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Buy this cd at ProxisCD OF THE WEEK (November 1999) :

TOY "ANTOYLOGY 1980-1993"
(1999, Payola, F7297)

Songs (click on the -icons for a small audio-sample)
1. Suspicion (1981)
2. Empty Houses (1981)
3. Tanz der Gilles (1981)
4. Run Run Rosie (1991)
5. Not Your Friend (1981)
6. Helpless Girl (1987)
7. Un dramma di sera (1993)
8. Survive (1982)
9. Son of St. Mary (1980)
10. Coconut (1980)
11. Crazy Monday (1980)
12. Last Chance (1981)
13. You Won't Regret It (1980)
14. One Way Affair (1980)
15. Blue Night (1984)
16. I Found Out (1980)
17. Magazine Sweetheart (1981)
18. Pin Striped Suits (1981)
19. Love Cat (1993)
20. All American (1984)

All songs by T. Van Hemelrijk & A. Woods
Produced :
- Alan O' Duffy (1, 5)
- Jürgen Kramer (2, 3, 17, 18)
- Hugo Bogaerts (19)
- Theo Van Hemelrijk (6, 7)
- Evert Verhees & Kevin Mulligan (15, 20)
- Toy (4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16)

Musicians :
- Harry Woods : vocals, guitar, keyboards
- Theo Van Hemelrijk : guitar, vocal, keyboards
and
- Alain Gautier, Renato Marciano, Tony Callebaut, Joost De Spiegeleer, Karl Zosel : bass
- Marc Bonne, Paul Ille, Ronny Reuman, Joris Peeters : drums
- Werner Pensaert, Yannic Fonderie, Paolo Damanti, Evert Verhees, Hervé Martens : keyboards, programming
- Terry Terrell : vocals

Artwork : Marc Vanhoeck & Theo Van Hemelrijk

 

My opinion

In 1981, I was thirteen back then - somewhere in that period my strange fixation with Belgian music that led to the making of this website had its origin - me and some of my pals had a new and terrific plan to chase away the summerly boredom : this time we would put our joint inexperience to the service of the noble goal of organizing a popfestival. It goes without saying that this plan never left the stage of a plan on paper, but what I wanted to say with all this is that I can clearly remember being a staunch defender of putting the band TOY on our line-up that day.
It certainly was a pleasant experience hearing the songs again that made me state my - controversial with my hard-rock or new-wave pals - opinion back then. And "Suspicion" is definitively not the only song worth remembering, although that was surely the moment-de-gloire of the band, and probably the closest that the belpop-generation ever came to producing a perfect pop-single. But the beauty on this collection isn't in one song alone : "Empty Houses", "Tanz der Gilles", "Helpless Girl", "Un dramma di sera" and "Crazy Monday" (that is my favourite) have all stood the test of time with flying colours.
Toy isn't exactly the band that will make you go "mad with enthusiasm". It is civilized rock, adressing you politely with "Sir" or "Ma'am", nicely wiping its feet before entering the premise. In retrospect, we heard influences from Toto to Crazy Horse, from Nick Kershaw to Bronski Beat, from The Cure to Dire Straits, from MOR to AOR. The group-sound is sometimes clearly outdated (the more "produced", the more outdated it seems), but this did not stand in the way of a pleasant auditive experience, since the quality of the 20 song collected here remains constantly high.
If you still have a soft spot for the eighties in your heart, this AnTOYlogy is well-worth a go.

And your opinion?
Did I get it all wrong, or was I spot-on ? Do you want to share your opinion about this cd ? Send it in, and I'll put it up here !

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This Album in the Press

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Where to buy this CD ?

You can order this CD from a number of locations (prices researched on November 25, 1999, but nothing guarantees they still are the same when you read this).

Shop
Price of the CD
Shipping + other expenses
Total
Direct Link
Frontstage
632
50
682 Bef
Frontstage
Azur
---
0
---
HVH-Megastore
---
54
---
Proxis
---
95
---
Proxis

The lowest price is in yellow, the highest in red. This price comparison doesn't take things into account like deduction of shipping expenses when ordering more than 1 cd, bonus points, differences in guarantees ... Shipping prices are those for customers in Belgium.

Have you seen this record elsewhere on the net, do you own an online-CD-shop with Belgian products in it, or if there's something wrong with my calculations : let me know.

 

More about this group :

- Toy in the Belgian Pop & Rock Archives.
- Payola Records : Borgstraat, B2890 Sint-Amands, Belgium.
Tel : 32-5-233.76.61 / Fax : 32-3-889.86.66.
- Marc Vanhoeck (managing) : flashcomp@glo.be


 

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