Search - Thomas Dolby :: Forty

Nice nostalgia, but little more

Jon Folkers | Silver Spring, MD United States | 06/28/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"At the close of this brief album, as the applause for a tepid version of "Hyperactive" dies down, you hear a woman's voice say, "He doesn't know any more songs. That's it!" I'm certain that quip was left on the recording intentionally, as it mirrors TD's introduction to "My Brain is Like a Sieve" -- now that he's all grown up, happily married, and more or less settled down, the sparkling wit and inventiveness he displayed in the 80's has fizzled quite a bit. I suppose the same could be said for me, who remembers loving Dolby's albums, from the experimental-sounding THE FLAT EARTH to the campy/silly ALIENS ATE MY BUICK. This mini-concert has the feel of an intimate show for friends only, and as such, fails to spark much interest for anyone save the Dolby completist.



If you want to hear the concert, my advice would be to skip the CD and order the tracks instead from ... a popular online music store who shall remain nameless here. Some even better advice would be to get his excellent 12" dance record collection, "12x12" which is much more like the Thomas who blinded us with science. Search for Amazon number B00000K43X."

Great Old Material Done Live - How About Some New Material?

Dwight Blubaugh | The only Eaton Rapids on Earth, MI, USA | 03/12/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Originally available as a limited edition, home-packaged, signed and numbered (1-1,000) disc, this live collection has now found an importer to produce it. 1980's "techno-pop wiz kid" (Oh, but he's SO much more!), Thomas Dolby, according to the liner notes, gave two nights of concerts for friends for his fortieth birthday, and when he and a friend listened later to the tapes, they decided it was worthy to be packaged for sale (or at least as a gift to friends, in the meantime). The band consists of Dolby and 2-3 other people, but they do pretty good justice to these songs. They are somewhat different arrangements from the originals (what do you expect from a band of 3-4 in a garage, even with lots of electronic backup?), but they hold up quite well as alternative versions of the songs. I don't think much tinkering was done with this album, but other than one sour high note where Dolby's voice breaks ("I Scare Myself," if I remember correctly), his voice is in very fine form.



As with Dolby's other albums (including his first one), anyone looking for a bunch of songs in the vein of "She Blinded Me With Science" will be sorely disappointed, as this song was very different from his other work (except maybe "Hyperactive" and "Airhead," his other songs that could be termed novelty songs, and unfortunately, probably also his biggest hits). Though I enjoyed "Science" in its heyday, and the video is still one of my all-time favorites, it is now one of my least favorite songs by Dolby - maybe too overplayed??



The main complaint I have with this CD is its brevity - only seven (great) songs. While many of Dolby's slower, moodier songs (the genre at which he best succeeds) are here, I would have loved to hear some of my other favorites here - Budapest by Blimp, Flying North, The Flat Earth, I Live in a Suitcase, and maybe even Pulp Culture.



While it's been nice to see some of Dolby's more obscure material finally being released in a wider format the last few years (things like Get Out of My Mix and previously released remixes of his other songs on CD, and the Live Wireless concert video and song videos now on DVD), I'd love to see his most obscure work (things like "The Wreck of the Fairchild" - I wonder what my 45 of that one is worth now?) finally released on CD.



And will Dolby EVER release another album of new material (other than just soundtracks)? Judging by this live album, he's "still got it." Thomas, if you're reading this, know that you are greatly missed!"

Nice souvenir-

D. H. Richards | Silver Spring, MD USA | 01/28/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I recall a "live" Dolby concert film from about the time that "Blinded By Science" was a hit. At a time where concert film meant lots of arena crowd shorts I was struck by how he played before a small studio audience and had them participate by putting on props etc. So I picked up this new "live" CD with high hopes, most of which have been met. (The Cd is culled from 2 live performances, and since Dolby gives thanks to someone for helping with protocols, I think it fair to say some post concert tinkering was done).The arrangements are great, different enough to be interesting, but similar enough to work. "One of Our Submarines" is really nice. And the between song chatter is nice. My only quibble with the disc is Dolby's voice, which sounds rough in spots (couldn't protocols help him with fixes? Maybe he really did not tinker much with this, hmmm). But, otherwise, a really nice set. The songs are varied (no "Blinded by Science"? !!) and really showcase the fact that Dolby has Chops AND songwriting skills."