New Wave Outpost Forum

Thought this might be an interesting "Best of" list to kick off this section of the message board:
[b]Your favorite New Wave albums that few people ever heard or never got the widespread recognition they deserved[/b].

In most cases, these albums are not available on CD.

Here's mine:

1) Fay Ray - Contact You (1982)
2) The Expression - self-titled (1983)
3) A Drop in the Gray - Certain Sculptures (1985)
4) Wire Train - Between Two Words (1985)
5) Trees - Sleep Convention (1982)
6) New Musik - Warp (1982)
7) The Sound - Heads and Hearts / Shock of Daylight EP (1984/85)
The Thought - self-titled 2nd album (1984)
9) Polyrock - Above the Fruited Plain EP (1982)
10) Pseudo Echo - selt-titled (aka Autumnal Park) (1983)
11) Blanket of Secrecy - Ears Have Walls (1982)
12) Rain Parade - Emergency Third Rail Power Trip / Explosions in the Glass Palace EP (1983/84)
13) The Reels - Quasimodo's Dream (1981)
14) The Spoons - Arias & Symphonies (1982)
15) Space Monkey - On the Beam (1985)
16) Athletico Spizz 80 - Do a Runner (1980)

I'm sure there's a few that I've overlooked from my collection, but it's a start.

6) New Musik - Warp (1982)
7) The Sound - Heads and Hearts / Shock of Daylight EP (1984/85)

14) The Spoons - Arias & Symphonies (1982)

Off the top of my head these are available on CD. Some people reading the thread might not realize it.

I have them all.

Also, Rain Parade and Wire Train were released on CD, but out of print now.

My list isn't so long, but all are personal favorites of mine. The first 3 were available on CD at one time, but are long out-of-print (at least in the US). Unlike many albums of the era which only had a couple of good tunes on an album of otherwise forgetable material, these albums were very catchy, upbeat, and appealing from start to finish.

1. The Other Ones - The Other Ones (some folks may remember the minor hit "Holiday", but the rest of the album is great too imho).
2. Thompson Twins - Side Kicks (everyone remembers the big hit "Lies", but how about the ballad "If You Were Here" featured in the 80's teen hit movie "Sixteen Candles")
3. Thompson Twins - In The Name Of Love (their 1st US release, but got very little airplay here, sadly overlooked imo)
4. Positive Noise - Change Of Heart (this album got regular play on my turntable for years - it was always fresh because no one I knew had ever heard it before)

These are a few albums that come to mind that I loved (and still do) from the New Wave era that weren't that widely heard:

Blue Angel - Blue Angel
Sorrows - Teenage Heartbreak
The Lonely Boys - Lonely Boys (known as Little Bo Bitch in England)
The Reds - The Reds
The Bluebells - Sisters
The Bongos - Drums Along The Hudson
The Atlantics - Big City Rock
The Numbers - Add Up
Beat Rodeo - Staying Out Late with Beat Rodeo
Firetown - In The Heart of The Heart Country
Choir Invisible - Sea To Shining Sea
Code Blue - Code Blue
Girls At Our Best! - Pleasure
The Long Ryders - Native Sons
The Members - At The Chelsea Nightclub
Television Personalities - They Could Have Been Bigger Than The Beatles
The Times - Pop Goes Art!
The Windbreakers - Terminal

Fiat Lux - (don't remember title to the 6 song EP ...maybe "Secerts" about 1983-84)
Human League - Reproduction (about '79-'80) ( just found out this is available on CD now, as other older League albums like Travelog at Amazon)




Edited by - Alvy on 04/19/2003 11:45:53

Cactus World News - Urban Beaches
The Armoury Show - Waiting For The Floods
The Rise & Fall Of A Decade - S/T
Real Life - Flame
Secession - A Dark Enchantment
B-Movie - Forever Running
SPK - Machine Age Voodoo
Savage Republic - Jamahariya
In The Nursery - S/T
Until December - S/T
Agent Orange - This Is The Voice
The Lucy Show - Undone
Dragon - Body & The Beat
Mental As Anything - Fun Da Mental
The Johnnies - Highlights Of A Dangerous Life
The Stems - At First Site
The Northern Pikes - Scene In North America
For Against - Echelons

and for those of you reading other boards recently...

The Screaming Believers - Communist Mutants From Space

There are many many more but my brain just got tired.




