Rhino (label)
28 February 2011 (released)
25 February 2011
The obsession with making your own mix tapes in the 80s was widespread, either from vinyl (if you had a hi-fi with a turntable and cassette deck!) or the Radio 1 Top 40 countdown on a Sunday combined with some nifty finger work on the pause button (Home Taping is Killing Music ;-))! The music policy was more rock and quirky pop than the straight Bangles and Wham that you might hear in the clubs. 80s Mixtape brings together a well constructed line up of the best of the real stars of the Eighties with a selection including Orange Juice, The Cure, The Smiths, Joy Division, Lloyd Cole & The Commotions, Aztec Camera, Prefab Sprout, Japan, Echo & The Bunnymen and more.
This is essentially the guitar/ bands equivalent of Ministry Of Sound's 'Electronic 80s' and also stands up next to 12" 80s and 'Edge Of The 80s'; both of which ignored the Wham, Madonna, Culture Club and Rick Astley in favour if the more edgy acts.
So here you get the likes of Strawberry Switchblade, Fine Young Cannibals, The Colourfield, Carmel, Matt Bianco, Then Jericho and The Icicle Works. There are also some more mainstream acts on here such as David Bowie, Talking Heads, Prince, R.E.M. The Human League and Soft Cell, although the obvious song choices have been avoided in lieu of some lesser heard tracks, all of which makes this a fantastic collection.
As a huge fan of the 80’s there are some real gems here I haven’t heard for a long time!! Carmel’s sultry jazz / soul number ‘More, More, More’, Flash and the Pan’s ‘Waiting For a Train’, World Party’s ‘Ship Of Fools’ and the Communards ‘Disenchanted’ are all distant memories until now!! One glaring omission for me here is The associates – ‘Party Fears Two’ or ‘Club Country’ would have slotted in here perfectly, as would Propaganda, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time!!
It is still a fantastically constructed album, and one that beats most 80’s compilations hands down.
CD 1
1. Perfect Skin Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
2. Rip It Up Orange Juice
3. Bonny Prefab Sprout
4. The Cutter Echo & The Bunnymen
5. Pillar To Post Aztec Camera
6. Love Will Tear Us Apart (Remastered 2010) Joy Division
7. Love Is A Wonderful Colour (Remastered) The Icicle Works
8. Visions Of China Japan
9. The Sound Of The Crowd The Human League
10. Torch Soft Cell
11. Chant No 1 (I Don't Need This Pressure On) Spandau Ballet
12. Asylums In Jerusalem Scritti Politti
13. One In Ten UB40
14. Mirror In The Bathroom The Beat / The English Beat (USA)
15. A New England Billy Bragg
16. (You'll Always Find Me In The) Kitchen At Parties Jona Lewie
17. The Monochrome Set (I Presume) Monochrome Set
18. Run Me Down The Higsons
19. More More More Carmel
20. Each And Everyone (Remastered version) Everything But The Girl
CD 2
1. How Soon Is Now? The Smiths
2. China Girl (Single Version; 2002 Digital Remaster) David Bowie
3. The Whole Of The Moon The Waterboys
4. Waterfront Simple Minds
5. Why Can't I Be Like You (LP Version) The Cure
6. And She Was Talking Heads
7. Kiss (LP Version) Prince
8. Waiting For A Train Flash & The Pan
9. Speak Like A Child The Style Council
10. Johnny Come Home Fine Young Cannibals
11. Happy Hour The Housemartins
12. Young At Heart The Bluebells
13. Nelson Mandela The Special AKA
14. Disenchanted The Communards
15. Don't Tell Me Blancmange
16. Oh Yeah Yello
17. Half A Minute Matt Bianco
18. Since Yesterday Strawberry Switchblade
19. Life In A Northern Town The Dream Academy
20. Thinking Of You The Colourfield
CD 3
1. The One I Love R.E.M.
2. Need You Tonight Inxs
3. Give It Up Talk Talk
4. Everyday Is Like Sunday Morrissey
5. Ship Of Fools World Party
6. Days Kirsty MacColl
7. Mandinka Sinead O'Connor
8. Chocolate Girl Deacon Blue
9. Working With Fire And Steel China Crisis
10. I Scare Myself Thomas Dolby
11. What Is Love? Howard Jones
12. It Doesn't Have To Be This Way The Blow Monkeys
13. Money's Too Tight (To Mention) Simply Red
14. Josephine (French Edit) Chris Rea
15. Don't Get Me Wrong The Pretenders
16. You're History Shakespears Sister
17. Some Candy Talking The Jesus And Mary Chain
18. Big Area Then Jerico
19. W.F.L. (LP version) Happy Mondays
20. Fine Time New Order
