Best Psychedelic Furs Album

All of This and Nothing truly is one of the great comps: a must-own, and "All That Money Wants" is one of the best new tracks appended to a comp (maybe it IS their best album).

I really dislike Forever Now, but I'm old as the hills: I was an excited fan hoping for something even more awesome than Talk Talk Talk and instead the blur of guitar noise had been sheened over and the vocals were recorded all "listen to what the man has to SAY!" instead of fading into the overall gooey morass - Talk Talk Talk was weird and brave and creative, Forever Now has its moments but is a weak followup imo

Talk Talk Talk was already slicker than the s/t debut, so I didn't mind them going further in that direction with Forever Now. The first three are all good but Alfred otm about All of This and Nothing so that's what I voted for.

i went with the first album as that is the one that had the most impact on me. really have no problem with any of the catalogue though.saw them in 1981/82 at the commodore in vancouver which was great too.

Talk, Talk, Talk is, I am pretty sure, the record that I have played the most in my life. It is special to me for so many reasons (soundtrack to my angst filled high school years, first make-out record, record that I smoked the most pot listening to, etc, etc.)

Saw them live on that tour as well; still one of my fave shows ever.

There's not a bad song on that record.

I was also let down a bit by "Forever Now" but haven't heard it in years. Maybe it's time for a reassessment.

The heady swirl of Forever Now's title track may be my favorite P-Furs moment.

As for Mirror Moves, the second side is pretty weak, but the first smokes. According to AllMusic, there's a Shep Pettibone remix of "Heartbeat." Anyone heard it?

Gasp! "Alice's House" is probably my favorite Furs song of all.

Tough choice between the first two, but I had to go with Talk Talk Talk.

_Should God Forget_ is an even better comp - it showed me how much they recovered after M2M. There are days when the best of their last 2 albums is my favorite stuff.

Gasp! "Alice's House" is probably my favorite Furs song of all.

The demo on Forever Now is even better.

What songs are worth listening to after MTM? All I know are "Until She Comes" and "Should God Forget."

Have you not heard Book of Days, Alfred? That needs to be remedied, like, asap.

all I have is the self-titled, i thought it was pretty good, not amazing. how does it compare to their other stuff?

Their later stuff is less woozy.

Alfred's introduction reminds me of that old Neil Young song: "Even Richard Butler has got soul."

AFter *Talk Talk Talk* I only know singles, but based on those, I hear them as a band in serious decline from that point forward. I don't mind a few later songs, but the sound of those first two records is so much what attracted me to them in the first place.

This should be Talk Talk Talk by a landslide.

Really? I went for the first album, but that probably has to do with my having the first one around age 17, and not actually picking up Talk Talk Talk until ... post-college, anyway.

Alfred Book of Days is third best after the first two

seriously

I was very disappointed with Forever Now when it came out, and then the next album really put the seal of certainty on my feeling that they had jumped the shark.

I've always assumed that M2M was their jump-the-shark moment, which Butler acknowledged as such.

yeah but Forever Now really...if you were into Talk Talk Talk and you weren't disappointed with Forever Now then what was you smokin' at the time, they didn't even have weed like that then. The drop in quality was just enormous, despite a great title track.

"LOVE MY WAY"! "PRESIDENT GAS!" "DANGER"!

Stepping onto a poll thread for once -- John D. OTM on Forever Now being a step down compared to Talk Talk Talk, though I might be kinder to it on the AMG review I did, I can't remember (and almost don't want to look).

"Love My Way" just wasn't as good as "Pretty in Pink" OR "Into You Like a Train," and the way the vox were treated on the whole FN album was so much less cool & different from the sort of undifferentiated blur of disaffection that governed the first two: it was boring, and his singing style was exaggerated, like he didn't trust the listener to hear what he was trying to do so he had to really spell it out. (In short, the Bowie emulation got more pronounced.) "President Gas" & "Danger" were just huge embarrassments to me - well beneath a band that only a year or so before had been writing stuff like "She Is Mine," which looks down at the entirety of Forever Now from a very great height

I guess we simply disagree, John, especially about "President Gas," which more and more seems like one of the crucial political songs of the first half of the decade -- simultaneously ambivalent, muscular, and sinister -- and the chord/tempo change from the verses to the chorus is quite wonderful.

(but, yeah, "She Is Mine" is their greatest love/hate song; I don't think they ever topped the first 25 seconds).

More like President Ass.

