The Psychedelic Furs - The Psychedelic Furs - Greatest Hits

Most great rock has embraced the influences of the past with a contemporary urgency and seldom an eye on the future. And if Richard Butler and the Psychedelic Furs took critical heat for fusing the pulsing darkness of the Velvet Underground with Iggy Pop edginess and a few mid-'70s U.K. art-rock flourishes (most notably Berlin-period Bowie and Roxy Music), they were only doing what rock artists had already been doing for decades; their chief sin seemed to be doing it in an era when musicians seemed expected to reinvent themselves every six months. This single disc effectively documents the Furs' canon from the droning menace of "Sister Europe" (from their highly recommended debut album) through the original, nonsoundtrack version of "Pretty in Pink," and on to an increasingly pop-influenced body of '80s work ("Love My Way," "Heaven," "The Ghost in You"). Ironically, as they distanced themselves from the late-'60s through mid-'70s influences they'd been criticized for aping, their sound took on the synth- and production-heavy trappings of '80s pop clichés. -Jerry McCulley Amazon.com

The Furs,,,,

Yes this is another great listen.....Love It ... Get It Now..... May 20, 2008

Great CD

I feel that a CD is well worth it if it has a least 3 good songs on it. This has at least 4 and is very nostalgic. It has remained in my car CD player since I got it December 22, 2007

fine collection of essentials...all you need

This is a all your really need of the Furs/Butler. The albums are padded with strained filler, but Butler was too vain to ever admit he was really a pop single scribe (he should have taken a page from Nike Lowe's book, look who is rich now?).

Best tunes are: Pretty in Pink, Love My Way, The Ghost in You, Until She Comes.

A great value. October 4, 2007

Good collection but.........

How on earth can you have a P-Furs greatest hits collection without including Alice's House???? August 10, 2007

Great Music on a Good (Albeit Flawed) Compilation

The Psychedelic Furs came out of the echoey soundscapes of post-punk and later ascendended into new wave stratosphere. This collection traces their career's steps: from their Bowie/Roxy Music begginings to the consolidation of their idiosyncratic sound to their hollow pop days and to their "redemption."

The first few tracks are exemplary of their earliest output. "Sister Europe" could've been on any late-70s Bowie album. Heck, Richard Butler even sounds just like Bowie on this song! The track's production, courtesy of Steve Liliwhite, is of the gloomiest and most reverb-rich sort. Again, think Berlin-era Bowie. "Mr. Jones [Single Version]" is a brash number, punkish-almost, and grounded on an immensely catchy riff. "Dumb Waiters" is the kind of track that reveals a Roxy Music fixation. It uses a sax riff that's at the forefront of the mix, and its atonal repetition keenly invokes a spaced-out atmosphere. "Pretty in Pink," sadly, isn't the poppy film version. This one is a bit more jagged, but it's not the best known one. Alas, the film's fans will be more than disappointed at the compiler's choice.

Tracks 5-10 see the development of a more "80s" sound. The Furs manage to create some truly outstanding bits of music during this phase of their career. Again, the atmosphere that these songs create are amazing. Butler's vocals also act as their own instrument. Pop genius in the context of swirling soundscapes? Oh yeah. This is their zenith, and every selection from this era is a winner.

11-12 come from the much-maligned "Midnight to Midnight" album. The production on that album, rather than being multilayered or atmospheric, feels hollow and fleeting. The liner notes show how the band disdains that effort as overproduced and quickly made. And yet, a song like "Heartbreak Beat" has the sort of catchy longevity that belies its origins. If there's a chorus that'll be stuck in your head for days, it will be this one.

Track 13 comes from a late-80s compilation, and its a delightfully zonky track that revels in its own jangly ephemeral state. It shows the band backing away from the sound on "Midnight to Midnight."

We don't get anything from 1989's "Book of Days" album. Too uncommercial, perhaps?

Next, we get three tracks from the band's 1991 album. The songs work well, but they arent't as memorable as their early 80s classics. At the same time, however, they have more lasting value than lots of the tunes on the slick "Midnight to Midnight." The production values are not as well-honed as that seen on prior efforts, but that's okay. To me, these tracks are nice coalescing of stages.

Lastly, we get a live track that, ironically, ends with the drums from "Sister Europe" (this set's first track).

So, why 4 stars rather than 5? First, I think we get too many tracks from their 1991 album and not enough from their debut. Where's "We Love You" or "India"? You can't short-change the band's post-punk start. Next, the whole "Pretty in Pink" thing still sort of miffs me. Lastly, the live track didn't really do it for me. The compilers could've nixed that and put in a better album track. The CD is about an hour and 16 minutes long. Had they taken out the live track, we might've had room for two decent songs (maybe something from "Book of Days"?).

All in all, the music here is fantastic. It clearly displays the evolution of a band, and the results of the band's changes are riveting fun. Despite a few structural flaws, this set does it job quite admirably. Any fan of 80s music should own this. Ditto for post-punk fans. Bowie or Roxy Music afficcionados should also consider this gem. Heck, everyone should invest in this hearty gem! December 5, 2006

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