Great songwriting, production, and the ability for an album to
feel as relevant and fresh now, as it did when it was released are the
foundations of what make an album great.
Obviously that’s a condensed description and there are other factors that go into it as well…but for all intents and purposes that pretty much
sums it up for me.
When it comes to the reissue of the self-titled offering
from TV Eyes, if we ask the question, “Is this a great album?” the answer is a
resounding YES. Whether it be the relevant Orwellian theme
(which we seem to be faced with now more than ever), or the meticulous effort
put into the detail of the arrangement of the songs, or just the impeccable
songwriting, the lone release from TV Eyes is one hell of an effort that begs
to be considered in the great album category.
It’s a crying shame there is only
one album from this power pop super group consisting of Jason Falkner, Roger
Manning, and Brian Reitzell. These guys
were way ahead of their time when they conceived this project yet sadly, missed
the 80’s revival train when the album finally came out in 2006 as a Japanese
import.
I can remember back in ’99 and ’00 scouring
the various Jellyfish fan pages for anything to do with the project that was,
at one time, dubbed Softcore (Or Softkore depending on which site you were
reading). You could find articles,
posts, and hearsay about what was in the works for a while but then the information
and news dried up. The next thing I
knew, No Doubt released Rock Steady,
and I couldn’t have been happier because a big name jumped into the 80’s/synth pop space and
hope was in the air that their album would ignite the perfect launching ground
for TV Eyes to release their album to the masses. But it never came to be. Yes, there were a couple of shows that materialized
for those lucky enough living in the LA area - but that was it until...2006 when
the Japanese import was released.
Finally, we had our taste of TV Eyes, and a satisfying taste it was! But at $35-$40 and being a Japanese import, you
really had to be a hardcore fan to want to grab this nugget of synth-pop genius
and unfortunately it would never make it mainstream.
Fast-forward to October 2014, and the masses now have a
proper (And affordable) release on CD and double vinyl of the brilliant
album TV Eyes through Omnivore
Recordings. The reissue stays true to
the original for the most part. The
packaging remains the same – including the album art and the cardboard case with a
pocket for the book of lyrics and liner notes to slip into to. The CD now has a white face instead of the
standard silver the original had.
(Unfortunately my CD has a small speck of white missing so my CD stops
on one song – hopefully this wasn’t a quality issue for a large majority of
discs) They also added a few bonus
tracks to the album that include: remixes by Falkner, Manning, and Reitzell,
and a fourth song that originally appeared on Manning’s solo album, (released
under his DJ moniker Malibu) Robo Sapiens,
called “She Gets Around”. Hardcore fans will
be wondering why a few more songs - namely, “Stop Me”, “Assimilation Process”,
and “Won’t Last Forever” didn’t make it onto the album. But have no fear if you want to hear them, apparently they can still
be found on Amazon.com on a Japanese import.
The reissue also adds an essay written by Jason Falkner that
gives a very brief overview of the history of the project. I won’t get into all of the specifics – but I
do want to point out one thought he lays down in the essay.
It
was a tricky proposition, this concept, because we didn’t want it to come off
as jokey or emulating the originals too much, and so deeper songwriting was
necessary. We could come up with heavy
synth or metallic guitar riffs all day, but the songs needed to be great. I remember laboring over the lyrics and
melodies for months prior to and during the recording.
This project oozes a certain passion and effort that you can hear in these
songs. It’s evident that these guys
spent a great deal of time making this not just a good retro-influenced album,
but a GREAT album that has a character all its own while still giving a nod to
their influences. The beautiful thing
about this album is that it never feels forced or like it’s trying too hard to
emulate the genre it pays homage to. Sure
you get the references to their influences like the Gary Numan “Cars” synth
line in “Fascinating” around the 3:12 mark, BUT if you were to strip the album
down to it’s core – removing all of the synth work, etc., what you’d find is
that the songs are outstanding. All these amazing compositions add up to make
an album that reinvents the synth-pop sound in a completely original way and
kicks ass the whole way through. It’s a
complete album. Their efforts and
laboring paid off handsomely as this record sounds as fresh today as it did
when it was released almost 10 years ago.
Song Highlights
It’s hard to pick out only a few songs to discuss because there
isn’t a bad song on the album. TV Eyes
does a great job guiding the listener through different elements of the synth
pop sound even tastefully weaving in bits of punk to the mix. If I
had to choose some standout songs they would be:
“Over The City”
The album opens with “Over The City”, a driving, upbeat song
that is a GREAT opener…every band wishes they had an opener like that on their
album. An opening song sets the tone for
the listener and when a band gets it right, it adds another layer of depth to
the listening experience. It engages the
listener right off the bat. TV Eyes did
a great job selecting this number to welcome the listener and hooking them into
wanting to hear more.
“She’s A Study”
My vote for best song on the album goes to “She’s A
Study”. This could’ve been the opener on
the record as well because it drives like “Over The City” – though a bit more
melodic than “City”, which is why I love it so much.
“Mission Submission”
George Orwell is mentioned in the “thank you” section of the
liner notes. For me, this is the most Orwellian
song on the album. Lyrically, it
couldn’t be more relevant today as people are being sucked into social media, crony
capitalism is running amok in our country, and the NSA is spying on everyone and
their brother…one can’t help but feel like big brother is always looking over
your shoulder. That essence is captured
in this song so vividly in the lyrics and then tied altogether with
a perfect soundtrack behind the lyric.
“Time’s Up”
On the original album, and before the remixes start on the
reissue, “Times Up” closes the album. What
a great closer this song is. The song moves
into the trippy space-aged realm pushing the listener into a more relaxed mood
after the ride you just went on. TV Eyes
really does an excellent job bringing the listener back down to earth and thus,
the album winds down in perfect fashion.
The Remixes
I found the remixes to be enjoyable. Each band member adds their own unique signature
to the song they reworked. I’ve never
heard a remix from Jason Falkner before, and was impressed with his version of
“fascinating”. Manning adds his “Malibu”
spin to “She’s A Study” reworking the song with some awesome new synth
work. This would have been my favorite
remix but the addition of a voice grunting “Uh” throughout the song took a
little away from the remix for me.
Rounding out the remixes, Reitzell stretches out and adds a cinematic
touch to “Times Up” that feels, well, very Reitzell!
All in all I can’t say enough about how fantastic this album
is. It’s probably my favorite vocal
performance from Jason Falkner – including all of his solo work. If you dig 80's synth pop / punk / CBGB type sounds, I highly
recommend that you pick TV Eyes up
from Omnivore (http://omnivorerecordings.com/artist/tv-eyes/)
at your earliest convenience.
One more thing… this album deserves to be listened
to with headphones at least
once. You will do a disservice to
yourself if you don’t take the time to hear all of the detail they put into the
project – especially how beautiful all of the analog instruments sound in this
recording!
Thanks for reading.
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