Urban Verbs

Urban Verbs | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 14, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Wounded Bird Records
• ASIN: B0000CNY4Q
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #452,202 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Urban Verbs was a new wave rock group in the vain of Talking Heads. Their lead singer was Roddy Frantz, brother of Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz. They recorded two albums in the 1980's. This self-titled 1980 debut album is now making its worldwide CD debut. Wounded Bird. 2003.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stuck in My Head!, October 15, 2004

By 

P. Miller "crestview306" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Urban Verbs (Audio CD)

It's been 20+ years since I listened to this album and still, every so often, one of these songs will spontaneously enter my head and stay all day. This is truly one of the best and most
influential song collections of the '80s. The UVs certainly never got the attention they so well deserved. I too could listen to this collection over and over for the rest of my life and never get tired of it. It's completely excellent.
-PJ

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So Damn Good, October 31, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Urban Verbs (Audio CD)

I can't stop listening to this CD. Somebody help me! This CD remains intense, complex, and it still rocks -- even after 20 years. It's too bad this band never got the attention it deserved, when they were together. This band was "alternative" before anyone knew what "alternative" really was. Brian Eno saw them in concert early on, and demanded to record them. Pretty cool.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Next Question- When Will You Get This Classic CD?, August 3, 2006

By 

Jay Murphy "Jay Thing" (Landover Hills, Maryland United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Urban Verbs (Audio CD)

Back when I was a new wave punk my brother and I used to go see the Urban Verbs perform in a little dive in Washington D.C. called the Atlantis that was later renamed the 9:30 Club which is still around though in a different physical space. We'd see them every chance we got because the Verbs always put on a great show and this CD manages to capture most of their magic. I loved the Talking Heads and found out that Verbs vocalist Roddy Frantz was the brother of Heads drummer Chris. There's definitely a hint of David Byrne's quirky delivery in Roddy's wonderfully dramatic singing but at the same time Roddy does have a unique voice and he had a truly unforgettable stage presence. It would have been interesting to hear what producer/ambient god/music theorist Brian Eno did with the Verbs' sound but it's nicely produced just the same. Roddy frequently saw me in the small audience and at one point asked if I'd be interested in funding the recording of their album but I was just a lowly (and frequently broke) bank teller at the time. To this day I don't why he asked me this but I assume he was drawn to my strange appearance (see my profile page)...

My choice tracks on this CD are the frantic "Subways", the theatrical "Next Question", the energetic and humourous "Ring-Ring (My Telephone's Talking)", the slyly romantic "Only One of You", the moody and atmospheric "Tina Grey" and the wickedly satiric ode to L.A.,"Good Life". You owe it to yourself to check out this very cool artifact of the 80's.