The Good: Fun, Classic 1980s music, Different Songs From Many Collections, Some Musical Originality
The Bad: Some silly lyrics
The Basics: With catchy songs from the 1980s, Millennium ‘80’s New Wave Party is good for retro feeling or those wanting to learn about the New Wave, but not ideal for people who aren't fans.
Compilation discs are difficult to write reviews for because there's nothing really new there. I mean, if you have a disc that is the Best of the 1980s, it is not like you can write about how audacious the music is. I think the best service a reviewer of a compilation disc can provide is to evaluate the mix of songs and the tenor of the disc, as opposed to simply reciting its track listing.
Rhino has assembled twenty songs it believes to be some of the best of the New Wave songs from the 1980's and it's hard to disagree when one listens to the disc, entitled Millennium ‘80’s New Wave Party. The synthesizer-heavy tracks are very fun to listen to if you lived through the strange absurd period in music that was the New Wave. There are some great songs on this album, classics like Devo's "Whip It" and "The Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats and some songs I had never heard, like the album's opener, "Rock Lobster," by the B-52s.
The nice thing about this album is that it moves along real well and it has a great sense of retro fun to it. So, while I never heard "Valley Girl" in the '80s, I recalled every stupid comedy I saw in the 80s upon hearing it, not to mention all of the people I grew up with. Good times. The songs move from one to another very well and there is a good sense that whoever put the songs together knew what they were doing. So, for example, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of There)," leads quite naturally into "I Ran (So Far Away)" (By A Flock of Seagulls, the band, for those too young to remember them). The tracks run together nicely almost like a classic '80s station.
I purchased this album because I have a quirky friend who enjoys weird '80s music and had none. She was looking for a disc that had "Whip It," "Take On Me," and "The Safety Dance" all in one place. This album was the only one that met those criteria. The nice thing is that it had other songs that were equally enjoyable, like "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of These)" and the MTV classic "Mickey" (by Toni Basil).
There is little to complain about with this ensemble. The sounds of New Wave are pretty inbred, focusing on noticeable snare drums, synthesizers, guitars mostly relegated to support (save on such tracks as "Cars," by Gary Numan), with vocals that usually tell a strange, esoteric story or feeling. So, for example "Our House," (by Madness) sings about the goings on in a family in the suburbs set to hypnotic synthesizers.
I suspect this album will be enjoyed by those who were growing up in the '80s and liked what was on the radio. Those of us who grew up in the early days of MTV and enjoyed such campy tunes as videos like "She Blinded Me With Science" will get a kick out of the reminiscence. The only tracks younger people might enjoy would be "Rock This Town" for its association with the now-popular Brian Setzer and "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)" because Annie Lennox is timeless and her Eurythmics stuff is still very cool.
This is a fun collection with much to offer those who enjoyed the '80s and it is a good mix of the unique sound that was birthed in the dying days of disco. The liner notes are very well written and often funny, completing the appeal of this package. The best track is "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" and the worst is "Come On Eileen" (which I dislike mostly because I think it remains vastly overplayed).
For other compilation albums, please be sure to visit my reviews of:
The Very Best Of Burt Bacharach
If I Had A Song: The Music Of Pete Seeger
Watchmen Soundtrack
8/10
For other music reviews, please check out my index page by clicking here!
© 2012, 2004 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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