Human Racing

My guilty pleasure, I voted for this, not because it was a reminder of my younger years but because, as a debut album it was successful and also was one of the key new wave synth albums that other artists encompassed, copied and modified. There isn't a bad song on the album, many of the songs refer to the issues of the times

When people say they don't like 80s music this is what they think it all sounds like.

Alexa - play me an album from the 80's

Feel like a lot of the user albums are more of the nostalgic music people listened to a lot growing up. I never heard of this album before but I’d imagine if I grew up in the 80s this would be a popular one. To me this was some boy band solo artist 80s new wave stuff that was pretty dull and didn’t have any of the flair of the better new wave music. 4.3/10

Wouldn't it be good has been the theme song to Cadbury commercials in Australia for about the last 30 years. It's a fucking banger. I didn't know the rest of the album, but it isn't as good. There's an "intense pop" feel, with all this stop-start stuff and synthesised slap bass etc etc, that I wasn't in the mood for today. I'm gonna give it a decent score though, for wouldn't it be nice and I won't let the sun go down on me, as well as the guitar solo in cloak and dagger. 4/5.

Downside is more new wave bullshit Upside on a few tracks is that it *nearly* touches Oingo Boingo in new wave fun. Needs more horns! The lyrics are *very* "I'm 14 and this is deep"

Tough one. The bangers don't outweigh the 80's blandness

I don't know about the whole album but "Wouldn't It Be Good" is absolutely inconic. The lyric is, to me, so profound I still think about it sometimes even 40 years later. No, it wouldn't be good, there would be no one left. We must face the moment. It will pass. The song also makes me think about what do we really know about what is going on inside other people? Am I maybe hearing more than is really there? Anwyay, for rating purposes, there's, you know, the rest of the album. Which isn't terrible but otherwise isn't really list worthy, is it?

We could’ve left this in 1984 where it was

Basic 80’s pop. I don’t understand how this was so many weeks on top of the UK charts

Nik Kershaw is still way cooler than you or I will ever be.

I’ve always been a sucker for synth pop. Oftentimes, the genre is fairly shallow and cheesy, but this album is harder hitting. Despite being over 40 years old now, I challenge you to read the lyrics to Won’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me and ask yourself if it is still perfectly relevant today. It’s depressing that it is, but it most definitely is. All of this is overlayed onto extremely catchy pop hooks and vocal harmonies, culminating into something spectacular. My manager actually recommended this album a few months ago, and I’m glad he did.

Rating: 8/10 Best songs: Wouldn’t it be good, Shame on you, Faces, I won’t let the sun go down on me

Quintessential 80's vibe. I personally prefer The Riddle, but Wouldn't It Be Good and I Won't Let The Sun Go Down On Me alone make it worthwhile to listen to the album.

There are a few songs that I recognize but never knew who it was. Nice addition to the list.

A girl I met on the debate tournament circuit in high school got me into Nick Kershaw via a mix tape, and Wouldn’t It Be Good? became an immediate favorite of mine. The rest of the album I liked a lot then. I’m not sure this would have bubbled up to the top if I was new to this today, but Wouldn’t It Be Good? is so catchy and Drum Talk is really different. What fun to revisit this old favorite!

I couldn't have told you earlier today that it wasn't Nik Kershaw's "Wouldn't it be Good" on the Pretty in Pink soundtrack, which I listened to hundreds of times in the later 80s. But I went back and listened, and that's definitely not Nik Kershaw. Weird. (I probably would have sung it "wouldn't it be nice" as it were. It's been a while.) I digress. It was a favorite song despite all that. I think I would have really enjoyed this album back then, too.

Pure 80s goodness is what this is. Very simple formula. Lots of synth with accompanying instruments lead to one huge track and many likeable songs.

I'm quite surprised at how many of these seem vaguely familiar, and given that most of this stuff hasn't been in the public consciousness since about 1985, that's quite astonishing. I can't claim that anything from this album will enter my regular rotation, but I did quite enjoy Shame on You's vocal, er... sound, I guess. I wonder what influence (if any) Mr Kershaw had on Camille - it's a similar kind of beatboxy thing to what she does, although I'm genuinely not sure if beatboxing is the right term for it. Anyway - yeah, better than I feared and actually quite a fun bit of otherwise disregarded 80s in a virtually untouched time capsule.

