Psychedelic Furs Albums Ranked From Worst to Best
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- Опубликовано: 24 окт 2022
- Now for the Patreon portion of Kramtober. This week we're ranking the 8 studio albums of the Psychedelic Furs.
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The Psychedelic Furs are a post-punk band founded in London in February 1977. Led by singer Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from the British post-punk scene. Their music went through several phases, from an initially austere art rock sound, to later touching on new wave and hard rock.
The band had several hits in their early career. In 1986, filmmaker John Hughes used their song "Pretty in Pink" for his film of the same name. They went on hiatus after they finished touring in 1992, but resumed in 2000 and continue to perform live. The band released Made of Rain, their first studio album in nearly three decades, on 31 July 2020.
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Thanks for watching! Comment below with your thoughts on Psychedelic Furs.
Coming soon on the channel....
Nov. 8 - Stevie Ray Vaughan
Nov. 22 - October Patreon Pick [TBD]
Dec. 6 - 1982 Deep Dive Week
#Psychedelicfurs #albumsranked #worsttobest #prettyinpink
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Criminally underrated band
AGREED.
Got a chance to interview Richard Butler with Love Spit Love. He was a really cool dude.
First echo and now the furs. You guys are doing all my favorite bands.
Would love to see you guys make videos in this series for Bauhaus, The Church, New Order, and Gary Numan
1. MIRROR MOVES , 2. MIDNIGHT TO MIDNIGHT, 3 FOREVER NOW
One of the best videos you’ve done. A band with a great back catalogue where the fanbase is nice and divided!
Love me some Furs.
1) Forever Now-favorite song, Forever Now
2) Psychedelic Furs- Susan’s Strange
3) Talk Talk Talk-It Goes On
4) Mirror Moves- Heaven
5) World Outside-Valentine
6) Book of Days-House
7) Made of Rain-Come All Ye Faithful
8) Midnight to Midnight- All of the Law.
My favorite Furs song is probably All That Money Wants from one of their greatest hits records. Fantastic song.
Talk Talk Talk is the best album. Best blend of their punk/avant garde and pop sensibilities. All of this and Nothing, She is Mine, and No Tears are subtle and fantastic. Production much better than the first album. First four Furs records are great. Richard Butler is one the best frontmen of the era.
Robert Christgau agrees. He gave it an ‘A’.
❤❤❤❤❤❤
Thank you for doing a ranking of the Furs. Great band that is really overlooked in North America. My personal favourite is Book Of Days.
My Psychedelic Furs Album ranking ( Forever Now i hold close to my heart. A favourite album amongst myself and close friends in high school when it came out . So being a sentimental fool, it was never going to not get top spot. But it's also bloody good and stacked with great tunes )
8. Midnight to Midnight 2.5 stars
7. World Outside 2.5 stars
6. Book of Days 3 stars
5. Made of Rain 3.5 stars
4. Mirror Moves 4 stars
3. Psychedelic Furs 4.5 stars
2. Talk Talk Talk 4.5 stars
1. Forever Now 5 stars
Great list, I'm with you.
I find it very satisfying that Talk Talk Talk takes 3rd place on the averaged list. A big step up from where Joe and Jason had it. 🥳
Talk Talk Talk is one for me.
@@vinylrichie007 My #1 as well.
The first album is special - recorded in 1979 - I remember seeing them in London at the time - supporting The Only Ones - The Furs were like nothing else at the time - cross between Bowie and Lydon - with a VU swagger..
I bought Mirror Moves when it came out. It is one of my favorite lps from the 80s. I lived in the Bay Area then and it was all over the radio. Here Come Cowboys just floors me.
I started learning guitar in '85. I told my teacher I like the weird guitar part. He gave me his explanations of the terms atonal and dissonant
🤍 the Furs
5. _Mirror Moves_ (1984)
Key track: "Highwire Days"
4. _The World Outside_ (1991) - 'Furs gone Baggy' - underrated
Key track: "Valentine"
3. _Forever Now_ (1982)
Key track: "Love My Way"
2. _The Psychedelic Furs_ (1980)
Key track: "India"
1. _Talk Talk Talk_ (1981) - essential '80s album
Key track: "All This Or Nothing"
The first album with an epic opener & second with an epic closer. Electronic " borrowed " bits of Love My Way for Getting Away With It.
Strike the word "worst" from the record. They were absolutely unique on every studio outing and the combination of voice, instrumental creativity, and lyrics with thought attached did a magic act to move the listener's soul to the same unique regions of musical pleasure every time. Can't think of any other bands ever, other than The Beatles, early period Stones, original Byrds and REM, who did that for me.
8. World Outside
7. Midnight To Midnight
6. Made Of Rain
5. Book Of Days
4. Psychedelic Furs
3. Talk Talk Talk
2. Mirror Moves
1. Forever Now
A personal favorite from those '80s days when all I heard was, "is that the band that does 'Pretty In Pink?" Why, yes, they do, _and_ ... Good on Joe mentioning the first 3 on the debut album, that's one of the finest "here we are" trifectas ... Love My Way is perfect, possibly one of my top 20 songs ever. ... Didn't hear Made Of Rain until this listography was announced. I was impressed, but I don't think it ranks with their classics. Agreed the lyrics are among their best.
Kramtober was pretty Kramtastic..
More like kramthetic. - Joe
@@TastesLikeMusic lmao Joe is just the funniest!
Hello boys!
Forever Now (1982) - 5 stars (9.7)
The Psychedelic Furs (1980) - 4.5 stars (9)
Talk Talk Talk (1981) - 4 stars (8.2)
Midnight to Midnight (1987) - 4 stars (8)
Made of Rain (2020) - 4 stars (8)
World Outside (1991) - 3.5 stars (7.8)
Mirror Moves (1984) - 3.5 stars (7.7)
Book of Days (1989) - 3 stars (6.5)
Tim was the one who inspired me to learn bass.
