AFTER THE FIRE
Der Kommisar: The CBS Recordings
This special release of After The Fire’s three CBS recordings is a tour through the band’s chronological path that I found to be fun and interesting. It includes the albums Laser Love from 1979, 80f from 1980, and Batteries Not Included from 1982.
In the late 70’s and early 80’s, After The Fire (ATF) seems to have been a band whose timing was never right. This is not meant in the sense of their music, as their musicianship was excellent, but in the sense of their career progression.
Their first single, One Rule For You, reached number 40 in the UK. It may have gone higher, but a critical promotional opportunity was thwarted because the song was unfairly deemed to be too similar to Gary Numan’s # 1 hit Are ‘Friends’ Electric. That was in 1979.
Throughout their career, ATF continually ran into similar situations in which their promise of greater commercial success seemed just on the cusp of being realized, when a barriers were placed in the way. By the time the song Der Kommissar finally delivered the success that had eluded ATF, the battle weary band had already split. That single charted first in Sweden, and then in April 1983, it reached # 5 in the U.S. The band’s split occurred in December 1982.
Because of this unusual career path, I had never heard any of their songs, except for Der Kommissar, which has been a long time favorite. Those in the UK may have a vague memory of some of the songs on Der Kommisar: The CBS Recordings, such as One Rule For You, Life In The City, Wild, Wild West, Love Will Always Make You Cry, Rich Boys, Dancing in the Shadows, and Frozen Rivers. If you are like me, though, these too are like listening to new material from a favorite “one hit wonder”.
What struck me is how very different Der Kommissar is from everything ATF did previously. For the most part, one can tell that the vocalist is the same, but that is about it. Other than Der Kommissar, ATF’s musical style was an eclectic blend of electronics and guitar in the vein of some of the era’s most popular band, such as Queen and Styx.
On Laser Love, the instrumentals (Joy and Timestar) sound much like the theme music for 80’s Nintendo games, but that is just because of the style and instrumentation being experimented with at the time by progressive bands. The most exciting songs from this release are the bonus tracks, Your Love Is Alive and Listen To Me. These songs capture the essence of the electronic musical flavor that would become a dominating force in 80’s music.
The next release included in this collection, 80f, definitely shows the bands growth. It demonstrates how the electronic sound was evolving away from video-game tunes to mainstream appeal. The singles, Wild, Wild West and Love Will Always Make You Cry, are actually among the least enjoyable tunes. The real treasures are Can You Feel It?, It’s High Fashion, Why Can’t We Be Friends, and Starlight. These offerings tap into the sound that was to become popular on the early 80’s dance floor, with stylistic hints of The Cars, who were just arriving on the scene, and the pivotal Valley Girl soundtrack.
The final album of music in this collection and from ATF is Batteries Not Included. As with the other two releases, the official singles, Rich Boys, Dancing In The Shadows, and Frozen Rivers, seem like fine album pieces, but the real excitement is delivered by the non-single pieces. I Don’t Understand Your Love, Sometimes, and The Stranger have an experimental, somewhat artsy quality that make them collection highlights.
Perhaps the problem in advancing ATF’s career in the early 80’s was in the selection of singles. None of them seemed to strike a cord with the masses, leaving their best music hidden within albums that were largely and sadly unheard. (Even Der Kommisar was only included as a bonus track).
Fortunately, we get another chance to explore and appreciate the creative talents of After The Fire.
In the late 70’s and early 80’s, After The Fire (ATF) seems to have been a band whose timing was never right. This is not meant in the sense of their music, as their musicianship was excellent, but in the sense of their career progression.
Their first single, One Rule For You, reached number 40 in the UK. It may have gone higher, but a critical promotional opportunity was thwarted because the song was unfairly deemed to be too similar to Gary Numan’s # 1 hit Are ‘Friends’ Electric. That was in 1979.
Throughout their career, ATF continually ran into similar situations in which their promise of greater commercial success seemed just on the cusp of being realized, when a barriers were placed in the way. By the time the song Der Kommissar finally delivered the success that had eluded ATF, the battle weary band had already split. That single charted first in Sweden, and then in April 1983, it reached # 5 in the U.S. The band’s split occurred in December 1982.
Because of this unusual career path, I had never heard any of their songs, except for Der Kommissar, which has been a long time favorite. Those in the UK may have a vague memory of some of the songs on Der Kommisar: The CBS Recordings, such as One Rule For You, Life In The City, Wild, Wild West, Love Will Always Make You Cry, Rich Boys, Dancing in the Shadows, and Frozen Rivers. If you are like me, though, these too are like listening to new material from a favorite “one hit wonder”.
What struck me is how very different Der Kommissar is from everything ATF did previously. For the most part, one can tell that the vocalist is the same, but that is about it. Other than Der Kommissar, ATF’s musical style was an eclectic blend of electronics and guitar in the vein of some of the era’s most popular band, such as Queen and Styx.
On Laser Love, the instrumentals (Joy and Timestar) sound much like the theme music for 80’s Nintendo games, but that is just because of the style and instrumentation being experimented with at the time by progressive bands. The most exciting songs from this release are the bonus tracks, Your Love Is Alive and Listen To Me. These songs capture the essence of the electronic musical flavor that would become a dominating force in 80’s music.
The next release included in this collection, 80f, definitely shows the bands growth. It demonstrates how the electronic sound was evolving away from video-game tunes to mainstream appeal. The singles, Wild, Wild West and Love Will Always Make You Cry, are actually among the least enjoyable tunes. The real treasures are Can You Feel It?, It’s High Fashion, Why Can’t We Be Friends, and Starlight. These offerings tap into the sound that was to become popular on the early 80’s dance floor, with stylistic hints of The Cars, who were just arriving on the scene, and the pivotal Valley Girl soundtrack.
The final album of music in this collection and from ATF is Batteries Not Included. As with the other two releases, the official singles, Rich Boys, Dancing In The Shadows, and Frozen Rivers, seem like fine album pieces, but the real excitement is delivered by the non-single pieces. I Don’t Understand Your Love, Sometimes, and The Stranger have an experimental, somewhat artsy quality that make them collection highlights.
Perhaps the problem in advancing ATF’s career in the early 80’s was in the selection of singles. None of them seemed to strike a cord with the masses, leaving their best music hidden within albums that were largely and sadly unheard. (Even Der Kommisar was only included as a bonus track).
Fortunately, we get another chance to explore and appreciate the creative talents of After The Fire.
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