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Men at Work: Business as Usual

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Columbia Records
Released: 1981
Time:
 38:37
Category: Pop/Rock
Producer(s): Peter McIan
Rating: ********.. (8/10)
Media type: CD
Web address: www.legacyrecordings.com
Appears with: Colin Hay
Purchase date: 2001.10.01
Price in €: 10,99



 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Who Can It Be Now? (Hay) - 3:25
[2] I Can See It in Your Eyes (Hay) - 3:32
[3] Down Under (Hay/Strykert) - 3:45
[4] Underground (Hay) - 3:07
[5] Helpless Automation (Ham) - 3:23
[6] People Just Love to Play With Words (Stykert) - 3:33
[7] Be Good Johnny (Ham/Hay) - 3:39
[8] Touching the Untouchables (Hay/Strykert) - 3:41
[9] Catch a Star (Hay) - 3:31
[10] Down by the Sea (Ham/Hay/Stanley/Strykert) - 6:53

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


GREG HAM - Flute, Keyboards, Saxophone, Vocals, Wind
COLIN HAY - Guitar, Vocals
JOHN REES - Bass, Vocals
JERRY SPEISER - Drums, Vocals
RON STRYKERT - Guitar, Vocals

RUSSELL DEPPELER - Telephone Voice

PETER MCIAN - Engineer
PAUL RAY - Engineer
JIM BARBOUR - Engineer
JON "JD" DICKSON - Cover Illustration

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


1981 CD CBS CK-37978
1981 CS CBS FCT-37978
1982 LP CBS 37978
1982 LP Epic HE-47978
1995 CD Epic 450887



Business as Usual became a surprise international hit on the basis "Who Can It Be Now?" and "Down Under," two excellent singles that merged straightahead pop-rock hooks with a quirky New Wave production and an off-beat sense of humor. Colin Hay's keening vocals uncannily recall Sting, and the band's rhythmic pulse and phased guitars also bring to mind a bar-band version of the Police. And that helps make the remainder of Business as Usual enjoyable. There's a fair amount of filler on the record, but "Be Good Johnny," "I Can See It In Your Eyes" and "Down By the Sea" are all fine New Wave pop songs, making Business as Usual one of the more enjoyable mainstream-oriented efforts of the era.

Stephen Thomas, All-Music Guide, © 1992 - 2001 AEC One Stop Group, Inc.



Helped immeasurably by the heavy rotation with which its clever videos were greeted by the then brand-new MTV network, the Australian group Men at Work were one of the biggest - and least anticipated--success stories of 1982. On the strength of two No. 1 singles, the sax-driven "Who Can It Be Now" and the geocentric "Down Under," the band's debut album spent an astonishing 15 weeks at the top of the charts. Bandleader Colin Hay's Sting-like, reggae-influenced singing was welcomed by the emerging video music generation - even if they had no idea what a "Vegemite" sandwich was.

Billy Altman, Amazon.com



Despite having possibly the worst cover art in recorded history, this album spent an extraordinary 15 weeks at the top of the US charts, making the Australian five-piece the most unlikely success story of 1982. For a time, Australians abroad seemed destined to have "Down Under" sung at them--often by whole groups of strangers--as if it were a sunny gesture of greeting or camaraderie, instead of what it actually was: a tacit reinforcement of cultural stereotypes. Like Sting, Colin Hay's vocal inflections were more suited to reggae than to white guitar-pop; the band, meanwhile, seemed to aim for much the same kind of earnest, slightly arch tone as early XTC. And though the most famous track here has aged about as well as any other novelty song you care to name, others (notably "Who Can It Be Now", driven by Greg Ham's sax) have fared slightly better. Oh, and for the record: to "chunder" means to vomit. And a Vegemite sandwich is nothing you'd want to eat.

Andrew McGuire, Amazon.co.uk Review



Dank der gar nicht hoch genug einzuschätzenden Unterstützung, die ihre raffinierten Videos vom gerade erst gegründeten Sender MTV erhielten (der sie nämlich rauf und runter spielte), wurde die australische Gruppe Men At Work völlig unerwartet zu einer der erfolgreichsten Bands des Jahres 1982. Dank der zwei Nummer-Eins Hits - das Sax-lastige "Who Can It Be Now" und das geozentrische "Down Under" - stand das Debütalbum erstaunliche 15 Wochen an der Spitze der Charts. Bandleader Colin Hays vom Reggae beeinflußte, und Sting ähnliche Art zu singen, wurde von der sich entwickelnden Musikvideogeneration begeistert aufgenommen.

