Men at Work - Contraband: The Best of Men at Work

Contraband... contra band... get it? It's a joke!

Okay, I was a teenager in the 80's. And I mean, the entirety of my teenage years were in the 80's. Sadly, I had no connection with my peers at the time and totally missed 80's music.
Recently, I've been trying to catch up on what other kids were listening to back then.
One this entire CD there are two songs I've heard before, and one of them (Overkill) was heard the first time on an episode of Scrubs just in the last few years.
So far, I like it. Makes me wish I'd been more social back then. April 27, 2008

Here they come, those feelings again.

I was in college radio my Senior year when a mysterious blank "white label" 12-inch single came to the station with the cryptic title "Who Can It Be Now?" Speculation ran wild about who the catchy and instantly memorable song was from...with Sting and The Police being a heavy favorite at the time. When "Business as Usual" arrived a few weeks later, we got our answer. It wasn't long till the comical video was taking over MTV and Man At Work began to take over the national musical landscape.

Their run was both stunning and swift. The catchy singles and clever video presence made the debut a number one album, with both "Who Can It Be Now" and "Down Under" topping the charts. The follow-up, Cargo, had another pair of top tens, "It's a Mistake" and "Overkill." At one point, both albums were in the top ten at the same time. They nailed a Grammy for Best New Artist in 1982. The were great interview subjects and made for great copy, after all, they helped make Australia hip for a spell. "Crocodile Dundee" and Vegemite became new topics due in part to the way Men At Work opened the gates.

Then it fell apart just as fast. Colin James Hay quickly became the dominant force in the band, with the tight confines of never-ending close quarters and swelling egos splintering the band by the time Two Hearts appeared. This time there were no top 40 singles and Hay broke up the band for a solo career. The novelty had worn off the group's sound, and despite CBS trying to model Hay's solo debut Looking for Jack into a Sting-like image, the audience had moved on.

"Contraband," however, helps gather what was great about Men At Work and put it into perspective. While the favored songs lean heavily on those first two albums, "Maria" and "Hard Luck Story" show that maybe "Two Hearts" wasn't that bad after all. (It's also worth noting that five of the 16 songs here come from that much maligned album.) And while the band eventually seemed to be viewed as Hay's vehicle, members Greg Ham and Ron Strykert made major songwriting contributions, to the point where Strykert sings lead on the live version of "I Like To" (originally a B-Side). Ham's sax and flute playing were a major factor in the band's attention grabbing sound. Men at Work were, first and foremost, a band.

Aside from the hits, there is also ample evidence that Men At Work had substance on those first two albums. Had there not been an unwritten rule about releasing too many singles from albums at the time, "Be Good Johnny" probably would have been a third top ten from "Business." Bear in mind that Michael Jackson's Thriller was hot at the time, and it was considered radical that Jacko had gone as far as to release a fourth (and eventually a seventh) single. The dreamy "Down By The Sea" was a far cry from the super accessible image the band cultivated in their videos, and its addition to "Contraband" (along with the live "I Like To") shows that the band were better musicians than the breezy pop would lead one to believe.

The reason for the three star review is two-fold. Any one of the unmentioned songs from "Two Hearts" could have been bumped for something else from "Business as Usual." And given that the only song to chart at all from the final album was "Everything I Need," its exclusion seems odd. The other reason is no unreleased material - which I guess they were saving for the release of the expanded album CD's a few years later. Even Hay's solo singles would have been a nice addition. (He still makes pretty good records. Check out Are You Looking At Me?.) Still, I am glad I have this. For an 80's buff, Men At Work make for great memories. December 5, 2007

One of Australia's best exports

This compilation is great. Men at Work made some great music and it's collected here. All of the songs are good. In addition to being good, with melodies that catch in the head, the songs make the listener think some too. There's intellectual and emotional impact to them. I liked these guys as a kid and I like this CD a lot now. Great buy, especially for 80s kids. July 11, 2007

Great CD

Definitely worth having. Great music to move to while doing housework and had to stop a few times and dance around the house. My 9 yr old son thought I was nuts. Oh well....after the 80's....maybe I am. March 12, 2007

Better than I remembered

I bought this after a friend and I were discussing old bands, films, etc. that we loved growing up. As I played the C.D., the songs were even better than I remembered! Besides bringing back memories, it brought back a unique sound and voice that is similar to absolutely no one. If you've never seen the videos that go with 'Be Good Johnny' or 'Land from Down Under', you'll have to try to get your hands on them. These guys were as good at performing for the screen as they were behind their instruments. 'Overkill' is my husband's theme song (he worries too much over little things). The lyrics have a wide variety of meanings with diverse beats. There's something for everyone on this 'best of' the best band ever!

Chrissy K. McVay - Author February 4, 2007

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