Electric Dreams: '80s Synth Pop Classics [IMPORT]

Various Artists - Dance & DJ - Club/Dance Pop

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 27, 2004)
• Original Release Date: April 22, 2002
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Import
• Label: EMI Int'l
• ASIN: B000065V6J
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #501,858 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
UK compilation of 80s synth pop classics. 38 tracks, Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder 'Together In Electric Dreams', The Human League 'Don't You Want Me', Eurythmics 'Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)', Kraftwerk 'The Model', Soft Cell 'Say Hello, Wave Goodbye', Tubeway Army 'Are Friends' Electric', David Bowie 'Fashion', Thomas Dolby 'Hyperactive!', Belouis Some 'Imagination', Talk Talk 'Talk Talk', Landscape 'Einstein A Go-Go', Visage 'Fade To Grey', A Flock Of Seagulls 'Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You)', Furniture 'Brilliant Mind', John Foxx 'Underpass', The Human League 'Being Boiled', Tears For Fears 'Mad World', Ultravox 'Vienna', Japan 'Ghosts', New Order 'Blue Monday' (Original 12 Inch Version), The Cure 'The Walk', Spandau Ballet 'To Cut A Long Story Short', Yazoo 'Don't Go', Freeez 'I.O.U.', Heaven 17 '(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang', Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark 'Enola

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Showcase of an era, November 14, 2003

By	Pieter "Toypom" (Johannesburg) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

This is probably one of the best compilations of late 70s and 80s synth hits. It doesn't tell the whole story of synth pop though, as obscure artists like The Normal and Klaus Nomi are omitted. Besides this minor gripe, it does offer a brilliant overview of the synth sound of the late 1970s and of the 1980s with all the major artists and most of the classic hits represented.

Disc One contains The Human League's gloomy early track Being Boiled plus their later devastating pop hit Don't You Want Me, Tubeway Army's seminal 1978 hit Are Friends Electric, David Bowie's funky Fashion, Thomas Dolby's quirky Hyperactive, Soft Cell's decadent Say Hello Wave Goodbye and the pioneering Kraftwerk's hypnotic The Model. One serious omission is Eurythmics' unsurpassable Love Is A Stranger, a beautiful eerie song that represented the very best of synthpop for me.

On Disc Two, my favourites include the cinematic and gripping I Travel by Simple Minds, the anthemic Electricity by OMD (but where is Joan Of Arc?), Paul Hardcastle's ominous 19 from a much later era, the brooding Don't Go by Yazoo which is another stunning mix of melody and moody vocals and The Walk by The Cure, although they aren't really considered a synth band. Neither were Phil Lynott or Frankie Goes To Hollywood considered synth artists, but their respective contributions are welcome anyway.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Total Gem, February 1, 2004

By	Theodore Richardson "chair builder" (Providence, RI United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Totally rad cd. If you like joy division, depeche mode, and early synth pop this cd compilation is a great intro to more obscure acts of the era.