A Flock Of Seagulls

A Flock of Seagulls

Uplifting, upbeat, unique, hugely enjoyable debut album

Review Score:

(10/10)
A Flock of Seagulls are one of those bands who always seemed to be on the brink of something huge but never quite made it. This was such a shame as they wrote some truly great songs, mixing futuristic sounds and lyrics with a traditional four piece band arrangement. Perhaps those haircuts became millstones round their necks (literally), because it seems that people are more interested in ridiculing them for their hair rather than concentrating on the fact that they wrote some brilliant songs.

This, their debut album, was first released in 1982. They weren't at the forefront of the New Romantics (Ultravox, Depeche Mode, Human League and OMD had already burst onto the scene) but they still made a very impressive entrance.

The thing that set A Flock of Seagulls apart from their rivals is that their music was very upbeat. They very much had a dance edge to them, with some great catchy songs and bright sounding production from Bill Nelson. There is also an element of humour in Mike Score's lyrics, along with many references to sci-fi and futuristic themes.

This CD has rearranged the track listing from the original UK vinyl release, which is a shame because in my opinion the album doesn't flow as well. However, it is still a great album and all the songs stand up as well today as they did when first released.

The CD kicks of with what is without doubt their most well known song, the anthemic 'I Ran (so far away)'. This truly is a great song, one which perhaps became so great that it eclipsed most of their later work. The album version is definitely better than the single because it has the atmospheric and lengthy intro, sounding more like an experimental prog rock band than a poppy New Romantic one! It then kicks in with force, a simple underlying synth line and Paul Reynold's echoed guitar riff leading up to the ever building verses and choruses of Mike Score's tale of being kidnapped by aliens. It sounds like no other band, and also shows why this song still stands on its own today.

That this song still gets played showed how unique it was, and even recently it has been given a new lease of life by being used in the video game 'Grand Theft Auto'!

'Space Age Love Song' is beautiful, moving, and once again Paul Reynolds makes his mark with some superb sounding guitar playing. His style is very similar to U2's Edge with his use of delay pedal and 'ringing' harmonics yet he makes it his own. I'd even go as far to say that Paul's guitar sounds are BETTER than the early U2 recordings, though that is more down to the production than the playing ability.

All the other hits are on this album too: 'Telecommunication', 'Modern Love is Automatic', 'Messages' as well as the superb instrumental 'D.N.A'. That the band only seems to be remembered for the hit 'I Ran' is a shame because a listen to these other tracks show just how good they were at writing catchy pop songs.

The album closes with the only slow song, the dark sounding 'Man Made', prophesizing about the future where machines take control of the human race. If anything it showed how the Seagulls songwriting potential could go much further, and in later albums it did though with less success.

There isn't one bad song on this album, nothing that could be considered a filler. Personally I also really like 'Don't Ask Me', though the best thing is that this is very much an album that can be played from start to finish without skipping tracks.

Mike Score's vocals aren't the strongest around, but they suit the music perfectly as well as his imaginative lyrics. Ali Score's drums and Frank Maudsley's bass also suit the music well, giving a good grounding for the rest of the band. However, the standout of this album has to be Paul Reynolds's guitar playing. He managed to commit to record the kind of sound U2's Edge only ever managed to reproduce live (in the early days). His guitar playing is bright, melodic and definitely his own style. He interchanges rhythmic echo guitar with ringing chords and beautiful melodies. Truly the icing on the cake for a great collection of songs.

The band later went on to produce two more albums with the original line up (Listen, Story of a Young Heart) though neither came close to the success of their debut. I do also think it is a real shame that neither of these albums have been re-released because they showed how the band had developed its song writing skills.

'Listen' was rush recorded in two weeks and it shows. The songwriting was much more advanced, but they weren't given the studio time to develop the more adventurous songs they were working on. It is still a great album worthy of listening to, though many songs are nowhere near as 'poppy' as the debut.

'Story of a Young Heart' in my mind is the album that should have made them huge, a collection of songs that captured the poppiness of the first album with the darker side of 'Listen'. Somehow it just never got the recognition it deserved, then Paul Reynolds left the band and A Flock of Seagulls were never the same again.

So the first album 'A Flock of Seagulls' is a must have for any fan of this kind of music. From the timeless 'I Ran' to the moving 'Space Age Love Song' and instrumental 'D.N.A.' it is hard to put this album down. A great debut and a brilliant album. Buy this and beg, borrow or steal their next two albums (Listen, Story of a Young Heart) as well. Play them all and wonder why the Seagulls didn't go on to dominate the World. We can be thankful though that we at least did get these albums from them.

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