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Platinum & Gold Collection

A Flock of Seagulls - Platinum & Gold Collection Audio CD

A fair review of the A Flock of Seagulls "Platinum & Gold Collection" 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: Platinum & Gold Collection
Rating:

Release Date: 2003-08-19
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: I Ran (So Far Away) 2: Telecommunication 3: Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You) 4: Space Age Love Song 5: Nightmares 6: More You Live, the More You Love 7: Modern Love Is Automatic 8: D.N.A. 9: Don't Ask Me 10: You Can Run 11: Heartbeat Like a Drum 12: Story of a Young Heart

A Flock Of Do's
The rest of the guys look unpretty weird, too. Not sure what singer Mike Score is looking at on the cover, but judging from the look on his face it just might be a mirror. That said, you can stop here if you're curious about these Gulls (or even if you're a fan, really). "I Ran" is what they will always be remembered for, even if lesser hits ("Telecommunication," "Space Age Love Song," "Wishing") are worthy of your time. As for the rest, it's passable - - serviceable, even - - if a little lacking in the melody department. It helps not to listen (or look!) too closely. Guess that's the point, though. Hit `em with atmosphere, and hope for the best. Well, here it is.

For fans of the band this is a great collection, but their songs aren't good enough to give this a "5" - 4.5 stars
The good news, however, is that if you like the band then this is a great collection! All your favorite Seagulls hits are here as well as some songs that you probably never heard before. A Flock Of Seagulls were a good 80's new wave band, but the fact is that they didn't have any good enough songs to make their hits collection worth a "5" star rating. "Telecommunication" is one of my favorites that I don't think was a hit (I think it wasn't one, anyway). They were a good band, but a lot of it was cheesy and a guilty pleasure. Singer Mike Score has a pretty good voice on most of the songs, but at times I can see not many people liking him. Overall he does a good job, though. Musically it's pretty dated and definitely 80's (the production is dated as this most definitely needs some sort of remastering) - it's not a bad thing, necessarily, but it's very noticable and might turn some people off (see "Telecommunication" for another example). These are pretty good songs, but the only really good ones are the hit "I Ran" and to an extent "Nightmares" and "Space Age Love Song". None of these are really classics, but if you like the band then this hits collection will definitely satisfy you (I haven't heard any of the other collections, so I can't comment on how this one fares compared to others). All in all this is highly recommended!

Highlights include:
basically everything here.

Actually 4 1/2 stars because "Transfer Affection" is missing but a very underrated band indeed
It was only after my younger brother bought their first album and kept playing it all the time that I gradually became influenced. I have to confess that I didn't take to the Seagulls from the start.

Up to that time, I had only heard "I Ran" which I thought was okay but no big deal at least not enough for me to want to explore the band more. Then I heard the rest of the album and realised that "I Ran" was actually one of the weaker tracks!

"Space Age Love Song" just blew me away and then track after track of great songs like "Telecommunications", "DNA" (grammy award winner), "Tokyo", "Don't Ask Me Why", "Modern Love is Automatic" etc. Subsequently, thanks to my brother's love for the band, I constantly got to hear the other albums soon after their release. "Wishing", and especially "Nightmares" from their second album really got me hooked; clearly, this was not a flash in the pan band and unfortunately, these ex-hairdressers got labelled as a New Wave band and sort of died along with the whole genre a few years later.

Years later when I took up the guitar and played at gigs, I began to realise just how good the guitar work was by these guys too. As a guitarist, I also understand completely why "DNA" won the Instrumental of the Year Grammy Award too as it's just a great composition showcasing what guitars can do artistically in the right hands. The natural harmonics in the intro still gives me the chills when I hear it today and I wish I had thought of doing that!

Anyways, if you were going to get a best of album of these guys, this one is pretty good and with remastered sound, they haven't sounded better except for my one gripe and why I hesitated giving it 5 stars was because it doesn't have "Transfer Affection" which is a really great track.

If you like this compilation and want to explore more, you can't go wrong with their first two albums which I believe contain their best work.

The only Flock of Seagulls album you'll ever need.
This is it. Yup. During their brief visit into our public consciousness, A Flock of Seagulls really made the most of it, didn't they? Almost anybody who was into music back then, can remember them now without any sort of hesitation.

They had a distinctive, if limited, sound with a distinctive, but now horrifically dated, look.

Their initial singles,nicely remastered here, were all over the radio in those early days of "new wave. "
"Telecommunication" (a song significant enough to be played twice during their early concerts), "Space Age Love Song" and the one everybody knows, "I Ran (So Far Away)" all sound just as great as they did more than twenty years ago. Propulsive beats, atmospheric synth washes and brittle linear guitar lines all servicing, and let's be honest here, some pretty decent melodies. Simple yes, but you know what? You can still sing/hum them with ease and pleasure. What else is good pop music for?

I don't deny myself simple pleasures when they present themselves. . . this isn't Springsteen or U2 here. It's just stuff that sound great on your car radio, or playing from the stereo speakers during a busy party.

Several additional songs from their first album are included, "Modern Love is Automatic" and the Grammy-winning instrumental (go ahead and laugh now) "DNA. "

Their subsequent, less successful singles are here too, "Wishing (I had a photograph of you)" and "Nightmares".

Some samples of their more generic, less "Flock of Seagulls sounding" later work are also here. They simply prove that change isn't always necessarily a good thing.

Amusing liner notes (it's not a fluff piece. . . he's not always kind) and photos can be found in the CD insert.

Any music fan compiling songs from that era will need this disc. It's a splendid career summary, representing a very specific genre of music.

Best Band Ever!!! :-)
N. This is the Greates Band Ever and this is my Favorite CD in my Collection!!! I listin to it almost Every Day!!! It includes all the Hits including I Ran (so far away) Space Age Love Song and D. A. which won best rock instumental at the Grammys!!! I am only 14 and AFOS is my favorite Band!!!!! I first really heard them in Rockstar Norths Grand Theft Auto: Vice City!
it is a great CD great Liner Notes and Rare Pictures of the band!!!
AFOS 4 EVER!!!.

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.