Howard Jones

[SomebodySomewhere]

[quote][i]Originally posted by InvisibleMan[/i]
<br>must have been frustrating to try and try and still not have as many hits as that other poppy Brit named Phil Collins [:p]
[/quote]


Yes, I know it must have been devastating for him to have only had 9 Top 40 hits.

Howard's first two albums were solid. He kind of lost it after that, with the exception of "Everlasting Love," which I thought was a perfect single.

[InvisibleMan]

[quote][i]Originally posted by SomebodySomewhere[/i]
<br>[quote][i]Originally posted by InvisibleMan[/i]
<br>must have been frustrating to try and try and still not have as many hits as that other poppy Brit named Phil Collins [:p]
[/quote]


Yes, I know it must have been devastating for him to have only had 9 Top 40 hits.

Howard's first two albums were solid. He kind of lost it after that, with the exception of "Everlasting Love," which I thought was a perfect single.
[/quote]

top 40 is a big number...
but he obviously got a good share of promo, because a few of his videos can still be seen on VH1 classic...

[synth-nation]

The only big difference between Human's Lib and Dream Into Action is that HL is a dark, hard-edged album and DIA is a really, really positive and happy album. They both have killer synth. Of course, I can see today who some people might not like DIA because it's so over the top, totally 80s, and even a little silly at times, but those are the reasons why I like it so much. Why Look for the Key, and Is There a Difference are the two HoJo tracks that I like the best and they are both on that album. Overall, I can't find a bad song on either album, but I will admit that Human's Lib is more New Wave because it has the new wave dark atmosphere to it. The Prisoner and Always Asking Questions are two good tracks on his other albums, and there are others.

The way Howard Jones went reminds me a little of how Roxette went. They started out syntho (God Bless them), then they changed their style a bit later and fit more into the 90s style of music. So, you have some fans who like the later music, and others (like me) who are into the first few albums. Falco was somewhat like that too. Junge Roemer and Eizenhaft are the two Falco albums that I listen the most to.

[Spectre General]

Speaking of Howard Jones, I heard "What is Love" in the gas station yesterday.

-------------------------------------------------
What is love after all
but occasional steps
of a dance.........
.......In a trance?

[budaniel]

on a track by track basis, I also like a whole lot of HJ's stuff, but I can't really listen to like a full album. There's something sort of raucous about his brand of synthpop that starts to wear on the ears after a few tracks. I think my ears tend to prefer smoother synthpop, and by that, i mean tracks with a more steady dance beat and usually a pulsing bassline. This simplified structure seems to help avoid a noisy arrangement and allows the vocal melodies to shine through.

[fiftypercent]

In the spring of 1985, my two brothers and I got into buying singles. I was about 14 then. When it came time to start buying albums, the others went for Nik Kershaw or King. I bought Dream Into Action, it was the first album I ever owned. I remember having these discussions about which pop stars were the best - and then Howard appeared on the TV wearing some kind of weird dress. My brothers never let me live that down.

Here's some more thoughts on Howard and his mysterious lyrical collaborator.

http://mineforlife.blogspot.com/2009/06 ... jones.html

PS If you haven't heard "It Just Doesn't Matter" yet, you need to. Utterly bonkers.

[Surly]

For the fans here: I had no idea that "The 12" Album" and "Action Replay" are both available on iTunes.

"Words like conviction can turn into a sentence"