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 !
This Album in the Press
- Found no reviews yet.
Did you see a good (or bad) review of this album ? Tell
me about it !
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).
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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