I only know the first four and I was really into them when they came out. I am gonna have to check out the 2020 release. Forever Now and Talk Talk Talk were always my two favorite,probably in that order. Interestingly,in college there was always a rivalry between Echo fans and PF fans,and I was firmly in the PF camp at the time,now I prefer Echo and the bunnymen. Interesting that you would have these two bands back to back. Anyway,my ranking for Kramtober is 1.Husker Du 2.Echo and the Bunnymen 3. Psychedelic Furs 4.Cocteau Twins(distant 4th)
The first side of Talk Talk Talk is great, Kramz is most on the mark and Kramz's remarks are spot on. Pretty in Pink is largely based on the “Sweet Jane” riff. "Dumb Waiters" is a gorgeous, saxophone-driven song in which Butler sings with complete sincerity, even if the words themselves aren’t quite as sincere. In addition, Into You Like a Train and Mr. Jones are very good too. "Talk Talk Talk is all about combinations, mixtures of things that aren’t supposed to mix well. Nastiness and emotional honesty, darkness and beauty." I checked it out and the few rankings I found had this as their best record.
They should be in the Rock Hall of Fame. This is the best band this month. They started out punk and softened which was fine. Once the band has all three Butler brothers. Talk Talk Talk is their best album followed by Forever Now but there are so many good songs on other records. I didn't listen to the other albums. Did everyone get my notification that I'm going to work less hard and more efficiently for your pleasure? I know most of their other albums "scattershotingly". Love My Way is my favorite song by them and a great video. Sister Europe is fascinating, Ghost in You is exquisite and Heaven and Heartbreak Beat are good pop songs.
Furs are the best this Kramtober. Kramz is so correct in his review but a little nasty to Mirror Moves (3.5 stars - you seem to give most bands at least that score so "it feels like love but it's nothing at all"). The Furs (4.5) have the best top 10 songs compared to the other 3 bands, by far. Husker Du (4.2) is next in line; Echo is 3.8 (a few great songs and lots of pretty good songs, more than most bands, but nothing much to love in the catalog), Cocteau Twins (1.8). Sorry I missed out on what everyone else likes. Appreciate trailblazers but dislike their sound.
Pretty in Pink riff is more like (well exactly like) Born To Run
@@philiprawlins4302 Nice catch. I think the chords are different but they sound the same.
I only know the first four, and I would rank them 1-4 chronologically. The debut got a lot of dorm and local club spins. Sister Europe, India, We Love You, Imitation Of Christ, hit after hit. Talk Talk Talk a close second. My friends and I would shred our voices trying to sing Into You Like A Train. Those are the ones I go back to the most. The next two are good, solid records that I rarely return to. maybe I'll try some of the later stuff at some point.
Love The Psychedelic Furs ! My Rankings ..# 8 Midnight To Midnight # 7 Made Of Rain 🌧 # 6 World Outside # 5 Book 📖 Of Days # 4 Mirror 🪞 Moves # 3 Forever Now ( Nice Production by Todd Rundgren ) # 2 Talk Talk Talk ( No Sophomore slump .. Great closing track All Of This & Nothing ) # 1 S/T .. An incredible debut jointly Produced by Martin Hannet & Steve Lillywhite. The opening tracks India & Sister Europe were revelatory & set the tone for a special debut. " I'm American ... Ha Ha Ha !! " ✌️
Love the debut love!
I've been a Psych Furs fan since 82. I played many of these songs in a couple different cover bands in the 80s. Forever now introduced me, and I loved it, but I'm with Jason. Mirror Moves!
1-Talk Talk Talk
2-Psychedelic Furs
3-Forever Now
4- Mirror Moves
5-Midnight To Midnight
6-?
7-?
8-?
I only like a handful of songs on Midnight To Midnight. I’m not familiar with the other three but it sounds like I would love a couple of them.
1. Forever Now
2. Talk Talk Talk
3. Mirror Moves
4. Psychedelic Furs
5. Made Of Rain
6. Book Of Days
7. World Outside
8. Midnight To Midnight
I bought the first 4 albums as and when they were released, and they remain the only albums I have heard.
I rate them as follows
1 Talk Talk Talk 5.0 Top 40 album of all time
2 Forever Now 4.5
3 Psychedic Furs 4.0
4. Mirror Moves 3.5
I’m old enough to have acquired the albums as they were released. I think that may affect my ranking, as I viewed them as slowly getting slicker and more commercial after the first two albums, and losing some of what made them special. To me the best Furs sounds like The Velvet Underground, Bowie, Sex Pistols, and Roxy Music thrown into a late ‘70s blender.
We used to cover “President Gas” in my first band. Midnight to Midnight really disappointed me (with the exception of the big single) and I didn’t really get excited again until Made of Rain. Watching your reviews has me thinking I may have to revisit BoD and WO, though.
I saw the most recent line-up perform at Vancouver’s Commodore Ballroom in 2017 (with Robyn Hitchcock in the support slot). The band was astonishingly good. The Butler brothers and Mars Williams commanded the stage from the moment they stepped on it, a truly high caliber show. Richard Butler is an animated and captivating front-man and delivered exactly what the audience wanted - hits, hits, and more hits! I was situated near the stage directly in front of bassist Tim Butler, who spent half the night at the lip of the stage hovering over the dancing crowd, looking us right in the eye and connecting with the audience. A few songs into the set, I noticed a woman standing near the front of the stage right in front of Richard Butler. She knew every word to every song and was having the time of her life. She was as captivated by Butler as any bobby-soxer was ever captivated by Elvis Presley. I’m not kidding, she was in heaven. Richard’s Butler’s ego must have grown three sizes that night - one of my favourite concert memories. All of that set me up to purchase Made of Rain as soon as it was released a few years later, a worthy addition to the catalogue.
