Sir, I might have taken a while to get around to it but I've finally been listening to The Sound... and you're absolutely right. What a terrific band. Only listened to From The Lions Mouth and All Fall Down so far (I actually like AFD better) but I'll be right onto the rest of their stuff asap.
ALL FALL DOWN is more eclectic, varied in its sounds than FROM THE LION'S MOUTH, that's why you prefer it I suppose?
The Sound's "purist" fans seem to mostly remember the first two albums (JEOPARDY and FROM THE LION'S MOUTH) plus the SHOCK OF DAYLIGHT EP and the 1985 live versions of IN THE HOTHOUSE.
I only found the band very recently, in 2020/2021 during the lockdowns and in a short time Adrian Borland has really become one of my favorite singers and songwriters, not far from Justin. The first song I liked from The Sound was "Where the love is" on ALL FALL DOWN but the real emotional shock for me was the version of "Winning" on the live IN THE HOTHOUSE, this version moved me a lot like the versions on this live of "Silent air" and "Total recall", among others ... I did not expect so much intensity and emotions in these live versions, the studio versions are already very good but we feel much less rage and despair, so if you like The Sound absolutely listen to IN THE HOTHOUSE Master Ray!
After a few years of listening I would say that my favorite albums of the band are still IN THE HOTHOUSE, FROM THE LION'S MOUTH and the superb SHOCK OF DAYLIGHT (EP). But even the more uneven albums like THUNDER UP deserve to be listened to and listened to again.
I don't know if you still buy CDs, but the Deluxe 2CD editions of SHOCK OF DAYLIGHT, IN THE HOTHOUSE and HEADS AND HEARTS are available from today in your record stores!
