The Human League – The Virgin Years (Album – UMC / Virgin)
Genre/Influences: New-Wave, Electro-Pop.
Format: Digital, 5 Vinyl Box.
Background/Info: The title of the album speaks for itself. The Human League saw the light of day in 1977 and released their debut album “Reproduction” in 1977 followed by “Travelogue” in 1980. Both full lengths were released by Virgin, but this compilation brings the five albums with the ‘new’ line up. This is an opportunity to rediscover “Dare” (1981), “Fascination” (1983), “Hysteria” (1984), “Crash” (1986) and “Romantic” (1990). This is a box featuring five vinyls with different colors.
Content: The Human League were part of the early New-Wave movement, the song being composed with mainly electronics. This is an opportunity to get back to some of the band’s most famous hits like “Don’t You Want Me”, “The Lebanon”, “Mirror Man”, “Fascination” and the sweet “Louise”. The work also brings us to more Funky passages while both last albums were more into a kind of sweet Pop.
+ + + : The package is a nice gift for all fans while the content is a way to remind us of the genius and impact of this band. Nearly 40 years later songs like “Don’t You Want Me”, “The Lebanon” and “Mirror Man” don’t suffer from the weight of time. This is the great sound of the 80s New-Wave movement and The Human League were part of it.
– – – : I simply regret both debut albums -still being part of the ‘Virgin years’ haven’t been featured. During these years they released the legendary song “Being Boiled” which I personally consider as their best track ever. I’m not into the albums “Crash” and “Romantic” where the original magic was a bit gone.
Conclusion: This box is a little piece of music history and the New-Wave movement.
Best songs: “The Lebanon”, “Don’t You Want Me”, “Mirror Man”, “Fascination”.
Rate: 8.
Artist: www.thehumanleague.co.uk / www.facebook.com/thehumanleague
Label: www.universalmusicrecordings.com / www.facebook.com/UMRecordings / www.virginrecords.com
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