Mar 05 2021
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3
POV: you're at a family function and your aunt is trying to pull you onto the dance floor as Karma Chameleon starts playing. The 45-year old function DJ flicks through his CD wallet looking for George Michael. Yer da is shuffling awkwardly near the buffet. 3 stars.
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Mar 05 2021
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2
How revolutionary was Boy George as the leader of the biggest group in the world? Gender non-conformity is still mocked and misunderstood today...to think this was 40 years ago. Wish I had the same appreciation for this album but it's basically 2-3 good songs and a bunch of filler.
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Mar 25 2022
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1
I have listened to this album twice now and I just don't get the generally positive reviews. The album actually makes me almost angry, that's how much I disliked it.
This is the epitome of what was wrong in the 80's (even though there also was a lot of great music). It sniffed New Wave but doesn't seem to get it, saw soul from a distance, uses filler sounds like a trumpet or harmonica to make the music sound smarter than it is. Ugh.
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Oct 07 2021
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2
That sure was sappy. I don't even like the big hit Karma Chameleon although I can't stop humming the chorus. They should have been in the TV commercial jingle business.
One positive comment is that Boy George ventured in new territory by dressing so feminine. Doing this in 1983 was a big deal and could have had a bad ending. I know in the prior decade the New York Dolls et al were gender bending trailblazers in another way by dressing in drag but I still view Boy G as a pioneer since he was trying to get (and succeeded at getting) mainstream audiences to buy his records and go to his concerts.
I'll give him +1 for pulling it off but the music really does suck.
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Apr 20 2021
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2
One banger doesn’t make a good album.
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Jan 22 2021
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2
A fine example of 80s pop. I'm not sure what makes it an "unmissable" album, though
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Mar 05 2021
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2
Why did I have to listen to this?
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Dec 15 2022
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5
For the nostalgia it evokes
For the classic Pop songs
For Boy George’s silken voice
For the breezy, uplifting tunes
For the mournful, heartbreaking lyrics
For the drama and emotion and Helen Terry‘s soulful tones
For the impassioned sax and harmonica
For the hours dancing round my kitchen
For the ability to put this on repeat and it still packs a punch
For all this and more
I thank you.
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Dec 14 2022
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2
This album is like, I forced an AI to listen to 1000 hours of 80's pop hits.
The beats and synths are good, but the melodies and harmonies just feel aimless and trite. As if they were trying to make the hooks easy to remember, while not realizing that that's not what makes them catchy.
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Feb 26 2023
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5
An album that should not wear well. But yet it escapes from an era of albums that have not: Rio and True for two. It has many of the tropes of early 80s Britpop: sax breaks check, featured female backing singers check, Motown backbeats check, dry as dust production check, gated drums check. And yet it effortlessly rises above all of tis to sound as brilliant today as bursting out of top of the Pops in 1982. Reasons why? George is a better singer than many others, and the songwriting is pretty foolproof. It delivers the four monster hit singles, but much more it’s got unstoppable momentum. Not until track eight – eight! - Mister Man, does the momentum slow from effervescent to album track. Even then, only for a moment are we down before Stormkeeper gets us back on track and Victims gives it the big closing number. Rounding up from 4.8 because yes.
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Apr 29 2021
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5
Wonderful, imaginative, catchy, sunny record which brings happiness and joy at every listen
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Apr 07 2024
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2
A great single followed by some deeply average dreck.
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Feb 12 2021
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2
Even the hit isn't good, I'm not coming back to this one anytime soon.
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Apr 08 2024
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1
With all due respect to Boy George, an incredibly brave individual who did incredible work in normalizing queerness in a time notoriously unfriendly to the concept, this album is basically unlistenable.
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Dec 06 2023
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5
I didn't appreciate this album much when it was released, but I sure do now. Fantastic album that has said the test of time.
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Nov 13 2023
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5
I enjoyed this so much! Black Money and That’s The Way are my favourite tracks.
