80's Master

This album was the first cassette I ever bought. I played it over and over for years. I can't think of another album with such mysterious dark themes to it, despite some of the more upbeat singles like "Life in one day". My personal favorites are probably "Dream into action" and "Automation".This album really captured the mid-eighties in a time capsule. No one to this day has used technology in pop music quite as well as Howard did on his first 4 albums especially this one. A-ha? Alphaville? Maybe, but it's good company. Probably not going to appeal to today's youth, you kind of had to be there in the time-frame to truly appreciate this music. I just wish they'd remaster this.

"We must live to fight the negative"

Howard Jones had several synthesizer/drum machine-driven pop hits in the 1980s, the most well-known of which were "What Is Love?" and "Things Can Only Get Better" (on this album) which can be found on a number of 80s compilations. He is also known not only for his eccentric wardrobe & hairstyle and for being a one-man show but for the positive message he incorporated in his music. I saw a television feature on him a few years back and was impressed to learn how many people were touched by his songs and how his songs helped some of his fans get through tough times. It's rather cliché and sometimes just silly when people say how some cheesy pop tune saved them from suicide, and usually they are insincere. The people in this feature, however, seemed very genuine about the ways Jones' music touched their lives. Jones also seems like a very nice fellow. I decided to check out Dream Into Action (great album title).



Several songs off this album are on his greatest hits CD. Strangely, I found most of these tracks to be the weakest on the album. I've always liked "Things Can Only Get Better" with its bouncy synthesizer hooks. "Life in One Day," though, is my least favorite on the album. It is too funky (for lack of a better word), too cutesy and cheesy for my tastes. I always skip that song. "Like to Get to Know You Well," while upbeat, is very repetitive. "No One Is To Blame" was produced by Phil Collins and, like a lot of Collins' music, it is a play-it-safe pleasant ballad with nothing too ingenious or unique. "Look Mama" (also on the greatest hits CD) is an interesting track. Lyrically, it is rather childlike ("Look mama I love you but you gotta let me live my life") but is musically a little experimental which is what I like about 1980s electronic pop.



The tracks I like the best here are the ones where the instruments take control. My favorite is "Assault and Battery." Rather than driven by synthesizers, this track is seized by the piano and sounds very innovative Joe Jacksonesque. "Bounce Right Back" is a dance track with versus sung in a street style. Think maybe Oran Juice Jones "Somebody's Watching Me" style; more talking than singing; possibly a style that was a precursor to rap. The title track is another of my favorites. It is a clever electronically experimental track. It has an industrial sound (not NIN type of "industrial" but a factory sounding synthesizer style). "Automaton" is another electronically-driven track with some innovation. Of the rest, "Elegy" is the most somber number of this mostly optimistic album ("Is it wrong to long for death? Must I cling to the thrills of life?") yet still offers a light at the end of the tunnel ("Take us forward through this tomb, there's no finish to a life"). "Hunger for the Flesh" is another slow and interesting track. It reminds me of early 1980s Genesis (a slow, toned-down "Home By the Sea," maybe). "Is There a Difference?" is the only other track that I usually skip. It is a little too cheesy, Thompson Twinesque for me. In sum, if you know Howard Jones' hits and are considering checking out his albums, Dream Into Action has plenty to offer. It offers 14 tracks (two of which are not on my copy, including "Specialty") with enough variety to please most any 1980s pop fan's tastes. The tracks I think are the best of the dozen (i.e. "Assault and Battery," "Dream Into Action," and "Hunger For Flesh") are probably the ones that are not played as often. If you are curious, give this album a try.

The best

When I was 12 years old,I used to listen to this tape over and over again while dancing with my date (a broom). It gave me such pleasure and happiness to sing these lyrics with HoJo that no foolishness would ever compromise these songs.



Now when I pop it in the player I wax nostalgic to my husband, who never heard of him. I know my son will enjoy HOJO's music since it transcends time and place.