An Excellent Tribute - Don't Judge This By Its Cover
Dee Sharp | Long Beach, CA United States | 07/17/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Collections like this that scoop up demos, remixes and unreleased material and blend them with the popular released recordings are usually fraught with peril. (Witness The Chords' 2CD anthology which - to this writer - is hampered by the demo recordings.) This well thought-out collection is a glorious exception. For the uninitiated, Secret Affair was - along with The Chords, Purple Hearts and Merton Parkes - one of the vanguards of the 1979 Mod Revival. The band had a unique sound that drew from the Beatles, carabet, punk and East London gangster chic. Their sound was something fresh and modern at a time when many of their contemporaries were trodding the paths paved by The Who and The Jam. As Secret Affair's career progressed, their productions became more melodramatic and overwrought.Thankfully, the demos and other alternate recordings temper this trait, allowing the songs' power and craftsmanship to shine through.The set is not without flaws: some of the demos are not great quality, the live recording of "New Dance" from the Mods Mayday '79 show is an important document but a difficult listen, the two recent recordings that close disc two don't do the band justice and would have been better left off the collection, and there are some overall production problems (some audio foibles, booklet annotations out of sequence).But there are far more high points, including the rare New Hearts recordings (the band that evolved into Secret Affair); the demos are band recordings, not songwriters', and are remarkably well realized, particluarly Only Madmen Laugh, Sunday Girls (the blueprint for One Way World), and Hide And Seek; the US remix of My World which - to my ears - has always been superior to its UK mix; and the personal recollections of band leaders and principle composers Ian Page and Dave Cairns in the track-by-track annotations.This set is not perfect, but it's about as close as one can get for this band. A worthwhile investment for the longtime fan, especially those who were never fully satisfied by the original albums."
Track Listings (22) - Disc #1