|
|
Music CD - Various Artists: Left of the Dial: Dispatches from the '80s Underground
|
Music CD: Left of the Dial: Dispatches from the '80s Underground
Artist: Various Artists
List Price: $64.98
Our Price: $44.93
Your Save: $ 20.05 ( 31% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Rhino / Wea
|
Average Customer Rating:  
|
|
Tracks:
|
1. Radio Free Europe - R.E.M.
2. Going Underground - The Jam
3. A Forest - The Cure
4. Holiday in Cambodia - Dead Kennedys
5. I'm In Love With A German Film Star - Passions
6. I Will Dare - The Replacements
7. That's When I Reach For My Revolver - Mission Of Burma
8. Johny Hit And Run Paulene - x
9. Just Like Honey - The Jesus And Mary Chain
10. Black Celebration - Depeche Mode
11. Tell Me When It's Over - The Dream Syndicate
12. Hollywood (Africa) - The Red Hot Chili Peppers
13. Temptation - New Order
14. Ghosts - Japan
15. A Song From Under The Floorboards - Magazine
16. Oblivious - Aztec Camera
17. Don't Want To Know If You Are Lonely - Husker Du
18. Rise Above - Black Flag
19. Back In Flesh - Wall Of Voodoo
20. Cattle And Cane - The Go-Betweens
|
|
|
Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0081227649029
Format: Original recording remastered
Label: Rhino / Wea
Manufacturer: Rhino / Wea
Number Of Discs: 4
Publisher: Rhino / Wea
Release Date: 2004-10-12
Studio: Rhino / Wea
|
|
|
|
|
|
Spotlight customer reviews:
|
Customer Rating: 
Summary: A Good Sampler for an Important Decade
Comment: I'll keep this short since much of what I was going to say has already been said in other reviews. In brief, this is a nice sampler of, for lack of a better term, post-punk music heard on many college radio stations in the 1980s. This was a decade that, for whatever reasons, tends to get downplayed in regard to the quality of the music heard on the airwaves--this compilation should help dispel that notion. Like many such collections, Left of the Dial has inspired me to seek out the albums/cds that some of these songs were originally recorded on. If I have a complaint, it's that a number of these songs appear on other compilations by Rhino; my pet peeve: can't they find another song by the Hoodoo Gurus besides I Want You Back? Stoneage Romeos has any number of good tunes--c'mon guys, mix it up a little. Anyway, that aside, this is a worthwhile collection of music.
Customer Rating:
Summary: I Never Knew What I Was Missing...
Comment: Having been born in mid-1984 and being only five years old when even the most recent of these tracks were released, I never knew most of this music existed. Of course, youth is no excuse for ignorance, and I've always made it a personal priority to seek out great music from before my time, from kitschy lounge sounds and dusty 78rpm relics to the Russian Romantics and honky-tonk troubadours (just so you don't go getting the idea that I'm a music snob, I've sung along to my share of cheesy disco records.)
Older music, especially the rare "underground" stuff, isn't just shoved in front of you, a facet of every popular entertainment medium, bound to get stuck in your head whether you want it there or not. You've got to go LOOKING for it, as if on a hunt for an abandoned relic nobody else can guide you to. In the case of the 1980's, the problem wasn't that I didn't think to seek it out, but that I was under the false delusion that there was really nothing worth seeking. MTV and my local radio stations all lied to me, and many others of my generation. Not a big lie, but enough to shut us off from experiencing some pretty powerful music. We were led to believe the '80s were all about hair metal, pastel-clad yuppies in skinny neckties, and the "Me Generation." Well, the contents of this eye-catching pink box tells an entirely different story, one of boundless creativity, musical innovation, disgust with authority and convention, and unexplored horizons which still haven't been charted by commercial radio or experienced by mainstream audiences. This is the quirky, iconoclastic, progressive, and politically conscious music of the decade that somehow managed to evade notoriety in all but the most "clued in" of music-lovers.
