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Colour by Numbers

Culture Club - Colour by Numbers Audio CD

A fair review of the Culture Club "Colour by Numbers" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Culture Club reviews here, or go back to the Culture Club tabs.

Band: Culture Club
Title: Colour by Numbers
Rating:

Release Date: 1992-06-29
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Karma Chameleon 2: It's a Miracle 3: Black Money 4: Changing Every Day 5: That's the Way (I'm Only Trying to Help You) 6: Church of the Poison Mind 7: Miss Me Blind 8: Mister Man 9: Stormkeeper 10: Victims

ALCEU NATALI'S CLASSIC ALBUMS: IF I WAS A HOMO I'D ASK YOU TO MARRY ME, BOY GEORGE!

When Lennon left and split The Beatles I felt the glorious and unmatchable sixties had come to an end and that I would never listen to great music again. For my definition of 'classic' albums please refer to my review of 'Heaven Or Las Vegas' by the Cocteau Twins. I went nuts for some time, collecting butterflies and hunting ufos. I went through the 70's listening to The Who's masterpieces and the Rolling Stones less inspired albums. When the seventies were over I got some relief, left the ICU for a regular hospital room and came to life again as the eighties began and saw the renaissance of the British music. I still have that NME newspaper format edition with Boy George in the front cover and his early Madonna's colorful and number one look. Colour By Numbers is an album that reinvigorated music, gave colors to its monochromatic monotony, refreshed it and shone it anew. It is The Smiths with Morrissey and without Marrs but with three other talented guys you never hear so much of as in the case of the former Big Country who echoed Stuart Adamson's voice only. Colour By Numbers is perfect and has a landmark status. You can take five hit singles out of its ten tracks and the other five are not just fillers but thrillers. 1. Karma Chameleon is such a catchy and joyful song to make all fruitcakes release the chick they have inside. 2. It's A Miracle has a fantastic dance beat that takes you off the chair with your butts swinging east and west. 3. Black Money is a good Princesque ballad. 4. Changing Every Day is the boring Brazilian bossa nova turned into listenable music. 5. That's the Way is a masterpiece with Helen Terry and George singing in duet and destroying all artists who attempted to do the same before and after. 6. Church of the Poisoned Mind is la cr�me de la cr�me, the masterpiece of pop masterpieces. 7. Miss Me Blind is like It's A Miracle but with an astonishing Cocteau Twin-like solo by Roy Hay. 8. Mister Man again follows the paths of the previous track with an early Madonna beat. 9. Stormkeeper sounds much the same like the two previous tracks without being repetitive. 10. Victims is another good piano-driven ballad only without the duet with the amazing backing vocalist Helen Terry who also dresses tracks 3 and 6 wonderfully.

Alceu Natali, March 21st, 2009
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Red, Gold and Green:Boy George All Over The World
It's what I call my driving music. I got this CD back in August 2002 and I absolutely love the CD. (. . . ) Here we go, track by track.

1. Karma Chameleon - A country like type of song. It is very catchy and singable. Everybody knows the words to this song. Who doesn't? ''Karma karma karma karma karma chameleon. . . . you come and go, you come and go. '' Love the harmonica. When Boy George does it at his concerts, he repeats the word ''karma'' 17 times at the end. Don't you think it's very, very repetitive? I'd say ''OK!! Enough!!''

2. It's A Miracle - A feel-good type of song. It was originally titled ''It's America. '' You clap your hands, stomp your feet, sing along. Always, like it says in the song ''Dreams are made of emotions!'' It's true.

3. Black Money - The soul song on the CD and very slow. It was about the band realizing the cost of fame to become very sucessful. George and Helen Terry are blasting away when you listen to this song.

4. Changing Every Day - Another slow jam that has very good sax solos. You always listen to this song on a very quiet morning.

5. That's the Way - The piano ballad with George and Helen Terry again singing a duet. It was about George's mom and George has some strong vocals.

6. Church of the Poisoned Mind - A tribute to Motown 60's soul. Aretha Franklin meets Stevie Wonder. There are some nice harmonica breaks during the song. It is a song about George's boyfriend, drummer Jon Moss.

7. Miss Me Blind - Wow!! Awesome song that will keep you rocking on your feet and will catch you singing along, though it gets repetitive after the awesome guitar solo by Roy Hay. Awesome! The trip to 70's disco!!

8. Mister Man - This is a trumpet song and very mid-tempo. George's smooth vocals have you dancing along to this song. It is not very fast.

9. Stormkeeper - The flute meets the sax. Awesome song. Hey, what is that noise at the end? It's the stormkeeper! Ha Ha!

10. Victims - The dark and drippy ballad almost like a storm. George sounds very vocallly and there are nice orchestra selections, including flute and violins. There's a piano in this, too.

"When you love someone, you've got money to burn"
" Now, here is the reason this album is one of the best of the 1980s and definitely the best by Culture Club: Put aside all those stories about Boy George and drummer Jon Moss and Boy George's drug collapse and just listen to this album. Colour By Numbers is Culture Club's best album, but buy the remastered version as it has many bonus tracks including, among others, the song from where this album got its name and a Helen Terry fanny-kicking on B-side "Man Shake. It is nearly perfect and is one of the best albums to come out of the 1980s. Considering that their smash debut album had three songs in a row with the word "Boy" in the title, Colour By Numbers is a surprisingly mature-sounding album. "Victims" (a single in the UK) is an interesting and beautiful ballad. The rest are amazing pop tracks. So many of these songs were released as singles ("Karma Chameleon," "It's A Miracle," "Church of the Poison Mind," "Miss Me Blind," "Victims," and even "Black Money" was considered for release off the "This Time" hits set) it can almost be considered a greatest hits package in and of itself. All it needs is "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me," Culture Club's best song "Time (Clock of the Heart)" and maybe "I'll Tumble 4 Ya" and there you go. In fact, the weakest track here is probably the most famous one: "Karma Chameleon. " In his autobiography, Boy George writes how guitarist Roy Hay hated this track and, due to a bet, married his girlfriend when the single reached #1. Things went downhill for the band after this album but Colour By Numbers made Culture Club one of the most important bands of the 1980s.

LOVE IT-THE BEST EVER!!
George O'Dowd (aka Boy George) is one of the best writers of all times and still to this day continues to write beautiful music. I have been a Culture Club/Boy George fan for years. This album says alot about his personal life which makes it even better. I will always love this album,and it is their/his best to date. My only problem is Amazon has the date wrong,it was 1983. They should get their information straight. Other than that,this album is a classic for all the Culture Club/Boy George fans!!.

Surprising!
Also, Boy George's androgynous image led me to dismiss him for the longest time. I had heard "Karma Chameleon" various times on the radio growing up, and didn't think much of it. Then I heard "Time: Clock of the Heart" on the radio, and was stunned when I found out that it was Culture Club. At once I rushed out and got this record. And I was not disappointed. For all his eccentricities, Boy George can sing his heart out! His soulful and versatile delivery remind you of Smokey Robinson.

You can see a complete list of all Culture Club discography, or go back to the Culture Club tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.