1) Talk Talk Talk
2) The Psychedelic Furs
3) Forever Now
4) Mirror Moves
5) Made of Rain
6) Book of Days
7) World Outside
8) Midnight to Midnight
1. Forever Now (1982) 5/5
2. Talk Talk Talk (1981) 4.5/5
3. The Psychedelic Furs (1980) 4/5
4. Mirror Moves (1984) 3.5/5
5. Made of Rain (2020) 3/5
6. World Outside (1991) 3/5
7. Book of Days (1989) 2.5/5
8. Midnight to Midnight (1987) 2.5/5
CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER:
4.0 The Psychedelic Furs (1980)
4.5 Talk Talk Talk (1981)
5.0 Forever Now (1982)
3.5 Mirror Moves (1984)
2.5 Midnight to Midnight (1987)
2.5 Book of Days (1989)
3.0 World Outside (1991)
3.0 Made of Rain (2020)
The Psychedelic Furs were relatively big in the States around the time I started paying close attention to music (mid-1980s), so I've been a fan of the Butler brothers and their R&B flavored new wave almost since I can remember. They had a sound that set them apart from the post-punk pack, in part thanks to Richard Butler's distinctively gravelly voice. Their 1980 debut LP emphasizes groove over melody, not that the melodies are bad. I'd sort of compare it to Fun House by The Stooges- the music is a bit repetitive, but every beat adds to the intensity until it leaves you hypnotized ("Blacks/Radio" is probably the best example of this.) The Furs' sophomore effort, Talk Talk Talk, cranks up the harmonic sophistication to match the infectious rhythms. There's only one song I can live without- "I Wanna Sleep With You"- everything else sticks with me, especially the legendary "Pretty in Pink." "Love My Way" is probably the only iconic song on 1982's Forever Now, however, that album still gets to 5 stars under my "perfect album" rule. Every single track leaves a mark. I love the first 4 songs on 1984's Mirror Moves, but that album gets progressively more ordinary as it goes along, with the exception of the closer, "Highwire Days." 1987's Midnight to Midnight features a memorable single ("Heartbreak Beat") but overall falls victim to generic 1980s production and predictable songwriting. Book of Days drops most of the R&B influence and sounds a lot like other rock albums of the time. Its best moment is the sentimental "Torch," but most of the rest is forgettable to my ears. World Outside, from 1991, partially revives the Furs' signature sound, but without the consistency of their early albums. After an almost 3 decade layoff they returned with Made of Rain, a respectable, if not great, comeback album. For me, The Psychedelic Furs first 3 albums are on par with- or maybe even better than- any of the other post punk/new wave bands. But after that, their albums start to fall off, which holds them back a bit compared to other bands that went on longer runs of greatness. Psych Furs will get consideration for my "top 100 artists" list but, realistically, they'll probably end up being an honorable mention.
MY RATING SYSTEM:
5.0 = major classic (consistently great *and* stratospheric highs)
4.5 = minor classic (consistently great *or* stratospheric highs, but not both)
4.0 = great (a clear majority is worth revisiting and it's an essential record for this artist/style)
3.5 = seriously good (at least half is worth revisiting)
3.0 = nominally good (less than half is worth revisiting)
2.5 = decent (competent but uninspired - not worth revisiting)
2.0 = poor (difficult listen)
1.5 = awful (can't finish it)
1.0 = historically awful (musical apocalypse)
▪︎"Consistently" does not mean "flawlessly." I allow for a few duds if the rest of the songs are good enough. "Stratospheric highs" refer to albums that either feature iconic songs or have a highly influential sound. (Albums I consider to be "perfect" can also reach 5 stars, even without containing iconic songs or being highly influential.)
▪︎I don't go below 1 star because once I'm in the realm of the truly terrible I don't care to differentiate anymore.
▪︎Anything I rate 3.5 stars or higher is an album I'm enthusiastic about and would likely revisit at some point.
Nice one!
1 Talk Talk Talk
2 Forever Now
3 Psychedelic Furs
4 Made of Rain
5 Mirror Moves
6 World Outside
7 Book of Days
8 Midnight to Midnight
I had only Talk Talk Talk. It was okay. "Pretty In Pink": reminds me of how I was living at the time. What I aspired to be was very different than what I actually was doing. It expressed how I don't like pink... I am older now and it is okay in small doses, but that is just maturity.
Also Love Spit Love and Richard Butler's solo CD which is FABULOUS. World Outside is gorgeous. Furs fand from the beginning here. Just saw them at the Apollo in NYC.
Sometimes I throw shade at some reviews you guys do (lighthearted and with love) but this one was great. I’ve had Talk Talk for years but never delved into any others. After watching I now have a few Furs on order because they are damn good. Same with Echo
Solid episode guys. Always loved the Furs and actually they are so much better in concert in my opinion. None of their albums truly capture the feel of the band live. I have seen them a handful of times with various line ups and each time I always walked away wishing they had captured their live sound more on disk.
The 2 Love Spit Love albums Richard Butler released in the 90s always felt like Furs albums to me..just under a different name...and not just because of Richard's vocals.
Cheers.
I really enjoyed this week a lot. Going in I knew Forever Now and some of the hits but not much else. I actually did extra listening to the albums this week because I enjoyed it so much. I love Richard Butler's voice which seems to be fairly divisive (at least among our community), I think it's really cool. Glad they won the poll since I'd been wanting to get to them anyway.
