Pop Goes the World

Pop Goes the World by Men Without Hats is one of my absolute favorite albums of all time. Other albums come and go, taking a spot as a favorite for a time then giving way to something new, but this one is always in my top 3 at any point in time. It is a positive, up-beat album that has been with me through countless good times, and helped me through bad times, including a period of severe depression. It is impossible to listen to this album without feeling good, or at least better that you did when you put it on.I first got this album way back in 1987 on cassette when it was first released. It immediately became my favorite tape, One of the very few I carried between my house, my car, and the furniture refinishing shop I worked at to save $$$ for college - listening to it in all 3 places at least 4 times a week. A few years later, I got my first CD player, and I began replacing my favorite tapes with CDs. Unfortunately, I was unable to find this one anywhere. It appeared to have gone out of print.Fast forward to 1996. I am now an IT professional, and I discovered a new program at a trade show - a program that allows you to capture tapes and vinyl records, clean them up, and burn them to CD. I jumped on it, buying it as fast as I could save up the price of the software. This was the very first tape I used the software on - spending a good 12 + hours working on it (the computers of the day were slow for this kind of work). I was so happy to have a CD of this album that I could use in my car and other CD players, not to mention preserving it since, as a tape, it was getting worn out.The other day I was doing a search on Men Without Hats and ran across this CD here an Amazom.com. I was ecstatic! Here was my old friend, revitalized to it's original splendor on CD from the original studio masters! Naturally, I ordered it on the spot, and I am absolutely thrilled with it. This appears to truly be a simple transfer from the original master, not an over-compressed re-mastered re-release. I am also an audio engineer, and I am often disappointed with "digitally re-mastered" releases of old classics because the compression used in the re-mastering changes the sound of the original release, decreasing both the stereo width and dynamic range of the recording. This CD does not have this shortcoming - it is as wide, clear and dynamic as I remember my tape originally being.This is a beautifully performed and masterfully engineered recording that any '80 collection simply must have.

Listening to this album you might be persuaded that Ivan Doroshuk (MWH lead singer and driving force) had only heard a brief moment of 80's music. His music seems connected and yet out of context to other synth-pop music of the 80's. He develops a solid keyboard hook only to pair it with lyrics that are absurd. He makes songs that might seem conventional but offer instrumetation you don't ofen hear. These aren't all love songs. In fact, I'm not sure than any are love songs. And this lack of convention is exactly what makes me a fan. I think of MWH as the alternative/synth pop version of Moody Blues or Pink Floyd. Here is a concept album that has an elusive concept. Who are Johnny and Jenny? Is this a parody of pop or pop itself? I don't know how to feel when I listen to this album. And that is a good thing.Do yourself a favor, buy this album and return to the world of listening to the entire album.January 2013 - I simply have to offer an update to this review. I have listened to this album on and off now for about 2 decades and its excellence does not fade. Try some lyrics; "Matadors, monkeys, a million baloons. As we walk through the sea to the sand. Knowing full well that we're perfectly doomed. We're so small but we feel oh so grand!". And what makes these lyrics more beautiful as they are sung to a quiet piano, is that they are almost immediately interrupted by a driving synth track that wakes out of the reverie you were just in.This album reflects a singular vision. This album is not the cure for cancer or likely to bring about world peace. But rarely do you find music that covers the same ground as Douglas Adams, Salvador Dali and Kurt Vonnegut.

Excellent album. If you're a Men Without Hats fan, then this is a must have. The most popular song is "Pop Goes The World", but it certainly isn't the best. There are a lot of hidden jems like "Moonbeam" and "Walk On Water" that outshine the title track. I listened to this quite a bit in 1988, but didn't appreciate as much as I should've. I've come to realize the true genius of the meaning of this album since then. It's helped me to remember just how great those times were.

