专辑简介

An American Human League? Abba? Book of Love was that good, earning the comparisons while remaining a wholly unique outfit. A handful of singles as good as the highlights of this retrospective would improve current radio immeasurably. I Touch Roses' 15 album cuts and remixes drawn from the California group's Sire releases (1985-'93) reflect a love of pop as an art form and a wish to communicate rather than merely sell. Though linked to the synth-pop era, Book of Love was as much rooted in girl groups and other ostensibly throwaway stuff; in turn, cuts like the title track, "Boy," and "Sunny Day" remain as vibrant as "Give Him a Great Big Kiss" or "You Keep Me Hangin' On." Only a post-new wave outfit such as this, though, could've gotten away with an innocent Exorcist tribute such as "Tubular Bells," much less one that appears here adjacent to the ultrasweet "Counting the Rosaries." It's hardly nostalgia that makes this disc sound so fabulous: Book of Love's shouts and coos should appeal to anyone under, say, 90--anyone, that is, whose heart and tear ducts remain alive.