Colour By Numbers

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.

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.

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.

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.

One banger doesn’t make a good album.

A fine example of 80s pop. I'm not sure what makes it an "unmissable" album, though

Why did I have to listen to this?

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.

Wonderful, imaginative, catchy, sunny record which brings happiness and joy at every listen

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.

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.

A great single followed by some deeply average dreck.

Even the hit isn't good, I'm not coming back to this one anytime soon.

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.

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.

I enjoyed this so much! Black Money and That’s The Way are my favourite tracks.

Classic 80s! Boy George rocks!

Easy listening 80s music that goes hard

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.

love them

All the 80s hits <3

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.

This has been a favourite since the day it came out. Glad for an excuse to listen to it :)

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.

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.

New wave all the way, this album rules

Breezy hits

Old friend. Flaws and all. Still fun and evocative.

Groaned at this, and thought it would be dated, but I admit it's a great pop album. Hasn't dated at all.

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.

Karma Kameleon is super catchy. The rest of the album is just ok.

Not bad but pretty similar throughout Standout songs: Its a Miracle Thats the Way Stormkeeper

Not my jam, never was. I’ll give it a two because I love his back up singer. She’s great!

Putting any cultural impact aside, this is an incredibly schmaltzy and of-its-time record.

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.

Can't do it.. I've been trying to listen to every album all the way through, but I couldn't get past the first song on this. Not for me. Putting Time Out of Mind back on as an antidote.

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.

Noooooo. I am too sober for this 🙈. Not my type of music

Amazing. I've never listened to this album, but I always liked Culture Club when I heard them on MTV. I was a kid in the 80s, but used to watch videos with my older sister (when she'd let me). Good times, and I'm glad I listened to this now that I'm older.

Fuck yes! I remember when this hit the States. We went mad for this band and Boy George’s style. Pretty much everyone over a certain age can sing Karma Chameleon. This is perfect pop music. Classic structure, hooks, harmonies, great arrangements. Not too harsh. Just fun and soulful music for the masses. The roots are squarely in the Motown style. The 80s brought the nostalgia wave with Blue Eyed Soul. Everyone wanted to be Smokey Robinson. Is there any Smokey Robinson on this list?

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

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.

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.

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!

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.

Smart, sophisticated pop for heartsick yuppies. I fucking love it.

This album never gets old to me.

Classic 80s

Love Culture Club and Boy George one of my 80s favorites!

Ok

I really enjoyed this album. He has the sweetest voice!

9/10 godDAMN, this is my shit

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!

Class!

Very repetitive, but that was the norm for the time.

fun

A pleasant surprise. Boy George has a more soulful voice than I had anticipated, and the range of material kept me interested. Sure, this does feel lightweight, but perhaps that's down to the frictionless, airtight production. It's needed, as George's voice would otherwise run the risk of getting lost in the mix. 'Karma Chameleon' is the biggie and it's easy to understand why - it's bouncy and features an irresistible chorus hook. There are gems elsewhere though - side two especially, with the trifecta of the strutting 'Miss Me Blind', 'Mister Man' and 'Stormkeeper'. A bit of a treat, this.

Not the best album ever recorded, fun, counter culture (no pun intended) and enjoyable back day and still is.

Okay, this is fun! I’m giggling at how low its global score is. I feel like this website tends to favor the moody/artsy albums. But this is fun. Even the album art tells you to strap in for some 80s shenanigans. Love it.

Black album by a white band, timeless music.

A classic British pop album from the 80s. Some songs are deeply touching and emotional, while others were major hits of their time. There are also some great karaoke tracks :) Boy George’s vocals are wonderfully melodic

Enjoyable and I love Miss You Blind!

Ground breaking at the time

Genuinely a fun to listen to album although the instrumental style of the 80s isn’t my favorite, but I like Karma Chameleon and the rest of the album was pretty good if not a little repetitive.

Boy George at his best. Not extraordenary special.

• 4/5 • Liked the album better than I had expected - not a masterpiece but thoroughly enjoyable • Strength not limited to the singles • Clear gospel, R&B, Ska, and Caribbean influences make for a fun a creative mishmash • Production was rougher than I recalled

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

“Karma Chameleon” is one of the great pop songs of the 1980s, which makes it one of the great pop songs ever. That song anchors a collection of enjoyable albeit light char-friendly New Wave music with a touch of blue-eyed soul from Boy George. https://open.substack.com/pub/richcain/p/project-1001-colour-by-numbers-by?r=4ztyq&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false

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.

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!

Some pretty damn good 80s british pop, but not much else to say besides that. 4.5 bumped down to 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

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.

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.

I was surprised on how good the album was....

Favourite song - it's a miracle 4.5 stars

Nice background music. Boy George in his heyday.

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...

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

Fun album!

One of my favorite things about the 80’s, Boy George just iconic.

Pretty much as I remembered. Classic 80's.

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.

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.

Loved it

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.

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

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.

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.

Excellent

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.

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

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.

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

Vibey - saved quite a few songs. Didn’t know Karma Chameleon was by them

Such a good album!

All songs have the Culture Club vibe. Great if you are into that. Best track is Karma Chameleon.

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.

Boy George is a much better singer than I remember, very soulful . Great new wave album, still holds up

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.