Heaven 17 - Teddy Bear, Duke & Pyscho (1988)

Heaven 17's fifth album proved to be somewhat disappointing following their brilliant Pleasure One and their best work, How Men Are. This release saw Heaven 17 attempting to mix pop with R&B with the '80s sound on some tracks ("Big Squre People," "Dangerous," and the exciting "Train of Love in Motion"). This album also marked the first time that Heaven 17 highlighted guitar and real bass. Worth the price of the CD, however, is the out of character country-tinged "The Ballad of Go Go Brown." Heaven 17 had never sounded like this before, and it demonstrated their versatility. But with all of the mentioned highlights, the CD just does not hold together well. The songs are overlong, and, by the end of the CD, the songs begin running into each other with little variety. The production is so slick that the melodies get lost in the mix. Collectors should note that the cassette, album, and CD all feature different sleeves as well as song selections, with the CD having the entire collection of songs.