COMPILATION REVIEWS: Human League , Sugarcubes , Cravin' Melon
- Bob Gajarsky
When I heard that a greatest hits album had been slated for the Human League, my initial reaction was positive; finally, there'd be an addendum to the 1988 release of their hits. Perhaps this one would include the Giorgio Moroder / Philip Oakey collaboration "Together In Electric Dreams" which was included on the 1988 UK release, but inexplicably omitted from the stateside version. Hopefully, their later hits ("Heart Like A Wheel", "Tell Me When" and, maybe even the 1996 pseudo-techno remix of "Don't You Want Me" - which doesn't fare well when compared to the original synthpop version but does work if thought of in a separate context - would see the collection.
Amazingly, all of these things came to pass. The Very Best Of The Human League (Ark 21), 1998 version, affords today's listeners a glimpse into the American success of one of the pioneers of 80s synthpop, from the original "Don't You Want Me" to its techno remix, and nearly all of the group's American hits.
In addition to the thirteen songs comprising this collection, a nearly 10 minute chat with the band about their origins (based around a Kraftwerk record and Donna Summer track), the formation of Heaven 17 from the implosion of the League and their breaking in the states is of curious interest to the loyalists.
Since the Human League achieved much of its success outside of America, worldwide fans may want to seek out more comprehensive collections. But for American completists, synthpop fans who didn't purchase the 'hits' album the first time around, or those longing for a CD version of the Electric Dreams title cut, this collection is for you.
TRACK LISTING: Don't You Want Me (Original and Snap Remix), Love Action (I Believe In Love), Mirror Man, (Keep Feeling) Fascination, Tell Me When, Stay With Me Tonight, Human, Together In Electric Dreams, Heart Like A Wheel, One Man In My Heart, Being Boiled, The Lebanon
For three albums, the Sugarcubes delicately walked the line between innovative music and accessible music, always challenging the status quo with cutting-edge music from a country (Iceland) whose music already seemed too far removed from the mainstream. Somehow, the Sugarcubes - and eventually with her solo career, Cubes' lead singer Bjork Gudmundsdottir - made the mainstream move a little closer to them.
The Great Crossover Potential (Elektra) (the album's title emanates from an industry executive commenting that by modifying their sound slightly, they could have great crossover potential - something the band ignored) neatly wraps up their brief but bright career. Their three albums - the groundbreaking Life's Too Good, Here Today Tomorrow Next Week and their finale Stick Around For Joy are all adequately represented by their key tracks and singles.
"Birthday", with its "Walk On The Wild Side"-like guitar riff;' the Motown-meets-the Cure done up with a twist on "Vitamin", the hooks no-one else discovered, before or since, on "Cold Sweat" and "Motorcrash", and Einar Orn's just plain strange repetitive lines (squeaky clean on "Deus" and screaming out "I really don't like lobster!" on the smash "Regina") mixed with the deliberate off-key notes and wrong-chord changes all somehow make perfect sense combined with Bjork's vocals. Bjork's foray into the world of trip-hop predates what was musically acceptable, but there's even a bit of scratching on the modern rock #1, appropriately-titled "Hit".
Always ahead of their time, the Sugarcubes' The Great Crossover Potential presents an opportunity to look in hindsight at the music that was too weird to get played 10 years ago - even on the same modern-rock stations that today welcome Bjork with open arms.
TRACK LISTING: Birthday, Cold Sweat, Mama, Motor Crash, Deus, Regina, Pump, Planet, Water, Hit, Vitamin, Walkabout, Gold, Chihuahua
The pride of South Carolina, Cravin' Melon have followed up their debut album (_Red Clay Harvest) with a live seven song E.P., Squeeze Me.
Nearing their fifth year as a unit, Cravin' Melon has slowly started to receive nationwide recognition which had previously only been focused from their Southern base.
Recorded at the House of Blues in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Squeeze Me incorporates five previously-unreleased songs on disc, along with their first Mercury single, "Come Undone" and the breakthrough anthematic ode to that uniquely-Southern drink, "Sweet Tea".
The live tracks come through with the same enthusiasm which is present at a Melon concert, and "Ex-Stepmother", a bouncy, upbeat rocker, about (of course) an ex-stepmother who's gay, is done in such a fun way, it could erode some of the pre-existing biases towards Southern acceptances of alternative lifestyles. The Hoyt Axton cover of "Never Been To Spain" isn't much different than other versions of that classic, but the remainder of the tracks - including "Camelot" - are a pleasant treat to the group's loyal fans.
Recommended for fans of the 90s version of Southern rock.
TRACK LISTING: Come Undone, Running, Ex-Stepmother, Land of Oz, Never Been To Spain, Camelot, (hidden track) Sweet Tea
