Before I start this blog post, I want to get something straight - I love synthpop. I love everything about it. In my mind, the 80s stand out as one of the best decades for music, mostly because of synthpop. Saying that, when it comes to The Human League, I actually wasn't familiar with a lot of their music until I decided I was going to review Dare. I mean, obviously I knew 'Don't You Want Me' and I was sort of familiar with 'Love Action (I Believe in Love)', but in general I was more or less ignorant of their contribution to the 80s pop music canon.
So, listening to a lot of classic synthpop that I had never heard before was an absolute treat. When I decided to listen to this album, I was expecting lots of synthpop anthems like 'Don't You Want Me' - you know, general chart-topping songs that are not particularly adventurous or innovative (not that this makes for a bad song; this song is still one of my favourites on the album).
I was so incredibly wrong. This album isn't just an album full of synthpop songs; it's an album that explores synthpop. Every song is like a study, or an experiment. Actually, scratch that - every song on this album is a work of art. I had never known that The Human League were such pioneers during their golden era, so this album really was an eye-opener for me, and I had a really rich listening experience.
So, with all that said, I'll look at every song individually. The tracklist is as follows:
1. The Things That Dreams Are Made Of
2. Open Your Heart
3. The Sound Of The Crowd
4. Darkness
5. Do Or Die
6. Get Carter
7. I Am The Law
8. Seconds
9. Love Action (I Believe In Love)
10. Don't You Want Me
'The Things That Dreams Are Made Of' sounds so dark and menacing, but has a great underlying message in the lyrics. It promotes living life to its absolute fullest - going on adventures, meeting new people, generally having new experiences and enjoying every day. It's a philosophy I agree with and it's a large part of the reason why I think this song is so great. Of course, the music itself is also brilliant. The opening synth riff is so catchy, without sounding too much like regular pop. It's a great hook to open the album with, because it's immediately strange yet entrancing. I also love the chorus - not only is it vocally interesting (let's admit it, Phil Oakey has a really cool tonal edge to his voice), but the main synth line is also so strange but incredibly addictive.
'Open Your Heart' is your more typical 80s synthpop song, but it's still fantastic. Saying that, it's quite complex in its composition, as it's made up of multiple synthesizer and drum machine layers. Everything about this song is insanely catchy, from the beat to the synth riff to the vocal melodies. The harmonies in the chorus work really well, and the way that the main hook is also being played by a synthesizer is a great addition.
'The Sound Of The Crowd' is definitely one of my favourites from the album, if not my absolute favourite. Released as a single in April 1981, this song was the band's first commercial breakthrough. Honestly, I can see why. I don't really dance, but if I heard this song in a club I think I would feel compelled to head towards the dance floor - I can just feel that beat taking me over. Obviously the vocal melodies are very catchy, but what I really love about this song are the instrumental sections. Everything works really well together, and it's always what I have stuck in my head after listening to the song. It's a great synth dance song, but it's still so incredibly unique - it's dark and compelling, with a really different instrumentation that makes it stand out.
'Darkness' is a great following track. The subject matter is quite unusual; it describes the feeling of fear that can come late at night while surrounded by darkness after reading horror books. The vocals are brooding, the chord progression is catchy (yet sorrowful), and the synth in the background is unobtrusive but adds to the general feeling of indulgent fear.
'Do Or Die' is a bit of a strange song, but I really enjoy listening to it. There's a great sense of urgency about it, which is fitting with the title. The opening riff is at once unusual and enthralling - seriously, I can't listen to the start of this song without sticking through until the end. The beat is also full of momentum, and that alone makes the song worth your attention.
'Get Carter' is one I don't have much to say about. Just over one minute in length, it serves as an instrumental interlude before 'I Am The Law'. It's a cover of Roy Budd's theme for the movie Get Carter, and is played on a Casio VL-1. It sounds quite eerie which is cool, and it blends really well into the following track.
'I Am The Law' kind of carries on the same mood from 'Get Carter'. It's dark and slightly twisted and I love it. It's the slowest track on the album, but definitely doesn't suffer from that. There's no drum beat for the majority of the song, which adds to the feeling of atmospheric space. The lyrics are slightly threatening, and that works perfectly with the music.
'Seconds' is a little bit said, and it really makes you think. The lyrics describe the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963. The tone of the music is sombre and reflective, and the lyrics are just perfect. The line "It took seconds of your time to take his life" will stick with me forever. I don't have much more to say about this song, but it's absolutely brilliant.