Edited by - jfiber on 04/19/2003 17:44:30

Here's a few of mine. I'll add more, and give more info as I rack my brain and go through the library in the basement.

In no order:

Catholic Girls-S/T
Bangles-Bangles EP (with orig. bassist Annette Zinlindkas)
Green on Red-Gas Food Lodging
Skids-Scared to Dance
Scars-Author Author EP
Richard Barone-Cool Blue Halo
Code Blue-S/T
Milkshakes-After School Session
Lambrettas-Beat Boys in the Jet Age
Killing Joke-Nighttime
Public Image, Limited-Metal Box/Second Edition
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds-Kicking Against the Pricks
The Necessaries-S/T
Pezband-S/T
Telex-More Electronic Stuff
Feelies-Crazy Rhythms
Carla Devito-Is This a Cool World. or What?
Ellen Shipley-Photogenic
Positive Noise-Change of Heart
The Dbs-Repercussions
REM-Chronic Town EP
Dalbello-Whore
The Glove-Blue Sunshine

Unlike Mike, I like a different Sound Album:

The Sound-All Fall Down/Shock of Daylight EP

I'd have to add Secession's self-titled album to the mix. There were at least 5 forgotton classics on that one.

1) Fay Ray - Contact You (1982)
--I liked this one.
2) The Expression - self-titled (1983)
One of the best in my book
3) A Drop in the Gray - Certain Sculptures (1985)
Awsome!
5) Trees - Sleep Convention (1982)
--I am trying to find this one. I got a few singles and some MP3s from your site, Mike but thats all
6) New Musik - Warp (1982)
ONE OF THE BEST!!! I LOVE THIS ALBUM!!
The Thought - self-titled 2nd album (1984)
Finally--I am not the only one to hear this and like it
9) Polyrock - Above the Fruited Plain EP (1982)
10) Pseudo Echo - selt-titled (aka Autumnal Park) (1983)
Who Doesnt like Pseudo Echo?
15) Space Monkey - On the Beam (1985)
Cool. Just plain cool .
I was not alive when any of these came out--jeez.
these were also mentioned:
Dragon - Body & The Beat
Code Blue-S/T


My personal favorites are like this:
Re-Flex - Politics of Dancing
4 Out of 5 doctors - 4 out of 5 doctors
Thought - Thought
the church - crusade
Kaja - Crazy Peoples Right to Speak

finally the best one of them all: (IMHO)

KAJAGOOGOO - ISLANDS
particularly the song: The Power to Forgive.

also cant forget:
Public Image League (I have the best of)
Sly Fox - Sly Fox

Mike, you should get some samples of the albums mentioned on this thread to add to Sampling the Rarities. It'd be real cool. I havent heard of alot of these. Alot of my LP/vinyl purchases were made because of your site.

ME: kajafan86@playful.com
AIM: RaiyoKun (Im online almost all the time)

Mike, you should get some samples of the albums mentioned on this thread to add to Sampling the Rarities. It'd be real cool. I havent heard of alot of these. Alot of my LP/vinyl purchases were made because of your site.

Thanks! I really want to add some more MP3 snippets. I will work on this in the coming weeks.

I'll Just give a few

The VKTMS - VKTMS (love the Roma Rocket song)
The Mutants - Fun Terminal

OK I'm being sort of a SF bay area homer with the first 2.


X-Ray Spex - Germ Free Adolesents
The Rizillows - Can't Stand the Rizillows
Klark Kent - Music Madness from the Kinetic Kid
Television - Marquee Moon
Nazz Nomad and the Nitemares (Aka the Damned) - Give Daddy the knife Cindy
Wall of Voodoo - Dark Continent (Back in flesh was thier best song ever! It sucks when you can't go fishing because the fish are on vacation)
Let's Active - A Foot
The Belle Stars - S/T
The HooDoo Gurus - Stone Age Romeos
Translator - Heartbeats and Triggers
Howard Devoto's Solo Album - Jerky Versions of the Dream
The Polecats - (both) Polecats are go $ Make a Circut with me
Roman Holiday - Cooking on the Roof
A Certian Ratio - I'd Like to See You Again
Joboxers - Like Gangbusters

