Search - Godley & Creme :: Birds of Prey/Vol. 1-History Mix

Interesting mix of two G& C albums

Wayne Klein | My Little Blue Window, USA | 08/10/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Two interesting if not entirely successful Godley & Creme albums put together for this release. Birds of Prey opens with the brilliant "My Body the Car" presented with Creme and Godley imitating instruments with their voices and a lyric that is accurate if slightly skewed. Birds of Prety suffers from a minor flaw--it's a product of its time. The decision to use a drum machine throughout most of the album identifies it as an album from the 80's. That's not necessarily a bad thing there are many classic albums that sound very much of their time but the use of real drums might have given the album considerably more power. Luckily, the compositions are, for the most part, strong enough to over come the limitations of the production choices.



"Worm and the Rattlesnake" comes next with its inventive melody and lyrics. "Cat's Eyes" sounds like a wild collison between the style of the previous album and the 80's production touches of Lol Creme. "Samson" sounds as if it could be a musical outtake of a Pokemon game. The most satisfying track, though, is the powerful "Save a Mountain for Me" with Kevin Godley's soaring vocals. "Out in the Cold" with its odd rhythm bed and the vocal distortion closes out this album which uses as its theme the different types of prey and predators that exist in the world. The bonus tracks are a mixed bunch; "Welcome to Breakfast TV" sounds like a parody of the themes used for radio shows and television shows during the 80's. We also get a dance remix of "Samson" one of the more interesting tracks on the album. Didn't care for the remix but the hopping beat will get your toes tapping. "Golden Boy" soars on Godley's beautiful vocal and has a number of witty, funny lines.



A bit less sucessful is the duo's next to last album "The History Mix Volume One". Buoyed by the terrific single "Cry" (included here in both its album version and the single version as a bonus track). This remix album done by Godley & Creme with Nigel Grey takes a number of classic 10cc and Godley & Creme tracks melding them into interesting and sometimes completely unrecognizable new tracks. "Wet Rubber Soup" takes "Rubber Bullets", "Life is a Minestrone" and "I'm Not in Love" weds them to a dance beat and adds some new vocals to make a dance hall favorite.



Next we get the grand long version of "Cry" with the line "big boys don't cry" used as a clever introduction to the song. This is followed by "Expanding Business/The Dare you Man/Hum Drum Boys in Paris/Mountain Tension" all of which sample tracks as diverse as "Neaderthal Man" to "Business is Business". It's quite interesting in spots. The bonus tracks include "Love Bombs" , a remix of "Snack Attack" from Ismism, the single edit version of "Wet Rubber Soup", a remix of "Golden Boy", "Light Me Up" all of which use the thumping dance beat common throughout most of the album. It's not Godley & Creme's best album but certainly their most successful.

"

Typical 80's Pop Albums, Sort Of

ElvisCostellosWeiner | Michigan | 02/08/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"When I got this in the mail, I put it in and started listening to "Birds Of Prey" immediately. I fell in love with "my body the car" because of the melody, the lyrics, and the arrangements. Goodness! This was released in the 80's, but it was strong. I was hoping the rest of the album would follow suit. It didn't quite follow the success of the first song. First problem I might have with the album is the use of synths and drum machines. While I am not technophobic, I lament that they limited themselves to these instruments for the album. The arrangements and the songs, as a result, run together. However, the arrangements ARE clever, especially for the genre. They really come up with interesting things to do with their synths, and keep things as fresh as they can. The melodies and lyrics are all top notch as well, making this a flawed, but worthy album.



Histor Mix is quite an interesting beast. Taking past 10cc and Godley and Creme songs, mixing them up, and coming up with new Art Of Noise beats and melodies, it is as confusing a listen as one can imagine. It's not EXACTLY a remix album, but it's similar in it's use of outside elements. To be honest, it's not exactly the easiest thing to listen to, with "Cry" standing out as a great, beautiful new composition. The rest of the album is interesting in a sonically experimental way, but I wouldn't suggest listening to this just before you go to bed."

First rate

Nicolas S. Martin | Indianapolis, IN United States | 01/23/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For G&C fans this is a great buy. You may not have heard them, but the two albums on this twofer are excellent. They have all the elements of the pair's best work: beautifully crafted pop, humor, exquisite vocals, exceptional musicianship, knockout production, and eccentric (but not pretentious) experimentation. There are some nice bonuses, including the single "Welcome to Breakfast Television," and a stirring remix of "Snack Attack." I can't imagine that fans of G&C wouldn't like this CD, and you never know when this music will become permanently unavailable. Snap it up while you can."