Search - Fixx :: Phantoms

The Ultimate Fixx

Alan Caylow | USA | 05/07/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Despite the fact that it didn't match the commercial success of "Reach The Beach," this third album by the Fixx, 1984's "Phantoms," is the group's masterpiece. The band's atmospheric pop-rock works to maximum effect on this album, and there's not a single song here that I don't like. GREAT hooks & melodies everywhere you look, with such classic Fixx rockers as "Less Cities, More Moving People," "Sunshine In The Shade," "Woman On A Train," and the Top 40 hit "Are We Ourselves?", as well as "Lose Face" and "Question." The band also score major points with the softer tunes, including "Wish," the dreamy "Facing The Wind," and the absolutely beautiful number, "I Will" (and why this very lovely song was never released as a single I will never know---the Fixx could've had another huge hit along the lines of "One Thing Leads To Another"). The band's performances are sharp, and Cy Curnin's passionate voice is excellent. Their record sales may have begun to decline with this one, but in my mind, it was the fault of radio and the record-buying public for missing out on this great disc. "Phantoms" is an outstanding Fixx album, with some of the best 80's pop-rock ever laid down. It's the best work Cy Curnin & company have ever done, so what are you waiting for? Pick it up, and enjoy the ultimate Fixx."

A great reissue!

Michael Mikesell | Seattle, WA USA | 11/27/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"C-minus for packaging, but A-plus for sound and bonus material. I have original and promo vinyl on this, and the remastering offers greater clarity, cleaner sound, and is not as harsh in the upper treble--the usual roles of vinyl and CD are reversed in this respect!



I'd rather have the extended mix of "Deeper and Deeper" (the b-side to "Sunshine in the Shade") than a live performance, though--this is such a pensive, moody record that audience noise really intrudes on the band's (and Rupert Hine's!) carefully sculpted sonic wonderland.



But that's a minor quibble--the timelessness and depth of the music shines through. This is, hands down, The Fixx's masterpiece, where the band honed its music making and its life-exploring, inward-directed lyrics to a sharpness and uniqueness unequalled in most of pop music."

3 rescued songs and no more scratchy vinyl remixes!

Todd Lewis | Washington DC | 11/19/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've been a Fixx fan since about day one (in other words 1982) and this album has over time stood out as my favorite of their impressive list of electrifying albums. "Phantoms" is luxuriously lush. It's atmospheric and mysterious, a mental trip through hallucinatory territories. It's every bit as good as "Reach the Beach" and more. The Fixx are an odd band that hasn't fallen as neatly as they should into many people's catagorization of music genres. People are puzzled. Are they New Wave or are they rock? They got enough radio airplay on rock stations in the States to have a huge "rock" fan base but still not quite fit in. They repeatedly show the weird bent sophistication of progressive rock bands like Genesis. They are as capable of weirdness as Devo (just listen to "Question"). They have the askew sensibilities of the Psychedelic Furs or Radiohead.
The icing on the cake with this release is the 12" remix of "Less Cities, More Moving People" (which up until now I had to suffer through listening to on scratchy old vinyl), the **wonderful** extended version of "I Will", and a live cut of "Sunshine In the Shade" (the Fixx are no slouches live!). These three extras are worth the ten bucks alone. The remastering on this disk sounds both vibrant and faithful to the original.
Gotta give credit to these guys because they're such great musicians and songwriters. Synthesizer aficionados will be wowed by keyboardist Rupert Greenal's trademark deep Sequential Circuits Prophet T8, PPG Wave, and Yamaha DX7 textures. Brian Eno fans will know guitarist Jamie West-Oram from his work on "Nerve Net". His guitar work can be heard popping up on Laurie Anderson's "Bright Red", playing alongside Eno and Adrian Belew (of King Crimson fame). Been there, done that....
Three cheers for One Way records, who seem determined to rescue all of the good '80s music that is threatened by the awful and maddening Nirvana of "out of print" that comes from record label indifference. One Way records is a fans' label, putting artistic & nostalgic gems back in print. From Re-flex to Missing Persons, from Martha & the Muffins to Nik Kershaw, Manfred Mann's Earth Band and now to the Fixx, this label delivers.
Keep putting out stuff by unforgettable bands like the Fixx, keeping their albums in print and getting out their lost remixes and b-sides and I'll happily buy away."