What a Life!

by The Divinyls

Overview

The Divinyls were one of the most unfortunately overlooked acts of the 1980s, but the reason they didn't achieve much commercial success could be because an album like What A Life! is so inconsistent. The Divinyls' best strengths lie both in Christina Amphlett's unique vocal delivery, and guitarist Mark McEntee's bottom-heavy, grungy, guitar work, and not so much in their songwriting. The Divinyls always manage to come up with a few memorable songs, such as "Pleasure and Pain" (a thinly-veiled ode to sadomasochism), "Casual Encounter," and the ballad "Sleeping Beauty," but many of the album tracks are hardly memorable. "In My Life" is a catchy rocker, but Amphlett's vocals (which are usually the highlight of the band's music) sound banal and unpolished. Likewise, the album's closer, "Dear Diary," is a pretentious stab at art that instead sounds very flat and dull. What A Life! is a solid album for fans of the band, but there are better places to start for casual listeners. ~ Jason Damas

Product Details

Release Date:	02/12/2021
Label:	Rubellan Remasters
UPC:	0616985643059
Rank:	2048

Tracks

1. Pleasure & Pain
2. Don't You Go Walking
3. Good Die Young
4. Sleeping Beauty
5. Motion
6. In My Life
7. Casual Encounter
8. Heart Telegraph
9. Guillotine Day
10. Dear Diary
11. What a Life
12. Talk Like the Rain
13. Old Radios
14. Para-Dice
15. 9:50
16. More to Choose
17. Out of Time [Early Version]
18. What a Life [Early Version]
19. Pleasure & Pain [Extended Mix]
20. Sleeping Beauty [Extended Mix]

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Divinyls   Primary Artist
Barton Price   Drums
Mary Bradfield-Taylor   Vocals (Background)
Richard Harvey   Drums

Technical Credits

Ray Thomas   Composer
Gary Langan   Producer
Mark Opitz   Producer
James Raney   Composer
Charles Fisher   Producer,Mixing
The Divinyls   Producer
Holly Knight   Composer
Mike Chapman   Mixing,Composer,Producer
Bjarne Ohlin   Composer
Mark McEntee   Composer,Producer
Christina Amphlett   Composer
Alan Bohling   Composer