Billy Altman, Amazon.de



Men At Work is a hot item in Australia according to the press releases accompanying this debut album. Already claiming a number one chart placing in their homeland before the disc's U.S. release, these Men would seem to have a lot to live up to. Surprisingly, their debut LP Business As Usual, doesn't fall far short of its build-up. The five-piece band from Melbourne features a Sting-sound-alike (vocalist Cohn Hay), and guitar, drums, bass and sax and flute players. Taking its music from a smooth and stylish point of view, they never attempt to gain points by excessive volume or gimmickry. And for the most part it works. The opening "Who Can It Be Now" is indicative of the band's sound. A slow and steady groove is built up by the guitar, and Hay's appealing voice hovers on top, joined by the group's harmonies in all the right places. Sax-man Greg Ham adds a distinctive flavor to the tune. On "People Just Love To Play," again Ham's sax is prominently featured, but the tempo is faster-paced this time out. Hay demonstrates his fine vocal chops between the group harmony parts. The light feel of the group's sound should fit right into today's tightly structured FM radio format. But don't hold it against them - the quality of Business As Usual is pretty high. A promising debut effort from a band worth watching.

Eric Chappe - CMJ New Music Report Issue: 1 - Sep 27, 1982
© 1978-1999 College Media, Inc. All rights reserved.



Both of these bands hail from Australia (Split Enz via New Zealand), and both have released best-selling albums in that country. Stylistically, however, they have very little in common. Ever since their bizarre early-Seventies beginnings, Split Enz have taken the high pop-art road. Their specialty is decorating fetching, slyly Beatlesque hooks with the sweeping futuristic flash of the early Roxy Music. But where Split Enz once had a tendency to stumble on the rocks of their own schizophrenia, Time and Tide is an ingenious reconciliation of tunes and technique. In "Giant Heartbeat," for example, Neil Finn's seductive "Dear Prudence" guitar figure is brightened, not overrun, by Eddie Rayner's playful horror-movie keyboard kitsch. Ditto for "Hello Sandy Allen" and "Small World." The former is a joking, neo-heavy-metal variation on the cheery strut of the group's 1980 hit, "I Got You," while slinky guitar riffs and rumbling percussion bubble under singer Tim Finn's hearty delivery and the glassy chorus harmonies of the mutant calypso "Small World." Split Enz even give rock operas a good name by the ease and smartly arranged style with which they link a grand keyboard entrance à la South Pacific, a breezy folk-rock singalong with circus calliope and underwater sound effects ("Six Months in a Leaky Boat"), a synth-pop sailor's hornpipe ("Haul Away") and a spooky, dub-altered ballad with hard-rock finish ("Log Cabin Fever"). Men at Work are real lowriders by comparison. They have absorbed the sparse rhythmic spunk of reggae and the punchy yet articulate brevity of postpunk pop (the Police, Elvis Costello), and they play with the earthy conviction of a rousing pub-rock band like the Rumour. The group's monster Aussie hit, "Down Under," captures that spirit perfectly. Vocalist Colin Hay strikes a bold, daunting stance somewhere between the high tenor wail of Sting and the smoky gruffness of Burning Spear's Winston Rodney, while Greg Ham throws a real curve with his puckish flute runs. The rest of the album is just as good. "Be Good Johnny" announces itself with a bruiser of a guitar flourish nicked from the Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again." Ham's blowsy sax and the rousing chorus of voices raised in alcoholic harmony spark the rugged boogie of "Who Can It Be Now?" And both "I Can See It in Your Eyes" and "Underground" testify to the tuneful charms of Colin Hay's songwriting. If this album is business as usual for Men at Work, their future in rock is secure.

DAVID FRICKE - RS 374
© Copyright 2001 RollingStone.com
 

 L y r i c s


WHO CAN IT BE NOW?

Who can it be knocking at my door?
Go 'way, don't come 'round here no more.
Can't you see that it's late at night?
I'm very tired, and I'm not feeling right.
All I wish is to be alone;
Stay away, don't you invade my home.
Best off if you hang outside,
Don't come in - I'll only run and hide.

