Credo

Given the real possibility of never again hearing anything new from the Human League, it's a real cause for celebration to have some new music from this truly great band.I have to admit, "Credo" has grown on me--from not liking it very much on a first listen, to now enjoying it a lot. It's received wildly mixed reviews in England, from high praise to being panned. For me, I don't think "Credo" is going to stand in the upper echelons of The Human League's work, but it's a solid effort that is enjoyable and worth having if you are a fan. However, I'd be surprised if "Credo" will make new fans of The Human League.Overall, "Credo" seems a lot more riff-oriented, rather than containing fully fleshed-out songs. There's nothing on this CD that reaches the heights of their best work, such as "Soundtrack To A Generation" from Romantic or "Reflections" or "You'll Be Sorry" from Secrets, or "The Lebanon" from Hysteria, etc. Still, there are a lot of very solid songs that eventually get under your skin, even if they would not be considered among the band's best material.It was daring to open the CD with "Never Let Me Go," a song sung by Suzanne Sulley. However, it's unfortunate that her voice is processed with a pitch correcter so that she's always in-tune. Memo to the band: Part of the charm of the Human League is hearing singers who are just slightly out of tune, so it's not a positive that this sort of technology is being used on Suzanne. Thankfully, the technology is never used on Phil Oakey's voice (witness Phil's wonderfully out-of-tune singing on "Privelege").Strongest tracks include "Sky," "Single Minded," "Egomaniac," "Electric Shock," "Privelege," and "When The Stars Start To Shine." There are no weak songs on the CD.So how would I rank "Credo" against the Human League's major body of work? In order from worst to best: 7) Crash, 6) Hysteria, 5) Credo, 4) Octopus, 3) Dare, 2) Secrets, and 1) Romantic?.UPDATE: With the passage of time since I first wrote this review, I like Credo even more. You might get me to bump Credo up to #4, but rather than displacing Octopus, I would probably rank them a "tie" rather than one better than the other. Octopus has higher highs, but also lower lows. Credo, by contrast, never hits the heights of Octopus, but also don't have a bad song on it. And I have to admit--Credo has not left my CD player since I got it.

Updated 2-2016 - this album definately gets better with repeated listens!I still think Secret is right up there on top, but this is a great CD, and a must have.On first listen, this has more of the simplistic sound that you might have heard on earlier works like Dare.Coming off of Secrets, which was a fantastic work by Human League, Credo starts out sounding a little disappointing.I had somewhat dismissed it initially. Now that some time has passed, and with a few more listens under my belt, I find I really, really like Credo. Is it better than Secrets?It's a great CD.Just be sure to listen to it all the way through before dismissing it as I did back in 2011!

CREDO (2011) is the Human League's first studio album in ten years, it has great synthesizer sounds with heavy dance beats supporting the vocals of Philip Oakey, Susan Sulley and Joanne Catherall. This 47 minute CD with eleven new synth-pop songs should be celebrated by fans of synth-pop dance music. This new music recovers that Human League signature sound from 1983 that melds cold electronics with melodic lyrics. It is like Sweet-&-Sour food, the constant beats and metallic sounds that combine with the flow of marvelous melodies.I really like CREDO because of the quick lyrics of the Human League, supported by the constant beats and accents from the synthesizers. The best thing about this album for me, is that it just gets better the more one listens to it.I strongly recommend CREDO (2011) for Human League fans, because I think it is equal to their best albums, DARE! (1981) and FASCINATION (1983). The best thing for the normal listener to do, is go to the Human League's channel on YOUTUBE and watch the CREDO videos. The video for "Never Let Me Go" uses many special effects from camera lens and mirrors to make a fantastic video.P.S. Americans should insure they buy the cheaper US release, instead of the more expensive IMPORT of this CD.The CASE: I bought the CD release to get the packaging, I wanted the jewel case and a pretty booklet with lots of pictures, but that was not to be. The CD is slipped within a three-piece cardboard fold-out, with one small head-shot photo of each vocalist. The booklet lists the order of the song titles and has multiple pages of tiny white song lyrics on black pages. The tiny white lyrics are printed in various orientations and are hard to read, but at least they are on a solid background. I would have been just as happy downloading the MP3 songs.ALSO: Human League fans may now download the MP3 songs from  Fascination!  that famous 1983 EP album which I also strongly recommend. You can also make a good purchase of  Dare / Love & Dancing  which is the ten songs from the famous DARE album combined with the eight extended dance mixes released in 1982.Dance to the Synth-Pop music and enjoy !

It was a very satisfying experience. I had one of the best times of my life. I used it for pure pleasure to have a good time.

This is a great album from Human League, more modern but matured. I enjoyed it but kind of wish they would go back to a bit more minimal sound like the early stuff. I don't get why all the synth-pop bands feel they have to come out with some new modern version of themselves. Do what you do best and run with it. This album is worth the money...

Can never find it on Spotify or Amazon Music anymore, so I had to buy it. Listen to track 4, "Into the Night" and you'll be transported to 1988. From track 1 to track 11, great music for all times.

A great album that as wonderful catchy tracks, great electronic beats and much refreshing from most modern albums. Producers I Monster, sure making this a unique album tho aimed more at the electronic music fans

One of the best band live

Good quality product, delivered promptly.

Saw the Human League in concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London an they sung song from their latest albums.....I did not know they had a new album!!! In my opinion this is one of the best they have ever done.

Cd arrived on time,brilliant music from the human league,I recommend it