Props to previous mentioned Lps

Fay Rey - -Contact You (why cant they bring this one back into print)
The Lambrettas - Beat Boys in the Jet Age (good call)
Space Monkey - On the Beam
Until December - S/T (I saw them at the I Beam in SF back in 85' wow great show) wait until december....I'll give you everything...
Secession - A Dark Enchantment (that was a great album)

Speaking of Secession, Is the 12' of sneekyville still available in some form maybe in some comp.? It was so moving this tune with a drumbeat simalar to Blondie's Atomic but with a Sisters of Mercy Darkness (1,2,3,4,5,6,7, all good babies go to heaven...)

great thread,
jr






Edited by - Quite Life on 04/29/2003 07:26:18

Speaking of Secession, Is the 12' of sneekyville still available in some form maybe in some comp.? It was so moving this tune with a drumbeat simalar to Blondie's Atomic but with a Sisters of Mercy Darkness (1,2,3,4,5,6,7, all good babies go to heaven...)

Sneakyville along with Fire Island are two of my favorite New Wave songs of all time.

Two other acts I can think of that few have heard but rock are A Popular History of Signs (A House esp.), and the Severed Heads (Dead Eyes Open esp.)

Not my Top Ten as such as cutting a huge list down to 10 would be very tough indeed, Just 10 obscure albums (in england) that were special to me for various reasons :-

1. OMD - Dazzle Ships (Yes I know but it's true NOBODY bought it so that makes it obscure right ...)
2. Scars - Author! Author!
3. John Foxx - Golden Section (No-one bought this either!)
4. Alphaville - Forever Young (One of the best ever albums of the 80's)
5. Freiheit - Fantasy (German pop-rock very catchy)
6. Classix Nouveaux - Le Verite
7. Blue Zoo - Two By Two
8. Wall of Voodoo - Dark Continent (Wern't Very Big In The UK)
9. Billy Idol - Billy Idol
10. Fashion - Product Perfect

This is my 'commercial' top 10 :-

1. Limahl - Don't Suppose
2. Japan - Quiet Life
3. Soft Cell - Non-Stop Ecstatic Dancing
4. Bronski Beat - The Age Of Consent
5. The Cure - The Head On The Door
6. Pseudo Echo - Autumnal Park
7. Dead Or Alive - Youthquake
8. Icehouse - Icehouse
9. Visage - Visage
10. Public Image Limited - Public Image Limited

Whoops! I Fergot!

Fingerprintz-Distinguishing Marks
Magazine-The Correct Use of Soap
Dream Syndicate-The Days of Wine and Roses
Kim Wilde-Select (her 2nd album)
Any Trouble-Wheels in Motion
Vapors-New Clear Days
Woodentops-Giant
Bruce Wooley and the Camera Club-S/T
Bram Tchaikovski-Pressure
Divinyls-Desperate
Avengers-S/T
Fuzzbox-We've Got a Fuzzbox, and We're Gonna Use It!
Kraut-An Adjustment to Society
Game Theory-Lolita Nation
Kraftwerk-The Man-Machine
Fabulous Poodles-Mirror Stars
Original Mirrors-S/T
Robert Hazzard and the Heroes-EP
Adventures-S/T
Pseudo Echo-Love an Adventure
Altered Images-Happy Birthday
Rubinoos-Back to the Drawing Board
Only Ones-S/T
Bo Deans-Love and Hope and Sex and Dreams
Bolshoi-Giant EP
James White and the Contortions-Buy
Teardrop Explodes-Wilder
Rank and File-Long Gone Dead
Scruffy the Cat-Moons of Jupiter
The Graces-S/T
Reivers-It's About Time
Connells-Boylan Heights
Voice of the Beehive-Let it Bee
Medium Medium-The Glitterhouse
Modern English-Stop Start
Lydia Lunch-The Queen of Siam
Our Daughter's Wedding-Moving Windows & ODW EP
Suburbs-Love is the Law
Scientists-Weird Love
Fleshtones-Hexbreaker
Dead Kennedys-Plastic Surgery Disasters
Paul Collins Beat-The Beat
Martha and the Muffins-S/T
Deutche-Americanische Freundshaft-DAF

And my very, very, very favorite New Wave album that nobody's heard:

The Records-The Records (absolutely flawless, every song a pop gem!)

good call on the Fay Ray, Polyrock, Atlantics, Long Riders, Rain Parade, VKTMZ, Rezillos, and Nazz Nomad!