Search - Suicide :: Why Be Blue

Remixed for a Second Listen

Richard Garcia | Ventura, California US | 09/09/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"To those of you who were disappointed by Suicide's "new direction" when this album was released over a decade ago, you now have the chance to listen to it from a new prospective. Martin Rev took the final master recording and processed it through an assortment of reverb, flanger and delay effects resulting in a very hypnotic mix. Compare the versions of "Pump It" and "Universe" on this album to the original and you'll hear what I'm talking about.



While it's still not one of their best releases, this new mix gives it more of that experimental edge that Sucide has been known for which was missing on Ric Ocasek's original mix. I'm just glad to see that it's at least back on the shelves of record stores after being out of print for over a decade, although it will be forever overshadowed by their first album.



The album also comes with a live disc recorded back in 1989 for the die-hard fans out there. While the sound quality is lacking (which is the case with nearly all Suicide live shows), the energy in the concert makes up for it. It's a shame that the music is buried beneath the vocals because Martin Rev really dishes out catchy tunes on this one, some of which never made it to the studio. Alan Vega is also in good spirit and the crowd shows no signs of indifference. Each song is met with cheers and praise, thus making Vega get a bit more frantic in his vocals.



While the original studio album may not been that great, it now has two reasons worth checking it out a second time."