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Oct 24 2023
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5
Classic 80s! Boy George rocks!
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Oct 19 2023
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5
Easy listening 80s music that goes hard
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Jul 19 2023
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5
18 year old me had limited interest in Culture Club, I was a Northern Soul, punk, post punk, alternative, indie kid.
Older me can now appreciate this album. Not only is it a great pop album, it's a fucking good soul album. 'Poison Mind' has definite Northern Soul vibes. The backing singers are superb, and George has a cracking voice.
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Feb 02 2023
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5
love them
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Nov 03 2022
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5
All the 80s hits <3
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Oct 27 2022
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5
Love this album so much! I used to steal it from my mom's collection all the time so I could listen to it in my room.
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Sep 29 2022
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5
This has been a favourite since the day it came out. Glad for an excuse to listen to it :)
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Sep 11 2022
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5
So I'm enjoying the first few songs, then on comes That's The Way, where Helen Terry flexes her vocal muscles. This then leads into The Church of the Poisoned Mind, where the band rips into this bouncy, irresistible tune where Helen once again soars. Those two songs are worth the price of admission. This is a perfectly designed album, with a natural flow that is perfectly signed off by Victims, a song that deserves greater recognition for it's clever mix of big ballad and minor key sadness.
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Aug 03 2022
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5
It still slaps, and there isn't one skippable song. That's right, the album tracks are just as good as the singles - and there were a ton of singles released from this gem. In the interest of full disclosure, 13 year old me wore the shit out of this record, which might play into my continued appreciation for it. Interesting how "Church Of The Poisoned Mind" has become more of a legacy song for Culture Club over "Karma Chamelon". The secret weapon is backup singer Helen Terry, whose voice perfectly complements Boy George's blue-eyed soul. The epitome of a great pop album. Anyone who disagrees secretly has a problem with androgynous people.
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Sep 22 2021
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5
New wave all the way, this album rules
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Jul 16 2021
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5
Breezy hits
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Jul 02 2021
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4
Old friend. Flaws and all. Still fun and evocative.
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Feb 22 2021
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4
Groaned at this, and thought it would be dated, but I admit it's a great pop album. Hasn't dated at all.
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Sep 17 2020
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4
Karma Chameleon is a certified jam. Second half is better than the first. Standout tracks: Church of the Poison Mind, Mister Man, Victims, Melting Pot.
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Jul 26 2024
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3
Not bad but pretty similar throughout
Standout songs:
Its a Miracle
Thats the Way
Stormkeeper
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Aug 27 2024
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2
Putting any cultural impact aside, this is an incredibly schmaltzy and of-its-time record.
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Aug 02 2024
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2
Surprised by how much of this gave a George Michael feel - soulful backing singers with peppy 80s vibes. But despite the talent of those backing singers, this mostly feels like a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy of other things that are much better.
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Apr 06 2023
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1
This started out strong and, over the course of the album, quickly worked its way down to a single star rating. Every song is bloated with single lines repeated over and over and OVER. The synths are the worst sort of blip-bloop garbage. And the vocal mis-match between Boy George and Helen Terry is downright painful.
The album is cheesy and painful to listen to but it was still flirting with a 2-star review until that second star collapsed under the weight of just SO MANY lame saxophone solos. One I might have forgiven. But practically every song is bogged down by an out of place and completely unnecessary saxophone interlude. Truly terrible. I hope I never have to listen to this garbage again.
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Jan 13 2021
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1
Noooooo. I am too sober for this 🙈. Not my type of music
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Nov 17 2024
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5
When I first heard Karma Chameleon, I wasn’t thinking this was gonna be an enjoyable experience for me. By the end of Victims, I fell in love. George’s voice is stellar and the instruments are fantastic. Landmark album
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Nov 14 2024
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5
Oh, sue me, I’m at a 4.5 that I’ll bump up to a 5.