8. World Outside - 3.5 (6.8)
7. Midnight to Midnight - 3.5 (7.0)
6. The Psychedelic Furs - 3.5 (7.3)
5. Book of Days - 4 (7.8)
4. Made of Rain - 4 (8.0)
3. Talk Talk Talk - 4 (8.4)
2. Mirror Moves - 4.5 (8.8)
1. Forever Now - 4.5 (9.2)
The Psychedelic Furs doing new jack swing in 1991 sure would have been something! LOL
Yeah, I don't get the criticism of his voice. I sort of understand the criticism of his melodies- some of them are not terribly dynamic- but I've always felt the sound of his voice was a major asset for the band.
Love this list!
@@AbbeyRoadkill1 Agreed, he adds so much!
@@179rich Thanks Rich! :)
Richard Butler's solo album is my favourite..hard to find now...and you should of included love spit love..pretty pretty good..
The coolest band ever. Never made a perfect album but produced some of the greatest songs of their era...
10. All of the Law
9. In My Head
8. Shine
7. The Ghost In You
6. Here Come Cowboys
5. Heartbreak Beat
4. Pretty In Pink
3. Forever Now
2. Into You Like a Train
1. Love My Way
I agree with Jason. The Ghost In You is a great song. I go way back with it - first heard it in 1985
I was born in 1985. - Joe
@@TastesLikeMusic the year I graduated from hs
I'm with Jason on Mirror Moves - was never much interested in them but owned this one in 1984 and would rate it at 4 stars. Might give a listen to Talk Talk Talk, the debut and Forever Now again for the songs list (from what I remember they are all 3 star albums) but with Mirror Moves, it's already stacked.
1. Furs
2. Echo
3. Cocteau
4. Husker
good week of mostly new listening
8 world outside 3.0 stars
7 midnight to midnight 3.0+
6 mirror moves 3.0 +
5 forever now 3.0 +
4 made of rain 3.5
3 book of days 4.0
2 talk talk talk 4;0
1 the psychedlic furs 4.0 +
a consistant listen ⚒⚒🐯🐯 up the 'ammers and WHO DEY WHO DEY!!
love your channels, its made my must listen to list much longer. i dont know why you don't do a Tangerine Dream album ranking tho.
A suggestion for next week: review and ranking of the three albums that King Gizzard released this month.
Why not just shoot me in the face. - Joe
Love that band but way to many albums
Top Furs Nonsense/sometimes strangely profound lyrics……
It's sick the price of medicine (President Gas)
Open up your eyes
Just to check that your asleep again (President Gas)
I hope you get your invitation
It is here for you (She Is Mine)
I met this girl and called her ma
I called her everything
I called her fab and mrs. fish
I didn't get her name
She's making me a pair of shoes
So I can run away (She Is Mine)
And love, love, love
You can't give it away (The Ghost In You)
a mirror you can look in
so that you know where you are (All Of This And Nothing)
The Furs' first 4 albums are one of my favorite albums. Great band. I do think judging their earlier output on synth sounds, or horns might be missing some of their power. Synthesizers just were not as developed yet; at least not for a rock band's first album. And ambition, and drive, was half the reason in having a sax player. I saw the Furs many times, and the sax player would strike poses for most of the set. Great poses.
"India" is one of the best openers ever. "India you're my love song; "I'm American ha ha".
'Talk Talk Talk' is similar to the first; just better. Great hooks "Into you like a train". 'Mr Jones' and 'Dumb Waiters'.
I think that the Furs let themselves fall under the spell of producers, and maybe rock history. It worked for a while.
"Forever Now" may be their best. It has the great songs, melodies, hooks. "Love my Way" was a song I personally had an epiphany to. 'Sleep Comes Down" - I saw that live once, and it blew my mind.
"Mirror Moves" - the hooks are even better. "Ghost', "Heaven', 'Cowboys' all fantastic. But Richard's snarl works best on 'Alice's House'.
They had a great guitarist; and a real romantic front-man; with charisma to burn. They really lost it after that album.
Liked the reviews. It was interesting to me that IMO Joe, who seemed to know them the least, really 'got' them.
India is a killer opener!
Good job boys - you should check out the two Love Spit Love albums - should have been Furs albums.
1. Echo
2. Furs
3. Cocteau
4. I didn’t even try
8-Book Of Days
7- Debut
6. Midnight to Midnight
5. There's a World
4. Made of Rain
3. Mirror Moves
2. Forever Now
1. Talk Talk Talk
Enjoyed all the bands for Kramtober!
My ranking -
1. Husker Du (duh)
2. Echo and the Bunnymen
3. Cocteau Twins
4. Psychedelic Furs (tough to put any at the bottom but the other three bands have been a part of my life longer)
Yeah, I think I might have been able to guess this lol
Fascinating reviews again, Kramtober has been top drawer. I was on board with the Furs at the time of their debut (the US version, which included a couple of Martin Hannett productions). Wondering why I never followed up my initial interest, it might sound shallow but their album artwork really sucks! Forever Now and Mirror Moves may well be 4 star albums, but I have rarely seen such unappealing sleeves! Which made me think ... are there any 5 star records out there with abject artwork, or does the quality of the artwork influence our overall appreciation of the music within? 😀
Never heard their albums but damn I loved my collection Should God Forget: A Retrospective. And I prefer the songs from their first albums
1. The Psychedelic Furs
2. Echo & The Bunnymen (barelly on strenght of Ocean Rain. Most inconsistent band of these.)
3. Cocteau Twins
4. Hüsker Dü (They may have solidest catalogue but only two albums reached four star (or more) scale...)
Anyway all four have some great albums and their own unque styles. Yeah, great selections Kramzer...
