  Showcase of an era, 2003-11-14
This is probably one of the best compilations of late 70s and 80s synth hits. It doesn't tell the whole story of synth pop though, as obscure artists like The Normal and Klaus Nomi are omitted. Besides this minor gripe, it does offer a brilliant overview of the synth sound of the late 1970s and of the 1980s with all the major artists and most of the classic hits represented.Disc One contains The Human League's gloomy early track Being Boiled plus their later devastating pop hit Don't You Want Me, Tubeway Army's seminal 1978 hit Are Friends Electric, David Bowie's funky Fashion, Thomas Dolby's quirky Hyperactive, Soft Cell's decadent Say Hello Wave Goodbye and the pioneering Kraftwerk's hypnotic The Model. One serious omission is Eurythmics’ unsurpassable Love Is A Stranger, a beautiful eerie song that represented the very best of synthpop for me. On Disc Two, my favourites include the cinematic and gripping I Travel by Simple Minds, the anthemic Electricity by OMD (but where is Joan Of Arc?), Paul Hardcastle's ominous 19 from a much later era, the brooding Don't Go by Yazoo which is another stunning mix of melody and moody vocals and The Walk by The Cure, although they aren't really considered a synth band. Neither were Phil Lynott or Frankie Goes To Hollywood considered synth artists, but their respective contributions are welcome anyway.
generally good, enhanced by some less obvious tracks, 2002-04-29
Electric Dreams is one of those albums that you will buy either because you were a youngster in the early/mid 80s and need a nostalgia trip, or because you can just about remember the era and want a taste of what you missed. Electric Dreams is, on the whole, a very good representation not just of the electropop genre but of the general music scene at that time. It has (almost) all of the obligatory tracks you would expect to hear: The Human League's 'Don't you want me?', New Order's 'Blue Monday', but what makes it a slight cut above the rest is the inclusion of lesser known but equally as 'electrified' numbers. These include The Cure's 'The Walk' and Simple Mind's 'I Travel'. The decision to include such tracks may make this album a little less accessible for some who just want to hear '80s night'-style classics, but will make it of greater interest to those who want to hear what electropop was really all about. My only real gripe is with the inclusion of a handful of tracks which, I would argue, don't strictly qualify for inclusion- Phil Oakey/Giorgio Moroder's 'Together in Electric Dreams'- nice attempt to link with the album's title, but is this not just 'pop', minus the key 'electro' elements? A few tracks struck me as such, hence my view that this album represents the 1980-85 era as opposed to a serious genre compilation. Better than the other similar compilations out at the moment though- if you want one, buy this one.
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