Book of Days is massively underrated for sure - "Torch" is one of their best songs ever, period, and the overall darkness and moodiness of the record was a return to form.

sorry, john, but the phrase "return to form" is copyrighted by paul maccartney (or is it dylan?)

this thread could easily morph into "Defend the Indefensible: Keith Forsey"

talk talk talk is the obvious classic, s/t the only-slightly-less-obvious classic, mirror moves the underrated wild card, forever now better than sell-out complaints suggest (but still the weakest of the four). i'm voting for mirror moves just to keep it from being too lopsided.

I love _Talk Talk Talk_; and _Psychedelic Furs_ has a great gritty intensity and energy. But I also think _Forever Now_ and _Mirror Moves_ have some great stuff on. As has been said above, _Book of Days_ is also top, and I used to really like _World Outside_ too. Hmmm, I think I'm going to spend the rest of the say listening to the Psychedelic Furs, so thanks for starting the poll!!

Oh god how did I come to this thread so late. "Psychedelic Furs" is like the batsignal to me... sigh...

TALK TALK TALK ftw obviously, but BOOK OF DAYS is awfully close. Alfred, if you haven't heard it you really must. And know going in it's a serious grower. If you're bored the first time and it all sounds the same, it's working.

"Run And Run" alone... hell, the opening and first verse verse of "Run And Run" alone should be enough to keep FOREVER NOW from ignominy, though I understand the disappointment in the Rundgren move, and "Love My Way" is a really sorry single for the Furs to be known by. Still, "Run And Run." I haven't listened to it in probably two years and I still remember the guitar solo note for note.

But the real dark horse here is MIDNIGHT TO MIDNIGHT. Look past the unfortunate production and there's a seriously great raft of songs there - maybe even their best collection front-to-back. And if I could get the search to work right I'd post my back-in-the-days rants to that effect...

The X factor in all this: Vince Ely. I can't prove it, but note that when he came back so did the Furs ("All That Money Wants," BOOK OF DAYS).

Oh, and BOOK OF DAYS gets my vote. In a sane world, it would have been their ACHTUNG BABY.

PS - how weird is it that there is now only one degree of musical separation between Richard Butler and Axl Rose?

One song from <i>Forever Now</i> I haven't seen anyone make note of is "Only You and I." Best song on that record, no question. It's always the one that pops in my head and makes me want to hear the whole record, and I'm always slightly disappointed.

(props to "Run and Run," though)

haha your primitive tags are no good here

Ha, I forgot to hit the convert button.

"Sleep Comes Down" is quite good too.

Now I need to hear Book of Days.

I went with the debut, easy. Talk Talk Talk would be second; Forever Now third. My hunch is that they're one of those bands that got progressively more bland and less interesting with each subsequent album, but I can't say I've actually been keeping up with the last however-many-albums-I-haven't-kept-up-with.

"So Run Down"
"Into You Like A Train"
"All Of This And Nothing"
"She Is Mine"
"Dumb Waiters"
"Pretty In Punk"

COME ON PEOPLE THIS IS REALLY KIND OF OBVIOUS

If only it was "Pretty in Punk"

It should be noted that the Rapture do a fantastic version of "Dumb Waiters," and that I think some emo band somewhere should have long figured out that covering "All of This and Nothing" would be a good idea (if not necessarily a good end result).

Is there a collection of B-sides anywhere? I am particulary looking for the song Aeroplane. Their version of "Mack the Knife" as well.

I had several fantastic 7" that I got rid of (don't ask.) It still kills me.

"Aeroplane" is on the Forever Now re-issue (yet another reason to buy the album) and on that B-side comp.

"She Is Mine" is a great song, but I've always hated the line "I had to pay a muscle man, to get me off the floor"...I mean, Richard Butler?!...his own granny could probably snatch him up in one hand...

Isn't it self-deprecation? Butler's voice reeks of irony.

Talk Talk Talk

still in my top 200 all-time.

Is there a collection of B-sides anywhere?

Allmusic.com is your friend. _B-Sides & Lost Grooves_ has "Aeroplane" but the Furs weren't much of a b-side band. That comp is mostly alternate versions. "Mack The Knife" is on the reissue of their debut.

I'll probably get skewered for this, but I absolutely adored his Love Spit Love albums and solo album as well. LSL is one of those artistic stretches that really works for me, the grungey guitars with Richard's smoky vocals, and lyrically I feel they're strong as well.

