Waiting for a Miracle

A classic from a very underrated band. Good to see this back in print.

Fans of The Sound, Echo and the Bunnymen, Teardrop Explodes, Psychedelic Furs first LP, and maybe even Joy Division should give a listen. While living in the UK in the late 70's I considered The Comsat Angels to be a great singles band. While "Red Planet" doesn't appear here, pre Polydor I guess, "Independence Day" and "Total War" fit in well as part of their first full length effort. This music represents a fine era in rock music. Headiness, great songs, lyrics that say something, and of course drums, bass, and guitars. I reviewed this because I feel it is an important recording.

The Comsat Angels had its catalogue rescued twice in its history, for the first time in 2007 by Renascent (a label that died all of a sudden), and now once again. Just like the last time, each album has all the b-sides, outtakes, and demos. This time however, you get a few tracks more, HOWEVER in my opinion they aren't really needed, since the extra demos and live sessions do not sound any superior to the album versions. All in all, you are getting a good value for your money. HOWEVER, this remaster is not as good as the last one (which is out of print). This new group of audio engineers decided to raise the volume just a tad higher, for some stupid reason that sure sounded smart at the time. As a result, the 2007 remaster from Renascent ends up sounding BETTER (albeit only slightly), with more dynamic range. This new remaster is more compressed, and deserves an A from me, whereas that previous release is a stellar A+. HOWEVER, it should be noted that the 3 tracks that make up their debut "Red Planet" EP (Red Planet, I Get Excited, Specimen #2) were actually audibly IMPROVED for this release, making it superior to the Renascent release at least in that regard, and more pleasant to listen to. Still, you might want to get BOTH current versions of this album, since the booklet with background info is worth it.

Great album, great packaging.

I had the pleasure to wander into a concert by the Comsats about the time that Waiting for a Miracle came out. I was working in Greece and visiting a friend in London. It was an afternoon concert at the Lyceum with about 6 groups on the bill. When the Comsats came on, both of us looked at each other with that "these guys are really good, I mean really good" look on our faces. Miracle was sparse and wonderful, followed by the amazing Sleep No More, which is the one I play for friends who have never heard of the Comsats first. Living in Europe I got to see them a few times and socialize with them when they did a (honest) July 4 gig in an outdoor venue in Holland. This is the band that U2 was the opening act for when they were just getting going, and I do hear a lot of the Comsats in U2. Though to my mind, Stephen Fellows has a superior voice. Pity that the band didn't get the kind of success that U2 got, as that would mean they would still be together and turning out amazing music. As I said, Miracle is very sparse and in this day and age may be a bit of an acquired taste. But, I always thought how incredible On The Beach would sound in the hands of a great soul singer with a full wall of sound production. As Stephen Fellows would have said: "See You in the Future" Jay

With today's post punk revival, many unknown albums of the 80's are being reissued and reevaluated. The Comsat Angels are more than worthy of this recognition. Its hard to describe Waiting for a Miracle in exact terms. It is obviously inspired by Joy Division or early Echo and the Bunnymen but more slowed down and atmospheric. Think "17 Seconds" era Cure but depressing rather than nihilistic. The band, the Sound has also garnered some attention but the Comsats were more subtle and unnerving. The Comsat Angels were a cult favorite of the time and often toured with U2, who picked up some of their ideas. However, unlike U2, the Comsat Angels are not political. Their world is that of existential dread. Their second album Sleep No More is also worth picking up but eventually they became a derivative new wave band. However, when their ideas were focused as on Waiting for a Miracle, they captured the climate of the times as successfully as other, more famous bands. Get this album before it goes out of print again.

I only recently discovered the Comsat Angels. I was obsessed with post-punk in the early 80's and relished the Damned, Stranglers, Gang of Four, Stiff Little Fingers, Chameleons, and perhaps my favorite, the Snake Corps, who blended goth and pop with anthemic drive. The Comsat Angels are right there. At once dark/dreary and persevering/melodic with touches of art rock. Waiting for a Miracle will delight you in ways you won't expect. From the opening surprise focus of Missing in Action to the sing along aspects of Independence Day (later redone even more anthemically in '83 on Land). I have their first 6 albums now and they are all good. This album and Land are currently my faves as they capture different aspects of the band in great ways.

just had to have it

Mastered perfectly and with love. This is the definitive edition series for me - nothing will ever beat it as the sound comes so close to the original vinyl releases. I've bought all the originals, remasters and finally this is the one..... Open, crisp rich and deep sound (where it can be achieved given some of the sources ). As for the LP, well it's The Comsats ! What more would you want ? Floats my boat.

Beautiful Cd Package. Brought back a lot of Memories.

uno dei migliori album del glorioso periodo musicale inizio anni 80 accostati a band come Joy Division, Sound, Cure, ecc non sono assolutamente minori, ma anzi sono da rivalutare edizione in doppio cd bellissima con corposo libretto incluso compratelo, assolutamente da riscoprire

1980! was bescherte uns dieses jahr wunderbare platten, die als new wave bezeichnet wurden. unzählige...von den cure 17 seconds, von echo and the bunnymen crocodiles, von siouxsie and the banshees kaleidoscope, um nur ein paar zu nennen.... und von den comsat angels waiting for a miracle! nach 26 jahren ist mein vinyl durchsichtig gespielt, aber akustische abnutzungserscheinungen? kein bisschen. ein einzelnes stück hervorzuheben, ist nach all den jahren eher unmöglich (für mich), vom ersten song an drückt einem diese platte einfach an die wand. virtuose musiker (mit jazz-rock-vergangenheit. soll aber jazz-rock-verächter nicht vom hören abhalten, die band wandte sich neuer musik zu, weil sie punk gehört hatte und fand, jazz-rock sei eine langweilige sache), skurril-verspielte texte, unglaublich intelligente bass- und drum-lines, die auch heute noch erstaunen. eine platte, von der man sich gleichzeitig wünscht, dass sie niemand kennt und man sie ganz für sich behalten kann und gleichzeitig möchte man der ganzen welt mitteilen: hört euch das an! was hiermit (fast) geschehen ist!

FROM THE DAYS THAT STEVE FELLOWS WORKED IN A SHEFFIELD RECORD SHOP IT WAS CLEAR THAT THE COMSATS WERE GOING TO BE FANTASTIC , A CLASSIC DEBUT LP , STILL GREAT SOUND TODAY AND LONG OVER VIEW A RE ISSUE , IF YOU ARE NEW TO THE BAND BUY THE REST OF LPS INC THE DREAM COMMAND , PRETTY RARE IN UK , HAVING ALTERED THEIR NAME IN THE US , TIME TO GET THE BAND BACK TOGETHER JUST ONCE MORE