Sheer curiosity grabbed hold of me and forced me to buy this set as a birthday present for my younger sister. As it turned out, I ended up listening to the set far more than she did! Something about the mix of all of these seemingly unrelated styles, artists, and musical approaches struck me like a comet, and I realized just how versatile, inventive, and exciting the music of the 1980's really was, underneath all of the MTV trivialization and spin. From these four discs, I uncovered gems from artists who would soon become my idols, namely The Replacements, The Cure, The Smiths, and the incomparably brilliant Pixies. They changed my life for the very first time on this set, and I shudder to think of who or where I would be without their influence. I know the seasoned experts here decry the set's "obvious" song choices, but I would implore them to reconsider whether or not this is a bad thing. For someone like me who never heard any of these songs before "Left of the Dial," these "obvious" songs have been an absolute revelation.
In closing, if you enjoy this music, have never heard it but want to, or even possess the slightest curiosity about what the "good stuff" must sound like, you owe it to yourself to hear this earth-shattering compilation. Also recommended: Nuggets, Children of Nuggets, and No Thanks! The '70s Punk Rock Rebellion.
Customer Rating:
Summary: FANTASTIC
Comment: This box is fantastic, amazing 80's songs!!! An interesting compilation of a lot of groups from the manignif era!!! Enjoy, probable you never will see these bands together in a box again!!! amazing!!!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Indulge in your 80s nostalgia
Comment: It's obvious from the long list of reviews that purists will quibble over which tracks from which artists represent their quintessential 80ness. But us ordinary folks, who just want a cross-section of the playlist from the alternate radio station we listened to in the 80s, won't care nearly as much. If you like a particular artist from this selection (and there are 82, so you probably do), you probably have several albums by that band or performer. I know I do.
Where this collection of songs shines -- and it does shine -- is in making you feel like you turned on the radio on a very good day. For every artist whose stuff I own (REM, The Pogues, They Might Be Giants, Kate Bush) there were three who made me say, "Oh wow, I hadn't even thought of that band in ages!" The Jesus & Mary Chain? Husker Du? Wall of Voodoo? In some cases, the tracks reminded me why I was willing to forget them, but that's what you get from any anthology.
Personally, if I had a long car ride coming up, I'll grab this set of four CDs and bring 'em along. I don't think I'd be bored for a moment.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent listening for '80s music junkies
Comment: This is a very comprehensive collection of all the "unheard" classics of 80's alternative/underground music scene. I use "unheard" in quotes because many of the songs were heard on college radio, independent music stations, etc. I was surprised by the inclusion of a few songs ("Message of Love" by Pretenders and "Ways To Be Wicked" by Lone Justice) as I wasn't too sure how "underground" they really were. I'm sure some more mainstream stations played them. But anyway it was really good to hear the Lone Justice song again after so many years. And I was REALLY pleased with the inclusions of "Swamp Thing" by The Chameleons and "When Love Breaks Down" by Prefab Sprout.
All of the complaints about songs that were excluded, I think, can only be remedied by adding another disc or two. Four discs just isn't enough. I would have added songs by Throwing Muses, Shriekback, Comsat Angels and Wire to name a few. But overall, it's a great collection. And the booklet with pictures, notes, essays is worthwhile too.
|
|
|
Editorial Reviews:
|
|
As a sequel to 2004's similarly packaged Rhino box No Thanks! The '70s Punk Rebellion, this four-disc set tackles the punk/indie/modern rock of the 80s with equal panache. Subtitled "Dispatches from the 80s Underground," these 82 non-chronological tracks play like a great college station from the later part of the decade. Encompassing a dizzyingly diverse musical palate, styles range from the artsy Southern twang of R.E.M., to the sugary pop of Aztec Camera, the blistering hardcore of Black Flag, the ghostly techno of Japan and the chilly, noir dance floor attack of New Order. And that's just on disc one. Sure, there are some omissions, but the box does a remarkable job balancing more popular acts such as Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Cure and Echo & the Bunnymenwith cult faves like Green On Red and obscurities from the Lyres and the Three O'Clock . Even those who were radio fanatics during these years will likely find tracks they aren't familiar with, along with getting a flashback rush from those they are. A colorful 64 page book provides track-by-track background information as well as a handful of essays about the decade that approach the music from different perspectives. There are no public service announcements or aspiring DJ's to interrupt the flow and the remastered sound brings the music to life with crispness low powered FM radio could never rival. --Hal Horowitz
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
