''Rhythm of Youth'' is the debut studio album by Canadian new wave and synth-pop band

Men Without Hats Men Without Hats are a Canadian new wave and synth-pop band, originally from Montreal, Quebec. Their music is characterized by the baritone voice of their lead singer Ivan Doroschuk, as well as their elaborate use of synthesizers and electro ...

, released in April 1982 by Statik Records in Europe and Canada and in 1983 by Backstreet Records in the US. It propelled them to fame with its second single, "

The Safety Dance "The Safety Dance" is a song by Canadian new wave/ synth-pop band Men Without Hats, released in Canada in 1982 as the second single from '' Rhythm of Youth''. The song was written by lead singer Ivan Doroschuk after he had been kicked out of a ...

". It was released under the Statik Records label in Canada, distributed by

Warner Music Canada Warner Music Canada is the Canadian division of Warner Music Group. The label previously operated as WEA Music of Canada, Ltd. (French: ''WEA Musique du Canada, Ltée''), often shortened to WEA Canada, the Canadian subsidiary of WEA Internationa ...

(then called WEA Canada) where it achieved Platinum status for sales of 100,000 units.

Release history

The US releases of this album featured a different track listing, replacing "Living in China" with an edited version of "Antarctica" (the full version of which appeared on '' Folk of the 80's'') and including an extended version of "The Safety Dance". In 1984, the album was released on CD in Europe by Statik Records, featuring the '' Folk of the 80's'' EP (albeit including the single edit of "Antarctica") and the extended mix of "The Safety Dance" as bonus tracks. It was re-released on CD in Canada in 1997 by

Oglio Records Oglio Records is an American record company started in 1993 by Carl Caprioglio. The label issues compilations of rare 1980s modern rock and new wave songs, many previously unreleased on CD. In addition to releasing new material by artists such ...

as part of a "two-fer" including '' Folk of the 80's (Part III)'' and the single edit of "Antarctica". In 2010, the album was remastered and reissued in Canada by the band's label, Bulldog Brothers, featuring the original US track list (with "Antarctica" replaced with "Living in China") and including all the tracks from both the US and UK LP releases, plus a demo version of "Ban the Game" (known as "Ban the Game II"), an extended mix of "I Got the Message" and a club mix of "The Safety Dance".

Critical reception

'' Cash Box'' called the single "I Like" "a forceful performance, grounded...on songwriter Ivan Doroschuk’s sardonic vocal" and particularly praised the

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

Track listing

1982 Canada/UK LP/CDMen Without Hats - ''Rhythm of Youth'' (UK LP) @Discogs.com
Retrieved 11-18-2017.

1983 US LP

1983 US cassette

2010 Canadian CD remaster

Personnel

Musicians *

Ivan Doroschuk Ivan Eugene Doroschuk (, ), born 9 October 1957, is an American-born Canadian musician. He is the lead vocalist and founding member of Men Without Hats, best known for the hit song "The Safety Dance". Early life Ivan Doroschuk was born on ...

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

electronics The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...

*Allan McCarthy – keyboards, piano, electronics, percussion *Stefan Doroschuk – guitars,

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

*Martin Cartier – percussion *Colin Doroschuk – additional guitars *Anne Dussault – female vocals *Michel Jermone –

castanets Castanets, also known as ''clackers'' or ''palillos'', are a percussion instrument (idiophone), used in Spanish, Kalo, Moorish, Ottoman, Italian, Sephardic, Swiss, and Portuguese music. In ancient Greece and ancient Rome there was a simil ...

*Daniel A. Vermette – acoustic guitars Production *Marc Durand – producer *Dixon Van Winkle – recording and engineering

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rhythm Of Youth Men Without Hats albums 1982 debut albums Backstreet Records albums Sire Records albums Virgin Records albums