The Psychedelic Furs - Original Album Classics [5CD Box Set '2008] RE-UP

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allmusic.com biography: The Psychedelic Furs, whose name was inspired by the 1966 Velvet Underground song "Venus in Furs," were formed in England in 1977 by brothers Richard Butler (vocals) and Tim Butler (bass), along with saxophone player Duncan Kilburn and guitarist Roger Morris. By the time they released their self-titled debut album in 1980, the group had become a sextet, adding guitarist John Ashton and drummer Vince Ely. That album, featuring Butler's hoarse voice (the tone of which suggested John Lydon without the sneer) was a bigger hit in England, where it reached the Top 20, than in the U.S.

Talk Talk Talk (1981) did better, reaching the U.S. Top 100 and producing two British singles chart entries, one of which was "Pretty in Pink," later also a hit in the U.S. when a new version was used as the title song of a film. Forever Now (1982) saw the band reduced to a quartet with the departure of Kilburn and Morris. The rest moved to the U.S., turned to producer Todd Rundgren, and scored a U.S. Top 50 hit with "Love My Way." Ely then left, and the remaining trio of the two Butlers and Ashton made Mirror Moves (1984), the biggest Psychedelic Furs hit yet.

The film Pretty in Pink helped spread their name further before the release of their next album, Midnight to Midnight (1987), which consequently got to number 12 in the U.K. and the Top 30 in the U.S. and included the Top 30 U.S. hit "Heartbreak Beat". Book of Days (1989) marked the return of Vince Ely, but was a considerable commercial disappointment. World Outside (1991) also failed to find an audience. The Psychedelic Furs then folded up shop, and Richard Butler launched a new group, Love Spit Love. The band lasted two albums – 1994's Love Spit Love and 1997's Trysome Eatone – and didn't enjoy the monumental success of Butler's original band. Butler kept on. He began writing songs for a supposed solo effort as the '90s came to a close. Those sessions led to new songs with brother Tim and a subsequent Furs reunion in early 2000.

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The Psychedelic Furs - The Psychedelic Furs (1980)
FLAC with CUE & LOG - 396 MB | 57:49 mins | MP3 CBR 320 Kbps - 132 MB

allmusic.com says: Emerging from the incipient post-punk London scene with a healthy fascination for late-'70s Bowie (and in turn, for his own attraction to Krautrock), the then-sextet kicked up a slightly monochromatic but still attractive storm on their debut. Richard Butler's Thin-White-Duke-after-smoking vocal rasp has a surprising appeal, serving up a wry, slightly detached series of lyrics on life. The members of the core band, meanwhile, had clearly honed their chops well on-stage; Ashton's lead guitar work avoids both wankery and simplicity in favor of a balanced, artistic power. Production mainly comes from Steve Lillywhite, who smartly steers away from the soon-to-be-clichéd touches he would bring to U2's early work. "India" is a good example; it has a brooding, quiet beginning with strange telegraphic signals and turns into a brawling rocker without sounding like the Edge or Larry Mullins going off. The record comes off as serious without being self-consciously deep, occasional toe-dipping into humorous aside ("We Love You" has Butler idly listing off things he loves, sometimes with appropriate if sarcastically delivered song quotes: "I'm in love with Frank Sinatra…fly me to the moon…"). "Imitation of Christ" is the most frazzled, with lyrics detailing someone else metaphorically nailing himself up over a light but still strange guitar line. "Wedding Song" is amusingly prescient as one of the first "white rockers go hip-hop" numbers of its kind, along with Blondie's "Rapture," though its inspiration could equally be dub. Ely lays down a pounding funk beat while Butler breaks into a midsong rap no better or worse than most such efforts of the time.

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The Psychedelic Furs - Talk Talk Talk (1981)
FLAC with CUE & LOG - 405 MB | 56:51 mins | MP3 CBR 320 Kbps - 128 MB

