| Happy Families |  | Artist: Blancmange
Label: Edsel
Category: Music
List Price: £8.99
Buy New: £5.88
You Save: £3.11 (35%)
New (15) Used (2) from £5.63
Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 3659
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
UPC: 740155102630
EAN: 0740155102630
ASIN: B001CKZTGC
Release Date: September 1, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Tracks:
| • | I Can't Explain | | • | Feel Me | | • | I've Seen The Word | | • | Wasted | | • | Living On The Ceiling | | • | Waves | | • | Kind | | • | Sad Day | | • | Cruel | | • | God's Kitchen | | • | Living On The Ceiling (Extended Version) | | • | God's Kitchen (12" Mix) | | • | Feel Me (Extended 12" Version) | | • | Feel Me (7" + 12" Instrumental) | | • | Business Steps | | • | Feel Me (US 12" Instrumental) |
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 Blancmange - Happy Families Remaster 2008 October 6, 2008
Blancmange- happy families (remaster)
------------------------------------------------
from the start, this was their introductory album,
right, an EP called irene and mavis contained the
prototype, but is not represented here..
if you've heard of blancmange, you have a pretty
good idea of what your getting, but if you've
only heard a few singles, you might be pleasantly
surprised to hear the rest of their work..
'living on the ceiling' is light years ahead of most
groups, and even of some of their other tracks..
'feel me' also has a very cool tone to it, that
starts out slow, but turns into a very passionate
plea...
there's a few other gems on there too to discover...
So lets talk about specifics: for the album
I'm listening through altec-lansing speakers, and also through headphones
====================================================
1) if you have the recent re-release its probably about
the same quality
2) listen to 'feel me' at the end to hear the loud
parts, the are clear
3) for the softer parts, songs like 'i've seen the word'
show the dynamic range is good..
4) overall tracks are mostly major click free/no skips with
a few variations in tracks .. waves/ living on the ceiling
are the single mixes and not the album tracks though..
The bonus tracks:
===================================================
1) excellent job with the 'living on the ceiling' mixes,
the high point...
2) a lot of versions of 'feel me'.. maybe too many,
maybe they should have had a few other tracks represented
3) God's Kitchen 12" is very good to have, although not
much more than echo and its slightly extended...early 12"
were like this
4) business steps is another interesting instrumental
to check out, if you haven't heard..blancmange liked
to experiment, and their instrumentals are definitely
evident on all their albums..
===================================================
this album is their least favorite to me, i don't
listen to it much... but i like certain tracks
from it...
i'm not sure how much it held up after all these
years...some songs sound pretty dated ("Gods kitchen",
'wasted'), while others sound timeless, 'feel me',
'i cant explain', and 'living on the ceiling'..
i'm not sure how much more should have been done
with this album, but maybe more edits would have
been nice...
worth getting, but i feel mostly for
collectors...new wave fans..and overall
a pretty good job in being put together...
later
-1
 Cheap and Nasty September 10, 2008
0 out of 4 found this review helpful
I returned my first copy of this CD because the sound quality was so awful ("I've Seen The Word" sounds like a scratchy record played with a dusty stylus) - the second copy is exactly the same. Too bad Edsel either didn't bother remastering the album, or employ sound engineers with tinnitus. I have the 1987 London Records CD release - if you're not bothered about the extra tracks, then save yourself some aural pain and money and get that version instead.
Close to perfect September 9, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
A welcome re-issue of these 3 albums which also contain nearly all of Blancmanges recorded output.
I know I'm being a little bit picky here but I am disappointed that these arn't the original album versions. Both Waves and Living On The Ceiling use the single mixes which, at least in the case of Waves, is totally different to the original album version.
Also on Mange Tout they use the much shorter single edit of Day Before You Came.
Surely when compiling these releases they could show a little more attention to detail?
Extended Family Reunion September 8, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Out of print (and much sought-after) on CD for more than a decade, the first Blancmange album from 1982 was their most successful, if not their highest-charting, LP. It features their biggest-ever hit single (Living On The Ceiling), as well as much-loved tracks like Feel Me, God's Kitchen and I Can't Explain. Five of the album's original 10 songs were singles of one kind or another. Happy Families is arguably the defining Blancmange record for these reasons, but have Edsel done it full justice with this much-needed reissue?
Overall, the answer is yes. The packaging is lovingly faithful to the original sleeve design, while the remastering is intelligently done and hasn't simply made everything louder. Blancmange have become the forgotten men of 80s synth pop, never really getting the credit their brand of neurotic, expressive, rhythmical music deserved. Talking Heads, OMD, Thompson Twins and even Joy Division are reference points to varying degrees (the latter through Neil Arthur's unmistakably donwbeat Lancastrian tones).
Only the absence of one or two B-sides, and any kind of extended remix of Waves, counts against a flawless 5-star verdict. All three Blancmange albums have simultaneously been given the Edsel treatment, and the 2-disc extravaganza that is the Mange Tout deluxe edition unforunately puts both the single-disc Happy Families and Believe You Me in the shade somewhat. It is, however, still a superb CD and great value at over 75 minutes long.
 Sweet September 2, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
For a while back in the early 80's this album was a semi permanent fixture on my turntable. Blancmange are an enigma to many - silly name, fluffy pop singles, no real image to speak of, had a few hits then faded away. But look under the surface and they were so much more than that.
This, their debut album, is a real mixed bag of musical styles. The only consistent thing about tracks as diverse as Sad Day, Feel Me, Living On The Ceiling and Waves is the peculiar english eccentric streak they all contain. Sort of like a UK Talking Heads with the funky art rock leaning replaced by whimsical english pop sensibilities. Hearing this album now years after its release (its been out of print for ages) its clear this band could only ever have existed in the 1980's. There are no modern equivalents.
Its a bouncy, bright, poppy affair shot through with the occasional Walker-esque shards of melancholy. Its not arty or edgy, even the funky Feel Me is very pedestrain in comparison with the likes of Japans Tin Drum material or anything by Depeche Mode post A Broken Frame. However its gleaming pop at its absolute best - pure, honest and utterly melodic.
This version is a decent digital remaster. Sure, it would have been nice to see a few extra tracks, plus do we really need four versions of Feel Me? But at this price and the quality of the album itself these are minor concerns.
Blancmange had more commercial success with the follow up Mange Tout (also released in this series) but this is the album I always return to. The fact that its fallen so far off the critical radar is a sad day indeed.
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