Men At Work BUSINESS AS USUAL

Men At Work: Colin Hay (vocals, guitar); Ron Strykert (guitar, background vocals); Greg Ham (flute, saxophone, keyboards, background vocals); John Rees (bass, background vocals); Jerry Speiser (drums, background vocals).
Producers: Peter McIan, Colin Hay, Greg Ham.
Includes liner notes by David Wild.
This Australian combo's 1982 debut was an instant worldwide smash, mostly due to the undeniably catchy pop songcraft of singer/songwriter Colin Hay. Of course, it didn't hurt that with the group's reggae undertones and Hay's yelping tenor, they bore a superficial resemblance to early-'80s pop gods The Police, but BUSINESS AS USUAL is far from derivative.
A gift for the hook was Men At Work's most powerful weapon, from the impossibly catchy sax riff on the paranoid pop tune "Who Can It Be Now" to the staccato flute line marking the chorus of the reggae-ish "Down Under." "Down By the Sea"'s atmospheric poignancy proves there's another level of depth to the band's work, and the driving "Underground" adds a unique socio-political edge to the proceedings.

• Format: CD
• Genre: Pop