allmusic.com says: This time working solely with Steve Lillywhite, the Furs introduce a brighter, poppier side to their underground rock edge, with smashing results throughout. The group produces some powerful songs, even more rough-edged than before. Especially striking is "Dumb Waiters," with its queasy, slow-paced arrangement that allows both Kilburn's sax and Ashton's guitar to go wild. However, the six still create some undeniable pop classics. Most well-known is the lead track, "Pretty in Pink," inspiration for the iconic John Hughes film years later and re-recorded as a result. The original is still where to go, though, with Butler's catchy description of a romantically unsure woman matched by a killer band performance. Similarly lighter numbers on the record call to mind a rockier version of Roxy Music's output in later years: elegant, romantic angst given a slightly rougher edge in both music and vocals. "She Is Mine" is especially fine as a gently swinging number with some of Butler's best, quietly ruminative lyrics. Straight-up anthems abound as well, the best being the amazing "Into You Like a Train," which mixes the blunt desire of the title with a sparkling Ashton guitar line and a fast rhythm punch. Talk Talk Talk ends on another high with "All of This and Nothing." A soft, acoustic guitar-sax-rhythm combination introduces the song, then fades away for the main section to begin; Butler details bits and pieces from a lost relationship over a sharp full-band performance, and a final drum smash leads into a reprise of the start – a fine way to end a fine record.

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The Psychedelic Furs - Forever Now (1982)
FLAC with CUE & LOG - 499 MB | 67:28 mins | MP3 CBR 320 Kbps - 156 MB

allmusic.com says: Likely exercising the same controlling approach that he was notorious for, from his work with every act from the New York Dolls to XTC, Todd Rundgren brought in legendary backup vocal duo Flo & Eddie as well as a cellist, two horn players (including NRBQ member Donn Adams), and himself on keyboards. The end result is simply fantastic, fusing the post-punk charge of the first two albums (Ely still sounds great as always, from the first song on, while Tim Butler acquits himself well on bass) with a new synth-based approach that works wonders. Ashton's guitar often settles back in the mix a bit to allow Rundgren's wall of sound to come together fully, often with great success. The title track is a great example of this, an inspirational anthem where Ashton fully and appropriately lets go right at the end. The most well-known song is one that, for the Furs, was their most atypical single to date: "Love My Way." Butler's very Bowie-like vocals and lyrics slyly celebrate and ponder the triumphant synth rock scene of the time, while Rundgren's often quirky keyboards take the lead in place of Ashton's guitar and Flo & Eddie wordlessly vocalize at the end. "Goodbye" has a brisk, horn-driven punch underscoring Butler's wickedly sour au revoir to a past love; "Sleep Comes Down" mixes Tim Butler's lovely bassline and Rundgren's piano; "President Gas" wryly takes a shot at Reagan while avoiding obvious platitudes; and "Yes I Do" ends on an almost sweetly romantic note, even as the cello/drum-driven arrangement surges along.

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The Psychedelic Furs - Mirror Moves (1984)
FLAC with CUE & LOG - 253 MB | 37:39 mins | MP3 CBR 320 Kbps - 85 MB

allmusic.com says: Having made tentative inroads toward a wider American audience with Forever Now, the Psychedelic Furs' profile-raising and partial transformation continued with Mirror Moves. Very much a product of its mid-'80s time – Keith Forsey produced, his drum machine providing the beats while synths played an even more prominent role than before – it may not be the classic sound of the band but it is an often rewarding and inspiring listen. It didn't hurt that some of the band's best songs made an appearance here, either. Both "The Ghost in You" and "Heaven" balanced off a warm sound that managed to be radio-friendly on the one hand – John Ashton's guitar mixed in surprisingly well with the fine if often conventional keyboard arrangements – and surprisingly barbed on the other. Richard Butler's lyrics were some of his slyest and sharpest, a tone maintained throughout the album, while his one of a kind speak/sing clipped rasp kept things from being too lost even at the album's least inspired. Unlike the following Midnight to Midnight album, however – where everything the Furs had going for them turned into a screeching halt – Mirror Moves holds up fairly consistently. "Here Come Cowboys," with its combination guitar/string chug (or so it sounds!) and a brilliant slow descending chorus, and the driving, nervous piano and massed vocals on "Alice's House" are two particular winners. The secret highlight of the album is also its closer – "Highwire Days," as brilliant a meditation on '80s-era political paranoia and fears as was done at the time. Butler's imagery is to the point without moralizing or dumbing down, while the tense arrangement suggests a more synth-based equivalent to the Chameleons, at once scaled for epic heights and almost uncomfortably close.

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The Psychedelic Furs - Midnight To Midnight (1987)
FLAC with CUE & LOG - 343 MB | 47:22 mins | MP3 CBR 320 Kbps - 108 MB

allmusic.com says: Midnight to Midnight continues the streamlining of The Psychedelic Furs. Unlike the previous Mirror Moves, Midnight to Midnight loses the essential character of The Furs' sound, as the production relies on a sleek, stylish pop production. Although the results don't have much to do with the group's early records, it's an entertaining record, filled with its share of pop thrills, including the single "Heartbreak Beat."