Careful

The Motels	Anthologyland Designed as a supplement to the No Vacancy best of, Anthologyland is a double-disc compilation of Motels demos, outtakes, live cuts, and other rarities. Prepared with the help of Martha Davis, Anthologyland effectively works as a hidden history of the band, featuring alternate...	Essential Collection	All Four One The Motels' third album All 4 One finds the group working the fine line between mainstream arena-rock and quirky new wave pop. Their roots lie in the sleek, polished Californian hard rock that dominated late-'70s and early-'80s album-oriented radio, but All 4 One has a shiny ...	Shake It Up
All Four One	Funplex 16 years between albums is a gap virtually unprecedented in modern music, so no surprises that the first question you want to know about Funplex is: how does it sound? Going on the opening track "Pump", you'd be forgiven for thinking not at all: there's Fred Schneider's delirious...	Jesus of Cool If you have a dog-eared copy of Nick Lowe's Pure Pop for Now People, here is your chance to revitalize. That 1978 record, an ingenious and melodic pop gem, is really the Americanized version of Jesus of Cool, Lowe's European debut, released the year after his departure from pub-r...	All Four One	Standing Room Only

earlier motel with clean sheets
I, like many fans, found out about this early recording after their successful albums. When I discovered this, in probaly late 1985, I was so impressed with Martha Davis and her writing, I jumped at the chance to purchase this on vinyl. Since, I have acquired on CD their two early releases. There is a haunting sound to several of the tracks that make them irresistable to the true fan. I can hardly wait for the new release, "Clean, Modern, and Reasonable."

Great Art As Music
For their second album Careful, Martha, Tim, Marty, Michael, and Brian brought in a couple more hooks to their avant-garde arty styling and the result is a much better album than the debut in my opinion. Not to mention one of the best album covers ever and if you don't believe me pick up a book about the best album covers and I bet you'll see it in there. The music is still moody and brooding but with Tim McGovern, Michael Goodroe and Marty Jourard more involved in writing, the resulting songs they came up with add a new texture to the Motels sound - the first single "Danger" (Davis/McGovern) is still one of my favorite songs by the band - "Danger/your love is like a stranger/your so close/ yet so far away..." before the chorus kicks it up a few notches, "Late at night when I want you/ I just close my eyes and I pray/late at night when I need you/ I just stop to me I say..." The song is something Divinyls might have put on their debut album - so enticing and fun, "Envy" is my all time favorite song on the album - it's a throwback to "Love Don't Help" which is to say it's a 2 minute fast fight with Martha cooing some intense and hilarious lyrics and a change in melody as well - "everybody wants my car/ so they can drive like I drive/ everybody wants my car... you better leave it alone..." Of course there's "everybody wants my baby/ everybody wants my man.." and she tells them "you better leave him alone..." with a wild drumming and soft bass behind her - it's very threatening and I'm sure that's exactly how she meant it. The title track is one of their more famous cuts if not for the fact it appears on almost every one of their compilations - it's a winding synth driven track once again full of foreboding with Martha practically hiccupping through it, "but just don't leave me/ please don't leave me/ your way/ careful/ I'm indicating/ my way..." "Bonjour Baby" and "Cry Baby" punch up the hook laden part of the album and they're two very fun tracks full of new wavey fun, while the single "Days Are OK (But The Nights Were Made Love)" starts with a chunky mellow opening before rock guitar and drums kick in for the chorus and the boys help out by making man "oohs" and "aahs" on the chorus - it should've been a huge hit but instead never even makes it onto their hits collections. One of my favorite singles from the band is also from the Careful album, "Whose Problem?" is a mid tempo popper with some of the best lyrics - "You didn't have to adopt me/ you could have very well left me outside the door" and my favorite - "Anticipating the matter will never be heard/ I know you wanted perfection but I' lost my nerve/ so whose problem am I?/ whose problem am I?/ whose problem am I / if I'm not yours?" The whole Careful album is great from one song to the next, with the whole thing ending on a bittersweet moody confection called "Slow Town" which Martha describes as sounding heroin induced sans the heroin.

Careful By The Motels
Why the Hell are so many great records, like this one, unavailible on CD? I bought this on vinyl when it was new. I was already a Motels fan. This album, while a little different and less avante garde than the first, totally kicks as none the less!It is a little less guitar oriented than the first album but the songs are unique, hook laden, and catchy. Of course, I don't have to tell you that Martha Davis voice is as beautiful and haunting as ever. If you are a fan of the Motels and have missed out on this gem, GET IT IF YOU CAN!! Why this great band didn't stay huge after their 3rd album is a mystery to me.