I just really enjoyed that, what can I say? I feel firmly established in saying that synthpop will simply win me over every time if it’s done well, and this is done pretty damn well. Obviously, Karma Chameleon is like, the super duper all-timer hit here, forever established in the 80s musical canon, but like… almost all of the other tracks here are pretty good.
There’s not a bad one, just a few that felt either a little long, or a little repetitive, or a little half-baked; a number of tracks lyrically suffer from the “first minute is the whole track” syndrome that really bites at a lot of 80s synthpop. With that said, as long as the instrumentals and the general vocals can overcome that, to evoke some sort of bigger, grandiose feeling that just feels dance-y and fun, it’s enough for me. This album does it in spades; when the lyrics falter, or things get a little stale, a sax solo is always there to save it and bring the mood right back up. Either that, or just some super catchy vocal melody – the layering on the background vocals throughout this album is a real highlight to me. I’d also be entirely remiss to not point out that Boy George sounds strikingly and scarily like George Michael.
I now have a lot more appreciation for Culture Club than I had going into this. Karma Chameleon (and by extension, Do You Really Want To Hurt Me) felt like maybe a one or two-hit wonder sort of thing, but what’s here is *good.* It’s a fast 38 minutes, it’s catchy as hell, it’s tightly produced, and looking at the chart data, no wonder the only thing stopping this album from going to #1 was Thriller. That’s just some damn good synthpop to my ears – I can see how it’d be jarring to some people, and maybe if I were in a grumpier mood, the faltering moments would drag this thing down more for me. Right now, though, I don’t really care. I liked it a lot, and it’s very easy for me to bump it up to a 5.
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Sep 23 2024
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5
Damals als Culture Club in den Charts waren, kaufte ich mir bewusst kein Album von ihnen. Ich war überzeugt, dass diese Band nur Hits , aber keine guten Alben liefern kann. Der Hype um Boy George war mir zu groß und oberflächlich. Nun habe ich mir das Album dreimal angehört und muss mich bei Culture Club entschuldigen: Jazz, Gospel, Pop, bisschen soulig, da ist mächtig was geboten. Und die Mundharmonika ist einfach gigantisch. Das war bestimmt nicht das letzte Album von Culture Club.
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Aug 06 2024
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5
My early 80s cultural awakening was authored by E.T., Mary Lou Retton, Mr. T, and Boy George.
I cannot be objective with my unadulterated love for this album, but I can be rational enough to observe that Helen Terry deserved some sort of Grammy for her work on this disc. Those pipes are phenomenal.
New Wave 4 Life!
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Jul 11 2024
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5
I'd call them experimental punk. I didn't know about them, they are not great musician, but they know how to twist your mind.
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Apr 19 2024
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5
Smart, sophisticated pop for heartsick yuppies. I fucking love it.
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Apr 05 2024
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5
This album never gets old to me.
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Mar 08 2024
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5
Classic 80s
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Feb 29 2024
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5
Love Culture Club and Boy George one of my 80s favorites!
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Feb 15 2024
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5
Ok
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Feb 07 2024
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5
I really enjoyed this album. He has the sweetest voice!
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Dec 31 2023
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5
9/10 godDAMN, this is my shit
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Dec 29 2023
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5
I heard this many times back in the day, but haven’t revisited this album since the 80s.
Culture Club and Boy George were a huge influence on 80s pop music and while I appreciated their hit songs my young, rural-raised self did not appreciate or even understand the androgynous style of Boy George. But I think I they still played an important, if under appreciated at the time, role in my evolution to become a more understanding and tolerant person.
Back to the music - this album is packed with monster 80s hits. But this time I appreciated the entire album more than back in the 80s. There are some tender songs on here and Boy George’s update of the crooner vocal delivery serve these songs well. This trip back to the 80s has made me realize how much my ability to appreciate this music and the band has evolved!
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Dec 29 2023
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5
Class!
