Having had Happy Families and Mange Tout on vinyl for some time, and disposed of their ill-advised third album, Believe You Me, after one listen, I was wary about buying a 'best of'. However this budget issue is a real gem, the sound quality is sympathetically mastered and picks up some of the layers of ethnic percussion my poor old stylus never quite got hold of! What's also good is this album collates all the real hits in the first 8 or 9 tracks, then adds some interesting (ok, "Now Get Out Of That" is fairly dire) b-sides, then some choice album tracks and even a 1990 farewall song. The irony of this title "Your Time Has Gone" just reaffirms Neil's often tongue-in-cheek lyrics, although his approach to the dark subject matter on "Running Thin" is extremely blunt. Interestingly the 1990 track almost harks back to their earliest stuff, albeit slightly more commercialised, and is harder in vocal delivery than the over-produced Believe You Me era (the vocals are almost lost in the mix, sometimes). All in all this is a strong compilation well worth having if you were a fan at the time, or even if you just remember "Living On The Ceiling" whilst it is currently played on a certain TV ad! For info, most versions here are album versions, so you get the 5 min "Feel Me Now" (great), and the full version of "Day Before..." with trumpet outro, plus the non-radio friendly version of "Living On The Ceiling" (not with the 'cuckoo tree' replaced line!).

I used to own the previous "Best Of Blancmange" which is a good compilation, however this release exceeds it in terms of song selection and sound quality. This version is remastered and the sound is crisp and clear just like other titles from the same series. Unfortunately, Blancmange was one of those underrated new wave band of the 80s; yet it is still essential to people who love this kind of music from this era. The CD is packed with their best songs such as 'Living On The Ceiling", "Waves", "Blind Vision", "Don't Tell Me" and the 1984 remake of Abba's "The Day Before You Came" presented here in full lenght album version.
Last but not least, if you like Depeche Mode, Erasure, Duran Duran, Alphaville, A-ha... the list is long, you won't be disappointed with this CD. In addition, the price is so appealing! A must.