One of the most baffling albums so far. The production is wild - so many very 80s touches that individually I would find annoying but there’s just so much going in that it goes full circle to being really fun. Drum Talk sounds like the fucked up lovechild of Paul Simon, Phil Collins and Afrika Bambaataa, and I am loathe to report that Bogart actually slaps - and the production choices somehow get even weirder from there, with the absolute banger Gone To Pieces and then the frankly ludicrous panning on Shame on You Some of the vocal lines are quite strange for such commercially driven pop music and some of Kershaw’s line deliveries are quite strange for an English singer - I honestly thought he was Swedish or something I don’t really know what to make of this. I don’t think it was good, and a lot of it just confused me - but god damn it, it made me feel something. And at the end of the day isn’t that what music is all about?

I enjoyed this. Seems like something that could be on the list.

I had no clue that this album was so rhythmically inflected. I’ve never found “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me” particularly amazing but “Wouldn’t It Be Good” is a song that I revisit every 3yrs or so and wonder how it can be so catchy. This is New Wave manna. Eat it up!

Woah there cowboy, what is with these drum samples? Wouldn't It Be Good is a hit pitched right down the middle. Drum Talk is WILD. Cloak And Dagger is a fucking bop. This was such a strong 4 star for me that some of the songs deserve a special call out.

There’s really no need for more music like music like this on the list - but there is a need for some Nik Kershaw. Human Racing is a great choice. Really fun and catchy with some extremely memorable songs in “Wouldn’t It Be Good” and “Cloak And Dagger” just to name a few.

Lmao what a ballsy move to add yet another British 80s new wave synth album to the list. Real talk, of course Nik Kershaw should be included on the original list - especially given how many forgettable albums in the same style are already included. Whether it should be this one or the follow up with 'The Riddle' I won’t be the judge of. Human Racing is an incredibly uneven album with some staggering heights on ‘Wouldn’t It Be Good', 'Bogart' and 'I Won’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me' and some fairly standard new wave tracks sprinkled throughout like 'Dancing Girls' and 'Shame On You'.

"Wouldn't It Be Good" is a classic, I remember hearing it in the car on the way to school sometimes. The rest of the album is pretty generic new wave pop, typical of the 80s. It's good enough. It's nostalgic and comfortable. Someone mentioned that people only add nostalgic music to the user list. I don't think that's true, but if it is, that's okay with me. 3 because most of the album is at least listenable, 4 for nostalgia ;)

Good hit singles, but not such a good overall LP. A bit too experimental with those achingly 1980s synth sounds, perhaps.

A rare New Wave LP that took me by surprise - was never really sure where this one was going, and the constantly-evolving rhythms and off-kilter instrumentation felt surprisingly distinct for an album in this genre. Some slower, standard takes of the time towards the back half drag a little, but overall this was a solid and pretty entertaining listen.

Typical 80s sound. And this album has 2 songs I knew, but would never been able to name the artist

I thought this was actually pretty wierd for what was apparently a successful pop album. New wave adjacent but kind of its own thing. I liked it OK, it was a good workout jam, but a little too far on the soft side for me and certainly dated.

It's alright, seems like pretty standard mid-80s fare to me. 3 stars.

if you look up 'the 80's' on Wikipedia, I think it might redirect you to Nik Kershaw's page. I think this ticks all the boxes on what the 80's sounded like musically. Quite a good vocalist, some catchy hit singles I remember from back then, and also a little bit of an edge here and there. Not all that bad actually.

Decent 80s pop. Wouldn't It Be Good is a banger. Rating: 2.5 Playlist track: Wouldn't It Be Good Date listened: 14/10/24

Better than I expected, but I have an instinctive aversion to 80s production!

Snooze

There's a lot of similar stuff in the book that I didn't enjoy as much as this. I don't love it but it was a pretty good listen.

It does surprise me that someone would submit this... didn't you get enough 80s new wave from the original list? Like maybe if this was doing something really interesting or unique I could see but this just sounds like every other new wave album that exists. Nothing interesting or unique. Just that boring 80s sound that has aged so poorly. I wish the user submitted albums would also have a blurb submitted by the user to explain their thought process behind submitting their album. I just struggle to see why this was done. My personal rating 2.5/5 My rating relative to the original list: 2.5/5 Should this have been included on the original list? Absolutely not. There was more than enough generic bland 80s new wave / pop and this is just another one to add to the pile.

Is there anyone my age who doesn't love Wouldn't It Be Good?

A forgettable and bland 80s pop staple, like plenty of others that did make it into the book! Absolutely not what I would choose to listen to, but clearly not terrible; just not for me.

Some very danceable grooves. Seems like it would be a great love show

This sounded both ultra 80s with all the synths and new wave stuff and 90s dance but most importantly it sounded incredibly British.

