Heaven 17

by Aaron Badgley After producing two very successful albums in England (1981's Penthouse and Pavement and 1982's The Luxury Gap), it was time to introduce Heaven 17 to America. Arista licensed the band through their British label, Virgin Records. Instead of releasing both albums, Arista decided to compile the British hits from each release onto one album, thus producing a unique album available only in the United States. For all intents and purposes, this is a best-of album featuring almost all of their U.K. singles. For some reason their classics -- "Come Live With Me," "Temptation," and "Crushed by the Wheels of Industry" -- did not find their way on here, but they are not that missed given that other classics such as "Penthouse and Pavement," "Play to Win," and "Let Me Go" are all here. The single versions of the latter two are included here instead of the more standard album versions, which collectors might want to take note of. Fans of their synth-based music will love this collection. The music stands up and it is kind of cool to have all of their early classics collected on one piece of vinyl. A must-have for casual or hardcore fans.