Description
Der Kommissar: The CBS Recordings is a double-CD compilation album by the British new wave band After The Fire, released on Edsel Records in February 2005. Featuring all tracks from the band’s three studio albums released on CBS Records – Laser Love (September 1979), 80-f (October 1980), and Batteries Not Included (March 1982) – and as well adding assorted B-sides and live tracks plus the band’s hit single «Der Kommissar» which peaked at No. 5 at the Billboard Single Chart in the US in 1983.
Let’s begin with a quibble! This is the third compilation album to be released of ATF stuff named after the band’s biggest hit «Der Kommissar» and it’s getting a little confusing. Let me explain that this latest album is a double CD packed with their entire CBS catalogue and plenty of B sides, live tracks and rarities thrown in. After the recent CD release of ‘Signs Of Change‘, it’s fun to wander through these songs in chronological order and relive some moments. First up is ‘Laser Love‘ which features classic material like the title cut and the hit single «One Rule For You» and firm fan favourites like «Life In the City», «Take Me Higher» and «Check It Out». Listening more than 25 years later, it’s hard to appreciate their synth driven style was unique and radical. Their second CBS album, ‘80f‘, was produced by Mack and introduced the punchy drumming of Pete King into the equation but failed to produce any hits. Tracks like «Starflight» and «Billy Billy» were firm favourites live. The third album saw them once more recording in Germany with Mack and saw great strides in the band’s sounds and songwriting. Again no hits but tracks like «Sailing Ship», «Dancing In The Shadows» and «Rich Boys» caught the imagination. I was never sure about the grittier «Stuck In Paris» and «Bright Lights» but overall the album has stood up well over the passing years. The band’s parting single, «Der Kommissar», was a cover of a Falco hit and ironically after years searching for a hit made the top five in America a few months after the band split up. The bonus tracks include an excellent live version of «Billy Billy» featuring John Russell’s extended guitar solo. I have to confess that ATF were one of my favourite bands so like many fans it’s great to have this stuff finally on CD. The booklet gives plenty of details including all the lyrics and a brief history of the band. For fans it’s been a long wait and now that they have reformed albeit with a new line up, maybe some more people will discover this remarkable band. [Mike Rimmer, Cross Rhythms, March 2005]
Der Kommissar: The CBS Recordings, Edsel Records 2005
The fire rages again in this two CD collection from this premier band of Brit new wave. All three of their CBS albums are on these CDs: Laser Love, 80-F, and No Batteries Included. Most of these songs never reached America, despite ATF’s touring with ELO, Van Halen and Queen. The only LP record released in the states was called ATF: After the Fire, and featured the beautiful spectrum design by Roslav Szaybo that in Britain adorned the cover of No Batteries Included. The song line-ups, however, were not the same. The record was retitled Der Kommissar to tie in with ATF’s hit version of Falco’s song. ATF released the first English language version of this song, which proved so popular that at one time seven different versions played on the radio.
The CD releases are even more confusing. The original American record of ‘ATF: After the Fire’ is nearly perfect, but it hasn’t been released on CD. There is a single CD from Collectables with nearly the same song line-up retitled ‘Der Kommissar’, but some of the songs have been replaced with disco or juke box versions (in my opinion, the album version of «Dancing in the Shadows» is a lot better than the version here). This CD has the same Szaybo cover art and includes as extra songs a dub version of «Der Kommissar» and the single «Joy».
Another CD is available from from Rewind called ‘ATF: After the Fire: Der Kommissar’ which features the spy silhouette graphics that originally appeared on the 12″ Specially Extended Remixed record single of «Der Kommissar» (the disco version) along with «Nobody Else But You». The Rewind CD collects 13 tracks from ATF’s three CBS albums.
Thus, this double CD set is the best deal, as it includes all three of these albums, along with ten bonus tracks. You also get lyrics and brief liner notes. Under the CDs is a photo showing ten sleeves from the singles, including the spy silhouette cover and the inventive sleeve for the «Laser Love» single. The record was transparent orange vinyl, and the sleeve cut out so as to show the laser slicing through the band. That typifies the inventiveness of this great band (now reformed in a new line-up as ATF 2). Thanks to this relaunch on CD, those of us in the colonies who somehow missed the Brit new wave invasion can now catch the fire. [Gord Wilson]
2CD tracklist:
Disc One
Laser Love, CBS Records 1979
1-01. Laser Love – 3:28
1-02. Joy (instrumental) – 3:17
1-03. Take Me Higher – 4:30
1-04. Life In The City – 4:02
1-05. Suspended Animation [Edit] – 4:21
1-06. Like The Power Of A Jet – 3:07
1-07. One Rule For You – 3:24
1-08. Time To Think – 3:29
1-09. Timestar [Edit] (instrumental) – 3:39
1-10. Check It Out – 3:21
Bonus Tracks:
1-11. Your Love Is Alive (single) – 3:13
1-12. Listen To Me (single) – 3:22
80-F, CBS Records 1980
1-13. 1980-F (instrumental) – 2:32
1-14. Love Will Always Make You Cry – 3:30
1-15. Can You Face It? – 3:18
1-16. Who’s Gonna Love You (When You’re Old And Fat And Ugly?) – 4:09
1-17. Starflight – 4:17
1-18. Wild West Show – 3:34
1-19. Billy, Billy – 4:35
1-20. It’s High Fashion – 3:11
1-21. Why Can’t We Be Friends? – 2:50
1-22. Joanne – 4:18
Disc Two
Bonus Track:
2-01. Every Mother’s Son (single) – 2:37
Batteries Not Included, CBS Records 1982
2-02. Short Change – 3:19
2-03. Frozen Rivers – 3:30
2-04. Sometimes – 3:07
2-05. Sailing Ship – 3:54
2-06. I Don’t Understand Your Love – 2:50
2-07. The Stranger – 3:43
2-08. Rich Boys – 3:01
2-09. Carry Me Home – 3:21
2-10. Dancing In The Shadows – 3:02
2-11. Space Walking – 3:11
2-12. Gina – 1:37
2-13. Stuck In Paris (Nowhere To Go) – 2:45
2-14. Bright Lights – 3:32
Bonus Tracks:
2-15. Nobody Else But You (single) – 3:11
2-16. Starflight [Live at The Rainbow, London, 14th Nov 1980] (single) – 4:51
2-17. Take Me Higher [Live at The Rainbow, London, 14th Nov 1980] (single) – 7:47
2-18. One Rule For You [Live at The Rainbow, London, 14th Nov 1980] (single) – 4:30
2-19. Billy, Billy [Live at The Rainbow, London, 14th Nov 1980] (single) – 6:45
2-20. Der Kommissar (single) – 4:08
2-21. Starflight [Re-worked] (single) – 4:31
Note: In order to include as many tracks as possible on this 2CD set, “Suspended Animation” and “Timestar” have been edited slightly. This has been done with the full co-operation and input of Peter “Memory” Banks.
ATF, Live on the Old Grey Whistle Test, BBC2, 09-10-1979.
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