Fretplay.com A Flock of Seagulls CD reviews A Flock of Seagulls guitar tabs A Flock of Seagulls CD reviews A Flock of Seagulls tabs A Flock of Seagulls


A Flock of Seagulls - A Flock of Seagulls Audio CD

A fair review of the A Flock of Seagulls "A Flock of Seagulls" 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 A Flock of Seagulls reviews here, or go back to the A Flock of Seagulls tabs.

A Flock of Seagulls Band: A Flock of Seagulls
Title: A Flock of Seagulls
Rating:
Release Date: 1990-10-25
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: I Ran (So Far Away) 2: Space Age Love Song 3: You Can Run 4: Don't Ask Me 5: Messages 6: Telecommunication 7: Modern Love Is Automatic 8: Standing in the Doorway 9: D.N.A. 10: Manmade

One of the best debuts ever
The first band I think of in that regard is A Flock of Seagulls. Lately I'd been thinking about performers who had one album in their career that was so good it eclipsed everything else they did, rendering even greatest hits albums irrelevant. This first album is better than many of their peers' greatest hits collections. For that matter I'd put in on the shortlist of best debuts ever.

In this era of cherry picking just the memorable mp3s from an album, this is one of those albums that should just be downloaded as a whole. Oh, I could do without the two instrumentals that close the album; it doesn't matter to me that "DNA" won a grammy. But just about every other song here would rate at least an 8 on a scale of 10. Particular highlights are "Messages", which for my taste was one of the defining songs of 1982 and the best thing A Flock of Seagulls ever recorded, "Standing in the Doorway", and "Modern Love Is Automatic".

Over the years A Flock of Seagulls has endured a lot of ridicule for being supremely 80s in their fashion sense, but such envy is just an attempt to distract the listener from the fact that those criticizing the band never came close to putting out an album this good.
.


Space Age Romance Intrigue
In 1982 "I Ran" and "Space Age Love Song" were receiving heavy airplay around Boston. A Flock of Seagulls had me from the first time I heard "I Ran" on the radio. I didn't know the name of the band; I didn't even know it was the same band doing both songs. What I knew was this was the sound for me. I never get tired of either song. No other song has duplicated the magic of the soaring guitars and cascading synths of "Space Age Love Song. " The lyrics aren't much, but they're incidental to the music.

If only AFOS had shown up to receive their Grammy for D. N. A. I think the band is correct in their assertion they would have received a wider audience and more recognition if they had. Perhaps they would never have had to resort to "Dream Come True" if they had.

The most underrated song in the entire Flock canon is perhaps "Man Made" with its stark post-apocalyptic theme: "Man Made machines to control the days, now machines control while the man obeys/Second generation, generation lost, while the man prepares for the holocaust. " The song culminates in an extended outro of guitar riffs with explosive attack and reverberating decay and eerie psychedelic synthesizer work.

Mike Howlett, formerly of the progressive rock band Gong, was really the fifth Seagull for the first two albums. He went the extra mile in helping the band add a tinge of acid rock to their New Wave sound, as on "Standing in the Doorway"). This is not to discount the Bill Nelson influenced guitar style of Paul Reynolds; however, "Story of a Young Heart," produced by Steve Lovell, did not have the same hard edge to compliment the cool synth pop sound and that album lacked the focus of the first two, which I attribute to Howlett's absence.


good but...
Don't get me wrong, this is a very good album but I would rather enjoy a collection of their music. On second thought I would have rather of bought the best of flock of seagulls. I miss not having "Nightmares".


Where's the original "I Ran"?
Mike Score, along with his brother Ali, Paul Reynolds and Frank Maudsley had made an album of substance, style, and wit, truly the bane of anything MTV wanted to promote, which is why their fortunes quickly waned in the US. The debut album "A Flock of Seagulls" is a riveting work by a band who truly strove to craft a music for the ages. The CD reissue is identical to the vinyl with just one small complaint: Why did Jive Records have to take the intro off of the Live B-side version of "I Ran" (found on the 45 of "(It's Not Me)Talking") and tack it onto the studio version of the song? BLASPHEMOUS!!! Also, I want to rub it in the face of reviewer M. Montgomery by telling him that I had the good fortune of seeing the band at Radio City in NY in August of 1983, and they did, indeed, rock the house!!.


Catchy
News Flash: There is no such thing as a soul. Call the lyrics dumb all you want, they are more interesting than 1,000 bands trying to search their lost soul. Keep looking for love and UFO's and let us know your fascination with modern life. I love the guitar sound and the hooks make your albums the best. This and #2 are the classics. What happened to make you so dull after that. "Remember David" was one of your best songs and "Suicide Day" was good, but the rest of the third album, even the tile track was boring. Two classics ain't bad. Get this one right away. .


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

Search guitar tabs

#ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
[ Search tabs | Guitar tabs | Bass tabs |
Easy guitar tabs | Guitar solo tabs |
Acoustic guitar tabs | Guitar chords |
How to read guitar tabs ]
Forum topics
Music forums
- Bands and artists - Songwriting and lyrics - Tablature talk - Promote your band
Instrument forums
- Guitar basics - Gear & accessories - Bass guitar
Community
- The pit - Site Feedback - Reviews
[ User survey | About us | Privacy statement ]