Nineteen years after buying the original "Business as Usual" on cassette (and wearing it out years ago), my CD arrived today. I hadn't heard some of these songs for years; "People Just Love To Play With Words" and "I Can See It In Your Eyes" are particular gems that I've rediscovered like some momento lost in my attic. The track listing is awesome; can anyone name a better album closer than "Down By The Sea"? Outstanding. "Business" is as competitive and fresh as it was in 1982. For an '80's album, it does not sound dated (thanks in large part to the use of REAL drums at a time when machines were par for the course!). I will always regard Jerry Speiser as one of the better and more innovative drummers in rock and roll. Colin Hay's voice is timeless. The lyrics are intelligent (if not sometimes odd). Excellent musicianship and crafty songwriting make for a remarkable album.
Although the bands popularity has faded through the years, this album is an icon of the 80's. Known for its chart topping songs, the album also boasts 8 other very good songs, such as "Be Good Johnny", "Catch A Star" and "Down By The Sea". This is one of those albums you can put in your CD player and just let it play the whole way through. Most bands like to have a consistant sound, through instuments. This band uses it's vocals from lead singer Colin Hay. The instumentation varies throughout the entire album so it doesn't put in a "trance" with the same old sound. If you like musical variety with great vocals, then this is a MUST HAVE for your CD collection.
I give this five stars for the performance--I still enjoy listening to MAW after more than 25 years. The original band had great chemistry and "Down Under" has joined "Waltzing Matilda" as an unofficial Australian national anthem. I give the programming 3 1/2 due to the omission of the B-side "Anyone for Tennis" (I had to rip it from my old 45--check it out on YouTube) and the inclusion of live tracks from the still available "Brazil" album. Contemporaneous live tracks would have been much more enjoyable, and there were a few live songs that never made it to record.
Contrary to the notes, "F 19" was released in the US--just barely. It was originally the B-side of "Be Good Johnny," the band's third single for CBS Australia. That single was never released in the US, but "F 19" finally appeared stateside in 1983 on a 12" with "It's a Mistake" and a remix of "Who Can It Be Now?" I know because I have one. Justice was done here, because "F 19" was a staple of MAW's stage act and is easily their best instrumental.
And whoever mastered this overmodulated it to hell--it just about blew me out of my chair when I first played it. Once I ran it through an MP3 editor and cut the gain a bit, it was fine.
This is one of those albums that no matter what era it is it still sounds fresh.
In a time when most artist were experimenting with the electronical side of things these guys keep to the basics.
Each of the five original members having a very unquie signature sound makes this Album as one of the all time greatest Australian Albums. Even todays standards most artists don't have that true originality that only comes every so often.
With hit songs like 'Who Can It Be Now' & Down Under there's no wonder why this album did so well!
Men at Work exploded in the United States in the formative years of MTV. Their inventive music videos and catchy music captured an audience in the throes of a disco music backlash. Men at Work provided a new sound for a new decade and a new medium.
This album begins with one of Men at Work's signature songs, "Who Can It Be Now?" The song has a predominant saxophone that, in combination with Colin Hay's voice, provides a unique sound. The lyrics for this catchy song are somewhat humorous as they initially describe someone who might be us, wanting to be left alone by a salesman or some other unwelcome door knocker. As the song progresses, we realize that the singer's real fear is that they are coming to take him away, and you realize that perhaps the singer is mentally not quite all there.
The second song is more serious. "I Can See It in Your Eyes" conveys the strange feelings we sometimes have during changes in relationships. The fast song with its dark undertone speaks of images that we sometimes associate with relationships. The collage of phrases initially appears to be unrelated until you tie them together with how we often think as we replay things that happen over a period of years.
The next song is pure play. "Down Under" is yet another signature song for Men at Work. The song appears to have a number of Australian slang words, which makes the song incomprehensible in places. However, the enthusiasm, pace and harmony pull you into this song. The catchy beat and easily remembered refrain make this a song that will have you singing along when it appears on an oldies station, though it is hard for me to believe that the 80s are already classified as oldies.
I have always liked the next song, "Underground." However, I must admit that I am clueless as to the precise meaning of the song. The words hint at survival during troubled times, but other references are less sure. I think because I saw "Mad Max" and "The Road Warrior" about the time this album came out that I associate this song with those two movies. Like many other Men at Work songs, the music is catchy and you want to sing along, but the lyrics are too hard to remember without memorizing them.
Men at Work rarely created songs that, in retrospect, were throwaway songs. However, "Helpless Automation" may well be such a song. The music is reasonably good, but the lyrics seem like something Devo might have been singing rather than Men at Work. The following song, "People Just Love to Play with Words," is also one of Men at Work's lesser songs. The song starts out somewhat serious, but the reference to a puzzle throws a bit of humor into the song making it much less serious.
The following song is a song about a boy who wants to spend his time dreaming and doing his own thing. "Be Good Johnny" is a kind of tribute to the Chuck Berry song, "Johnny B. Goode." Like the Chuck Berry song, this song is fast and catchy, with Men at Work's unique style. The harmony on the "dreaming" portion of the lyrics is very good. However, the endless "be good be good be good" can feel a trifle overlong sometimes.
"Touching the Untouchables" is the first completely serious song on this CD. The words relate to homeless people. While there are wry twists in the lyrics, the ironic humor is cold because of the context. The music is somewhat downbeat and sad in places. The song is almost out of place given the lighter nature of most of the songs on this CD.
The next song moves back into a more hopeful subject. "Catch a Star" advise everyone to chase a dream, no matter how old you are. Though the tone of the music and the singing is downbeat, the words are relatively upbeat, suggesting there is always hope in a person's life. That hope can extend from career to personal relationships, suggested by various portions of the lyrics.
The last song on this CD has always been one of my favorite Men at Work songs. "Down by the Sea" can be interpreted to fit several topical genres. When I am reading a fantasy novel I see the song relating to voyages to unknown places or quests in faraway lands. At other times I see the song as being a love song. Of course, the plain reading of the words is that the song is about the men who go to sea, whatever their reason or purpose. The tone of this nearly seven minute long song, the longest on this CD, is serious. While Men at Work created catchy songs that are pop, this song is a beautiful song best played loud with the ability to concentrate. This song may be Men at Work's best song.
Men at Work existed for all too short a period of time. Their unique style has yet to have a rival. Of the three albums they created in the early 80s, "Business as Usual," in 1981, "Cargo," in 1983, and "Two Hearts," in 1985, this album was the best. Men at Work's star burned brightly during their relatively short run at the top of the charts; perhaps too brightly as they faded as fast as their rising fame.
