The Motels - Essential Collection
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Free Music Notes for Essential Collection
Free Music Review: AND THE DIFFERENCE IS...
Hit: 5 Stars
...in the remastering and number of cuts. What I am referring to is the difference between this CD and another, quite similar and quite good, MOTELS anthology, CLASSIC MASTERS.
This CD has 15 cuts; some are obscure but excellent. The CLASSIC MASTERS CD has 12 cuts, including "Whose Problem" and "Some Things Never Change" and those two cuts are not on this CD - all the rest of them are.
Speaking of one of the obscure cuts that I had not heard before getting this CD, listening to "Change My Mind" on this CD makes me wish that Martha Davis would take up the Blues in earnest, they would be a no-brainer for a singer of her caliber.
Anyway, if you are a MOTELS fan you will have to have this collection. The production quality of the remastering is impeccable and Martha Davis sounds like she is in the room with you. And the sax - man does it soar!
If you are not a MOTELS fan already but want to have a much better anthology than NO VACANCY - in terms of production values, not content - get this one. As I write this review, 6 of the 10 top MOTELS mp3 downloads on AMAZON.COM are from this CD.
And to Capitol records I ask: "Hey, how about a remastered LITTLE ROBBERS, the MOTELS greatest non-anthological album?"
Free Music Review: More Suitable Lodgings
Hit: 4 Stars
While this collection in an improvment over 1990's (No Vacancy: The Best of the Motels and a sonic upgrade to 2001 standards, updating the older collection would have been such a treat. "No Vacancy" has 19 songs to the Essential's 15. Add that The Motels' albums are criminally out of print, and the omissions (especially "Little Robbers" and "Whose Problem") are glaring.
Martha Davis has one of the smoky, sultry voices that seemed so in demand in the early 80's (think Pat Benatar, Quarterflash). They also had an arty edge that came from their punkish Los Angeles roots. So when the early songs like "Kix" or "Danger" started getting a following, Capitol records smelled paydirt. They notoriously told the band that their third album would not be released without a more commercial redo; the result was the hit "Only The Lonely" and the breakthrough All Four One. Then came the inevitable decline, as the band streamlined the sound. The following singles, "Suddenly Last Summer" and "Remember The Nights" were still some of the best radio songs around, but the raves like "Apocalypso" or "Celia" were gone. After the CD "Shock" met with decreased success, Martha went solo (the great lost Policy) and then to the eventual reunion tours.
This "Essential Collection" usurps by prior Motels best-of CD's and is still a great reminder that Martha and The Motels were more than just a couple of singles and sultry videos. Those albums (All Four One, Careful and Little Robbers) were all better than most of the New Wave One Hit Wonders out there...and they deserve better than to be languishing in OOP status.
Free Music Review: lady has a distinctive voice...
Hit: 4 Stars
I'm not sure I get what her songs are always about...not that it matters, because
I simply enjoy hearing the voice. No one out there sounds like Martha Davis...and
that's good enough for me.
Did I say I like the woman's delivery and phrasing?
Free Music Review: If you love "Only The Lonely" you have to buy this CD!
Hit: 5 Stars
I bought "Essential Collection" by the Motels because I wanted the song "Only The Lonely." I think that's one of my 10 favorite songs of all time. It turns out the whole CD is awesome! There's a certain "film noir" atmosphere to many of these songs. This is smart stuff! So feed your brain and buy this CD!Free Music Review: Nobody can do it quite like The Motels.
Hit: 5 Stars
I was actually quite thrilled to see that The Motels had come out with an Essential Collection cd. They were one of the best bands to come out of the 80s, yet still they were SO underrated. Sad to say, but I had even forgotten about them until 2 years ago when VH1 did a "Where are they now?" on different bands. But then it struck me...MARTHA DAVIS!!! (And the Motels of course.)
"Only The Lonely"...which is my personal favorite and may be one of the most remembered..was absolutely one of the best songs straight out of the 80s. "It's like I told you..Only the lonely can play".
"Suddenly Last Summer"....as another user added, this was also a great song to come out of the 80s..I'd say it was the 2nd biggest hit of the band.
Other songs you might be vaguely familiar with.. "Shame" and "Remember the Nights". If you were EVER fan of the Motels, pick up this CD and get interested again! And if you aren't familiar with the band but you like other bands such as Quarterflash, Blondie, Berlin or Missing Persons..then check this out. You won't regret it!
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