All of This and Nothing

by

The Psychedelic Furs

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The Psychedelic Furs were undoubtedly one of the best and most overlooked bands of the 1980s, apart from their misused, misinterpreted and overplayed "Pretty in Pink" which lent its name to a film of the same name. The Furs' real brilliance shone elsewhere. This is a collection of some of that brilliance. My favourite here being "All that Money Wants" with its cynical lyrics and gorgeous music, "Painted lies on painted lips, that promise heaven tastes like this... I don't believe that I believed in you...". Butler's unique vocals coupled with the sharp, intelligent, and caustic lyrics make for extremely satisfying music... I can listen to it over and over and the music still sounds fresh and undated. Another gem here is the pleasantly monotone drone of "Sister Europe", "Lonely in a crowded room, the radio plays out of tune so silently... radio upon the floor, oh stupid it plays Aznavour so out of key..." This album can also serve as a good introduction to their work, although they recently released a U.S.-oriented best of which consists of good material but not their best by any stretch of the imagination. Like many 80s bands, the Furs have recently reunited and toured. Not sure what to think of that all-too-common phenomenon. Capitalise while you can?

I grew up in the late 1970's and fully embraced punk and new wave. When this band first came out, they were distinguishable from the others because of Richard Butler's hoarse yet powerful voice, the generous use of saxaphone and the variety of tempos utilized by a "post punk" band.

Their first album was a breath of fresh air with "Sister Europe", "Imitation of Christ and "We love you" (unexplicably omitted). As they progressed, they adopted a more commercial and danceable sound. All bands need to grow and you can't fault a professional band from making a living but I feel the band gave up their mystique for a wider cast sound. "Love my way". "Heartbreak beat, "ghost in you" and "pretty in pink" represent the best of this more approachable sound.

After the passing of the 1980's, I never gave this band much thought until, on a lark, I saw them live in 2009. They took the stage and [quite surprisingly] opened with a smoking, blistering, in you face version of "Love My Way" which forced me to give another, replenished look at this band...which I wrongly felt was just a product of post punk. They were very good live and these songs deserve to be rediscovered.

This brief compilation (which came out beofre cd's could fit more) is an accurate representative of their work.