Disco de Culture Club: “Waking up With the House on Fire [Remaster]”

The album is most notable for its hard-hitting "War" and the poetic "Mistake #3". These two singular songs stand as a testament to the writing skills and vocal talent of O'Dowd and company.

Unfortunately, the remainder of the release was typical of the period, having significance only to those of us that were around during the decade. However, the album, as a whole, was much better than the group's next effort, the mediocre "From Luxury to Heartache".

An apt title, if nothing else. "Waking Up With the House On Fire" is the sound of four young musicians who, amidst in-fighting, drug addiction and lavish extravagance, suddenly came out of their collective fog long enough to realise "hey...we've got an album to deliver!" They were obviously not prepared. While not totally without merit, this collection lacks the emotional and lyrical depth, as well as the memorable hooks and melodies, of their previous offering "Colour By Numbers." A few songs stand out: "Mistake No. 3" is a nice ballad despite its sometimes overwrought vocals, and has a nice solo in the bridge using what sounds like the guitar synthesiser Roy Hay is credited in the liner notes as playing. "Crime Time" is a hopping, swing- influenced number with a soulful vocal turn by the always on spot Helen Terry. "The Dive" goes in several interesting musical directions - from rock to pop to Caribbean in the chorus, and features some fine bass playing by Mikey Craig. Two bonus tracks culled from the soundtrack to the film "Electric Dreams" are tacked to the end, and should have been included in the regular release. "Love Is Love" and "The Dream" are both stronger musically than just about anything on "Waking Up..." The dud tracks ( and there are quite a few ) are marred by desperately silly lyrics ( "The War Song" ), underdeveloped songwriting ( the grating, seemingly endless "Hello Goodbye" ), or just bad performance. Many of these songs have an unfortunate stamp of age on them which comes from over-reliance on pre-set synth sounds and incredibly stiff programming. "Waking Up With the House On Fire" is for the most part uninspired and very simply lazy - a toss off. Non-essential for casual fans, and probably more than just a little maddening and disappointing for Culture Club lovers. However I still play a few of the songs on occasion, and in its defense must add it is much better than the dire album that followed it, "From Luxury to Heartache."

I owned this album when I was in college. I still remember buying it at the record store. I am glad to own it on CD. "Mistake #3" is my favorite song on the CD but the other songs are good. If you like the sound of Culture Club it will take you right back in time while listening.

Waking Up with the House on Fire was supposed to be a "back-to-the-roots" album, after the success of the polished Colour By Numbers. But, things didn't turn out that way.

Instead, Culture Club made a record that had more of a sheen than its predecessor (and was digitally recorded to boot), but not enough good songs to make for a consistent album from start to finish. Had producer Steve Levine not had the good sense to record all of the instrument tracks in stereo (effectively limiting the number of tracks available for recording), I suspect things might have got out of hand, and the album might have become a real mess.

The album's first half is actually pretty good, though "Crime time" is a bit stilted, and "Unfortunate thing" is little more than a throwaway. People like to write off "The war song" as silly, simplistic, and/or patronising, but 1984 was pretty much the height of 1980s Cold War nuclear tensions; in the context of its time, the directness of the song's message was much more powerful, even if its "war is stupid" sentiment did come across as slightly childish.

The second half of the album (side B on the LP) starts off with "The dive", perhaps the best song on the album. After that, however, it is all downhill.

This album has some good moments, but it would have made a much better EP.

This is a very underappreciated album by one of the best vocalists. Never have I heard an album with so many musical styles that actually flows like a gentle river. Not to say this album is all mellow. Definately a pop gem. Here in this remastered version, the songs are better sounding (of course) and harder to find tracks have been included as bonus tracks. With the original ten tracks, the album opens with the bright "Dangerous Man". "Unfortunate Thing" is one of the first detailed autobiographical songs Boy George recorded and has a "finger snapping" beat. The ballad "Mistake No. 3" has no bounderies when it comes to a beautiful melody with heartache poring through the vocals. "Crime Time" reminds the listener of the roaring Twenties with it's swing/jazz tones. The last of the original 10 songs is a rocking "Hello Goodbye", a style that, until this song, Culture Club had not tackled. But they succeed. Fans of Culture Club will delight in the bonus track "The Dream" from the movie Electric Dreams. It's a ballad and features Boy Geroge's vocals in duet with a piano. Very stripped down and heartfelt. My favorite of the bonus tracks is "Down Go Down That Street", unavailable on CD until now. A cautionary tale about being different and out of one's element set to a smooth jazz pop sound.