Having loved their debut, and much of the follow up, whilst I realise they needed to change their style a bit I find this album a little lacking in catchy hooks and melodies. "Tuesday", "Moonbeam" and the title track are all pretty good, and the increased use of 'flute', strings (real or otherwise) and guitars on some tracks adds some organic edge. However the simplicity that was most of their charm has, for me at least, been slightly lost.Ivan's vocals are still spot on, but some of the backing vocals, and the arguable over-use of child spoken vocal interludes, grate at times. However the final track, "The End of the World", does sort of pull all these aspects together quite nicely, revealing the album as a MWH attempt at a concept LP (but in quite a loose way, and often with tongue in cheek).I would still suggest fans of their earlier work check it out, but it isn't as strong, or as electro-pop in sound...and after this album things went a lot stranger and inconsistent (until the mainly excellent "Love in The Age of War" comeback by Ivan under the MWH label).

Don't let the cover let you think that this is children's music. the Hats have always been slightly on the edge lyrically and have always been wonderfully dance musically. this CD is great, that is all that is needed to be said. Buy ait and dance your life away. ;)

just great

Nachdem sich "Men Without Hats" bereits einmal aufgelöst hatten, versuchte Frontman Ivan Doroschuk mit völlig neuem Konzept 1986 einen Neustart. Niemand der alten Bandmitglieder war damals noch dabei;deshalb holte er sich als Unterstützung die jungen Mitmusiker Johnny (Gitarre) und Jenny (Bass) sowie einen gewissen J. Bonhomme an den Drums (der aber nicht viel zu tun hatte und mehr als einmal durch einen Drumcomputer ersetzt wurde). Die Synthie-Lastigkeit der ersten beiden Alben wurde deutlich zurückgefahren (obwohl noch dezente Keyboards von Lenny Pinkas beigesteuert wurden), und die Stücke sind ruhiger und poppiger in der besten Bedeutung des Wortes. Leider sind die Tracks nicht mehr ganz so mitreissend wie in der ersten Bandphase, aber durchaus gut anhörbar und keinesfalls schlecht. Die Single "Pop Goes The World" war hier durchaus als Konzept für das ganze Album stellvertretend, und war in bestimmten Teilen der Welt durchaus auch wieder ein kommerzieller Erfolg. Die 41:46 Minuten lange Scheibe mit 13 Tracks ist ein nettes Pop-Album geworden, das durch streckenweise Verspieltheit, Infantilität oder positiver "Schmalzigkeit" glänzt. Zuckeriger als auf "On Tuesday" (mit Jethro Tull-Gaststar Ian Anderson an der Flöte) geht es z.B. kaum. Letztendlich war das Album trotz seiner Qualitäten aber doch insgesamt gesehen kein besonders großer Erfolg, und die pompös angepriesenen Johnny und Jenny verschwanden wieder n der Versenkung (Lenny Pinkas war immerhin noch auf dem Nachfolgealbum vertreten). Ivan produzierte noch drei weitere Alben, und schaffte es erst 2012 mit dem Album "Love In The Age Of War",musikalisch zu seinen durchaus wünschenswerten Wurzeln zurückzukehren.

Leider erging es den Männern ohne Hüte nicht anders als vielen ihrer Kollegen: Einen Welthit gelandet ("The Safety Dance" hieß er in diesem Fall) und prompt wird erwartet, dass auf die gleiche Weise und in der selben Machart weiter produziert wird. Nachdem schon "Folk of the 80s", das zweite Album der Band eher im wiedererkennbar ähnlichen Stil wie "Rythm of Youth" (incl. "Safety Dance") angelegt war, schien es mir damals ganz wunderbar, dass Leadsänger Ivan Doroschuk und seine Belegschaft etwas neues wagen wollten.So erschien dieses Album 1987 und begeisterte mich mit seiner positiven Ausstrahlung von Anfang an. Es ist nun seit 20 Jahren mein Lieblingsalbum der "Men Without Hats", hatte aber leider keinen großen Erfolg und wurde von der Kritik gnadenlos verrissen, die den freundlich-kindlichen, phasenweise fast schon naiv zu nennenden Ansatz dieses Albums in keiner Weise goutierte.Fazit: Wer Musik hören will, in der die Sonne scheint, wer ein wenig Kindlichkeit in seinem Herzen bewahrt hat, dem könnte dieses Album Spaß machen.