Another Lost Look... - Although they started out as Siouxsie & the Banshees wannabe s, by this, their third and last album, Altered Images had arrived at a sophisticated yet quirky sound all their own. I think that they got better with every disc, so of course, this is my favorite. It s a romantic, glittering new wave-disco-pop confection, and not to be missed by anyone who likes atmosphere, melody and a good dash of wistfulness...The only problem with this album is that half of the songs were produced by new wave-pop master Mike Chapman (Blondie, The Knack), and the other half were produced by disco-maniac Tony Visconti (the more disco-y outings by Bowie). So while some elements of the band are consistent from song to song (Clare Grogan s unusual but passionate vocals, Tony McDaid s ultra-clean, faux-African-High-Life guitar parts), the Chapman-produced songs lean towards Altered Images strength, new wave pop, and Visconti s lead towards their weakness, drum-machine-fueled disco...with some notable exceptions.Two of the four Visconti-produced tunes are the best tunes on the album, IMO, but I ll save the best for last. First: the Chapman-Produced tunes. All of these are great, from the vocal grandiosity and sweeping rush of Don t Talk To Me About Love (which is actually a bit disco-y too, hee-hee), to the incredibly upbeat roller-rink organ of Change Of Heart, the perfect jangly pop of Another Lost Look to the cozy romanticism of Love To Stay, which features a beautiful horn part. Chapman was a good match for Altered Images, I wonder why he quit halfway through?Of the Visconti-produced tracks, Stand So Quiet almost works, while Now That You re Here, the weakest track on the album, borders on annoying if you re not in the mood...but those other two tracks...!The album opener, Bring Me Closer is a treat, transcending it s disco qualities into something beautiful and delicious. The contrast of five (!) lush backing vocalists with Clare s unusual lead singing is perfect. This song always transports me, and isn t at all dated sounding...although by rights it should be. The dance mix of this is awesome too!Then there s the closer, my favorite of all: Thinking About You. Not only do we have the return of those lush background vocalists, the whole song is given a nice `wall-of-sound treatment, with strings, a harp, and various other instruments contributing tastefully. This song embodies many of Altered Images best qualities: clean guitars, wistful lyrics and awesomely beautiful melodies. When Clare sings I m in heaven... at the end (if that s what she s saying!), you ll be there too! ,oD
Long overdue on CD, but this reissue is a disaster! - The 3rd and final album by Altered Images makes its CD debut in a very unfortunate way. This thing is loaded with flaws and errors that alter the original LP. First off we have track 2, Another lost look. This song has never been on CD, but the version they put in place of the superior LP version is the Live version, which originally appeared on the B side the of Love to stay single. Next, we have Love to stay, which is not the full length LP version, but the much edited single version. Don t talk to me about love is also not the original full length LP version, but the edited single version. Change of heart is the same version that has appeared on every CD since the originally released Best Of CD in 1992. It s the single version that, aside from missing the first note of the song, has a couple musical parts edited out. I don t want to know is a great song that was only issued on the UK cassette version of this album. Unfortunately, it sounds as if it was mastered from an old cassette tape. Same thing goes for Last goodbye. This song sounds muffled and flat. Regarding the Don t talk to me about love 12 mix, this version is originally 8 and 1/2 minutes long, but was edited down to 7 minutes, due to time constraints, for the 1996 collection Reflected images . Rather than getting the full version, we get a repeat of that edited version. And last, there was no Love to stay dance mix. The 12 version of the song is just the full length LP mix, which should be track 3 on this CD. What s very clear about this release is that the only songs to have actually been remastered were the ones that hadn t appeared on CD before. The others were all taken directly from previously mastered compilation CD s, which is obvious because all of the old mastering flaws are included here. Rather than giving us an up-to-date remastered disc, it s nothing more than a collection of songs from previous releases. Did anyone even proof this thing before production? I can understand that at times these indie labels are at the mercy of what the rights holder supplies them with, but some of these mistakes are inexcusable. Luckily, Bite was also released on CD in Japan soon after this release, though only containing the eight original album tracks. On the plus side, the Japanese CD was a completely new remaster, offering full versions of all songs in great quality. The only difference is Don t talk to me about love is still the single version, though that s the way it was on the original Japanese LP, so it s not really a mistake. After Pinky blue received nasty reviews, the band lost two members and decided to change their sound and image substantially. The first single, Don t talk to me about love, is a pleasant dance song which often leads to comparison to Blondie, which I believe is based mainly on the production credits, i.e. Mike Chapman. The next single, Bring me closer, is a song I couldn t stand for over a decade... then one day it clicked with me. Originally, the whole disco sound seemed a step backwards, but I enjoy the song now, especially the 12 mix. The third single, Love to stay, is one of my all time favorite Altered Images tracks. It s very tropical and dreamy, and Clare sounds amazing. There is also a promo video for this song that I have been looking to add to my collection for over 17 years. I ve never even seen it, and it s something of a holy grail at this point. The