REVIEW: House of Love, The Best of The House of Love (Mercury)
- Joann D. Ball
The Best of The House of Love is a remarkable 15-track collection chronicling the all-too brief history of The House of Love. Compiled by Housemaster Guy Chadwick and Paul Reidy of Mercury Records, the compilation is a near-perfect overview of the band's brilliant musical output.
The rousing "I Don't Know Why I Love You" is the lead-off track on The Best of The House of Love. And rightfully so, since it was the first single from the band's self-titled Fontana/PolyGram Records debut which was released worldwide in early 1990. Also included here from that first major label effort are the tracks "Beatles and the Stones" and Shine On." While the single mix of "Beatles and the Stones" featured here doesn't have the news/interview snippets and music samples that introduce the album version, the song still stands out as one of Chadwick's most insightful and reflective songs. On the other hand, the upbeat "Shine On" is most illustrative of The House of Love's ability to deliver straight-ahead Britpop.
The House of Love's sophomore effort for Fontana/PolyGram was A Spy in the House of Love, released in late 1990. While not as stellar as its predecessor, it nonetheless had some good songs including "Marble" and "Safe" which are featured here. A whopping five tracks were taken from the band's 1992 follow-up Babe Rainbow, and the most outstanding of these is undoubtedly "You Don't Understand." Featuring a soulful Hammond organ over a pulsing beat, "You Don't Understand" is an all out tour de force which instantly recalls Traffic's "I'm A Man." Also taken from major label Eyes," and "Crush Me" Surprisingly, though, there are no tracks here from The House of Love's fourth and final Fontana/PolyGram release, Audience With The Mind. One can only wonder why Chadwick chose to ignore this record entirely - even the record's outstanding single, the aggressive "Hollow."
As House of Love fans know, the eponymous major label debut is often called "the butterfly" album in reference to its cover artwork and to distinguish it from two earlier records bearing the band's name. The acoustic "Loneliness Is a Gun" included here on The Best of The House of Love appeared on the first self-titled album, which was a German compilation of the band's early singles released on Rough Trade/Creation Records in 1987. The track "Christine" hails from the other self-titled record which was released on Relativity/Creation Records in the US in 1988. And rounding out this collection are the rarities "Destroy the Heart," "Never Written," and "Let's Talk About You."
That the House of Love had tremendous potential as a pop rock band is evident throughout The Best of The House of Love. Appreciated in its native land, the rest of Europe and Japan, England's House of Love was largely ignored in the United States. Thus, it's not surprising that this retrospective was released with little publicity or promotion in America a full month after its August street date in other parts of the world. Nevertheless, this collection serves as a wonderful reminder of that which was The House of Love and a great introduction to one of the most underrated British bands of the past decade. And despite the collapse of The House of Love, leader Guy Chadwick remains dedicated to crafting intelligent music and has formed a new band for that purpose. In what has been a very busy 1998, Chadwick has toured Europe and Japan to support the long-player Lazy, Soft & Slow and a five-song EP called You've Really Got A Hold On Me, both of which can only be found Stateside on import.
