Track Listing

1. Fair Exchange
2. Heavenly Homes
3. Ships In The Night
4. Crying To The Sky
5. Sleep That Burns
6. Beauty Secrets
7. Life In The Air Age
8. Like An Old Blues
9. Crystal Gazing
10. Blazing Apostles
11. Shine
12. Speed Of The Wind
13. Blue As A Jewel

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8961 in Music
• Released on: 1991-02-11
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

CD Description
Considered by many to be Be-Bop Deluxe's finest album, SUNBURST FINISH (1976) finds the British art-rock band filling out its sound with the addition of keyboardist Andrew Clark. While Clark brings new sonic textures to the table, the focus of the ensemble's music remains, as always, on frontman/songwriter Bill Nelson and his amazingly adept guitar playing."Ships in the Night", which recalls a slightly more accessible version of contemporaneous Brian Eno, proved to be the closest the group would come to a hit, while "Blazing Apostles" finds Nelson settling into guitar-hero mode with his deftmetallic riffing. SUNBURST FINISH is also a fitting description of the bright sheen that producer John Leckie (XTC, Simple Minds) adds to these songs, giving the disc a bolder aesthetic than the band's previous outings. Along with MODERN MUSIC, which was released later the same year, this album marks the peak of Be-Bop Deluxe's relatively brief recorded legacy.

Customer Reviews

Deluxe Finish
Just to add my tuppence, I agree entirely with all the positive reviews. This is the album to get from this very good 70's group. The quality is 5 star on SunBurst Finish. The music and lyrics are intelligent, witty, powerful and so true.
"Your youth is a mask, that is not made to last"

Bill Nelson voice is at it's peak, he puts meat to the words with his inflections, nuances and pace. My favourite track, if I have to chose just one, is Life In The Air Age. I can relate or could to the hero in the song when I was younger.

The booklet is good, it has an interesting read and has all the lyrics to the album, but not including the bonus tracks though, odd? Not in my opinion as the original album was better as it finished at brilliant point. Good evening Blazing Apostiles can I help you.......

"Now radio2 hands over to John Peel......"
Remember the mid seventies when , at ten o'clock, Radio 1 (which was, till then on medium wave) took over FM from Radio 2,and then the Mighty John would play interesting, quality music? that was when my older brother and I(we shared the same bedroom and , therefore, radio) first heard this album in our mid-teens, in fact J.P. played all of the first side in its entirety one night and then said he would play the second side the next night. We were so totaly amazed by the quality of side one that we sat the next night poised with our state-of-the-art mono cassette recorder for the second. We were not disapointed ! the second side was, if anything , even better! the acoustic guitar intro to "Beauty secrets" still makes me feel 16 again. This is without doubt a musical gem, a classic , a lost treasure and any other cliche you want to attach to it - only they actualy apply 100%.One of the things which draws people in to the fantastic early work of the likes of Genesis, Yes, ELP or other progressive rock bands is their arrangements - is that too classical a word to use here? and again with Be Bop Deluxe you have it in spades. The thoughtful interplay (including excellent stereo separation) of vocals, keyboards, guitar and even odd background sound effects (the yawn and alarm at the beginning of "sleep that burns" for instance) all work to enhance the music brilliantly, even though some critics dismissed them as "gimicks" at the time. Buy this album and cherish it. It doesnt age....

A Quality Album
This is a quality album and along with Modern Music probably in my top fifty favourite albums of all time (i've been around a few years and got quite a large collection!). I saw them live in 1977 and have treasured all their work ever since. I find them hard to categorize. Call it progressive rock if you like with shades of liquorish allsorts. Suffice to say the band members were all very accomplished musicians and created an original sound back in the seventies with amazing variety that still stands up well today. The songs are intricate yet melodic with lyrics both bizarre and astonishing. "Crying to the Sky" has a beautiful guitar solo and "Ships in the Night" I just can't get out of my head. Many commend Bill Nelson as a creative genius. The "Modern Music" album is equally as good as this with mesmerizing sound and variety (but not quite as good an album cover!) Bill Nelson was a great rock guitar player, pity he split Be-Bop up after the "Drastic Plastic" album to explore his musicality. I don't care too much for any of his later solo work.