final single was Change of heart, which failed to chart at all. That may have been because both the 7 and 12 featured no exclusive songs, or maybe the public just didn t care anymore. It s the closest thing to a Pinky Blue sounding song on this album, and I love it. There are some songs that are just downright awful. Stand so quiet and Now that you re here are just so dreadful, I can t even listen to them without cringing. Clare s voice is NOT suited for the attempted maturity of the music and lyrics, and they come off as pompous and overproduced. The B sides are the best material from this era. Last goodbye and Surprise me are fun toe tappers that harken back to the excitement and fun of Pinky Blue , which is probably why they were left as B sides. Bite is very schizophrenic in sound, which could be another comparison to Blondie since their Autoamerican album was all over the place, but with some of their best songs. Bite is an interesting closure to what should have been a long and wonderful career for Clare and the boys. The critics were too hard on this band for being fun and colorful the previous year, so this album seems to be an attempt to please the critics and retain/regain some credibility. Though it s not their best album, it still shows that Altered Images were an amazingly talented and unique band, regardless of their young age at the time. Clare Grogan recorded a full length solo album titled Trash Mad for the London Records label in 1987. After the first single, Love Bomb, failed to chart, plans for the second single, titled Strawberry, were shelved - as well as the completed album. There was a video produced for Love Bomb, and unfortunately it looked like a Bananarama wannabe video, complete with spandex and dancing boys. A second song from Clare s solo venture was available on a London Records compilation album titled Giant . It contains a really terrible song called Reason is the slave. While it s clear that Clare s solo work wasn t going to be on par with Altered Images material, it s still a shame the solo album was never released. It is rumored that promo copies were sent out at the time, though I ve never seen any proof of that.
Pop confections galore - It s a shame that Altered Images has somehow slipped through the cracks as one of the most original, fun, sonically and visually most interesting pop bands ever (back when pop didn t mean talentless and unoriginal). Sure, they dabbled in Siouxsie-esque goth rock early on, but at their core, they were always a highly melodic, quirky pop band. This is apparent on their first two albums, Happy Birthday and Pinky Blue.With Bite, the band underwent a makeover in image, sound and lineup, and fortunately, the new formula worked just as well.This is polished, melody-driven 80 s pop, much sleeker and more restrained than what the band had previously produced. Clare Grogan s vocals are not quite as giddy and chirpy, and the production, much of which was done by Mike Chapman, makes the songs shine.The lead single, Don t Talk to Me About Love, is simply one of the most beautifully arranged and performed pop songs ever. Bring Me Closer is a fun disco-dance number. Another Lost Look and Love to Stay are sweet, dreamy pop gems, while Change of Heart channels Blondie when Blondie was channeling 60 s girl group. Actually, the entire album channels Blondie, which is definitely not a bad thing.There were originally only eight tracks on Bite, so the bonus material included on this CD is more than welcome. Surprise Me is manic bubblegum reminiscent of the material on Pinky Blue. Last Goodbye is more fun pop that s so good you have to wonder why it wasn t originally included. I Don t Want to Know is yet another winner that sounds like what might have happened if the Shangri-Las were still making music in 1984. If you love good, fun pop or new wave music, don t hesitate to pick up this CD. And while you re at it, pick up Happy Birthday and Pinky Blue, and prepare to have some fun.
Once Bitten - It is a shame that Altered Images is so rarely remembered, and when they are, its usually for the quirky but fun song Happy Birthday. The band s music matured to fruition on their third release Bite. The cd sounds as fresh today as it did when it was released. The rich layered production pervades each enchanting song, from the cha cha beat of Love to Stay to the haunting Now That You re Here. Don t Talk To Me About Love, the album s first single, reaches a pinnacle of true artistic expression, as heart wrenching as it is lovely. Claire Grogan s voice never sounded so luxuriously polished as it does on this collection of songs. Sadly, this, the band s last musical effort, left fans wanting more. These years later, we finally get more with the bonus extend tracks and unreleased material. Don t miss this opportunity to hear one of the most underappreciated bands of the 1980 s, if not of all time.
the crown jewel of the Altered Images legacy - I had been waiting for this perfect gem, checking the Altered Images section at the shops for years, hoping for its reissue on CD. Bite was a smooth, succulent pop album with nary a misstep when it came out twenty years ago and it sounds even better today. Unlike many eighties albums that sound embarrassingly dated, Bite proudly retains a timeless sound. Song for song, Bite was as good or better than any pop album released that year or this.Its lead single, Don t Talk To Me About Love is simply one of the best pop 45s ever released. It s good to have its 12 on CD here as well - both A and B side. The dance mixes for singles Love To Stay and Bring Me Closer are also welcome bonus tracks. The addition of the b-side Surprise Me lends a slight flavor of the Pinky Blue album to the proceedings, and that s a happy bonus too. The enclosed booklet includes original album artwork and gives a nice history of Altered Images circa Bite. The only thing that might have made this reissue perfect-er would have been the inclusion of the band s cover of Little Town Flirt. If only we had Clare Grogan and Altered Images now!