Customer Reviews

Then Again-a Retrospective

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

 

 

After hearing Toyah's cover of "Echo Beach" I became interested in finding out more about the Canadian band Martha & the Muffins. I was not dissappointed one bit. This album contain 18 songs all distinct and largely experimental. I've never heard a band quiet like the Muffins. Many of the songs touch on several genres. The erie sound of "Swimming" and the layering of the chorus is awesome. The chorus and melodic guitar of "World Without Borders" is dreamy. "Danseparc" is very stylish and catchy. "Several Styles of Blondie Girls Dancing" is one of the most odd songs, but one of the most brillant. But "Song In My Head" is my personal favorite. I can't seem to get this highly danceable song out of my head. The strenght of these songs is reason enough for me to rate this album five stars. Martha & the Muffins seems to be another one of those brillant bands that tragicly receives little attention from the media.

Often dismissed as one hit wonders in the UK, Martha and the Muffins made about seven great albums and are still around today. A brilliant compilation from a talent that is still fresh and original after 20 years as the new track (Resurrection) shows. The only criticism which stops me giving this collection five stars is the strange inclusion of a clunker like 'Suburban Dream' at the expense of the infinitely better 'Was Ezo'. Now what does it take to get a record company to release their back-catalogue?

I purchased my first M&M album (yup, vinyl) years ago out of a discount bin just because it looked interesting. This is music which defies labels and generalizations. The lyrics are whimsical and complex ("cynosures hiding in the air"). This isn't top-40 fluff, it's engaging and fun and challenging, all at the same time. Take a chance and try it.

I've been looking for a good compilation album of Martha and the Muffins. This would be the ideal compilation if it had included Was Ezo, Indecision, Walking into Walls, Sins of Children and What People do for Fun. Maybe those titles can lead off Retrospective II? Hope so!

If you are a fan, you will love it. If you are not a fan, you don't know what you are missing!

A great new band that I just recently ran into, which I'm pretty happy about. This is a poppy new wave group that alternates between rock leanings, funk, Eno-influenced production, and dance. All of this coated over with a great sense of melody and songwriting. The first 10 of the 18 wonderful tracks, which pull tracks from their first 4 albums, are by far the best, taking four tracks from their best album in my opinion "Danseparc". Fans of new wave should take notice of this group, this is an interesting musical footnote on the genre and should please anyone interested in it. ...

One of the greatest bands in Canadian music history. All hits, past to present. There are some great hits missing though. As other reviewers hope, maybe they'll appear on Retrospective II (This is the Ice Age, Sins of Children, Boy Without Filters, One Day in Paris, ALIBI ROOM). Or better yet , maybe they'll re-release all their albums. Check out "Modern Lullaby" and "Far Away in Time" by the same artists.

I bought this compilation (read my other reviews for my many lengthy and annoying diatribes against "Best Of" and "Greatest Hits" packages) only because I wanted to get a CD copy of Martha & The Muffins best album, THIS IS THE ICE AGE, and it is sadly out of print.

Like way too many compilations you have to wade through an unruly amount of mediocre filler to get to the good stuff. For my money "Echo Beach" and the few tunes pulled from THIS IS THE ICE AGE are far and away the best stuff on this CD; there are at least three other tunes from THIS IS THE ICE AGE that should have been included.

Oddly enough I've always thought the bands best tune was "Swimming," which is sung not by Martha Johnson, but by Mark Gane (doing his best Brian Eno imitation vocal & guitar, by the way). I used to play this song over and over and over on my then-girlfriend's car cassette player on the way to clubs in DC back when this record--and the world in general--was new.

When Martha & The Muffins dip into social commentary--i.e., "Women Around The World At Work" and "Black Stations/White Stations"--I lose interest real fast. But when they shed their white-bread art college pretentions and play some of their quirkier stuff--"You Sold The Cottage," "Swimming," "Echo Beach," "Cooling The Medium"--they are fun in that 1980's 'we're such serious fun' kind of way.

Release THIS IS THE ICE AGE!!!