I actually saw LSL on their first tour, small club date. Fun time, he seemed relaxed!

the first LSL album was fuckin' awesome

the second one considerably less so

Some of these albums are £4 in Virgin at the moment. Having lived this long without them, I assume they are not for me, but some of you might be interested.

Having lived this long without them, I assume they are not for me,

Never a safe assumption. I am frequently going back to things I had dismissed years ago only to find they sound wonderful today.

the guy who plays jaime lannister on 'game of thrones' sounds like he's basing his speech patterns on richard butler's vocals, particularly "president gas"

i had a good time last night and was an alright show. they seem to play all of their hits. was really hoping to hear "Alice's House" but that didn't happen. they came back with their encore and played "Pretty In Pink." Richard Butler looks great is fit and in great health. his voice has held up very well. would have loved to of seen them around 30 years ago, i bet they rocked.

At risk of bragging, I did see them (almost) 30 years ago when Mirror Moves was released. By far the best sounding show I saw that year. I wasn't really a huge fan at the time, the glossy production on MM really put me off - I really just went to see The Bangles who were opening. Glad I stuck around. Guitarist Jon Ashton had more equipment on stage than all of King Crimson combined.

Taking sides: stupid vs love.

I won't even try to find the right superlative for All of This and Nothing, it's simply essential

^^^ I should've written that line

these always rule but this one's a real public service

What's everyone's view on Love Spit Love?

I adore both albums unreservedly.

I haven't listened to either LSL album in a long time, but I love "Fall On Tears" (from the second album) as much as any Furs song.

I, too, love "Until She Comes".

might quibble about the order of 2-4 but there's almost nothing between them to me. the album experience for the first 3 must be quite different depending on US/UK because of the weird and obviously wrong tracklistings chosen in the US

The re-sequencing of the first album especially is...bizarre.

1st LSL is very very good iirc, second one much less so

...well, no, though, looking up the Trysome Eatone track listing -- "Long Long Time" is real good, "Fall on Tears" is real real good, and "It Hurts When I Laugh" is real good -- if I can remember all those melodies from a very minor album all these years later, that speaks in their favor to me

1st LSL is very very good iirc, second one much less so

Love Spit Love is brilliant. It's Richard reclaiming his lyrical crown and working with a band that nails the unique vibe he generates. Richard Fortus' touches with cello and mandolin and the sort of circus organ of Jon Brion creates a sound that is both aggressive and comforting. Their cover of "How Soon Is Now", a track that some days I could name as my single favorite song ever, is wonderful.

"Book of Days", damn, this song.

SHE'S 24 AND FEELS IT
LIKE A WASTED YEAR
FOR EVERY DAY THAT PASSES
SHE IS LEAVING ONE DAY
ONE DAY NEVER COMES

THIS ROAD IS POISON

I mean, I’m on the record re: Book of Days...

I ended up picking up "Book Of Days" and "World Outside" and really rate them. It's not surprising that not many even know them, all it takes is one bad album and the rats flee the ship and miss out on later excellent work (Gang Of Four, Killing Joke, etc.)

Anyone know why the track order for the second and third albums were changed in the U.S.? For the debut, I get that the label wanted one song pulled and added two more in compensation, that opened the door to more changes, but why did they bother changing the next two when it was the same exact songs?

Also happy birthday to Richard Butler and get well soon Tim

Also strange how inconsistent the 2002 CD reissues are in this regard - the third one keeps the US tracklist but changes the cover to the (better) UK cover. The first and second one reinstatesthe UK tracklist, with the first reinstating the UK cover though I prefer the US cover.

Sacrilege maybe, but I think I prefer the US order for Talk Talk Talk. Again, the individual tracks haven't changed, it's just the track order. I played it a couple of days ago off the old CD that had the US order, then again today in the UK sequence, but the flow of the US order seemed better to me.

Interesting that their top Spotify songs are Love My Way (221m streams), Pretty in Pink (86m) and The Ghost in You (49m). Nothing else over 20m (Heaven has 19m). I'm a little surprised Love My Way is so much higher than Pretty in Pink, but mostly wondering how The Ghost in You ranks so high. Did it get a TV or TikTok boost or something?

And I love The Ghost in You, don't get me wrong! Just not aware of it having a big presence.

The only Furs song Robyn Hitchcock has covered afaik.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52DUrv1gCUw

Another example of a band whose biggest hit - "Heartbreak Beat" - isn't their most streamed song.

"Love My Way" got a HUGE boost in 2017 from its appearance in Call Me By Your Name, that's why.