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Nov 26 2023
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5
Very repetitive, but that was the norm for the time.
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May 29 2022
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5
fun
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Dec 01 2024
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4
was not expecting this to be as good as it was, really fun and surprisingly not too heavily dependant on Karma Chameleon.
7.5/10
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Nov 25 2024
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4
Absolutely first-rate vocals (both lead and backing) are the strength of this record. Odd to think how well this stands up given Boy George's focus on style over substance; if kids didn't know how controversial his look was, will they just think he's got an all-time voice that could flit between pure pop, white soul and gospel-inflected R&B. Playing is polished here and production is first rate. One always thinks these songs will seem trifles, and then finds them surprisingly substantive, if still fun, bouncy and danceable. One can make a case that Kissing To Be Clever is the better of the record (if only because it includes "Time (Clock of the Heart)" which isn't – hey editors – just a "slow dance tune for teens" but an absolute contender for GOAT love song), but still, glad some CC made the cut here.
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Nov 20 2024
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4
perfectly enjoyable kitsch imo! unfortunately idk if it quite beats the allegations of One Song Where The Songcraft Comes Together Notably More Than The Others but of all the songs in that category karma chameleon is probably one of the best and will not be denied by me. almost everything else is pretty glompy and structurally inert unfortunately but i still had a good time cuz its hard to beat this hyper-colorful new romantic sound palate...if the songs were more memorable, they would be very easy to tell apart with the genuine variety tied together mostly by admirable garishness. and no matter what he's singing boy george is a nice presence!
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Nov 14 2024
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4
Some pretty damn good 80s british pop, but not much else to say besides that. 4.5 bumped down to 4.
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Nov 06 2024
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4
My grandpa is very homophobic and I disagree with him on many fundamental values, however he's the person I inherited my music taste from and I feel indebted to him despite our disagreements. One of my fondest memories with him was listening to 80s hits CDs in his car, and when Culture Club came on he *always* made it a point to condemn Boy George's homosexuality while painting him as a hell of a singer. And while I ended up very gay (ultimately a disappointment to my grandfather), we can agree on one thing: Boy George is a hell of a singer.
To be clear, he isn't Pete Burns level cool and as far as white sophisti-guys Mick Hucknall outclasses him heavily, but I've always had a soft spot for him and his chameleon-chasing antics. "Karma..." has grown a bit off me over the years but it's still an iconic piece of 80s pop. "Miss Me Blind" I heard first on Watch Dogs 2 and it instantly became my favorite song from the band; about a year later and that hasn't changed! It has a great soulful bounce to it that rivals anything Spandau Ballet or Scritti Politti were putting out years later. While this album isn't all zingers, it doesn't overstay its welcome and doesn't try to be anything more than a product of the times. That makes the songs quintessential of the New Romantic era; its datedness is its biggest strength.
8/10
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Nov 01 2024
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4
Karma Chameleon is a song that totally fucks. The consistency of the latter new wave bops makes for a really enjoyable effort. Really timely album to get on the Eurostar to jolly old Londontown. The album never goes from good to great for me though, so a 4 it is.
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Oct 31 2024
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4
I actually really like this more stripped back approach to new wave, it's quite an original sound and I've never heard anything quite like it. Definitely one I can see myself getting into even more in the future.
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Oct 24 2024
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4
I was surprised on how good the album was....
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Oct 24 2024
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4
Favourite song - it's a miracle
4.5 stars
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Oct 21 2024
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4
Nice background music. Boy George in his heyday.
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Oct 21 2024
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4
The Good: Who doesn’t like it when it is evident which color to apply?
The Bad: However, what if I don’t agree with the indicated color?
The Ugly: That the British keep pestering us with the word Colour…
Loved it!
Brought me back to my youth, and also made me realize that, though a massive Pop band, they knew how to play their instruments, and Boy George has some more than impressive pipes on him.
It would be 5, but it isn’t perfect...
