Customer Reviews

Underworld

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

 

 

Although their self titled cd,"Divinyls" was their best selling album,thanks to "I touch Myself,"the Divinyls had legal problems with Virgin records,and didn't record for years. Finally,in 1996,Divinyls released "Underworld", in Australia. This collection is compelling,due to it's dazzling volcals,by Christina Amphlette,and less polished than their self titled album. It also offers sme of their strongest material,including "I'm jelous", 'Open windows",and especially,"Human on the inside".It is very unfortunate this collection was not released in the United States,as both AOL rock stations,and Alternative formats would have had huge hits with this cd. It is highly recommended

What can I say about this, or any other DiVinyls album, that'll possibly do it justice? They're probably my favorite recording group of all time, and like all their albums, "Underworld" is an absolute must-have.

Here in North America, DiVinyls seem to be known almost exclusively for their 1991 self-titled album and the "I Touch Myself" single, which is a shame, because as awesome as that song and that album are, they're only part of an outstanding repertoire of music. Knowing a band like this for one song only - no matter how good that song - is an appalling injustice, akin to recognizing a rainbow for one colour only.

On the CD itself, there are again zero weak tracks, the DiVinyls being one of the few bands to have never delivered even a single let-down. To point out a few of the many high points - "Hard On Me", the opening track, is the musical quintessence of 'erotic'. Not the somber, never-smile 'erotic' that seems to be the only variety professional critics on this continent find resectable, but the delightful, blazing, cuddly, 'squeal-and-hoot' version of erotic that's high in giggle factor and affection and mock-seriosness and real-seriousness and whimsey all at the same time. And a prime example of how nobody in the world double-plays on words quite like Christina Amphlett. Required material for newlyweds to take along on the honeymoon.

"I'm Jealous" originally appeared on the "Melrose Place" soundtrack a couple of years prior to "Underworld"'s release. I got it as soon as I could track it down despite having never seen the show, and it was easily worth the price of a full-length CD all by itself. Now available on a full DiVinyls album as it should be; the song is excellent, somewhat reminiscent of the haunting and moving "Dear Diary" from their "What A Life" album. Very sad, but DiVinyls has the ability to do songs that are sad but not depressing. And only Chrissie would put in a line like the one following "I'm liable to do anything..." on a serious song such as this. What a quirky girl...

"Come Down To Earth" is one of the DiVinyls's best acoustic songs, lyrically haunting and beautiful; perfect musicianship.

"Save Me" - ...oh my goodness, even without global warming, this one could melt the ice caps all by itself...

"For A Good Time" has some of the best instrumental work on a DiVinyls album, including a higher profile for bass than usual, and husky vocal lines that could make you forget to breathe.

"Heart Of Steel" is kind of different from all the others. Has an Almost mainstream feel, which for once isn't a bad thing because this song is wonderful. Could have been an absolutely HUGE radio hit if given a tenth of a chance (like so many other unheralded songs out there, while the radio plays the same five songs over and over and over again...)

And that's just some of the songs. Then there's the overall flow of the album - starting off happy and hot, touches of melancholy and even cynicism creep in (the latter uncharacteristic for a DiVinyls ablbum), the cynicism quickly giving way to more touches of melancholy and songs of loneliness (i.e. the first-rate "Open Windows"), still charged with brightness frequently though. The melancholy and cynicism later crumble before a tide of optimism and determination (title track 'Underworld' and "Sorry' for example), still occasionally punctuated by recurring wary songs ("Heart Of Steel") before ending the disc on a double-dose of brilliantly positive songs in "Save Me" and "Black Magic", and a spirit of victory. Sort of a concept album not of events but of emotions, if one chooses to look at it that way. Of course, the songs still are perfect as Stand-Alone pieces. If all this isn't enough, Christina's liner note pics are worth way more than the price of the CD to me!

Superb.