I remember buying The Pretty In Pink 12 " in 1981 & it came with a 👕 ! the size was large .. it was shrink-wrapped & was the only time I ever saw such an offering.. it didn't help the song become a hit. That didn't happen until 1986.
Mirror Moves gets my vote for best album cover.
Talk Talk Talk for me.
Yeah I love that cover!
@@Vanessa.P Weakest cover - World Outside (?)
@@179rich Yeah, I already forget what it looks like lol
🤠 Saw the Forever Now tour when they played at Willie Nelson's club in Texas, and although I think the band who opened for them, Our Daughter's Wedding, blew them off the stage, it was interesting to watch how the Furs attempted to convert all the magic that happened on Forever Now to a live performance.
For Love my Way, they wheeled out a Fairlight, which the band clumsily attempted to keep in time with. They had a female cellist dressed in Victorian clothing, playing through a chorus pedal. To me, she was the most interesting thing, visually, unless you had a crush on Richard Butler. No worries there, as there were hundreds of fans dressed in pink at the club that night.
The band looked wayyyyy drunk, and kept cranking up the fog machine while disappearing off the stage for moments at a time. Butler spent 50% of the set turned around wagging his butt at the audience and chain smoking cigarettes.
Rundgren helped them create their masterpiece while forever hindering them as a live band. I reckon it was worth it!
Our Daughters Wedding ! Been a minute since I heard them. They had a legitimate hit in England with Lawnchairs from The Digital Cowboy 🤠 EP. With the right label & management they could have reached Depeche Mode .. OMD levels. They gave it a go.
@@davidellis5141Same here, David! From the moment I heard the lawn chairs single, it was instantly one of my favorite songs ever. Our Daughter's Wedding will be featured in an upcoming documentary called Cowgirls and Synthesizers I'm one of the editors of the film. It is scheduled to be released in US film festivals next year, and in Europe in 2024. Keep an eye out, yo! 🤠
@@jukeboxcowboy I always go to The Traverse City Film Festival last week of July .. so hope it screens there !
Our Daughter's Wedding!!! I saw them open for Aztec Camera, in Poughkeepsie, NY; musta been 81/82, during my first year away at college. All I can remember was Lawn Chairs; I think they did it twice since they didn't have much material at the time. I also saw the Furs in 82. They played my college, at SUNY New Paltz. They had Ann Sheldon on cello and Gary Windo on sax; they were both living around Woodstock then. It was the oddest triple bill: The Furs, Toots and the Maytals (really not the Maytals, just some local pick-up band) and Johnny Winter. The Furs were great, from what I remember.
@@johnlefsky8731 I worked for Rhino in Los Angeles which was 49% owned by the owner of Rhino in New Paltz. I remember in The French Connection .. Gene Hackman telling a bad guy " You pick your feet in Poughkeepsie ! Don't You "
#1 Forever Now
Bands of Kramtober ranked:
1. Cocteau Twins- only one 5 star album but as a whole they pull me into their world the most and are easiest to binge
2. Echo & the Bunnymen- now have two 5 star records from them in the original run and still have to explore the later stuff, but they are a band that pays off
3. Husker Du- one of my favorite heavier punk bands, it's not a genre I love but Husker Du gives one pause to dismissing this kind of music
4. Psychedelic Furs- I like the singles, I have the debut at 3.5 and it's pretty cool, not sure anyone has made me super excited to dive in more (not just this video) but I will look forward to hearing your top songs and maybe Forever Now for '82
My only departure from your list would be to have the Furs ahead of the Dü (only barely, though.)
This is truly the inverse of mine (but glad you enjoyed Exho)
Totally agree w/you that Cocteaus are the easiest of these 4 to binge on. I think they were more consistent, over a longer period of time, than the other 3 bands.
Great month. Is Kramzer purposefully cultivating a Warren Zevon look?
On the off chance one of the TLM boys sees this comment months later. For the last few days I listened to Richard Butler's band LOVE SPIT LOVE"s debut album from 1994 and wondered "did the TLM boys hear this one?". Upon 3rd listen I am saying "this was one of the most underrated albums of the 90s"
I have not heard that one. - Joe
@@TastesLikeMusic If you do, please please please let me know what you thought. Oooh there is an easy content idea. Full Retro active album reviews without having to go into one's entire discography. Thanks for the quick response too. Off for my 4th listen now.
Glad the Man of the People got the debut album right. It's mesmerizing and has some great hooks. One of my favorite 80s albums.
The Psychedelic Furs are one of those bands I've always missed when I was really into 80s postpunk/indie rock. I was aware of them, but never bothered until I went through their discography thanks to you, which was nice since they had a lot of great albums!
8. Book of Days (1989) ★★★
7. World Outside (1991) ★★★
6. Midnight to Midnight (1987) ★★★
5. The Psychedelic Furs (1980) ★★★★
4. Made of Rain (2020) ★★★★
3. Mirror Moves (1984) ★★★★½
2. Talk Talk Talk (1981) ★★★★½
1. Forever Now (1982) ★★★★½
★★★★★ - Masterpiece
★★★★½ - Really great
★★★★ - Great
★★★½ - Really good
★★★ - Good
★★½ - OK
★★ - Bad
★½ - Really bad
★ - Awful
½ - The worst
If you love All Of This And Nothing I'd recommend I Found Out Today by Chrome. It feels like it comes from a very similar place. Maybe with a little Love My Way synth thrown in.
I prefer the sound of the first two albums.