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Oct 13 2024
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4
A nice selection of soft songs, with some higher energy songs, however a few songs are repetitive.
Standout Tracks: Karma Chameleon, It's a Miracle, Church of the Poison Mind
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Oct 10 2024
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4
Fun album!
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Oct 04 2024
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4
One of my favorite things about the 80’s, Boy George just iconic.
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Sep 20 2024
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4
Pretty much as I remembered. Classic 80's.
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Sep 19 2024
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4
I’ve never listened to this album, I only know “Karma Chameleon” from its heavy radio and Mtv rotation. Boy George has a smooth voice and he writes some really catchy songs. The music is fun and mostly upbeat with the exception of some soulful ballads. I’m really impressed with the band too, all components are firing at 100%. I found Roy Hayes’ intricate guitar and piano work really impressive and performed really well. The rhythm section of Mike Craig and Jon Moss is really tight with a lot of interesting change ups. Mike Craig’s bass playing is a stand out for me, with some really impressive bass lines through out. I think “Miss Me Blind” might be my favorite for my first listen but really every song kept me captivated. Overall a great 80’s classic that makes me want to listen to more their albums as well as revisit this one more in the future.
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Sep 19 2024
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4
Boy George's voice is so limber and clear, effortless in its delivery. That works for Culture Club, who keep the soundscape pure without distortion.
The bounce of "Karma Chameleon" has almost a reggae feel; I hadn't noticed that before, and I hear it on some other tunes here too. Great tune. I liked this one since it first came out. I forgot about "It's a Miracle." Still jams.
The next three songs show us Culture Club can handle R&B and samba just fine; indeed, "Black Money" could be at home on Bobby Brown's "Don't Be Cruel" album.
We get back to dance pop with "Church Of The Poison Mind." I didn't realize "Miss Me Blind" was Culture Club. This album keeps surprising me!
With a sweeping epic R&B ballad closing the album ("Victims"), Colour By Numbers vacillates between slow introspective R&B and upbeat, poppy dance club tunes about relationships.
This album has more depth than I gleaned from the cover. Three slow jams back-to-back was a bit of a drag, although the individual songs were good. This may benefit from a different song sequence, or replacing a slow jam with a more upbeat one, but in all, Culture Club execute on both the jams and ballads.
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Aug 21 2024
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4
Loved it
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Aug 19 2024
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4
Surprisingly solid. I rolled my eyes when I saw it come up, but I give George and the others credit. Lots of good orchestration. I enjoyed this more than I expected.
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Aug 09 2024
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4
Only knew the first absolutely huge hit on this album but there were a couple bangers throughout. I enjoyed the more upbeat songs to the slower paced ones. 7/10
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Aug 07 2024
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4
This is just mostly happy and weirdly jazzy cluby. It is just very different, but in a good unique way that seems to exude Boy George.
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Aug 07 2024
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4
This is the first album in a minute that made me want to get up and dance. And though I hadn’t heard it before, I *loved* Church of the Poison Mind. I think I’ll work a few of these songs into my regular rotation.
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Jul 26 2024
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4
Excellent
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Jun 16 2024
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4
Some hate for this in other reviews, don't know why just fun happy music. What can you hate about that. Easy 4. Added this and other Culture Club albums to favorites for future fun happy enjoyable listening.
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Jun 13 2024
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4
all songs were decent, black money i found was really annoying, i found some songs i haven’t heard since i was a child which was nice, good album overall
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Jun 03 2024
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4
Ok it’s 80’s pop.
Until you remember that it’s “80’s” pop. And this is a band making pretty good pop music by a band led by a… clearly non-hetero/maybe bi/maybe gay definitely non of our business/ singer with a very good voice. In the 80’s this was pretty ground breaking in the MTV age.
