Mr. Jones: 40th Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to The Psychedelic Furs' third single "Mr. Jones", which came out on this day in 1980. The song was produced by Ian Taylor and its b-side was "Susan's Strange", a track that later appeared on North American versions of The Psychedelic Furs. In 1981 "Mr. Jones" was included on Talk Talk Talk but as a completely different recording. For many years the original single version had never made it on to any Psychedelic Furs album, but in 2001 it was finally featured on the Furs' compilation Greatest Hits and eventually became a bonus track for the 2002 remaster of Talk Talk Talk.

As I mentioned on one of my posts from a year ago, the single version of "Mr. Jones" has more of a poppy, radio friendly feel to it while the Talk Talk Talk version is more loud and in your face, with honking saxophones and screeching guitars. I have a feeling The Psychedelic Furs were probably unhappy with how the first version of "Mr. Jones" sounded and so that's why they recorded the song again.

Both versions of "Mr. Jones" are awesome but if I have to choose which one I like more I have to say the single version. Maybe it's because it's the first version I heard but the album version's really great too. Happy 40th Birthday to this cool song!

"We are going far away

We're going for a ride

Mr. Jones has got a plan

If you just come inside"

Pretty In Pink 1986 Ad

An ad for The Psychedelic Furs' re-recording of "Pretty In Pink" was featured in the August 2, 1986 issue of the NME.

Via @nothingelseon (Twitter)

More Thoughts on Made Of Rain

It's been two months since I posted my review of Made Of Rain but after listening to the album more and more, I feel like doing another review because I have many new things to say. I still can't believe The Psychedelic Furs came out with a new album after all these years and it makes me so happy to think about it. I heard on interviews that they are planning to record another new album in the future and I wonder what the next LP will be like.

Back when Made Of Rain was released I had hoped it would get some success (especially over in the UK) and to my surprise and relief the album made it to #13 on the British album charts! This was a huge milestone for The Furs, and Made Of Rain is now their second highest charting UK album (The first is 1987's Midnight To Midnight, which peaked at #12). Made Of Rain also reached #5 (!) in Scotland, #41 in Switzerland, #47 in Germany, and #62 in Spain. The album even entered on some charts by Billboard in the US, but as far as I know, I haven't heard anything about the album appearing on the main 200 album chart. Still, I'm happy Made Of Rain got a lot of love it truly deserves.

While I was waiting for my CD copy of Made Of Rain to arrive, I would listen to it on YouTube (All of the songs from the album got uploaded to The Psychedelic Furs' official YouTube channel) and after getting the CD, the listening experience is a million times better! It's so nice hearing Made Of Rain on my good ol' CD player than having to go to YouTube to hear the album. I know I'm old-fashioned that way, but in my opinion physical media will always be better than digital.

Taken on the day I got this beauty.

So after when I published my Made Of Rain review I was in love with the album, but ever since I got the CD my love for it has grown more. Made Of Rain is one of the best albums The Psychedelic Furs ever made and I'm just so impressed by how incredible it is. How did The Furs create such a fantastic album, this work of art? The music is absolutely perfect and it still has that familiar Furs sound. I wish I wrote this on my first review but the break in the middle of "Ash Wednesday" is really beautiful. I love the guitar and saxophone solos in "This'll Never Be Like Love"; the ending in "Stars"; the gorgeous arrangements in "You'll Be Mine", "No-One", and "Turn Your Back On Me"; the choruses in "The Boy That Invented Rock & Roll"... well, I could go on and on. The lyrics are very beautifully written and they are of one Richard Butler's all-time best. There are certain lines that stick in my head and it's fun singing the songs. Gosh, the songs from Made Of Rain are going to be really amazing live! I can't wait until things get back to normal again so that The Psychedelic Furs will start the Made Of Rain tour at last.

I mentioned before how my favorite song was a tie between "You'll Be Mine" and "No-One" but after many listens, "No-One" officially takes the number one spot! This song is definitely a PFurs classic and I just love it a lot. I think "You'll Be Mine's" my second favorite but surprisingly I'm kind of leaning towards "Turn Your Back On Me". I guess it's because there's something about the latter and the music's beautiful in it. It looks like I need to figure out what my second favorite song is.

I don't know when I'm going to do my top 8 PFurs albums list but I have to say this: Made Of Rain is somewhere in my top 3 favorite Furs albums. Yep, you read that right! Top 3! Made Of Rain is absolutely awesome and like I said earlier, one of the most greatest Psychedelic Furs albums. I'm trying hard not to repeat the same words over and over again, but I just can't help myself. The album is full of magnificence, poetry, art, magic, imagination, and beauty. If you haven't listened to Made Of Rain yet, please go check it out right now!

"I am the boy that invented rock & roll..."

Photo: Matthew Reeves

1986 Glastonbury Ad #2

Another ad for the 1986 Glastonbury Festival (featuring our beloved Psychedelic Furs) appeared in the May 24, 1986 issue of UK magazine New Musical Express.

Via @nothingelseon (Twitter)