I can see why Virgin (and any other label Divinyls may have taken this
CD to)chose not to release "Underworld" here in the
States:Coming off their most successful release ever, 1991's polished,
hugely popular "Divinyls", "Underworld", on first
listen, has a rough, uneven sound to it. Most record execs were
probably scratching their heads, wondering why a band that had finally
made it was messing with a hit formula. However, if you give
"Underworld" a chance - and three or four listens! - a
number of it's charms will rise to the surface. But before we get to
those charms let's discuss what I don't like about
"Underworld." First, and foremost, there's the
production....there's a raw, unfinished, demo quality to it, almost
like the band was trying to recapture their punk roots. Unfortunately,
rather than assimilating that sound into who they are now, yet showing
they hadn't lost touch of their grittier shadings after the glossier
"Divinyls", they just sort of come across as,
well,....poseurs. A lot of the blame can be placed on co-producer
Charley Drayton. While Drayton is a phenomenal drummer - he was
absolutely captivating during the shows to promote
"Divinyls" - he's no producer. There's a been-there,
done-that quality to his work, a tentative sameness that has you
thinking "Yeah, that's cool.....but what if they had done
THIS"? You also get the feeling that, along with trying to
recapture their punk roots, Drayton wasn't a strong enough producer to
stand up to Christina Amphlett and Mark McEntee, unable to say
"This is the way it should be." Then there's the problem of
weak songs. "I'm Jealous" was the single throughout the
world.While it met with varying degrees of success in a number of
countries, I could see record execs in the U.S. frowning and thinking
"Huh"? There's a schizo, all-over-the-place, power pop
ballad quality to it that left me cold. Also less than thrilling is
the sense that a lot of these songs aren't.....done. They seem like
demos that could have used a few more month's tinkering. A prime
example is "Human On the Inside", a nice enough song but one
that pales when compared to the cover version the Pretenders did two
years ago, the retitled "Human" off their "!Viva El
Amor!" CD. Chrissie Hynde and the boys brought a fullness, a
warmth, a yearning to their version that's just missing from the
Divinyl's. I could have also done without the two instrumental tracks
on the album, "Underworld" and "Spook";they're
cloying and a waste of time and space. That said, what DO I like
about "Underworld"? Well, there are a number of GREAT songs,
starting with the opening track "Hard On Me", which is a
pure piece of rock candy. Given half a chance this song could have
been a huge hit single. I also love "Sex Will Keep Us
Together", a Stones-like burner that is sort of a follow-up to
"I Touch Myself" minus the coyness and cuteness. Hot and
nasty, there's no doubt what this song is about. Another sexy, solid
rocker is "For A Good Time", with it's great guitar and
drums mix and sultry vocals. Rounding out my Top 5 faves are
... "Save Me", a track you just know would be great live,
and the lovely, haunting "Heart Of Steel", which features
one of Christina Amphlett's best vocals ever. Amphlett's vocals, in
fact, are strong throughout the CD. It's a shame that it's been almost
a decade since they've been heard here in the States; hopefully
someone (at a U.S. label) will soon realize that their uniqueness is
greatly missed. That said, pick up "Underworld"....it's not
a great album but it's certainly a good, albeit uneven, one.

Released initially in Australia only by BMG. Here we find the Divinyls playing a less polished brand of music that found them success on their last outing, their self titled International Hit album.

The song "Im Jealous" had been around for a couple of years used in Melrose Place and is an emotionally charged ballad only Chrissy and Mark could pull off. A powerful song indeed. It hit #14 on the Australian singles chart.

Several darker acoustic ballads signal the difference between this album and its predecessor, both being a departure from the new wave, energetic rocking earlier albums, The Monkey Grip EP, Desperate, What A Life and Tempermental.

There are two instrumental links on this album which stretches it to 14 songs. Half of the songs are run off the mill Divinyls which does make the album a little uneven, but by no means dampens its strength and power.

Mark's guitar gives alot of edge to the songs as usual, especially on "Im Jealous". Chrissy's voice is both sexy, vulnerable and husky, alot mellower than her wailing banshee vocalisations of the mid 80's.

The stronger tracks include, "Human On The Inside" which is a catchy mid tempo rock song anchored by a great bassline and some great lyrics. "Come Down To Earth" is a moody and poignant acoustic piece and downright raunchy with "Sex Will Keep Us Together".

Unpolished mid tempo rock with some good guitar licks, a few darker acoustic ballads make for a good collection. If you are a new fan, make this a later purchase

This cd is a hard to find import by the great Australian band The Divinyls, same band that brought us "Boys in town" and "Only lonely" in the early 80's. Christina sounds better than ever in songs like: Heart of Steel, I'm Jealous and Save me. I also recommend Essential Divinyls,which includes all of their best songs...2 great CDS to own!

A MASTERPIECE ON PAR WITH REMBRANDT'S NIGHTWATCH-and I am NOT kidding

Why this album wasn't a huge success in the USA is well beyond me. Undoubtedly one of the best if not the best ablum by this band.

If I had not found it on amazon I would have never known that it existed at all (thanks to the Big A for that).

If you enjoy this band, you will delight in this album.

Although I didn't find this as compelling a recording as Desperate, I'm still glad to have the disc to give the rest of the Divinyls output additional context. Like the band, like the merchant. Great service. Would buy again from this merchant without hesitation.

If you are a Divinyls fan you will really enjoy this album. Three of My favorite Divinyls songs, Human on the Inside, Heart of Steel, and Hard on Me, are on this album. Too bad they didn't get more exposure in the USA, they would have been a hit bigger hit.