'Love Action (I Believe In Love)' is one of the few songs on the album I already knew before listening to it (not because of the soundtrack for Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, I swear...). It's obviously very catchy, but I wouldn't ever call it a pop standard. It's The Human League at their best - it's very definitive of their general sound, with the catchy synth riffs; cool vocal harmonies from Joanne Catherall and Susan Ann Sulley; and an overall 80s-fueled appeal.
'Don't You Want Me' needs no introduction, but I'm giving it one anyway. Released on 27 November 1981 as the fourth single from Dare, this song is the band's biggest commercial success to date (ironic given the fact that Phil Oakey did not want it to be released as a single). I love everything about this song. I love the intro, I love the rising chord progression and melodic sequences in the pre-chorus, I love the fact that it's a male-female duet, I love the story told in the lyrics, and above all I love the simple yet brilliant chorus. I defy anyone not to dance to this song when they hear it, even just a little bit. I'm going to be really cheeky and add that I've also uploaded a cover of this song on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/justin-p-ryan/the-human-league-dont-you-want-me-cover.
Final Rating: 10/10
My favourite songs: All of them. Literally all of them.
In my next post, I'll be discussing ABBA's Arrival.
996 albums to go!
'The Sound Of The Crowd' is definitely one of my favourites from the album, if not my absolute favourite. Released as a single in April 1981, this song was the band's first commercial breakthrough. Honestly, I can see why. I don't really dance, but if I heard this song in a club I think I would feel compelled to head towards the dance floor - I can just feel that beat taking me over. Obviously the vocal melodies are very catchy, but what I really love about this song are the instrumental sections. Everything works really well together, and it's always what I have stuck in my head after listening to the song. It's a great synth dance song, but it's still so incredibly unique - it's dark and compelling, with a really different instrumentation that makes it stand out.
'Darkness' is a great following track. The subject matter is quite unusual; it describes the feeling of fear that can come late at night while surrounded by darkness after reading horror books. The vocals are brooding, the chord progression is catchy (yet sorrowful), and the synth in the background is unobtrusive but adds to the general feeling of indulgent fear.
'Do Or Die' is a bit of a strange song, but I really enjoy listening to it. There's a great sense of urgency about it, which is fitting with the title. The opening riff is at once unusual and enthralling - seriously, I can't listen to the start of this song without sticking through until the end. The beat is also full of momentum, and that alone makes the song worth your attention.
'Get Carter' is one I don't have much to say about. Just over one minute in length, it serves as an instrumental interlude before 'I Am The Law'. It's a cover of Roy Budd's theme for the movie Get Carter, and is played on a Casio VL-1. It sounds quite eerie which is cool, and it blends really well into the following track.
'I Am The Law' kind of carries on the same mood from 'Get Carter'. It's dark and slightly twisted and I love it. It's the slowest track on the album, but definitely doesn't suffer from that. There's no drum beat for the majority of the song, which adds to the feeling of atmospheric space. The lyrics are slightly threatening, and that works perfectly with the music.
'Seconds' is a little bit said, and it really makes you think. The lyrics describe the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963. The tone of the music is sombre and reflective, and the lyrics are just perfect. The line "It took seconds of your time to take his life" will stick with me forever. I don't have much more to say about this song, but it's absolutely brilliant.
'Love Action (I Believe In Love)' is one of the few songs on the album I already knew before listening to it (not because of the soundtrack for Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, I swear...). It's obviously very catchy, but I wouldn't ever call it a pop standard. It's The Human League at their best - it's very definitive of their general sound, with the catchy synth riffs; cool vocal harmonies from Joanne Catherall and Susan Ann Sulley; and an overall 80s-fueled appeal.
'Don't You Want Me' needs no introduction, but I'm giving it one anyway. Released on 27 November 1981 as the fourth single from Dare, this song is the band's biggest commercial success to date (ironic given the fact that Phil Oakey did not want it to be released as a single). I love everything about this song. I love the intro, I love the rising chord progression and melodic sequences in the pre-chorus, I love the fact that it's a male-female duet, I love the story told in the lyrics, and above all I love the simple yet brilliant chorus. I defy anyone not to dance to this song when they hear it, even just a little bit. I'm going to be really cheeky and add that I've also uploaded a cover of this song on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/justin-p-ryan/the-human-league-dont-you-want-me-cover.
Final Rating: 10/10
My favourite songs: All of them. Literally all of them.
In my next post, I'll be discussing ABBA's Arrival.
996 albums to go!
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