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| Alphaville - The Singles Collection Band: Alphaville Tracks: - Forever Young (Special Extended Mix) - Red Rose (Single Version) - Big In Japan (Single Version) - Dance With Me (Long Version) - Forever Young (Album Version) - Red Rose (12' Version) - Big In Japan (Remix '88) - Dance With Me (Album Version) Songs familiar, but the band? I'll admit, I ventured upon this album by following the music in my head - that is, "Forever Young." I'd honestly never heard of its performer. Alphaville The Band seems to have been lost in obscurity somewhere along the way, but the title song (both versions) is splendid. If you enjoy "waxing nostalgic" about the '80s and its synth-pop soundscapes, Alphaville's idealistic, emotional lyrics and synth rhythms will fulfill your urge. This is an incredible album. I especially like its organi(s)ation. It goes 1 through 4 with the four hit singles, then 1 through 4 again with their remixes, and the order remains the same. "Forever Young" will top my list, but all the songs are equally good in their own diverse way. The synth beat and backgrounds of "Dance With Me" (long version) are classic '80s dancefloor evocations. "Big In Japan" conjures a time when pop rock was commencing its Spread across borders, the era of bands and international fame. "Red Rose" can be annoying in its intensity and tenacity, but it too is a richly layered, emotional synth-hit worthy of "classic '80s" status, like the other three songs. It will grow on you, too. Brilliant group, not so good filler album for the US market¿ This "album" was a US only compilation release for the US market as evidenced by the liner notes. This is an obvious but wasted attempt by Atlantic Records to get some exposure for this very under-rated German synth band. Alphaville had released two album by this point, the classic that was Forever Young and it's brilliant follow-up Afternoons In Utopia. This compilation doesn't do either albums Justice but does bring together on disc some tracks that would probably not have made to the CD format. The Special Extended Mix of Forever Young takes a good 80's synth ballad and turns into a 6 minute dance song that is even better. Red Rose and Big In Japan were remixed in 1988 for some reason and both single versions are included here as well as the 88 remix of Big In Japan. This album also contains the original 12" mixes of Red Rose and Dance With Me. I loved every one of these tracks and as a big Alphaville fan I have no qualms in purchasing this CD. 8 tracks, 4 songs - 2 from each album. Why? The tracks are not bad by any means, but this compilation could have been so much better - check out First Harvest as the definitive Alphaville singles collection so far released 4 years after this in 1992. This CD would have been better being classified as an EP and was a wasted opportunity in promoting Alphaville to a wider audience. Yep. We're getting old. Alphaville is now a 'classic.' How can you tell that Gen X is starting to age? We're waxing nostalgic about the music we grew up to in the 1980s... and that we're buying anthology CDs of the same! At any rate, this particular album contains eight tracks that are worth waxing nostalgic over. Both versions of 'Forever Young' are tracks that we can relate to on both sides of the Atlantic, and we probably all have slightly dimmer memories of the very cool song 'Big in Japan.'and this particular collection captures the heyday of the 12" single and the 'remix' by putting both versions of the tunes in one location. It's a worthy addition to any collection of 80s music. (It's also something that young whipper-snappers looking for some *quality* dance music might want to check out. Hip-hop? Bah! We had *real* dance music when *I* was young! :) ) By the way, the 'Singles Collection' only gets Four Stars because I hated 'Red Rose' the first time around. Age hasn't made it any better. (The 12" mix version on this CD sits a bit better with me, though.) Buy Alphaville The Singles Collection at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.comJamster - the latest ringtones for your phone! |
