Track Listing

1. The Things That Dreams Are Made Of
2. Open Your Heart
3. The Sound Of The Crowd
4. Darkness
5. Do Or Die
6. Get Carter
7. I Am The Law
8. Seconds
9. Love Action (I Believe In Love)
10. Don't You Want Me

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #51756 in Music
• Released on: 1983-03-11
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
When flipping through the annals of new-wave history, one can easily enough overlook the entry marked "Human League". But the truth of the matter is, this Phil Oakey-helmed synth-pop outfit was crucial to the movement, and Dare!, its third release, is an absolute linchpin. Thanks to its breakthrough single "Don't You Want Me", the record almost single-handedly made it safe to like new wave, and an MTV video gave it a fashionable face that was impossible to ignore. The sound was theatrical and awash with kitschy keyboards, but felt new and refreshing back in 1982. The League would never climb to such hooky aesthetic heights again; Dare! ranks as its greatest achievement--and it still sounds new and refreshing today. --Tom Lanham

CD Description
It isn't overstating the case to call the Human League's third album synthpop's SGT. PEPPER; not only did DARE! establish synthesizers as a viable musical tool on the US charts, it redefined what people thought of electronic pop. No longerdid synth bands have to sound like Kraftwerk or Throbbing Gristle.
There are no guitars on DARE! but it's emphatically a pop record. Phil Oakey's gruff vocals blend surprisingly well with the untrained, girlish voices of new backing vocalists Susanne Sulley and Joanne Catherall, and the electronic melodies are expertly rendered by producer Martin Rushentinto three-dimensional pop extravaganzas. Musically witty and unfailingly exciting, tracks like "Love Action", "Open your Heart", "Sound of the Crowd" and of course "Don't You Want Me" are as catchy as pop got in 1981, and darker tracks like "Seconds" and "Do Or Die" add depth. DARE! is a brilliantalbum even today.

Customer Reviews

Dare: A Blueprint For Electronic Music
I can still remember the effect this album had on me when I first heard it way back in 1981. I would listen to it on headphones and marvel at every note of every layer. I had simply never heard anything like it before, and to be honest, it blew me away. In the early eighties, people were really beginning to tire of thrashing guitars that lacked melody and all that hopeless American rock that filled up the European charts. Dare was the first successful mix of electronics with pure, commercial pop. Taking it a step further than the godfathers of electronica Kraftwerk, the League brought in sequencers and mixed it with their love for cult films and fashion. The album contains synth baseline which are still being imitated by dance acts today some 20 years after this classic album was released. Dare paved the way for groups such as Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, Heaven 17, & New Order. It was a period when music was reinvented and enhanced.
This landmark album represents the very nucleus of electronic music that many would copy and it's relevance today cannot be under estimated. It is rare nowadays to find an album that has so many strong tracks but Dare still manages it effortlessly. Highlights include" Seconds" and "The Things that Dreams Are Made Of" which are pure brilliance with killer hooks.

Dare remains a true masterpiece and a record that everyone should cherish.

Ageless
I feel in love with this album the first time i ever heard it. This is the ultimate album of the 1980's. Phil Oakey is at his vocal best with songs such as Open your heart and Love action. The splendour of the synthesizers and the harmonious addition of the drum machine. I could go on for hours about the sheer beauty of this album. A must have for any music collection, and one that will never age.

The greatest record of the 'synth-pop' era
It still sounds great today. I 're-discovered' it recently and it brought back memories of my teenage years. Anyone who was of that age when 'Dare' was released will no doubt have a similar reaction. I remain convinced that 'Seconds', in particular, is as good as this type of music ever got.