The idea is to start a topic on a classic album from the past and others can comment on whether they like/dislike the album and discuss the individual tracks. Any background information you can add would help give a better understanding to the discussion.

 

I will kick of with:

 

The Human League - Dare ( 1981 )

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c170/brian91/Dare1.jpg

 

Track Listing:

 

Things That Dreams Are Made Of (Oakey, Wright)

Open Your Heart (Callis, Oakey)

The Sound of the Crowd (Burden, Oakey)

Darkness (Callis, Wright)

Do or Die (Burden, Oakey)

Get Carter (Budd)

I Am the Law (Oakey, Wright)

Seconds (Callis, Oakey, Wright)

Love Action (I Believe in Love) (Burden, Oakey)

Don't You Want Me (Callis, Oakey, Wright)

 

 

One of my favourite albums of the 1980’s I don’t think there is a weak track on it. This album defied the lingering misconception that synthesizers were only capable of producing cold, emotionless music. The album sold over 5 million copies worldwide.

 

Things that dreams are made of - the song is a tribute to the simple pleasures in life with a listing of things Phil Oakey likes. Great chorus.

 

Open your heart - The 3rd single released just before the album and got to No. 6 in singles chart. Still sounds good today.

 

 

The sound of the crowd - Originally released as a stand alone single in April 1981 it was subsequently re-recorded and put on the album. It reached No.12 in charts. Just love the chorus, brilliant track:

 

Get around town

Get around town

Where the people look good

Where the music is loud

Get around town

No need to stand proud

Add your voice to the sound of the crowd

 

 

Darkness - Quite a dark song about your fears, especially at night. Possibly influenced by the former band members Ware & Marsh.

 

Do or die - A song about a troublesome relationship, the chorus is repeated several times in succession at the end of the song.

 

 

Get Carter - Included as a short interlude, the track is a minimalist instrumental cover version of Roy Budds theme for the film Get Carter starring Michael Caine. Good song though.

 

I am the law - This song is about law and order, written from a policeman's point of view.

 

Seconds - This is a serious song about assassinating someone famous (possibly JFK or was it Lennon?) and its impact on the world.

 

The line:

 

It took seconds of your time to take his life

It took seconds

 

Just about sums it up.

 

Love Action (I Believe in Love) - This is a semi-autobiographical song by Oakey about good and bad relationships. It includes references to his own various relationships, their problems and successes; with Oakey often referring to himself. Complete with the famous lyric "This is Phil talking!" This was the second single from the album and got to No. 3. I absolutely love this track, great song.

 

 

Don’t you want me - is a conflicting male/female duet on the subject of jealousy and sexual obsession. Because of its 'poppy' style it is often misinterpreted as a love song. The male protagonist of the song (Oakey) is a svengali figure who turns a female waitress (sung by Susan Sulley) into a 'star', who then subsequently leaves him once she has obtained fame. Although the song has been overplayed through the years, it still stands out as a classic song from the 1980’s. Released as the 4th and final single from the album it was the Christmas No.1 for 1981. It sold 1.4 million copies one of the top selling singles of all time. It got to No.1 in the US the following year.

 

Trivia :

 

In the movie Ocean's Thirteen, the song was featured as a ringtone for Rusty's cell phone (Brad Pitt's character).

In the 2008 BBC Drama Ashes to Ashes, the song is featured. Later Keeley Hawes's character uses Susan Sulley's line "I was working as a waitress in a cocktail bar" in the dialog, included by the script writers as a tribute to Susan Sulley/The Human League.

 

Any comments, about the album as a whole or the individual tracks.

Edited April 1, 200817 yr by brian91

Superb thread - and an excellent choice. Dare, from the gorgeous artwork in, is a masterpiece. Not a duff track in sight.

 

Worth checking is the recently-released remixes of The Things That Dreams Are Made Of... the Tiga mix is even better than the original! Awesome...

i love 'dare', i cannot really add much more (atm) to what has been put. to me its the album of the 80's. 'sound of the crowd' was my fav track from 81, i also reckon its my fav 'new romantic' track.

Open your heart - The 3rd single released just before the album and got to No. 6 in singles chart. Still sounds good today.

 

Don’t you want me - is a conflicting male/female duet on the subject of jealousy and sexual obsession. Because of its 'poppy' style it is often misinterpreted as a love song. The male protagonist of the song (Oakey) is a svengali figure who turns a female waitress (sung by Susan Sulley) into a 'star', who then subsequently leaves him once she has obtained fame. Although the song has been overplayed through the years, it still stands out as a classic song from the 1980’s. Released as the 4th and final single from the album it was the Christmas No.1 for 1981. It sold 1.4 million copies one of the top selling singles of all time. It got to No.1 in the US the following year.

 

Any comments, about the album as a whole or the individual tracks.

 

http://cache.idolator.com/assets/resources/2006/10/heaven17.jpg

 

 

think i would buy this album above first rather than dare - Open your heart is one of the worse kinds of synthasized musical pieces of vomit i have ever heard - and Don’t you want me is so bad not even Alcazar can do a decent pop cover of it (dont know about the farm's attempt) - the word should have swapped it with mambo #5 in the good/bad #1s poll they recently did.

 

on the other hand the black hit of space, WXJL Tonight and circus of death much better

^I love the "Penthouse and Pavement" album. Well actually my favorite Heaven 17 album is "How Men Are" but that's like my second favorite.

 

 

anyways getting back on topic, this was an excellent read. And I too love the "Dare" album, top notch.

Edited April 1, 200817 yr by lolhey

Dare is an excellent album!

 

Don't You Want Me is a great song by fave Human League song is Tell Me When (of course from other album).

Dare is a great album. Much as I love the singles the song I keep coming back to is I Am The Law. There is something about it that hooked me the first time I ever heard it. I think it was the Big Brother overtones of the song that tied in so well when I read 1984 for the first time at about the time I first heard the song.

Dare is a great album. Much as I love the singles the song I keep coming back to is I Am The Law. There is something about it that hooked me the first time I ever heard it. I think it was the Big Brother overtones of the song that tied in so well when I read 1984 for the first time at about the time I first heard the song.

 

i agree... i like its darkness.

For me, 'Seconds' is the stand-out track on Dare.

Brilliant album.

 

My favourite is probably Seconds - about the assassination of JFK.

 

I Am The Law was surely a reference to Judge Dredd.

 

Also not to be forgotten was the remix album Love And Dancing and a remix of Do Or Die which appeared on a compilation album Methods Of Dance.

 

Also brilliant was the 12" of Love Action which added an instrumental Hard Times.