Patrick Cowley - Megatron Man (11 tracks) +Album Reviews

Essential CD for your dance/trance collection

Get What We Give | Georgia | 02/14/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Patrick Cowley was one of the first musicians to really delve headfirst in the burgeoning synthesized music arena. That's not to say that many many musicians prior to Cowley didn't include synthesizers in their music. They certainly did. However, Cowley took it to a much higher plane. His music is totally synthesizers! And yet, it never sounded like somebody just doing a bunch of hooks on the machines, but rather real music. Cowley managed to take a machine that had, up until that time, been used to add a few sounds and/or smooth out tracks. He created complicated music that no one else at the time could duplicate given the rudimentary technology of the synthesizers.

It is doubtful that many people knew who he was or what his music was unless they were haunting gay bars in the 1980's, but Cowley's tunes were a staple at any good gay dance club. His songs were precursors to the trance and dance music that is currently running the circuit parties. However, where the modern songs hint more at rap and industrial sounds, Cowley's music was a bit more listener friendly: it was a mixture of what we now call dance, plus what was known as disco and what was/is known as new wave. It is highly danceable and many of his songs are quite hummable. Cowley is credited with helping Sylvester achieve the level of fame that he did. Cowley was responsible for the sound on "Dance", "You make me feel," and as his last collaboration with Sylvester - "Do Ya Wanna Funk?"

Megatron Man is a "best of" album which I'm not sure really includes all his really best songs. The big ones are there, but there are a few that are omitted. Megatron Man was a big song for him, but the biggest song of his was Menergy, which was a HUGE hit in the bars in the early early 80's! It is very hot and danceable. "Megatron Man" made it to the top 40 of dance albums. With some really hot songs like "Sea Hunt" - which sounds like something out of an outer space aquatic film (huh?), the wild sounds of "Teen Planet" and "Lift off", Cowley had a real winner of an album.

Groups such as New Order, Depeche Mode, and the Petshop Boys all have credited Cowley with inspiring them to make the kind of music they do.

The remainder of the songs on this album are really hot and fun. Maybe I'm stuck in a rut of fondly recalling my youth, but I think this kind of dance music beats the heck out of the new stuff.

Check this out, I think you'll like it."

Brilliant Musician !

Efren Sifuentes | Manhattan, NY | 12/22/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A must for synth and Hi-NRG dance music lovers/likers. Patrick was ahead of his time. His painstaking overlayering and track mixing paid off every time -- with delicious material. Try and obtain a copy of the (out-of-print) book "Tribal Rites" written by fellow Megatone Records musician David Diebold. Fascinating stuff."

Absolutely esential !

E-Cat | Palm Springs | 02/03/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Patrick Cowley's experimentation and exploration of synthesizer sounds not only had a big influence on today' s House /Club music but also took disco music to a next level and created ultimate HI NRG dance floor gems like; Menergy, Megatron Man, Lift-Off & I Wanna Take You Home (Sea Hunt is a great track as well !). If you enjoy Sylvester - Bobby O - Lime and Divine, this release will most likely exceed your highest expectations.

"

The Second Album Of Hits By A Synth' Pioneer

Davidp. | Jax. Florida | 03/21/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Megatron Man was Patrick Cowley's second album, released at the peak of his short but influential career. Around this time, not only was the title track of this album climbing the dance charts, but so were three of his collaborations with other artists: "Right On Target" with Paul Parker, "Do Ya Wanna Funk" with Sylvester, and "Die Hard Lover" with Loverde.

This CD duplicates the track listing of the initial release of the album, which included remakes of his two earlier hits, "Menergy", and "I Wanna Take You Home". These tracks were deleted after the initial pressing of the album, presumably under pressure from the honchos at the 'Fusion' Record label, who had released the original versions on Patrick's first album only a year before, and no doubt resented having competing versions of the same songs on another label. These remakes, while faithful to the originals, are inferior, lacking much of the presence and punch of the first versions... no doubt because Cowley began using different synthesizers between the two albums ( For the superior versions, see "Menergy-The Fusion Album", also available from Unidisc ). The CD also incldes three non-album bonus tracks; two alternate mixes of "Megatron Man" and an instrumental B-Side, "If You Feel It".

This CD has had two masterings, the first in '92, and a more recent one, easily identifiable by the fact that it includes an outer cardboard slipcase. While it obviously uses the same master tapes as the '92 version ( since it has some of the same minor defects - most notably a short 'hiccup' during the coda of "Menergy" ), the remastered version is definitely superior. The overall the volume is louder, there is more presence to the bass, and less audible tape hiss... a marked improvement.

Almost all of the tracks on this album got club play, notably the title track ( included here in it's original, and remixed form ), the exuberant "Thank God For Music", the funky "Get A Little", and the spacey "Lift Off". Other interesting tracks include the quirky "Sea Hunt", which is actually an electronic interpretation of the theme from the old '60's television show starring Lloyd Bridges! This track ( complete with synthesized seagulls and waves ) would actually fit quite well on any of the "Chillout" compilations that are all the rage right now.

But probably my personal favorite song was the last track on the vinyl release, "Teen Planet". This song, with it's hyperactive drums and growling guitars, sounds like a cross between Giorgio Moroder and The B'52s. It's obviously Patrick's tongue-in-cheek take on the then current "new wave" sound. The track is so quirky and humorous, with it's lyrics about an invading spaceship full of alien teenagers who force the adult population to "buy 45's", "wear Clearasil" and "eat greasy foods", that it has always had a special place in my heart.

Patrick Cowley was a hero of mine, and this album - while only my second favorite ( the first is "Menergy - The Fusion Album" ), is still full of wonderful songs that packed the floor. A must for those wanting to relive the glory days of early '80's clubbing."

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	Patrick Cowley Megatron Man Genres: Dance & Electronic, Pop Track Listings (11) - Disc #1 Megatron Man Thank God for Music Menergy - Patrick Cowley, Blecman, Marty Get a Little - Patrick Cowley, Block, J. Lift-Off I Wanna Take You Home Sea Hunt - Patrick Cowley, LaSalle, Peter Teen Planet If You Feel It Megatron Man '87 Megatron Man [Radio Edit]
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