Search - Various Artists :: Now That's What I Call Music 1981

Get down on it .......... yeah !

The Glider | Birmingham,England UK | 06/16/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"DISC 1 Queen And David Bowie:Under Pressure:Funky,base-lifted hit.***Ultravox:Vienna:Nauseating,overly sombre dud.*The Specials:Ghost Town:Thoroughly enjoyable ,utterly memorable.****UB40:One In Ten:Engrossing,sweeping saxaphone track and important social lyrics.If only Bob Dylan could have made it like this.****Blondie:The Tide Is High:An unforgettable classic.*****Duran Duran:Girls On Film:Swinging,fast paced from Duran,Duranng.Did anyone really think Simon Le Bon could really sing?***Soft Cell:Tainted Love:The kind of song you want to seduce girls with.***Human League:Love Action (I Believe In):Sheffield's finest got the dancefloor's of the early eightie's rolling with this hit,and understandably too.****Starsound:Abba Melody:Imaginative but flawed infusion of Abba tunes.***Spandau Ballet:Chant No.1(I Don't Need This Pressure on):This Spandau track certainly runs on a tune,but isn't really their finest work.***Philip Lynott:Yellow Pearl (Top Of the Pops Theme):Atmosphere lifted title track.***David Bowie:Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps):The certainly weird,but maybe not so wonderful,David Bowie with this repetitive and unswelling track.**Godley And Creme:Under Your Thumb:Takes a while to get there,but this song certainly holds your attention to the end.***Visage:Fade To Grey:Another sexy French tune.***ABC:Tears Are Not Enough:Haunting,deep ABC track.****Dave Stewart And Barbara Gaskin:It's My Party:Slurred,pointless and downright horrible reworking of the classic Leslie Gore '60's hit.Says a lot about their talent.*Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark:Souvenir:Another haunting track from OMD.***Vangelis:Chariots Of Fire:Inspirational,uplifting,enlifting,unforgetta da da da,ah SHADDAP.*****DISC 2Phil Collins:In The Air Tonight:The ever admirable,talented Mr Collins with this superb,awesome melody.*****Roxy Music:Jealous Guy:Never been a big fan myself,but I suppose they've got their fans.***Elvis Costello:A Good Year For The Roses:I thought there was only one legend in the music trade with the name Elvis.**Squeeze:Labelled With Love:Starts well,but ,sorry,takes too long to get going.Sorry,next please.*Jam:That's Entertainment:Pales in comparison to Going Underground.**Madness:The Return Of the Los Palmas 7:Incredibly atmospheric,good time song.Truly gets the party swinging.****Kim Wilde:Kids In America:Sorry Kim,you fail to set my pulses racing with this.**The Teardrop Explodes:Reward:Wonder what these guys are doing these days?***U2:Gloria:The ever impressive U2 with this powerful rock balled.***XTC:Sgt.Rock (Is Going To Help Me):A cult classic.***Steve Winwood:While You See A Chance:Fun track.***Four Tops:When She Was My Girl:This engrossing track is almost as good as Loco In Acopoco,released eight years later.***Kool & The Gang:Get Down On It:My second favourite,a funky,infectously fun groove.*****Quincy Jones:Razzamatazz:Not the most gramatically preliferating of tracks,but a groovy tune nonetheless.***Smokey Robinson:Being With You:Another of those kinky,seductive tunes,this one probably the best on the whole compilation.****Imagination:Body Talk:Great stuff.****Michael Jackson:One Day In Your Life:Beautifully sung off the pervert himself.****Diana Ross & Lionel Richie:Endless Love:Another top hit.Why isn't music like this nowadays?****"

SYNTHPOP, SOUL, COUNTRY, ROCK AND REGGAE

Pieter | Johannesburg | 09/05/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The year 1981 was very strong on synthpop and that is why one finds Ultravox, Soft Cell, Human League, Visage and OMD on this hits compilation. It was also the year of Under Pressure, David Bowie's brilliant collaboration with Queen, and the British Two Tone ska movement was still going strong in the shape of The Specials, UB40 and Madness. Great new rock bands like The Teardrop Explodes were emerging, whilst older established artists such as Godley & Creme, Phil Collins, Roxy Music, Steve Winwood, Lionel Richie and Smokey Robinson were still making exquisite music. This year also impresses with the diverse styles of music that made the charts, like the true blue country of Elvis Costello's Good Year For The Roses and Squeeze's Labelled With Love, both of them amazing story songs. Good old pop was doing well in the form of Kim Wilde, Barbara Gaskin and Blondie's pop reggae ditty The Tide Is High plus of course, there was the atmospheric theme from the popular movie Chariots Of Fire by Vangelis. The lovely ballad Endless Love by Lionel Ritchie and Diana Ross rounds off this superb collection of UK chart hits from 1981."

Shut your eyes and go back in time

Jeffery E. Mcculloh | Harvard, MA USA | 09/21/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Like my title says, if you were there, shut your eyes and these songs may take you back twenty years or more. thats' the beauty of this CD-its filled with great songs that you don't hear very often, if at all, anymore. Hard to believe now, but when they were new and fresh (as were we all at some point) they were cutting edge stuff. For a middle-aged Boomer like myself, this CD is magic. Like I said, I closed my eyes and for a few moments I was back in college again, papers were stil typed, Cable was a luxury, all my friends were still alive, and the world was full of sweet, endless possibilities,. Great stuff..."