Raw and rough > Polished
I saw Psychedelic Furs and Echo and the Bunnymen around 81 at the Whiskey A Go-Go. Both were great and they would top my list. I saw Husker Du in the mid 80’s. I prefer their earlier Punk albums. I’ve never listened to CocteauTwins. I think I would like them.
1-Psychedelic Furs
2-Echo and the Bunneynen
3-Husker Du
4-Cocteau Twins (if I listen to them they could move to 3)
I saw the Furs and Echo & the Bunnymen on a double bill at the Beacon Theatre 15 or so years ago and it was great. Furs played first and many left after their set so I was able to catch the Bunnymen from the front row. Someone should tell Joe that wearing a baseball cap backwards lowers one's IQ by 40 points, which is why he puts Talk Talk Talk way down at #5. It's an under-rated masterpiece from beginning to end, like Gene Clark's No Other, The Waterboy's This is the Sea, or John Bottomley's Library of the Sun. He needs a taste transplant - maybe too much listening to Carly Rae Jepson? :)
Yeah, gotta say, the backwards baseball cap has always been a jock douchebag look to me, but I love Joe so I'm not going to hold it against him.
I would love to hear the "good albums with bad production" video. I have a lot to say about that, like:
Tripping Daisy -- Jesus Hits Like the Atom Bomb (nicely recorded and mixed but then Howie Weinberg brickwalled it to hell, turning it 2D and crushing most of the texture)
Baroness -- last few
Junius -- last couple
Diablo Swing Orchestra -- latest album makes my ears bleed
Depeche Mode -- Playing the Angel
Just to name a few.
The first Psychedelic Furs album is not poorly Produced. Both Martin Hannet & Steve Lillywhite worked on it .. not exactly slouches.. It has a bit of a dense sound intentionally & was recorded in 1979 - No Fairlights yet ..
You guys should do Wire next
Anotheir band I've not really got into yet but looking forward to learning about
The Furs were a favorite band of mine... I came in on Forever Now, so no surprise as to my #1.
World Outside - It's ok. I just never listened to it much and that's why it is last.
Made of Rain - I like it, but nothing grabbed me as much as on previous releases.
Book of Days - A nice comeback for me, but it's spotty. That said Shine, Torch and Should God Forget are top notch.
Psych Furs - I wanted to like it more, but there's just too much din and not enough hooks. That said Imitation of Christ is brilliant.
Midnight To Midnight - maybe I rated this too high. It's inconsistent, but I was full on in my Furs fandom when this came out. Too polished, but like Heartbreak Beat, All Of The Law and Shock.
Mirror Moves - Again too poppy, but still synthy enough and the hooks abound. All those songs you mention + my fave... Alice's House.
Talk Talk Talk - I wanted to put this at one. Butler thinks this is their best and I kind of believe him, but...
Forever Now - Great record. This and Talk Talk Talk are tied for me, but this one makes me smile a little bit more because it brings me back to a special time.
I'm with you on Forever Now and Talk Talk Talk being basically equal albums. The one small difference for me is that I consider Forever Now a perfect album, whereas Talk Talk Talk has one song I could live without.
@@AbbeyRoadkill1 Which song? I like them all.
I think Mr. Jones is the weakest on that one.
@@179rich For me the weakest link, which I still like, is So Run Down.
@@esteeb67 Read my main comment that I posted. It's in there
🎶 Have a good week off and get some slumber! 👏
The guitars on Midnight to Midnight are excellent, shame that wasn't mentioned
08 Made Of Rain 3
07 Book Of Days 3
06 World Outside. 3.5
05 Midnight To Midnight. 4
04 The Psychedelic Furs. 4.5
03 Talk Talk Talk 4.5
02 Mirror Moves 5
01 Forever Now 5
Mirror Moves was the first Psychedelic Furs album I ever bought back in 84. Also, it is my favorite.
Funny how so often that works out.
I am afraid I was somewhat responsible for the cheezzzee eighties sounds on Mirror Moves but in my defence that is what Richard wanted.From Yazzoo to Simple Minds he kept playing me synths sounds he wanted on the record. It was a real shame as Johns signature guitar sound from the previous albums was pushed to the back a lot. Keith however did a fantastic job considering how unprepared we all where. Yes the linndrum dates the album terribly and considering how good a drummer Keith was he really should have played on more of the album. Ghost in you did do us a lot of favours though and we where well placed to have a bigger hit as a follow up. However band tensions got in the way and we sold out horribly for the dross that is Midnight to Midnight. Their first three albums are still wonderous, Richards signing got better but his lyrics got worse as we headed further into the eighties John's inventiveness was eviscerated by Richards naked desire to become the biggest band around and sadly by the Time he realised his mistake on Book of Days ,it was too late...the damage was permeant. Even getting Vince back in couldn't help us. I wonder what would have happened if we had finished the sessions we started with Daniel Lanois before midnight to midnight ? But alas it wasn't to be. They could have been huge but alas personalities got in the way....happens to lots of bands. But those first three albums are gold !
Is this the real Ed.
@@TastesLikeMusic it is...in all his cybernetic glory
So we've got a furs tribute act out of Detroit - ruclips.net/video/DT-yTfRA3Lg/видео.html - THE CINEMATIC FURS
Love them - Sisters of Mercy , Mission , Jesus and Marry Chain ...but what i just heard from you - they are not from that hat . Only album from 1989. i had on record - but i was too young for them ( 12 -13 years old ) .
1. Forever Now. (5) 2. Mirror Moves (4.5). 3. Talk Talk Talk (4). 4. M2M (4) 5. Book of Days. (4) 6. The Psychedelic furs (4) 7. MoR. 8. World Outside (4).
