The first time I heard "Shout" I was at a grade nine dance and the place went wild. Having not heard the song up to that point, I had no idea who was singing but was drawn instantaneously to the industrial-like rhythm track that wallops you over the eardrums from the very start. FANTASTIC!!! Turns out my sister had the album (sorry cassette), which I proceeded to "borrow" regularly for what she must have thought was an eternity. I just picked up the CD today and it still sounds great. "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" is still hypnotic. The soothing sound of "The Working Hour" makes you wonder if Roland and Kurt were hanging with Dire Straits at the time. I still hear samples of "Mother's Talk" thrown into the mix on the dance floors of local clubs. They never quite hit this peak again, as Roland went in search of the "Beatle" in him with the release of "Sowing the Seeds of Love", but for about a year they were THE COOLEST band in the universe.

8 out of 10.