He fully embraced the electronic music movement. Nice to hear a whole album.

Lol! I thought this was a p*sstake but there are some decent 80s pop songs on this.

I enjoyed it, bit of nostalgia.

Perhaps best known from MTV, Nik Kershaw is a UK-based solo artist that found initial success in Europe before his music video for Wouldn't It Be Good got him some attention from Americans. Ultimately I don't think Kershaw ever became much of a household name on our end of the pond, but I can appreciate how he did well for himself over in the UK and Europe. I have to give Kershaw some props for this because this is an oddly inventive synthpop album? There are some interesting creative choices that kept me engaged throughout most of the runtime, and beyond that the hooks are pretty good too! He would go on to achieve moderate success but never quite joined the leagues. And that's okay! CONTENDER FOR THE LIST: Not quite as influential or successful compared to his contemporaries, so probably not. A nice choice for the user's list though.

I like the middle part, it's just wacky enough to stand out, but the rest of the album does feel like it's chasing other sounds, especially Stevie Wonder. Still, solid enough, and certainly better than I thought it'd be.

Kind of a mess, but there's still fun to be had

Oh, one wants to root for this cat, if only because “Wouldn’t It Be Good” is an all-timer and one wishes he weren’t a one-hit wonder (though US-only, one realizes) – almost the poster child for one-hit wonders and all the attendant misundertanding of their efforts. But it’s just way too synthy and dated, just drenched in ultimate ‘80s cliches (admittedly before they were such). Opening notes of opening cut nearly ruin the record right out of the gate. What’s needed is more indie-rock guitars and less Devoesque-Sprockets-y feel. One’s right in the target demo for a song like “Bogart” but it’s just too fakey-lurid synthy – wouldn’t Rick need some piano and/or sax if he were to say “play it again, Nik.” “Won’t Let the Sun Go Down” is decent, has potential (weird that it was higher-charting than “Wouldn’t It Be Good” – rather complicates the one-hit wonder theory, it should be noted). Poor kid, one so wishes Live Aid had gone better for him.

The truth is that it's an album that bored me, I couldn't get any emotion out of it. At the beginning I had expectations, but track by track they faded away. I felt like one of those artists from the eighties who arrived one day and faded away in the face of the consolidated successes of the time.

The best thing about this album is that it made me remember the Riddle. 2 The fucking chipmunks in gone to pieces lmao

Doesn't have much going for it

I think maybe my brother had this album when it came out, but that I didn't particularly connect with it. That hasn't really changed as I come back to it today. It's an odd little album, a bit of a hodgepodge of quirky synth-forward songs that are very much of their time. The singles are solid enough, but it's nothing I care to revisit. Fave Songs: Wouldn't It Be Good, Bogart, I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me, Human Racing

Pop, new wave, synth-pop, pop rock. Rollo. Un 2.

"Wouldn't It Be Good" if all of the album was of the same quality as that song and "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"...

More painfully average 80s music with one big hit and a whole bunch of nothing. Sorry, not a fan in the slightest.

I find it hard to believe that someone listened to the 1001+ albums, then thought "You know what's missing? That Nik Kershaw album!"

A very average 80’s album, I thought they were enough of those on the original list.

There's a couple of classics on here and then some other stuff... Sorry Nik

A couple of hits but otherwise just too 80s.

I'm truly sorry, but it's way too 80s for me.

From doing this project I have discovered that this genre of music is just not my thing at all. I can’t get into it.

More 80s not so great stuff. Couple good tunes, not much to say.

Just overwhelmingly 80s for first thing in the morning. I didn't hit the spot!

Human Racing is awfully 80s, not in good ways, though it has a couple of okay moments in Wouldn't It Be Good and Gone To Pieces. Still, 2/5, not a good listen.

Far too 80's for my taste

Pretty standard 80s synth pop. A little faux-funky at times, a couple of half decent singles but generally a bit basic and forgettable.

A surprising choice. Had this album on tape but even back then it was clear that far better pop music was released, except, of course, for the two big (5-star) international hits.

Oof, talk about dated. Human Racing is absolutely steeped in early 80s synth-pop aesthetics, and not always in a good way. That said, credit where it’s due: Kershaw at least wrote his own material, unlike many of the chart-topping ‘products’ that followed later in the decade. Back in 1984, Nik Kershaw was everywhere; I even remember seeing him at Live Aid. But like many pop figures of that era, the fame was short-lived, and listening back now, it’s easy to see why. There’s not enough depth here to make the album timeless, and while some hooks are catchy, the production and songwriting feel very much of their time. It’s not the worst thing to come out of the 80s by any means, but it hasn’t aged well. And ultimately, it’s just not good enough to warrant rediscovery.

