The Golden Age of Wireless

Possibly the finest synth-pop album ever made, Thomas Dolby's 1982 debut was unfortunately overshadowed by the mainstream success of his quirky dance hit "She Blinded Me With Science," which was added to later pressings of the album. Simultaneously futuristic and awash in the nostalgia implied in the album's title, The Golden Age of Wireless is rooted in dark-hued songs like "Airwaves," "Weightless" and the apocalyptic closer "Cloudburst At Shingle Street." Even catchy uptempo tunes like "Europa and the Pirate Twins," "Radio Silence," "Windpower" and "Flying North" maintain an air of melancholy that sometimes shades into foreboding. Through 1982 and '83, the album was released in five different versions in the US and the UK: the 2009 remaster begins with the original UK tracklisting, then adds all the songs added to and subtracted from the variants, including "She Blinded Me With Science," "One Of Our Submarines," "Urges," "Leipzig" and the guitar-oriented remake of "Radio Silence." B-sides, demos, and the original version of "Airwaves" from the 1981 compilation From Brussels With Love fill out the CD. A DVD of Live Wireless, the hour-long concert film that was a staple of MTV's early programming, is also included, along with Dolby's extensive track-by-track commentary.