 | Awesome!
rating: 4
I was very pleased with this cd. I just wished it had more songs that I really loved but overall I am pleased with my purchase.
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A great band!
rating: 4
I must admit,the only song from this 80's group i'm familiar with is the Motion of Love. Their songs were not frequently given air time and are hard to avail during this time. But after listening to there Voodoo Dollies album, i must say the music industry has been unfair to GLJ. They are the Cure with more pop appeal- even better. I really enjoyed listening to this "the best" album. No song is boring--a must buy.
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I too love Jezebel.
rating: 4
The only tracks I really knew before I got this collection was the hit "Desire (come and get it)", and the two from the "Kiss Of Life" album. After numerous listens, I'm quite impressed, and the whole disc is consistently good. To my ears, they're similar to The Cult or Love & Rockets, and are a rough mix of pop/goth/rock. The earlier material here like "Bruises" is definitely more moody, yet enjoyable, while the later stuff like "Jealous" is really going for the hook-filled alt-rock sound. Both eras are great though. I'm glad "Voodoo Dollies" is in chronological order, and my current favorite songs are "Stephen", "Sweetest Thing", "Motion Of Love", and "Break The Chain". All equally strong. The last track "Who Wants To Go To Heaven?" is a nice almost sing-a-long, and a great way to end the disc. In short, if you like any of the above mentioned bands or genres, you should love Gene Loves Jezebel. Nice written history and photos as well.
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Good Jump-in Point to GLJ
rating: 5
GLJ is yet another example an excellent 80's post-punk band being rediscovered, though perhaps not to the extent deserved. If you've never heard them then this is probably the best place to start as it covers all of their different sounds pretty evenly. All of the songs are presented more or less chronologically and depending on your tastes you'll either gravitate toward the beginning, middle or end of the collection. Goths tend to like the 1st 2 albums which are represnted on here by the 1st 6 songs; "Bruises" is one of my favorite GLJ songs. The middle marks the transition period when they, and nearly every alternative act at the time, were shifting from the darker early sound to a more rock-oriented concept. "Heartache" and "Desire" were alt radio smashes at the time and made a name for the band. Then came the slightly harder rock feel of the songs from 'House of Dolls', tacks 11-13. The last stage of the album represents an attempt to go mainstream with "Jealous" and "Kiss of Life"... I think this stage stinks but it was fairly popular.
To understand the group it is important to look at the overall body of work and also consider the time. GLJ followed a trajectory of many postpunk bands that started a bit Goth, then moved to general alternative and perhaps dabbled a little in metal... Jezebel actually almost exactly mirrors the progression of the Cult up until about '87. Overall this is a great collection that showcases all of the band's stages and offers some bang for the buck.
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Come and get it
rating: 4
I had to replace my old cassettes, this album had all songs I like on it. Memorable "Desire (come and get it) was my favorite and the reason why I got interested in that band. Second favorite "Upstairs" has a nice bass loop. Third would be "Beyound doubt". "Influenza" is a cute percussion song with mostly only xylophone and keyboard. "Heartache", "Kiss of life", "Kiss of life", "Break the chain" and "Bruise" are nice songs.They still make albums but they got too folk for my taste and voice of singer is more low tone.
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