I’ve finally fixed up my old record player so that I can listen to all the old records that I’ve been collecting over the years. Some of them I bought because they had cool covers, some I bought because they had cool names like, some I bought because I knew they were good and some I took a complete chance on. The best of the thrift store albums will be featured in this segment I’m going to call “The Power of Vinyl Compels You!”, catchy title right? Not ripped from the Exorcist or anything.

To kick off this feature, I’d like to talk about a record that I picked up a long time ago, The Psychedelic Furs’ Forever Now. Previous to listening to this record, my contact with Richard Butler and company was limited to a Polyphonic Spree cover of the excellent tune “Love My Way” and the song “Pretty in Pink” that was featured in the Molly Ringwald movie of the same name. I have to say that the sheer scope of the sound is great to listen to. I’m sure that The Rapture knew about the Furs song Danger when they put together the saxophone groove on”Get Myself Into It”. Their style of music owes a bit to David Bowie (But honestly, who doesn’t?), but their sound and production techniques sound like this album could have been released yesterday.

The Psychedelic Furs are definitely a rock band, but the accents are what make the songs jump out. The shining synths, the chugging bass, the little bell melodies, The brilliant drumming, the occasional use of cello(?) and most of all the surprisingly (still) relevant lyrics.

The Psychedelic Furs – Love My Way

The Psychedelic Furs – President Gas

The Psychedelic Furs – Forever Now