I'm a little surprised Love My Way is so much higher than Pretty in Pink, but mostly wondering how The Ghost in You ranks so high. Did it get a TV or TikTok boost or something?

Series 11 Episode 1 of The Brokenwood Mysteries was called 'The Ghost in You', and concerned a clapped-out 80s band still touring to diminishing effects. They sounded quite a bit like the Furs too. Can't imagine that this had any impact on their streaming figures though.

The Ghost in You is a banger is why.

It also appears to have been on a Stranger Things soundtrack.

Ah, yeah that would do it. It's a good call for Stranger Things.

Too late for the poll, but John D got it right for us 'old ones' almost 20 years ago in this thread: the first two albums were fantastic, the anxious waiting for 'Forever Now' (made even more nerve-wracking by the news that they'd fired half the band and got Todd Rundgren to produce and added Flo and Eddie to sing backup vocals) and the horrible letdown that I'll never quite recover from on first hearing 'Forever Now' and the following, increasingly empty records (bought out of a real desire to hear them come to their senses.) 'Book Of Days' was an effective simulacrum of the SOUND of the first two records, and has some glorious songs on it. As for the US/UK differences in the first two albums (on vinyl, since that's how I got them when they first appeared), I believe I'm simply imprinted on which ones I heard first at the time: The US S/T debut (with 'Susan's Strange' and 'Soap Commercial'!) and the UK version of 'Talk Talk Talk' (the album simply has to begin with 'Dumb Waiters'!) Also RE the U.S. debut, that black and white band photo on the American version is sublime. And the lyric sheet inside the debut, one big run-on sentence full of 'stupid's' and 'useless's is the best lyric sheet ever, US or UK --- the effect is the same. I saw them play in Baltimore in support of 'Talk Talk Talk' on a tiny stage in a tiny room -- the sight of the six members of the original lineup crammed onto that 'stage', with R Butler presiding over the chaos blew my mind, and was fun on so many levels!

And I'll insist that Forever Now and its title track are wonderful.

I've only heard the debut and a compilation, and I'll never regard them as major, but the era of the first four albums form a very pleasing arc of early 80s music-in-transition.

I love Forever Now, it's the one I listen to the most

XP -- The U.S. version of 'Forever Now' begins with the title track, followed by 'Love My Way', which, when I first heard it had me thinking 'oh gosh, maybe they WILL pull it off', until Flo & Eddie enter in half way through 'Love My Way', which produced a sinking feeling --- as much as I love 'A Wizard A True Star' and (for sheer bombast) the first live 'Utopia' album, Rundgren's productions for other people have always turned out to be bad news (IMHO) -- thin-sounding, and I can't help but think that he's micromanaged the lengths and orders of bridges and choruses, and played a lot of instruments himself. But, I agree, the title track has a lot of remaining Furs magnificence to it, esp the chorus: 'you and I are walking past, yeahhhh / having lost our way / we don't count our money / we are GIVING it away ...' is very satisfying!

I spin their latest album (2020's Made of Rain) a lot, it's really good!

"Danger" is the only FN weak song. "Run and Run," "Sleep Comes Down," "Love My Way" of course, "President Gas," You and I," "No Easy Street," the b-side "Aeroplane" -- all bangers.

Thorough interview: https://popdose.com/popdose-flashback-82-an-oral-history-of-the-psychedelic-furs-forever-now/

Totally with Alfred on Forever Now, with the caveat that it was my first Furs album so it didn’t violate any preconceived notions I had about what they were supposed to sound like. Love My Way on college radio was my first exposure. I then went back and bought the first two and loved those as well. (In turn influencing my younger sister, who for a year or two of high school wore a long black raincoat she got at a thrift store and painted the lyrics to Imitation of Christ on the back.)

P-Furs were regulars on U.S. college radio, what, the entire span of their existence? I def remember late hits like "House" and "Until She Comes" getting airplay.

the first two albums are that flavor of post punk i think of as “default” post punk, not hardcore or funky or pigfuck or no wave or diy can’t play our instruments or experimental artsy or ska or dubby or synthy or retro garagey, just scabrous guitars and intelligent muttering and sputtering misanthropes, the way god and mark e smith intended. forever now follows new order’s and just precedes the fall’s and the cure’s evolution to the mid 80s sheen, love my way reminds me of tracks like oh brother and let’s go to bed. there’s an alternate reality where american post punks go new wave in 1982-84, can you imagine the cramps and sonic youth using synth marimbas.

yes!