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May 29 2024
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4
This is a weird one to review because I feel like my opinion of it has changed each time I listened to it. The first listen, I thought it was crap. Hated the obvious 80's production to it. The second listen it grew on me, and some tracks started to stand out. The third listen, I... actually liked it? I think I did anyway. It's just bizarre to me that I can go from hating it to somewhat liking it so quickly.
The obvious highlight is the hit 'Karma Chameleon' which boasts an unbelievably catchy melody and hook in the chorus. I've known, and enjoyed that song for years, but the surprising best song for me on the album is 'That's The Way'. A beautifully sung ballad with piano accompaniment, the way the backing vocals slot in with the harmonies is the great part of this track. Coupled with a powerful lead sung by Boy George, this song really genuinely surprised me. The coda with the two vocalists trading lines perfects the song.
I was worried when this album came up because I assumed it would be shit. And at first I thought it was shit. But now I think its less shit. In fact, maybe its not shit at all? I'll probably have to listen to it another 10 times to make sure.
FAVORITE SONGS
- Karma Chameleon
- That's The Way
As I said, tough to rate, but lets go 3.5/5 for now
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May 22 2024
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4
Vibey - saved quite a few songs. Didn’t know Karma Chameleon was by them
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May 22 2024
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4
Such a good album!
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May 22 2024
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4
All songs have the Culture Club vibe. Great if you are into that. Best track is Karma Chameleon.
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May 15 2024
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4
I didn’t think much of Culture Club in 1983. Coming on the heels of the 70s it seemed really light weight. After doing over 100 albums on this list and realizing how talentless the 21st century can be I have a new found appreciation for this music. It’s well done, it’s upbeat, it’s intelligible and just good mood music.
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May 15 2024
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4
Boy George is a much better singer than I remember, very soulful . Great new wave album, still holds up
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May 08 2024
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4
When Boy George first appeared on Top of the Pops back in the early 80s there was a brief wave of moral panic about ‘gender bending’ pop stars from the right wing press, recycling the same headlines they’d printed about Bowie and Bolan from 10 years previously. However, he soon silenced the critics with a series of top ten hits and a second album that was full of bright, soulful pop with backing vocals from Helen Terry giving a Motown vibe. Lovely stuff.
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May 02 2024
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4
While I personally wouldn’t listen to this on my own, it’s a pretty solid record. No filler. I almost went with 3 stars, but it really had to be a 4.
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Apr 29 2024
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4
Really solid album. Didn’t realize how many songs I knew
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Apr 29 2024
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4
I didn't like this at all when it came out. You couldn't escape it. This was the 1st time I listened to this album. Pretty solid, lots of hits.
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Apr 17 2024
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4
The definition of lead single
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Apr 11 2024
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4
fun. I like it
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Apr 10 2024
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4
Liked this better than I remembered it and expected to. 2 big hits, 2 minor hits and other side one tracks were quite nice. Fun to sing to and move to. A solid debut effort.
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Mar 29 2024
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4
80ssssssss ✨✨✨✨
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Mar 22 2024
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4
nice 80s vibe
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Mar 20 2024
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4
There is a category of song so deeply worn into your brain that you can sing along while doing something else. Catchy, bouncy, and fun. Did I mention catchy? Extra star for Boy George being Boy George in 1983.
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Mar 14 2024
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4
Miss me blind is a bop
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Mar 07 2024
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4
I enjoyed this album. It was a very upbeat and peppy kind of feel.
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Mar 05 2024
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4
The variation! I love the beats, the vocals and harmonies. Absolutely loved this album from a band I've never heard of.
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Mar 04 2024
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4
Great
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Feb 28 2024
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4
its giving zumba
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Feb 26 2024
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4
Culture Club was very popular when I started getting into music, so I have nostalgia for some of these songs. Karma Chameleon, It's a Miracle, Church of the Poison Mind, and Miss Me Blind were all hits I believe. The rest of the album is solid. I only listened to the original 10 tracks, but I'll probably hit the rest later.
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Feb 19 2024
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4
good easy listening
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