Why is The Human League’s Dare! on my best 1,000 albums ever list?
Don’t you want me to tell you? Read on.
What does The Human League’s Dare! mean to me? What does it make me feel? Why is it exciting or compelling?
For most people – and even for most people pretty hip to music – it’s easy to dismiss The Human League as “the band with the DON’T YOU WANT ME song.” And even in saying that, most people would readily agree that it’s a pretty great song, an ‘80s classic. And we’ll get to “Don’t You Want Me” in a little bit.
But I’m here to let you know that Dare! offers many additional treasures besides.
I’ll go further in saying that for much of my life, “The Things That Dreams Are Made Of” would not be a song that could hold my interest for very long. If that’s true for you as well, I implore you to give it another listen. Because it’s incredible. Its spare production, its synth-y pulse-y beat, its slightly cold and melancholy vibe. This is 1980s on 1980s and I am here for it.
“Darkness” is right in the new romantic wheelhouse, and suits Philip Oakey’s Simon Le Bon-meets-Pet Shop Boys vocals.
And finally, we have “Don’t You Want Me,” with production that is like synth Wall of Sound, and verses that swell into the classic chorus. Midway through, Oakey hands off vocals to Susanne Sulley for a nice change up.
Some stats & info about The Human League – Dare!
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Synth Pop, Pop Music, Rock, Rock Music, New Wave, Dance Rock, Dance Music, New Romantic, British Bands
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 5 out of 5 stars
- When was Dare! released? 1981
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #910 out of 1,000
The Human League’s Dare! on Spotify
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective take on what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.