Midnight to Midnight when released was called a master stroke….it was…and a deviance from their Avante Gaurd past… I think they should have released another hard rock album before returning to their regular sound
Its interesting how under played they are in the UK, which explains why they moved to America , the average music fan in the UK will only know one or two songs. Alt rock fans will know TheSmiths, Cure and New Order, but barely anyone mentions this band and its a tragedy.
Sister Europe is such a killer tune. The first one by the band I fell in love with back in 83.
Thie intent of the Furs and Steve Lillywhite are important when listening to the first two albums. They intended to be raw and almost offensive on the first album, utilizing the sax to actually mock previous uses of sax and utilizing Richard Butler's voice as a drone at times (in fact, he was credited with 'words' rather than 'vocals'). They created their work without a lot of reference to their contemporaries, except for the energy and snideness of punk, and were heavily influenced by the Stooges and Velvet Underground. You can hear the unprecedented snideness in "Wedding Song," "Blacks/Radio," "Flowers," "Fall," and "Pulse" (where they mock John Lennon's "War is Over" w "this is the sound of fools like you, who sound so red and turn so blue, the sound of use-less-ness in song the-- war is over, if you want.") The sonic space they created on the first album also works to distinguish them from others of their time -- others whom they didn't really see as influences. On "Talk, Talk, Talk," they broke a ton of barriers in music, using the intentional dissonance and making it explode with songs like "Dumb Waiters" (once described by a reviewer as "...defying description by the English language") with the slightly (intentionally) off sax, the dual guitar (again, they were one of the first to utilize that, without care for what other bands were doing) and then the guitar solo and its harmonic cacophony. "It Goes On" also employs that key middle-section as they add new elements, then utilize the flange to combine with a sped-up tape to make it sound like the sax is "lifting off" -- both albums shocked people when they were released. The experience of hearing those when they were released provides a major component of understanding how powerful and unique they are -- standing as complete refutations of the need to pay attention to what others are doing. OH! And on "Entertain Me" (on "Book of Days") John Ashton's amp caught fire during the bridge, and you can hear the noise in there. Pretty cool! AND, "BlacksRadio" wasn't allowed on the US release originally, because the record company execs thought that Americans might take it as too racially topical. It was a dig on a dumb statement from Andy Worhol that Richard Butler found really offensive about Warhol's father's refrigerator factory staff. And the song reflects what the Furs used to do musically in live performances, where they would slide from one song into another without breaks, utilizing Vine Ely's excellent drumming and Tim Butler's bass to slowly change the beat and turn the music into a completely different song. Thanks, guys! Great thoughts from everyone! (Check out Richard Butler's Love Spit Love band (Richard Fortis, on guitar) for more great stuff from RB!
Cool stuff. Thanks
The first record is one of my all time favourite albums. The Velvets meets early Roxy. The riffing sax is awesome. It's Sister Europe! Saw them when they toured it, that wall of sound! . For a lot of people who'd been brought up on glam and punk it was almost a perfect record. Lost interest after Talk Talk Talk, when they started to go for a smooth US radio sound. It's Dumb Waiters. Btw no one mentioned Butler's use of repetition; 'useless', 'stupid', 'drivel'. Have you lot thought about doing Magazine?
No problem here with the smoother and sellout Furs records. All works.
1Forever Now
2 Mirror Moves
3 Midnight to Midnight
4 Talk Talk Talk
A great band in their prime, which was 1982-84. First 2 albums are great but Forever Now and Mirror Moves were the plateau, both packed with great songs. But then the quality fell off a cliff with Midnight to Midnight. In the pursuit of greater commercial success it was as if they forgot everything that made them good. A great pity because the first 4 albums stand up really well against the output of pretty much any other band of the first half of the eighties
Are we coming up on Joevember?
Alas, no. There will never be a Joevember. - Joe
I have some homework to do. I have at times gotten this confused with Catherine Wheel, Inspiral Carpets, and Kitchens of Distinction.
It’s not easy to rank them as They all have their own strengths - the debut probably has the highest overall consistency it has NO FILLER and incredible sort of pulsing raw punk energy but mixed with something sort of arty and strange. Some of the tracks on the debut are just fantastic like India sister Europe and more quirky punchy numbers like pulse and wedding song - blacks radio is just an epic song in sort of two parts - the debut is the strongest overall record but later records have perhaps more sophisticated songs but the debut has the strongest overall force.
If you get the expanded version of forever now with aeroplane and I don’t want to be your shadow it makes the album much stronger and in some ways forever now has the highest overall Sheen it just has a bevvy of grest tracks : but talk talk talk probably has within it the finest tracks like she is mine and no tears and all of this and nothing but the problem with talk talk talk is it seems to have a few sort of frustrating filler tracks like into you like a train and sleep with you which sort of bring it down a bit but tracks like pretty in pink or dumb waiters and the romantic tracks are just gorgeous it’s just a bit of a lazy record overall.
World outside is a really good record and underrated here it’s got a lovely expansive feel and some great tracks like valentine it’s fantastic.
Mirror moves has a coupe of nice summery tracks but overall seems a watered down version of the band and this same problem repeats and gets worse on midnight to midnight. Book of days is Better but doesn’t seem to have any real stand out tracks it’s sort of a wash of noise but not really distinct.
So for me you could put world outside the debut forever now one and talk talk all in the top four and it would depend on your mood which one was your favourite - they are all amazing x
Has anyone mentioned Love Spit Love?
1. Echo
2. Furs
3. Cocteau Twins
4. Husker Du
Their debut album creates great mysterious atmospheres, some spacious, others claustrophobic. Only on this album does Richard Butler write lyrics the way a painter might use a limited pallet of colors, that's to say his imagery and phrasing has a kind of cubist approach, imagery is repeated but always from slightly different angles, readjusted as the songs go along. His pessimism about how people use their lives is not so far from what Dylan was saying in the mid-60s, but with a psychedelic tinge. Another thing., the US version of their debut not only has a different cover than the UK version but also has the song "Susan's Strange" which I think is a better song than "Blacks/Radio."
