Search - Martha & the Muffins :: Danseparc/Mystery Walk

Not the best, but I'm still glad to see it......

Rob Hymer | Middlesbrough, Peoples Republic of Yorkshire | 10/06/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"At last! A re-release of the best pop band ever to come out of Canada, as BMG have brought out a two-album compilation of middle-period Muffins material. Unfortunately, this wasn't the best period for the Toronto popsters, some of the tracks show signs of over-engineering and excessive experimentation (Walk into walls, Sins of Children) or have been dated (sorry Black Stations/White Stations, it ISN'T 1984 anymore). However, on the bright side, there are some jewels on this CD, such as the title track of Danseparc, with it's still very danceable beat, the eerie lyrics and brittle notes of Big Trees and the snapshot of relationships in the mid-eighties, What People Do For Fun. And who can forget the wierd but compulsive semi-African beat and deranged lyrics of Several Styles of Blond Girls Dancing? Although in all conscience, I can't give it the full four stars (a bit too much filler, I'm afraid), the quirky charm of the Muffins is good for at least four. Now lets see some of the Virgin material re-released - This Is The Ice Age, for instance."

Two terrific albums in one package.

Pinner Blinn | Arlington, MA USA | 02/25/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Martha and the Muffins, best known for the New Wave hit "Echo Beach" in 1980, continued to produce some of the most interesting music of the 80's, but listening to this CD, you will have to put aside some preconceptions of "80's music". M+M experimented freely, and the uninitiated might find the mix perplexing. Indeed there is a marked difference in tone between "Danseparc" and "Mystery Walk", the former being a broad-shouldered, boisterous, in-your-face kind of album, while "Mystery Walk" is cooler, more distilled. There are terrific songs in both realms. Some of my favorites: "World Without Borders", "Sins of Children", "Whatever Happened to Radio Valve Road?", "Garden in the Sky", "Nation of Followers", "I Start to Stop", "Big Trees"."

Classic '80s pop...but GOOD!

AARON C LYON | CA USA | 01/23/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Mystery Walk, released in 1984 is still totally rad, and the best in the M+M catalog. Here's why M+M still sounds cool today: Daniel Lanois. This musician/engineer/producer has worked with U2, Robbie Robertson, Scott Weiland, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Peter Gabriel, and on and on. This guy has "rock as art" down. Very Cool Guy. So on Mystery Walk you'll hear some of the new tools of the day (i.e. digital synthesizers), but filtered through delays, reverbs, and other techniques that render the sounds very organically. Add a lot of REAL drums and percussion, and you get some great pop grooves that remind me of period Talking Heads."