FROM LUXURY TO HEARTACHE Genres:Alternative Rock, International Music, Pop, R&B, Rock The Final Studio Album from Boy George and Co. Was a Truthful Swan Song as it Heralded the Now Infamous Breakup of the Band as Well as Boy George and Jon Moss's Breakup as Well with the Single 'move Away' Being Much More T... more »ruth Than Fiction. This Edition Adds Three Extended Versions of Singles as Bonus Tracks.« less
The Final Studio Album from Boy George and Co. Was a Truthful Swan Song as it Heralded the Now Infamous Breakup of the Band as Well as Boy George and Jon Moss's Breakup as Well with the Single 'move Away' Being Much More Truth Than Fiction. This Edition Adds Three Extended Versions of Singles as Bonus Tracks.
CD Reviews
"What if your a lonely boy?"
Joseph J. Brigante | Norwalk, CT United States | 09/01/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This was the last Culture Club album in the 1980's containing new material. Not only is this now an import, it was there hardest to find CD when it was still in print in the United States. This is a fantastic album, and here are some of the reasons:1) Phil Pickett helped compose virtually every song with the group on this album. (If you remember, Phil Pickett helped compose the classics "It's a Miracle" and "Karma Chameleon".)2) Probably because the third album flopped, the group got rid of Steve Levine and replaced him with Arif Mardin and Lew Hahn.3) There were more female vocals on this album, like "Colour by Numbers", and this time not only was Helen Terry included, but so was Ruby Turner and Jocelyn Brown.4) Last and most of all, George was on drugs at the time and his relationship with Jon Moss was coming to an end. As some of us know, it is in the deepest, darkest times of are lives that we show brilliance. The commercial hit on this album was "Move Away", but virtually all the other songs are brilliant. There is "Gusto Blusto", an ultimate dance classic, "Reasons", an R&B type of classic, "God Thank you Woman", a beautiful song, while "Work on Me Baby" is just enjoyable to listen to. The deeper songs are "Come Clean" and "Move Away", but they are not the deepest. The deepest and the most beautiful song on the album is "Heaven's Children." It can relate to all of us when we felt really dark in our lives. P.S. I suggest you buy this now, because something gives me the feeling it will be out of print in Europe one day."
Culture Club's fourth album is very underrated.
Joseph J. Brigante | 07/02/1998
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Flashback to 1986, Madonna was keeping her baby, Top Gun was bringing in the dough at the box office, and Boy George hit rock bottom because of his heroin problem. The heroin addiction was notorious in the summer of 1986 while this title was released in the spring. CC's career had already gone down from their 1983-1984 peak, but they were album to squeeze one major hit out of this album (MOVE AWAY). Producer Arif Mardin was a very different producer than Steve Levine, who produced the first three albums, and gave this album an r&b tint. You can hear hints of Prince and Chaka Khan on this album, but the music is also strong. GOD THANK YOU WOMAN is one of their most underrated singles, mainly because people couldn't picture George sing a song with that as the title (he recently stated the song was about his mother). REASONS is very Stevie Wonder-esque, TOO BAD could've been performed by The Time or Rick James easily in their heyday, and SEXUALITY was almost a tribute to Prince. The lyrics on this album are much darker than those on the earlier albums, but George's voice keeps it relative to his fanbase. Since it was deleted from Epic's inventory in the late 1980's, this album surfaced as an import in 1994, which gave a sigh of relief to George fans everywhere who needed this on cd. If you are just a casual Boy George/Culture Club fan, your best bet it AT WORST or COLOUR BY NUMBERS, but if you are a bigger fan, this title belongs in your collection."
Soulful Bliss with a country tang!
boychadie | Kernersville NC USA | 02/21/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Culture Club's last all new cd from the 80's is a mix of rock,reggae, country & soul. Their last top ten US hit "Move Away" is included. As well, as the other 2 singles "God Thank You Woman" & "Gusto Blusto". The other standout tracks are "Work On Me Baby", "Sexuality" & "Come Clean". The baking vocals are very strong with Ruby Turner & Jocelyn Brown backing up Boy George. This cd also contains 3 bonus mixes. This albulm is alot more solid than the last "Waking Up With the House on Fire". My favorite track is "Come Clean", a country tinged ballad about getting rid of your demons."
A different, but necessary, final album from Culture Club
boychadie | 08/31/1998
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This Culture Club album is a bit of a hybrid 3-star/4-star affair, but the overall effect is pleasurable, warranting four stars.Let's get it out there on the table at the beginning: this album is no "Colour by Numbers." Not every track is a memorable, non-derivative song with great staying power. But "From Luxury to Heartache" has its charms.Side one opens with the only real commercial hit from the album, "Move Away." Listen to this song right after "Miss Me Blind" from "Colour..." Notice any similarities? It's no suprise this was a hit: it has a catchy chorus, plus lyric simplicity without being banal. This was a frequent trap in the band's lyrics: Boy George would go running off on flights of rhyming fancy, leaving the listener wondering just what the heck the song was supposed to mean, anyway? (Check out "Crime Time" from "Waking Up with the House on Fire" for a good example of this.) But "Move Away" takes a very basic theme and runs with it. That is pop hit material."I Pray" is the next song, and keeps the up-beat pounding going. Boy George got quite a bit of help in the backing-vocal department here, and it makes the song a different effort. Instead of just 'The Boy with Helen Terry' or 'The Boy with Nameless Backing Choruses,' "I Pray" has a couple of distinctly interesting voices who do a lot of the work on the song.Here, the album hit a lull. "Work on Me, Baby" and "Gusto Blusto" are aggressively cheerful, but the kind-of-pointless lyrics fail to make much of a lasting impression. "Heaven's Children" rounds out side one nicely. This song has taken some heat as being overblown, weepy, or dull, but the lyrics make a statement without being preachy. Really, an underrated song.Side two opens with one of the most misunderstood tracks of all-time: "God Thank You, Woman." Hint: read the lyrics! It's not a love song! Even more basic hint: look at the title! It's a song of thanks. It's a song of friendship. It's not a song about sex. Some Culture Club 'fans' seem ready to jump all over the Boy for even considering singing a song with the word 'woman' in the title. Boy George is/was an important camp/gay cultural icon. This doesn't mean every song has to involve camp/gay topics. That would make Culture Club boring. The band isn't, thank you, god.Also on side two, "Reasons" and "Come Clean" are a couple of good slower songs. "Too Bad" overcomes lyrical obscurity (once again, what IS the Boy talking about?) with a hook-based, sing-along chorus. Finally, "Sexuality" is good, clean, Culture Club fun.This album, produced by Arif Mardin, has a few more corners and sharp edges than the other three, but "From Luxury to Heartache" deserves three hearty cheers after the lackluster "Waking Up With the House on Fire." Boy George expressed the wish that this album had never been released in his autobiography, 'Take it Like a Man.' Why? "From Luxury to Heartache" make have taken a critical beating, the Boy may have been falling out-of-love with drummer Jon Moss, but the songs stand as some of the Eighties best pop music."
Great Album
Carl J. Vest | Detroit, MI United States | 03/27/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Unfortunately, Culture Club did not feel the need to re-release this CD here in America when they re-mastered their previous 3 CD's earlier in the decade. It is not up to the high standards of the previous discs, (and particularly the brilliant Colour By Numbers), but it is a great album none the less. Boy George was beginning his dive at this time but was still in relatively high form. "Move Away" and "Heaven's Children" are highlights."
