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CD reviews

Light at the End of the World

A Flock Of Seagulls - Light at the End of the World Audio CD

A fair review of the A Flock Of Seagulls "Light at the End of the World" 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.

Band: A Flock Of Seagulls
Title: Light at the End of the World
Rating:

Release Date: 1996-05-28
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Burnin' Up 2: Magic 3: Setting Sun 4: Rainfall 5: Ordinary Man 6: You're Mine 7: Walking in the Garden 8: Hearts on Fire 9: Life Is Easy 10: Say You Love Me 11: Light at the End of the World 12: Seven Seas

Searching for the light, at the end
Although a move out from their eccentric 80's style, actually more serious and with effort, the record sounds so polished and customized that it is fairly plain, the music is flat rock mostly with unnoticeable features, the vocals got so simple and limited, and the synth is played in such a lineal way that it seems it can be perfectly played with one finger, after hearing the first 3 tracks, the album just trash you up with fillers, though "Magic" got to be a very rare single, specially because its vocal features, the rest of the songs swing around repetitive yet forgetable songs and unattractive love themes, but specially is notorious the chronic and tiresome repetition of their classic "seagull" guitar riff. Luis Mejia (son) - A Flock Of Seagulls last album so far, the band did not achieve the light they were searching for. 2 Themes get to be really interesting, which are the closing ones; the instrumental title track, which kicks-off with a delightful percussion, and "Seven Seas", an attention miracle that even interpreted orchestration, at least if these two would've been as the first 2 tracks, it would cause a better first impression. The band's momentum had long passed out, but this gets fairly acquireable noticing Mike Score strong interest to move on and create better material, but just in resume the music flows lineal and unexperimental.

Flashes of brilliance
Unfortunately, the lifespan of AFOS was probably shorter than the lifespan of a real seagull. Well, as they say, nothing lasts forever.

While there are moments of this disc where there is some new creativity exhibited by Mike Score, as in "Setting Sun", it just isn't enough to equal the beauty and brilliance of AFOS in its prime, like "Listen" or "AFOS. "

If you are a true fan, like I am, you will appreciate this album. That being said, the songwriting is a bit sophomoric at times. Too much emphasis on the wonder and beauty of love, not enough of the edgy menace prevalent on early classics like "You Can Run" or or "Nightmares. "

Perhaps some of these tracks should have left out the lyrics and let the listener enjoy the instrumental portion (again, another great feature of early AFOS).

Overall, I do like this disc, especially because Mike Score did keep some of the sonic elements of the original group.

Seeing as how the date of this review is 2/15/07, and this disc was released in 1995, here's hoping the brief VH-1 reunion of the original lineup spurs one more creative effort out of AFOS with an accompanying tour (regretfully, I never had the pleasure of seeing AFOS live).

***Awesome CD***A Must Have***
The whole CD is written about Love. This is one awesome CD! Much overlooked and underated by far! Mike Score is absolutely one of the best singer/songwriters I have ever heard. . . what better to write about than that? "Burnin'Up", "Magic", "Setting Sun", "Rainfall", "You're Mine" ;(a love song written for his daughter), "Walking in the Garden", "Hearts on Fire", "Life is Easy", "Say You Love Me". . . all love songs. The instrumentals are equally as good. Both pull their weight nicely. The title track "The Light at the End of the World" has an Indian flair and "Seven Seas" has a beautiful classical feel to it. Mike's diverse talent shines on this album. This is one CD I have 4 copies of. It is definitely a must have.

Forgotten (by me) Gem
I was attending Marshall University at the time, and some from friends from work and I thought it would be cool to go see a band from "yesteryear". I bought this CD ten years ago after seeing AFOS perform in a little bar/coffee house in Huntington, West Virginia, called The Drop Shop. This was '96, of course, so it'd been at LEAST ten years since AFOS had done anything that registered with the listening public. They were touring to support this album, ". . . Light. . . ", and I was blown away with the songs on this disc. I was able to sneak into the stage area in the back of the club and listen to them warm up, and they were working on "Setting Sun". I was absolutely spellbound. "Sun" is an absolutely fabulous piece of work. After I got this disc, I couldn't take it out of my CD player. It was all I listened to for close to two months. I know that an obscure CD from AFOS doesn't get much attention on here, but I had to contribute my two cents. Overall, this is a solid album. Some favorites of mine include "Setting Sun" (obviously), "Magic", "Burning Up", "Say You Love Me", and "Heart's On Fire". These, to me, are the standout tracks. It didn't get a lot of attention, but I believe this disc has some staying power should it make its way into your CD collection.

Good '90s AFOS CD
I was pretty impressed! Only Mike Score is the original member on this CD, but he's gathered together some solid musicians to back him up. I bought this CD not too long after it came out, when I heard from (forgot the source) they were releasing new music. The guitar player stands out especially, as he is obviously a very talented solo guitarist, providing an endless amount of cascading solo lines throughout each song. A much different style than original guitarist Paul Reynolds. The drums and bass however seem to stick to the original Ali Score/Frank Maudsley straightforward tempo style, which gives the CD more of a reminiscent sound. The lyrics are based heavily on "love" themes, as I was wondering if Mike Score had finally found the love of his life when he recorded this CD! This is probably the only deterrant to this CD I can think of, as Score's "love piffle" gets a bit old by the time you get to the 10th song or so. There are many solid songs on here however, in particular "You're Mine", which I was seriously waiting to hear on the airwaves during the year of the release- unfortunately that never happened. You can hear the fabulous guitar work on this number too. "Rainfall" and "Burnin Up" are two other songs that stick out also. Most AFOS fans will miss the outer-space and futuristic theme elements that this CD lacks, though "Ordinary Man" takes a stab at portraying the grind of modern working class society.

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.