Not my jam

Nik was truly ahead of the curve. I heard through the grapevine that several songs were based on improvisation. Also that other songs had a political message. Truly riveting stuff! For that modern sound, he added some hi-hat, a normal one. People keep saying this is too 80s and I don't get it. Do they mean 2080s because this still sounds like it is from the future. What a visionary, and a heartthrob.

Everything about this screams mid-80s power pop. I feel like this would be part of the soundtrack for a Haim/Feldman vehicle that has aged like milk in a hot car.

Aged like milk

80s synth landfill hardly worthy of comment.

Wouldn't it be Good was one of my favorite 80's eras one hit wonder tracks. Just a great pop song. Unfortunately i can't imagine why anyone would think this album needs to be on the list. The rest of the album is now what i would ascribe to being the north star of music that doesn't age well. This is just dreck now. I can't imagine this would have been good in 1983, but it hurts my soul listening to it today. I was very thankful when it ended.

1 star. Not because it is terrible. It just doesn’t belong on this list. A couple of pop hits does not an album make. Ironically I was a fan back in the day! My brother once called me out for wearing my runners untied a la Nic K. Highly embarrassing.

Not so sure choosing "guilty pleasures" for this list is really reasonable, you know. Especially when the original list misses so many essential albums in most genres. In that realm of blatantly commercial pop, I could have chosen quite a few records myself -- like that late seventies LP by Duncan Browne, along with albums released by Mike Oldfield during the eighties, Enigma during the early nineties, or even Dua Lipa these days. And then I would expect the 1/5 and 2/5 grades to pile up, of course. Guess that user doesn't take themself too seriously at least. Good for them. Kind of liked the opening song about "dancing girls", not so far from The Human League in their *Dare*-era artistic apex. And I also enjoyed second track "Wouldn't It Be Good", that I had indeed heard somewhere before -- which proves it is somewhat memorable, I imagine... Unfortunately, as soon as "Drum Talk" surged on my headphones, this thing became absolutely ridiculous. Sprinkling some "experimental" flourishes and rather imaginative baroque arrangements here and there can't possibly redeem how hackneyed the compositions, songwriting and production are throughout this LP. The second half of the first side is close to appalling. The vocal performance is even a little weak at times, and during those weak moments, it manages to be more grating than the gated drum sound -- which is, honestly, quite a feat. Oh, and the horns are *especially* annoying. The joke is gonna fly over the head of most English-speaking listeners, but I'm now waiting for a French citizen to add La Compagnie Créole to this list... The first half of the second side fares a little better, surprisingly. "Shame On You", "Cloak And Dagger" and "Faces" explore more ambiguous and evocative synth tones at least. But that ephemeral relief is then instantly erased by how utterly TERRIBLE the last two cuts are. "I Won't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" is cringe-inducing cheesefest garbage dross, and "Human Racing" sounds like a parody of Stevie Wonder in his worst eighties moments (instead of his best seventies works). Whenever I witness someone praising that sort of ridiculous eighties record, I sort of expect them to rant about those albums' "artistry" the way Patrick Bateman does in *American Psycho*. Which is both hilarious and terrifying. Here's me hoping that this particular user isn't secretly a serial killer. Given that I sense some welcome humor in their own review, I cross my fingers that my own rant is gonna make that person laugh. Hopefully. Just to save my skin, let me just add that technically, I'm rating this thing higher than *Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino* by Arctic Monkeys. At least, I'm feeling something listening to Nik Kershaw -- it might not be very positive emotions, but it's better than my near-total absence of emotional response whenever I listen to Alex Turner self-fellating. Yet seriously, and for once, I can't round up my 1.5/5 grade to a 2/5 one, the way I usually do when I hesitate between two scores. Because let's face it, this choice of an "album to listen to before you die" is damn weird in my book. Number of albums from the original list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 465 Albums from the original list I *might* include in mine later on: 288 Albums from the original list I won't include in mine: 336 ---- Number of albums from the users list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 3 Albums from the users list I *might* include in mine later on: 6 Albums from the users list I won't include in mine: 7 (including this one)

This was eye-wateringly bad. Complete dross. Terrible lyrics, horrible sounds. I guess the only redeemable thing was his voice isn't bad. This is 80s landfill music and deserves to stay on the landfill in my opinion.

I have zero appetite for more of this kind of bullshit after living with the main list for three whole years