1. Talk Talk Talk
- Best Song: It Goes On
2. Mirror Moves
- Best Song: It's Only A Game
3. Book of Days
- Best Song: House
4. Forever Now
- Best Song: Love My Way
5. World Outside
- Best Song: Don't Be A Girl
6. Made of Rain
- Best Song: Wrong Train
7. The Psychedelic Furs
- Best Song: Sister Europe
8. Midnight to Midnight
- Best Song: Heartbreak Beat
Correct with the No 1
1. This band has (outside of Mirror Moves and the British version of Forever Now) the WORST album covers. I don't know what's going on with that... This is a band befitting incredible artwork... and they just constantly released slopped together covers... ug.)
2. FOREVER NOW is their clear cut best. Great from first note to last. I also think the song-writing on MIRROR MOVES moves it into the Top 2 category... (far behind "Forever Now"... which is freaking brilliant). At the time it was released, the songs sounded fresh with the pretty new (at the time) Fairlight synth... but I can see how it might not age well to fresh ears... but I loved it then and I continue to love it. (and I agree about "Heartbeat"... my least favorite song on the album) I still have to listen to the 2020 album... which I have yet to hear... so good news that (a couple of you) love it. Looking forward to hearing it.
Psychedelic Furs-Self Titled, Talk Talk Talk, Forever Now, Mirror Moves- All equally great testaments and progression of a great band, then they lost me, I like some of the new album..
One thing I forgot to mention in my notes - on the debut, Richard Butler sings the word "stupid" a ridiculous amount of times. It's really stupid.
And he writes about a girl named Caroline in 2 songs. Caroline and Stupid are synonymous with Richard.
@@oppothumbs1 Oooooooookay?
Stupid Girl by Garbage my favorite stupid song.
Nah, Lou Reed's Stupid Man takes the biscuit!
I only know the 1st four. 1. Forever Now. 2. Talk, Talk, Talk. 3. Mirror Moves. 4. Debut.
Loved the furs top 80s band
Forever Now and Talk Talk Talk are their best albums with Mirror Moves coming in third and Book of Days is not bad with its very atmospheric sound and guitar wailings but impossible to listen to straight through, I've tried a few times but its impossible. Midnight to Midnight is fun and their commercial breakthrough but its just ok. World Outside, I've never heard but want to now thanks to TLM. Their latest, Made of Rain sounds great and I actually bought it when it first came out because I was excited but no songs that really pulled me in. Although I really like them, Richard Butler has written some of the most sexist, misogynist lyrics ever written by a pop/rock band. The truly insane girls going off the rails lyrics are all over Talk Talk Talk especially and the most glaring is their single All That Money Wants. As for their first album, the less said about it the better. They were great live though as I saw them 3 or 4 times.
After you savaged Elizabeth Fraser’s artistry, I’m not going to take much credence in you being the great defender of women.
@@scottanthonyweidner8692 Oh please Scott. Not the same thing and you know that. My favorite band of all time is Siouxsie and the Banshees so you are sadly mistaken. Also Bjork being one of the best female singers ever has one of the best voices out there if not thee best voice. You want to go ahead and believe in a singer that spluttered and mumbled and screeched total gobbledygook than go right ahead. As for their sound, yes I believe they were absolutely artists.
@@scottanthonyweidner8692 I never indicated I was the great defender of women by the way.
RIP Mars
8. Book of Days 3 stars. Nice sound, especially the guitars, but the balance and production choices are strange, and the song selection is their weakest.
7. Midnight to Midnight 3.5 stars Sue me, I kinda like it. The shiny pop sound is a refinement of Mirror Moves, and certainly sleaker. The last two songs are pretty awful - worse than anything on BoD. But the other cuts are pretty good, and “Heartbreak Beat” is majestic, tbqh.
6. World Outside 3.5 stars Somewhat facile, but a decent collection of fun pop songs. Lots to like in the “guilty pleasure” realm.
5. The Psychedelic Furs 4 stars Songwriting isn’t very strong, but the sound and attack is great.
4. Made of Rain 4 stars I have to cop that this is a first impression- I’ve only heard it once. It was pretty dazzling to me at that point. Could go up (in stars) or down.
3. Mirror Moves 4.5 “Heaven” is a little too candyland for me, at least in the chorus, but this is one of the best “sell-outs” ever. Their target audience undeniably changes seismically here, but they’re quite good at what they’re doing.
2. Talk Talk Talk 4.5 stars Solid and rocking post-punk roar. Definite step up from the debut, especially in terms of songwriting. Very little that’s earth-shaking, but admirable for having no less-than-above-average songs.
1. Forever Now 4.5 stars Love what Rundgren does for them. A few duds, but the gems more than balance it out to being their best album. Lots of fantastic tracks.
Thanks, Kram, for forcing your confreres to cover stuff we might have otherwise missed out on. Cocteau Twins are #6 on my artists list, Echo & the Bunnymen are top 30 (and would be top 20 if they hadn’t put anything out after ‘89), the Furs are top 100, and Husker Du is top 200.
Well done Scott! Just curious, what exactly do you mean by "candyland?"
@@179rich Aimed at 14-year-old girls, syrupy…
@@scottanthonyweidner8692 gotcha. I had an idea that's what it meant.
Great bands this month, but What about The Cure????
Waiting for them to release the albums that they supposedly have finished
You can't think my list is any weirder than Joe or Kramzer's, Jason.