Toyah – Chameleon : The Very Best Of (3CD/ Blu-Ray Box Set)
Chameleon is certainly well named; it perfectly describes singer & actor Toyah Willcox’s ability, much like David Bowie (the greatest chameleon of them all) to evolve and change with the musical times, whilst still holding her own identity and artistry.
It's also, courtesy of Cherry Red Records, her first ever all-encompassing collection, one that covers every era and musical slant of her four-and-half decade career, from her late 70s new wave/ punk beginnings to the ultra-successful 80s pop period and into the 21st century as an artist who remains relevant through her contemporary pop and rock stylings.
CD1 is collated to showcase the best of Toyah the band, from 1979-1983; it also, unsurprisingly, leads with the Top 10 trio of glossy, new-wave pop hits 'I Want To Be Free,' 'It’s a Mystery' and 'Thunder In The Mountains.'
Other chart successes, such as the atmospheric 'Brave New World,' feature, but the selected album tracks are their equal; choice cuts here include the pop-punch of 'We Are' (from best-selling album Anthem), the slightly darker textures of 'Dawn Chorus' and the semi-theatrical, new wave stylings of 'Angel & Me.'
There’s also space for tracks from the band’s debut EP Sheep Farming In Barnet, including the frantic jazz-punk of 'Neon Womb' and the spacey synth & guitar led 'Danced.'
The live version of the band’s first ever single, punk-pop hybrid 'Victims Of The Riddle,' closes out the first disc.
CD2 is a non-chronological summation of Toyah’s solo career (which was interrupted or interspersed at various times with her TV and acting work) from 1985-2024.
The 20 track collection opens with the gloriously shape-shifting heavy pop & rock of 'Dance In The Hurricane,' from the 2019 re-release of In The Court Of The Crimson Queen (a title-nod to her Crimson crowned husband Robert Fripp, who contributes voiceover narration).
Other second disc nuggets include the melodic pop of 'Don’t Fall In Love' (Toyah's first single as a solo artist), covers of 'Echo Beach' and 'Slave To The Rhythm,' and the pulsating pop-rock of 'Space Dance,' the latter from 2021’s perfectly titled Posh Pop.
Later offerings include the moody and captivating 'Roses In Chains' and a live performance of Bowie’s 'Fashion,' featuring Rober Fripp on guitar.
There’s also a welcome inclusion for the previously unreleased quirkiness of 'Worst In Me,' from the Kneeling at the Shrine album sessions by Sunday All Over The World (the band formed by Toyah and Robert Fripp in the late 80s).
CD3, which is exclusive to the box set (2LP Gatefold Gold Vinyl and 2CD versions are also available), features seventeen remastered rarities, demos, collaborations, and live cuts spanning from 1980-2024, of which ten are previously unreleased.
Among the most intriguing are the very first version of 'It’s a Mystery,' and three unreleased tracks with Kiss of Reality, including two songs from a 1992 live performance.
Later era rarities appear in the shape of acoustic & piano number 'Blue Pearl' and the artier rock of 'Darkest Moment / Well Connected' (the latter, with ex Indians In Moscow singer Chris Guard, was recorded for the radio drama Children Of The Circus).
For the Toyah aficionado the Blue-Ray disc (again, only available as part of the box set) will be the go-to, featuring as it does twelve promo videos (the earliest of which are brand new transfers from the original master reels), twenty-two BBC appearances and six songs lifted from recent concerts.
There’s also an exclusive extended video of 'Brave New World,' where the original promo has been edited to the full album version by utilising previously unseen footage from the video shoot.
Complete with a booklet of rare photos and selected imagery, Chameleon is, indeed, The Very Best Of an artist who has always danced to her own tune – whilst sporting an incalculable amount of looks, hair styles, and hair colours. Welcome to the Court of the Crimson Queen.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Chameleon : The Very Best Of is available in all physical formats from:
https://www.cherryred.co.uk/artist/toyah
It's also, courtesy of Cherry Red Records, her first ever all-encompassing collection, one that covers every era and musical slant of her four-and-half decade career, from her late 70s new wave/ punk beginnings to the ultra-successful 80s pop period and into the 21st century as an artist who remains relevant through her contemporary pop and rock stylings.
CD1 is collated to showcase the best of Toyah the band, from 1979-1983; it also, unsurprisingly, leads with the Top 10 trio of glossy, new-wave pop hits 'I Want To Be Free,' 'It’s a Mystery' and 'Thunder In The Mountains.'
Other chart successes, such as the atmospheric 'Brave New World,' feature, but the selected album tracks are their equal; choice cuts here include the pop-punch of 'We Are' (from best-selling album Anthem), the slightly darker textures of 'Dawn Chorus' and the semi-theatrical, new wave stylings of 'Angel & Me.'
There’s also space for tracks from the band’s debut EP Sheep Farming In Barnet, including the frantic jazz-punk of 'Neon Womb' and the spacey synth & guitar led 'Danced.'
The live version of the band’s first ever single, punk-pop hybrid 'Victims Of The Riddle,' closes out the first disc.
CD2 is a non-chronological summation of Toyah’s solo career (which was interrupted or interspersed at various times with her TV and acting work) from 1985-2024.
The 20 track collection opens with the gloriously shape-shifting heavy pop & rock of 'Dance In The Hurricane,' from the 2019 re-release of In The Court Of The Crimson Queen (a title-nod to her Crimson crowned husband Robert Fripp, who contributes voiceover narration).
Other second disc nuggets include the melodic pop of 'Don’t Fall In Love' (Toyah's first single as a solo artist), covers of 'Echo Beach' and 'Slave To The Rhythm,' and the pulsating pop-rock of 'Space Dance,' the latter from 2021’s perfectly titled Posh Pop.
Later offerings include the moody and captivating 'Roses In Chains' and a live performance of Bowie’s 'Fashion,' featuring Rober Fripp on guitar.
There’s also a welcome inclusion for the previously unreleased quirkiness of 'Worst In Me,' from the Kneeling at the Shrine album sessions by Sunday All Over The World (the band formed by Toyah and Robert Fripp in the late 80s).
CD3, which is exclusive to the box set (2LP Gatefold Gold Vinyl and 2CD versions are also available), features seventeen remastered rarities, demos, collaborations, and live cuts spanning from 1980-2024, of which ten are previously unreleased.
Among the most intriguing are the very first version of 'It’s a Mystery,' and three unreleased tracks with Kiss of Reality, including two songs from a 1992 live performance.
Later era rarities appear in the shape of acoustic & piano number 'Blue Pearl' and the artier rock of 'Darkest Moment / Well Connected' (the latter, with ex Indians In Moscow singer Chris Guard, was recorded for the radio drama Children Of The Circus).
For the Toyah aficionado the Blue-Ray disc (again, only available as part of the box set) will be the go-to, featuring as it does twelve promo videos (the earliest of which are brand new transfers from the original master reels), twenty-two BBC appearances and six songs lifted from recent concerts.
There’s also an exclusive extended video of 'Brave New World,' where the original promo has been edited to the full album version by utilising previously unseen footage from the video shoot.
Complete with a booklet of rare photos and selected imagery, Chameleon is, indeed, The Very Best Of an artist who has always danced to her own tune – whilst sporting an incalculable amount of looks, hair styles, and hair colours. Welcome to the Court of the Crimson Queen.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Chameleon : The Very Best Of is available in all physical formats from:
https://www.cherryred.co.uk/artist/toyah