Telephone Free Landslide victory [Import]

Camper Van Beethoven | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 27, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Cooking Vinyl
• ASIN: B000A2GAAM
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #27,899 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This is a manifesto of a strange sound that didn't last long enough. David Lowery's pre-Cracker days were spent with this semi-punk, semi-ska, violin-driven combo and their debut stunner remains a staple, mainly because of the now-immortal "Take the Skinheads Bowling." But with gems such as "Opi Rides Again" and a wonderful cover of Black Flag's "Wasted," the album begs for numerous listens. --Marc Calhoun

Product Description

In June 1985, Camper Van Beethoven's debut album "Telephone Free Landslide Victory" was released though Independent Project Music/Rough Trade. The album featured the alternative classic "Take The Skinheads Bowling," which was recently featured in Michael Moore's "Bowling for Columbine" as well as a cover of Black Flag’s "Wasted." The re-issue includes the long out of print "Take the Skinhead’s Bowling Ep" and the previously unreleased "Wasting all your Time." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best albums of the 1980's. really., September 11, 2005

By 

Brad Stewart (Wake Co, NC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Telephone Free Landslide Victory (Audio CD)

this is one of my favorite albums of all time, and the vibes are completely amazing. this is definitely one of the best alternative albums ever produced. rather than being a "Simple Plan" or "Staind" (pick your own sorry new band) Camper wasn't just after the money, but had a vision. don't mistake the fun and whimsy of this album for a lightweight record. it's ska/punk/alternative, and done in a better way than ANY of the bands that followed in their footsteps. along with winning, sarcastic lyrics (most notably on "Take the Skinheads Bowling"), this album has some of my favorite all-time ska instumentals, the best (to me anyway) being "Yanqui Go Home". though it seems barely held together, there is also a sense of cohesion to the whole thing. this edition of the album is the best one to buy because it puts back in some long lost instumentals, and two tracks that never appeared anywhere, (Wasting all your Time, and the "Bonus Track" after the fab Abiguity Song).

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Run, don't walk, and get this, January 7, 2005

By 

Jeffrey Yutzler "uke-slar" (Alexandria, VA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Telephone Free Landslide Victory (Audio CD)

This is one of those albums that had me hooked before I even heard the whole thing. It is a beautifully crafted album that flows wonderfully from song to song. It starts off with, yes, a ska song. After that, the songs bounce from style to style, some loud, some soft, some fun, some laugh-out-loud funny like "Where the Hell is Bill?" It is a great album to chill to.

I recommend this to people who are tired of the head-banging of the eighties and the grunge of the nineties and want to hear something different. There is a lot of really good music that was made in that period that stayed under the radar and this is a perfect example. It neatly fills the gap between the Soft Boys and Pavement. I recommend it wholeheartedly and can't wait to check out the rest of the catalog.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just plain fun to listen to, December 30, 2002

By 

D. Belden (St. Paul, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Telephone Free Landslide Victory (Audio CD)

Okay, OBRS is great, II and III is very good and Key Lime Pie is growing on me. But this, Camper's first effort, is still my favorite. It took a little time, though. Like a lot of people probably did, I bought it because I heard Take the Skinheads Bowling and expected to get more of the same. Well, there is no other Camper song like Take the Skinheads Bowling. In fact, there are really no two Camper songs that are alike (although the intro to Key Lime Pie sounds suspiciously like "Devil Song"). So, this one sat in the case for a while before I started giving it a whirl all the way through. Once I did that a few times, something strange started to happen: I found myself really enjoying these strange, folksy, Eastern instrumentals and oddball-yet-not-too-smart-alecky lyrics. Songs like "Wasted," "Club Med Sucks" and "Ambiguity Song" are too bizarre to ever be mainstream, but it doesn't feel forced, and there's always a little bit of commentary in there. It's not just goofball for goofball's sake.

Some people say it's amateurish and poorly produced. So what? Being polished and pristine is not what Camper was about. These are not radio songs, and I don't want them to be. It's just good, unique, fun music full of enough variety and enthusiasm to keep you interested after 1,000 plays. It's one of those albums where you have a new favorite song every month -- Border Ska, Tina, Skinhead Stomp, Payed Vacation: Greece, Where the Hell is Bill, Balalaika Gap, Club Med Sucks, Wasted, and of course Take the Skinheads Bowling, which is still good enough that I'd buy the album for that song all over again.