Who can it be now?
Who can it be now?
Who can it be now?
Who can it be now?

Who can it be knocking at my door?
Make no sound, tip-toe across the floor.
If he hears, he'll knock all day,
I'll be trapped, and here I'll have to stay.
I've done no harm, I keep to myself;
There's nothing wrong with my state of mental health.
I like it here with my childhood friend;
Here they come, those feelings again!

Who can it be now?
Who can it be now?
Who can it be now?
Who can it be now?

Is it the man come to take me away?
Why do they follow me?
It's not the future that I can see,
It's just my fantasy

Oh...Who can it be now?
Oh...Who can it...Who can it...
Yeah yeah yeah


I CAN SEE IT IN YOUR EYES

By your leave, I think that I'll be going now
I think I've stayed a little long
I looked up all my mother's recipes
I can't think what I did wrong

We go to a restaurant, but you don't like wine
You say it's love you want, but there is no time
I realize, I can see it in your eyes
You keep staring at the floor

I used to look at your school photographs
But I don't have them anymore
I wonder who's in my old college rooms
Or stuck on my old locker door

I dream of the ships at sea, on a stormy night
I wish that it was me, but I wake in fright
I realize, I can see it in your eyes
I've only got myself to blame

Winter kisses when your lips were blue
Like chasing wild geese in the snow
Pressing faces on the window panes
But that's a long long time ago

We go to a restaurant
You say it's love you want
I realize, I can see it in your eyes
You're moving on to something more


DOWN UNDER

Traveling in a fried-out combie
On a hippie trail, head full of zombie
I met a strange lady, she made me nervous
She took me in and gave me breakfast
And she said,

"Do you come from a land down under?
Where women glow and men plunder?
Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder?
You better run, you better take cover."

Buying bread from a man in Brussels
He was six foot four and full of muscles
I said, "Do you speak-a my language?"
He just smiled and gave me a vegemite sandwich
And he said,

"I come from a land down under
Where beer does flow and men chunder
Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder?
You better run, you better take cover."

Lying in a den in Bombay
With a slack jaw, and not much to say
I said to the man, "Are you trying to tempt me
Because I come from the land of plenty?"
And he said,

"Oh! Do you come from a land down under? (oh yeah yeah)
Where women glow and men plunder?
Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder?
You better run, you better take cover."


UNDERGROUND

Don't take the fire from your eyes
Must make them feel the heat
They build castles underground for the rich and politic elite

Keep all the home fires burning,
Don't let the lights go out
The streets are empty, and there's nobody about.

We'll be alright in the morning time
yeah
We're doing fine, I'll see you on the night line

There's no need for you to fight, boys,
Hang up all your guuns
Find your mask and asbestos you can, get ready to run

Keep all the food lines moving,
Don't come cry'n' for more
The signs were there, you should have bought connections before

We'll be alright in the morning time
Yeah
We're doing fine, I'll see you on the nightline

It's such a big joke
It's the talk of the town
All the planets to whom I spoke
Are trying their best to play it down

Don't take the fire from your eyes
Must make them feel the heat
But my head's unsteady
I can't seem to keep my feet

Jump off the Eiffel Tower
Just have a look around
Move fast, in the tunnels of the underground
Move fast, in the tunnels of the underground

Let's go!


HELPLESS AUTOMATON

I stay in my room,
All alone in the gloom,
What need I of light?
Machines they can see in the night,
And I feel no pain
Metal heart and a metal brain,
But something is wrong
'cause I still feel that signal coming in so

I stand at your door,
I guess I'll wait a moment more
Your hall light comes on
And now my turn to fire upon
But I wheel away
Defer my plight, for another day
To dream of your face
But a video scren takes its place

Hey, oh it's true
I'm a helpless automaton, Make an ultimatum to you
Hey, it's true
Machin'ry in my pocket, I've even got a docket from you

I went to the man, I told him a robot is what I am,
But he just smiled, said I was a fractious child
"Distrusted not Rusted" That's why I feel so disgusted
But I know he's wrong, 'cause I haven't felt this way for very long

Hey, it's true,
I'm a helpless automaton, make an ultimatum to you
Hey, it's true
Machin'ry in my pocket, I've even got a docket from you
I'm a helpless automaton, make an ultimatum to you
Hey, it's true
Machin'ry in my pocket, I've even got a docket from you
It's true
I'm a helpless automaton, make an ultimatum to you
Hey, it's true
Machin'ry in my pocket, I've even got a docket from you
from you
from you


PEOPLE JUST LOVE TO PLAY WITH WORDS

I'm not tryin' to impress you with my lines
They don't mean nothin' at all
It's just another expression of mine
It don't mean nothin' at all
Mystifying, Oh no
Crystalizing, you know

People just love to play with words
People just love to play, haven't you heard?
People just love to play with words
People just love to play, haven't you heard?

