strange Times demonstrates that on every track, practically in every note!
I would like to state that if you purchase this on CD Now, then it is a bargain indeed. I had purchased this a few years ago & paid a lot more. I had to place this on special order, years before the internet. I can't even tell you how many times I have played this outstanding, superb album. It is sad that Chameleons UK does not get the credit that they clearly deserve.
Every release that they came out with is first class. However,
if I had to make a choice on the Chameleons UK best release to date, then it would be Strange Times.
Strange Times is not for your average listener. If you are looking for fluff, then you come to the wrong place.
This is for the consumer who appreciates music with class & substance. From start to finish, there is not one bad song.
The tracks flows through one right after the other. Even the bonus tracks are worth listening to.
I rate this album one of my personal favorites of all time.
Please buy this now & you will see for yourself.

I bought this album a number of years ago on Import [].

To think some lucky bastard will get it for less than []!

I bought it because they were from Manchester and they were frequently mentioned alongside great bands of the time like Joy Division, Echo, The Smiths and even U2.

This album for me is the sound of my suburban adolescence as much as Joy Division, Descendents' "Milo Goes To College" or Smashing Pumpkins' "Siamese Dream."

This was one of the greatest post punk bands coming back for a third album in 1986, I believe, and they filled the thing to the brim with atmospheric guitar songs about childhood, and any number of universal every day ruminations. Some people think they tried too hard to be profound, but that sentiment is really a relic of the time it came out with many similar groups around- I had the fortune to hear it removed from it's original time and place, in the late 90s when really no band sounded like this. And I found it truly moving, and I don't say that too easily, believe it or not. This is a very unique and special album.

Swamp Thing is a highlight, yes, so is the great post-punk pop/rock of Mad Jack, the sing-a-long Childhood, Tears, Soul In Isolation, Seriocity, In Answer...I better stop, I'll end up naming every track.

For my money, this is pretty much the best the Chameleons ever got. That may be because I prefer the sentimental, poignant aspects of the music most.

If you've got everything by The Smiths, if you like post-punk music, atmospheric, guitar song oriented music of the 80s...whatever...BUY THIS ALBUM.