The Fixx - Reach The Beach (1983)

The group's second album release, it narrowly avoided the proverbial sophomore slump and became their biggest-selling album. I like it better than the critics did (see below), especially the band's best-known and highest charting single, One Thing Leads To Another, which is a great dance tune disguised as a rock tune. However, there's also a fair share of moody music with inane, agonized lyrics ("this mono-mind must not connect") and those dreary tracks keep this collection of tunes from working as a complete album. So it's a hit-or-miss compilation, but I rather like the hits.

The readers of Slicing Up Eyeballs ranked the album as the 18th best album of 1983, while I had it ranked at a more modest #41.

Press of the time:

• Rolling Stone (★★): "In their infinite cool, the Fixx have crafted a detached, passionless product"
• Stereo Review: "a jumbled mess"
• Trouser Press: "the finished product is chilly and silly."
• Billboard: "punchy guitar vamps and moody electronics"
• CashBox: "should elicit a thumbs-up response from consumers due to the quartet's high visibility on MTV."
• Smash Hits (3 out of 10): "riffs alone do not a great album make"

Inexplicably, the "two bonus tracks" mentioned in the above advertisement weren't included on the original '84 CD release I have here. (And yes, I've got to mention the jewel case has smooth edges because I'm now infatuated with those things.) To be fair, that's an ad from a UK publication; the bonus tracks weren't available on the US cassette release. According to discogs, the two bonus tracks were:

1. Red Skies (Full Length Version)
2. Cameras In Paris (Live Recording Courtesy Of 'The King Biscuit Flower Hour')

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #8
• Billboard Rock: #1
• CashBox: #11
• Rolling Stone: #9

Tracks: My top picks are rather predictable: One Thing Leads To Another (#4 pop, #2 rock), The Sign Of Fire (#32 pop, #20 rock), Saved By Zero (#20 pop, #9 rock), and the title track. That leaves us with songs with one-word titles. Of those, the decent filler is Running, Changing, and Liner. I lose interest near the end.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: When I visited record stores back in '83, I would often pick up a copy of this album, look it over two or three times, then place it back in the rack. Odd because this album seems exactly like something young Mark would buy. Maybe if I had pulled the trigger on buying the thing back then, I'd have a different opinion on it now. Or not. Guess we'll never know.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Ultimate Collection (1999)