There are two sides, a win or loss
What's two down and four across?
Analyzing and implying, you know

People just love to play with words
People just love to play, haven't you heard?
People just love to play with words
People just love to play, haven't you heard?...


BE GOOD JOHNNY

Skip de skip, up the road
Off to school we go
"Don't you be a bad boy Johnny
Don't you slip up
Or play the fool"
"Oh no Ma, Oh no Da,
I'll be your golden boy
I will obey ev'ry golden rule"
Get told by the teacher
Not to day-dream
Told by my mother:

Be good Be good
Be good be good be good
Be good be good be good be good (Johnny)
Be good be good
Be good be good be good
Be good be good be good
Be good be good be good
Be good  (Johnny)
Be good be good.

"Are you going to play football this year, John?"
"No!"
"Oh, well you must be going to play cricket this year then,
  are you Johnny?"
"No! no! no!"
"Boy, you sure are a funny kid, Johnny, but I like you! So tell me,
  what kind of a boy are you, John?"

I only like dreaming
All the day long
Where no one is screaming

Be good be good
Be good be good be good
Be good be good be good be good (Johnny)
Be good be good
Be good be good be good
Be good be good be good
Be good be good be good
Be good be good be good
Be good be good be good
Be good be good be good
Be good be good be good
be good be good be good
be good be good be good
be good be good be good
Johnny!


TOUCHING THE UNTOUCHABLES

Hello to you, my sweet young friends
Have you got money perhaps you could lend?
I wash my leather face in the afternoon sun
My shirt's turn my time's near done

Touching the untouchables but they don't know
Respect the disrespectables, but in the end you know
You turn away, what can I say?

Spend my nights in the telephone booth
I make sure I leave the phone off the hook
There are no Jones' and I pay no rent
I have to stand straight because my back's so bent
Tell my secretary I ain't takin' any calls,
And if you want to find me, just ask the boys...
Down at the wall...That's where I'll be...

Oh...
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh

Park bench and cigarettes
Can you help me get off this fence?
Can't you see, I'm just an old man
Tryin' hard, do what I can

Touching the untouchables but they don't know
Repect the disrespectables, but in the end you know
You turn away, what can I say?
You'll never, never know
You'll never know


CATCH A STAR

Experience babe, kickin' stones and cans
Experience babe, cigarette-stained hands
It's not too late, hear it in the wind
It's not too late, feel passion creepin' in
Intoxication, familiar smells of the hotels
Infatuation, of knowing who you are

You and I, You and I, You and I,
Arrow through my heart,
Catch a star.

Isolation, rows and rows of cars
Isolation, like Jupiter and Mars
Staring faces, set in celluloid
Welcome to the late show, starring Null and Void
Complications, things get in the way
Sweet sensation of knowing you are near and not too far

You and I, You and I, You and I,
Arrow through my heart
Catch a star.

You and I, You and I, You and I,
Freeway through your heart
Catch a star.

Catch a star!


DOWN BY THE SEA

Down by the sea
I found your hidden treasure
Just you and me,
We overdosed on pleasure

Yonnies in the wind,
We're ruggin' up for winter
Putting out the bins
In cold and windy weather

Down by the docks
Live all the silent sea-ships
Crates are stored on blocks
Where now only the rats live

Sail me down the river
Till we reach the shore
Diving into the center
Eating out the core

Down on the beach
Saluting Captain Benbow
Always out of reach
It's quiet when the tide's low

Climbing up the cliffs
You can see for miles far
The boat that ran adrift
Is sitting on the sandbar

Laughing at the waves
That storm the river mouth
The ice is on the move now
Creeping north and south

Down by the sea
I found your hidden treasure
Just you and me
We over-dosed on pleasure

Listen to your heart
Screamin' at the sky
Can't you feel it tremble?
Don't you wonder why?

 M P 3   S a m p l e s


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