Men At Work – Business As Usual

I think they topped this debut with Cargo but it took some doing because this is a great album. What I'd give to write a song as good as Who Can It Be Now?! The production on the record is solid. The bass is used a lot to drive the songs, hammering away with the kick, the guitars are sparing and tasteful and the vocals are world class. I was about 8 when this came out so it's a tick before my time as a music enjoyer. But being from Australia, Men At Work songs were all over the place so I'd soon get to know them.

I have an old U.S. CD pressing (pre-remaster). It sounds really statiky at a couple points. Is that my equipment or was this common for CD editions of this album? I noticed the remastered edition has the same issue but I'd just assumed it was a casualty of the loudness war..(?)...

think I found a promo copy, thats not listed as Promo. Although, it's for a US version, not the one its defaulted to.

Men At Work was officially my first favorite band that I chose completely on my own. Yes I had already been listening to The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, and some other bands introduced to me by my sister but Men At Work was my choice without any influence or help from my sister or any friends peer pressure. When your 10 years old your reasons for picking a favorite band may be more simplistic than they are later in life but I feel pretty good even to this day about my choice.

I first decided to make Men At Work my favorite band when I saw their music videos for “Who Can It Be Now” and “Land Down Under”. These videos were quirkily and funny. These videos would later contribute to my affection to watching Monty Python.

I got Business As Usual on vinyl and I played the album over and over and over until someone asked me if I would possibly listen to something else for a while. I going to a state fair and trying to win Men At Work hat, shirt, buttons and anything else I could find.

The album has the big hits that you still hear on the radio like “Who Can It Be Now” and “Down Under. The rest of the album is a kind of jazzy new wave style that sounds happy but the lyrics are a bit jaded and sad.

I find that this album has held up very well and I’m still happy to listen to it from time to time. The band made two more albums and crumbled apart by the time the third album came out. I for several years after hoping that a new album would come out. Colin Hay the lead singer would release a solo album and for me the magic was over. Hay’s solo album was more like a pitiful attempt to do a Paul Simon Graceland album. Oh well, nothing lasts forever but you can enjoy what was, like first love, your first favorite group is something you should never forget or be ashamed off, unless it was Tiffany.