Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
more essential electro, March 14, 2005
This album literally saved my life. It made me realise that in my tiny little corner of Smalltown Redneck Georgia there was more to life than Styx, Journey, Trans Ams with T-Tops, and pretending. And no, this isn't a therapy session, it's an album review, so let's get down to it. I heard the single from AGE OF CONSENT ( "WHY" ) on the college radio station in Athens, Georgia (ANOTHER reason I love Athens) and was immediately hooked. It spoke to me on so many levels. It was dance. It was synthetic. And it was queer. And I mean QUEER. "Contempt in your eyes when I turn to kiss his lips" is the opening line. Amazing. Way ahead of it's time. And for me, a revelation. It made me realise I wasn't the only one out there. More importantly it wasn't camp like the Village People and the like, in that it was in your face and unapologetic, and not hiding behind the "clone" stereotypes. These were three incredibly talented British musicians who just happened to be homosexuals and who weren't afraid to write songs about their experiences. "Smalltown Boy" the next US single, with incredible lyrics and vocals by Jimmy Sommerville, was another song dealing with the process of "coming out", moving on and facing who you really are without looking back with regret. And again the music is just GOOD. Hooks galore. Great production courtesy of Mike Thorne. And "Age Of Consent" is no one trick pony. There are covers of torch songs ( "It Ain't Necessarily So" which is better than you think it would be), social commentary ( in the form of "Junk", which slams our throw-away, "I want it now" society ) and several timeless originals that will take your breath away ( "Screaming", my personal favourite from this album -the first song Sommerville wrote with Bronski Beat - and "Need a Man Blues"). The remastered expanded version here adds the full length version of Bronski Beat's last single with Sommerville, a cover of "I Feel Love", a collaboration with Marc Almond of Soft Cell which comes THISCLOSE to eclipsing the original, no small feat in itself, as well as a moving cover of the French ballad "Puit d'Amour." A great album. ( One last thing, to file in the "strange but true" file, I used to play the 12" version of WHY at 33 1/3 instead of 45 RPM at parties and turned it into a totally different song, a good twenty years before the days of mash-ups and radical remixes .) Actually, one more thing ( please bear with me ) - I met Steve Bronski in Atlanta, Georgia around 1990 after they played a benefit concert and he was a total sweetheart !
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This album will knock your socks off!, October 9, 2002
This is more than a re-issue of Bronski Beat's debut album, because some remixes taken from the Hundreds and Thousands LP and Smalltown Boy is a poignant story about a young man leaving home and parents who can't understand homosexuality, whereas Why? is a HI-NRG rant against discrimination and hatred. Ain't Necessarily So is a brilliant re-working of the Gershwin classic, whereas the other, non-single tracks each have enough oomph in them to be singles. Junk sees Jimi using the lower end of his vocal range, and is comparable to Steinski & Mass Media's I'll Be Right Back (popular at the time). The best version of I Feel Love is of course the one with Marc Almond which is inspired in its incorporation of Donna Summer's Love To Love You Baby and John Leyton's Johnny Remember Me.
It would be easy to pigeonhole the Bronskis as a 'gay group' but there is much more to them than that. The superb musicianship of Steve Bronski and Larry Steinbacheck puts them in a class of their own in terms of 1980s synthesiser music, and the crunchy sounding square-waves still sound fresh nearly twenty years later. The lyrical sophistication and idiosyncratic singing of Jimi Somerville lifts this up above its contemporaries, telling a story that needed to be told and still holds up today. Mike Thorne's production also deserves a mention as he hits the right balance between vocal and instrumental prominence. The remixes are just superb, particularly Why, with its kettledrum solo being one of the best extended versions I have heard. My only regret is that they didn't accept my offer to take over from Jimi when he left!
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hit That Perfect Beat, boys! 6 stars!, May 16, 2003
Straight female with a baby here, 30-something, and a smalltown girl. I got my first dose of Bronski Beat back in the days of the Montreaux Rock Festival (anyone remember?). I immediately bought it (cassette at the time). Jimmy Sommerville's stage presence and booming vocals blew me away. The man gives me goosebumps to this day! This album has, and always will be, one of my favorites. It is timeless. No two songs sound alike. If you like a blend of dance tunes (Why, Junk, I Feel Love), rhythmic, sensual groove tunes (Scream, my personal favorite, Love & Money, Need a Man Blues, Smalltwon Boy), and a few blues/jazz tunes like It Ain't Necessarily So and Heat, then this album is for you. It covers all the bases.....and well! Each song has an addictive and intoxicating hook. I Feel Love is a sure bet for someone new to Bronski Beat. Even conservative people will say "It's got a good beat...." Jimmy Sommerville and Marc Almond are a great pairing. Marcs bass voice compliments Jimmy Sommervilles awesome screaming soprano. They never miss a note. This was the first of many Broski Beat/Communards CD's but this one rises to the top effortlessly. If you only buy one CD by these guys, make this the one. But buy 2, you'll wear one out in the first year.
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