Re: VA - Greatest Ever! New Wave Hits (2007).rar
Denna Repaci
California synthpop band from the early part of the decade.Vivabeat was, at the time, the only American band on Charisma Records, signed largely at the urging of Peter Gabriel who had heard the band's early four song demo tape and was instantly hooked. Their sound was a conglomeration of Roxy Music and Ultravox, with a dash of Devo thrown in for good measure. Lead singer Terrance Robay combined the suave swagger of Bryan Ferry with the barely controlled lunacy of "Psycho Killer"-era David Byrne. But most importantly, Vivabeat didn't seem to take themselves too seriously. Witness, for example, the deadpan "my my, uh oh/the house is burning but there's no one home" lyrics from Vivabeat's first dance club hit, "The House is Burning (But There's No One Home)". It may be utterly absurd, but that matters little when you're shaking your ass on the dance floor. The Good Life collects the best from Vivabeat's two albums with various and sundry singles. "Working for William" is an odd melding of reggae and synthpop topped off with Robay's Gary Numan-esque vocals that somehow works. The funky, hypnotic "Man From China"'s lead whistle allegedly inspired Gabriel to write "Games Without Frontiers." On "Blue Guitars," Marina del Rey's detached vocals invoke Bananarama fronting Depeche Mode. Definitely one of the more esoteric releases so far this year; The Good> Life is an exhilarating blast of synthpop for 80's people. -- Rick Schadelbauer _023/023_cd_reviews.htm
Bio from All Music:
Peter Gabriel was responsible for bringing the synth pop outfit Vivabeat to the new wave forefront in late 1979. They combined elements of new romanticism and glam rock for an ambience quite similar to the likes of Roxy Music, Alphaville, and Visage. The band, which consisted of Mick Muhlfriedel, Terrance Robay, Consuelo Desilva, Doug Orilio, Alec Murphy, and Marina Del Ray, were also the first group to be signed to Charisma Records. They issued Party in the War Zone in 1980 and the single Man From China sparked success for the band overseas, mostly in dance clubs in Europe. By 1982, however, other sorts of work entailed more responsibility for other band members. Robay began his flirtation with films and newcomers Cindy Hope, Peggy McClelland, and Rob Dean joined the group. Vivabeat's second effort The House Is Burning (But There's No One Home was released and tours with Depeche Mode, Gang of Four, and the Human League followed. But other passions and interests plagued the group. Robay departed by 1984 for a career in acting, whereas Dean joined the Gary Numan band. Name changes also riddled them: Muhlfriedel opted for See Jane Run or Neko Maka, for the underlying musical swagger of Vivabeat could no longer be possible without the songwriting of Terrance Robay. See Jane Run was the moniker of choice and a new sound resembling a dramatic B-52's and ABC was now part of the image. Vivabeat couldn't stand the test of time to outlast contractual pressures and expectations. Muhlfriedel left the band by the end of the decade, also pursuing a career in film documentaries. The new millennium did recognize the work of the band, paying tribute to Vivabeat with the release of the greatest hits collection The Good Life: 1979 - 1986, issued on Permanent Press Recordings in early 2001. MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide
"The band's experiences in writing songs for movies, led Mick to becoming a composer of music for films, TV, commercials and documentaries. He has a new band project, Buff Roshi, which will be releasing a CD in summer. Marina meanwhile, works as a writer/producer in film and TV. They are both liiving in Los Angeles and raising their son there. Doug returned to Utica, New York where lives to this day. Rob settled in the Costa Rican Cloud Forest where he works as a naturalist painter and leads bird-watching tours."
Thanks a lot for uploading these records, didnt know the band and was a pleasant discovery. I only could download the compilation, the Party In The War Zone file has an unknown format. Thanks again,
Fernando
Thanks! I used rar. at the end of the file and the problem was solved:)I. Thanks a lot!. I am a collector of early eighties 'synth-pop', so this band has been a very pleasant surprise, didnt know them before
Fernando
I love this band and could never figure why they just evaporated. I keep expecting them to show up in some version on a summer tour of the states with Depeche Mode, HUman League or the Furs. Thanks for all.
Synthia
One of the reasons Vivabeat couldn't stand the test of time to outlast contractual pressures and expectations is that they were signed on speculation based on the song "Man from China". The song was written by Robert Garman and Alec Murphey as Audio Vidiot.
A mutual record friend took 'Man from China' to Brian Eno and Peter Gabriel. Gabriel loved the song and was thinking of his new record company Charisma. Excited by the speculation of signing Alec brought his buddies out from Boston who in essence highjacked the band. One of the people that came out from the east coast Mick Muhlfriedel wanted Robert Garman out of the way or he was going back to Boston. Garman left and the rest signed up as VivaBeat and took 'Man from China' as their own and signed to Charisma.
Audio Vidiot moved on with Alec's brother Dave and formed The Vidiots with Chris Bailey.
Of course VivaBeat could not produce "the sound" that got them signed since none of the band members outside of Alec created the music in the first place that initially got them signed. Marina Del Ray had a small claim to helping with the playing on 'Man from China' But, it was after all, just a riff lifted in part from the song '96 tears' by The Mysterians that Alec was goofing around with one sunny day in LA. Sad.