Comments for Psychedelic Furs, The, Book of Days

This, and WORLD OUTSIDE, are the bands swansongs. This record is a complete return to form- a direct reaction to the awful MIDNIGHT TO MIDNIGHT. Richard Butler's lyrics are the finest of his career and the sound simply epitomises everything the band ever aimed for. Delicate and darkly brooding, it manages to create the ultimate "beautiful noise" record. Stand out tracks: "Mother-Son"; "Parade" and "Book of Days", the title track perhaps being a reaction to what Butler saw at his return home to England My favourite record of all time...

The band does a complete turnabout from the totally accessible "Midnight to Midnight" album to the - well, maybe not totally inaccessible "Book of Days", but some digging is required. I don't care for the production - music's too muddy and the drums lack resonance, and the tone is almost unrelentingly melancholic - but having said all that, there are some fine gems here. My favorites: Book of Days, Torch, Mother-Son, House, and the outstanding Parade. Good album to listen to on rainy winter days.

I tried really hard to like this album, especially since the Furs seemed to bounce back so well from Midnight to Midnight (the album cover is too funny to be taken seriously) with "All That Money Wants". But in the end, this album was pretty much a mess. However, I''m glad they went this route rather than turning into something embarrassing. The album wasn''t that great, but I think they got some of their self-respect (and my respect) back.

Avoiding the critical trashing of "Midnight to Midnight" the Furs head towards non-commercial, melancholia here. Some great tracks in that vein, notably "Should God Forget" and "Torch." "House" was a minor radio hit. Unfortunately this album didn`t do one-tenth of the business their previous LP did.