When it comes to one of my favorite albums of all time, it is hard to be critical. but.. I will.
Ideal World- there is an element of this song that always reminded me of Rocky Horror's Time Warp for whatever reason. The backing vocal on this and many earlier FadGadget recordings seem off key at times, and are off key (which is weird considering Alison Moyet
Collapsing New People
Even though this is one of the "memorable club hits" and undoubtedly the most popular track from this album, there is a drab and dragging repetition of this track that seems uninspired. Knowing that its was a looped sound recording of a factory near the studio that they recorded this with Gareth Jones at makes it somewhat more interesting. My favorite thing overall about this track, though, has always been the title and lyrics - though I love Einsturzende Neubatten, it does seem a bit of a friendly jab at the experimental noise scene.
Sleep
I have always adored the violin/viola sound in this track. I could however do without the child noise.
Stand Up
no comment
Speak to Me
I love this song so much. This song has so many moments though, that I just think to myself 'what the hell is going on here?!?' backing vocals saying "boom shalalala" or "boom shakalaka" or "boom shananana" - whatever they say - is one detail that I don't quite understand why they thought it was a good idea. The vocal level and level between verse, chorus, and bridge always felt really strange to me - especially when the bridge is like twice as loud as the rest of the song. It seems like a mistake or a rush mix job or everybody was high that day.
One Man's Meat
Probably my least favorite track on this album. I could totally do without the beat, vocals, lyrics, and title. It is especially disappointing that this was chosen for one of the singles from this album.
Ring
I played a piano/vocal cover of this at a coffee shop back around 1996 or so and some elderly lady told me that it was a beautiful song. The song is a beautive, no doubt. It also informed me that Fad Gadget had songs for all ages.
Jump
How this is not a global hit in every sense of the world, I will never know. It seems that this song should have been covered at least a couple dozen times by now, as it not only has a catchy melody and chord progression, but it also plays into the egocentricity of modern society. The ending to this song is perhaps one of the greatest moments in modern recording where the vocals are actually mixed with scraping metal to give it a harsher quality. As the vocal fades away and it is just left with the gated metal, it really becomes apparent how innovative and ingenious this track was and still is.
Ad Nauseam
