Eurythmics - Greatest Hits

Released in 1991, Eurythmics Greatest Hits was almost certainly the last vinyl album I ever purchased. I had always like their singles but had never got around to buying an album. The release of a greatest hits package was the perfect opportunity to correct that.

I actually saw Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart live, but that was in October 1980 when The Tourists came to Cardiff University promoting their Reality Effect LP. It was a great concert and I bought the album afterwards, which contained the hit singles "So Good To Be Back Home" and a cover of Dusty Springfield's "I Only Wanna Be With You". The earlier "Blind Amongst The Flowers" had also been a minor chart hit. 

With Pete Coombes being the main song-writer, guitarist and co-vocalist, when The Tourists split up the probability was that it would be he that would go on to have the successful career, but instead it was the relatively unheralded Lennox and Stewart who went on to global domination whilst Coombes disappeared without a trace.

All of the tracks on the compilation shouldn't need any introduction, and unsurprisingly for a greatest hits collection I can easily recall all of the songs here.

Eurythmics breakthrough singles were the slow, hypnotic electro-pop of "Love Is A Stranger", "Sweet Dreams" & "Whose That Girl ?" but changed their style with the uptempo calypso feel of "Right By Your Side" with steel drums, horns, saxophone and carnival backing vocals, which is one of my favourite songs of theirs.

"Here Comes The Rain" is a mid-paced pop song featured synthesized rain-drops, and the first to significantly feature the electronic rhythms.

Side One closes with "There Must Be An Angel ( Playing With My Heart ), their first ( and only ) number 1 in the UK. Whilst it has a nice, happy melody, and a gorgeous harmonica solo by Stevie Wonder I always found the high pitch backing vocals slightly annoying !

Side Two begins with the feminist anthem "Sisters Are Doing For Themselves" and features Aretha Franklin. It is an old fashioned R&B song with real guitars, drums and bass and a rousing chorus ! It certainly isn't out of place with Franklin's back catalogue.

The soulful "It's All Right ( Baby's Coming Back )" follows, and combines saxophone low down in the mix, a decent vocal and a delicate guitar break.

"When Tomorrow Comes" has a guitar intro, heavy drums courtesy of Blondie's Clement Burke , a strong hook and backing vocal, a guitar solo and more saxophone. It's a mainstream pop song.

"You Have Place A Chill In My Heart" is a decent song, but in this collection sounds a little bit ordinary.

"Sex Crime ( 1984 )", written for the John Hurt/Richard Burton film 1984 based on George Orwell's novel, is another one of my favourite all-time Eurythmics songs with a glorious melody breaking out from Kraftwerk style electronic rhythms, and the vocoder "1984" vocal.

"Thorn In My Side", not to be confused with The Smiths "Boy With A Thorn In His Side" is fair standard mid tempo song, with the saxophone solo being the highlight. There is also an acoustic guitar intro !

The album closes with "Don't Ask Me Why", which surprisingly only reached number 25 but for me is one of the best pieces the Eurythmics ever composed. A beautiful tune combined with bitter and melancholy lyrics describing the break-up of a relationship "I don't love you any more, I don't think I ever did, and if you ever had any kind of love for me, you kept it all so well hid". It also has perhaps Stewart's best guitar solo.

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. Love Is A Stranger ( 1983 - No 6 )
2. Sweet Dreams ( 1983 - No 2 )
3. Who's That Girl ? ( 1983 - No 3 )
4. Right By Your Side ( 1983 - No 10 )
5. Here Comes The Rain ( 1984 - No 8 )
6. There Must Be An Angel ( Playing With My Heart ) ( 1985- No 1 )

Side Two :

1. Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves ( 1985 - No 9 )
2. It's Alright ( Baby's Coming Back ) ( 1986 - No 12 )
3. When Tomorrow Comes ( 1986 - No 30 )
4. You Have Placed A Chill In My Heart ( 1988 - No 16 )
5. Sex Crime ( 1984 ) ( 1984 - No 4 )
6. Thorn In My Side ( 1986- No 5 )
7. Don't Ask Me Why ( 1989 - No 25 )

 

Released 1991
UK Chart Position :1

 

Emerson, Lake and Palmer - Pictures At An Exhibition

 

Pictures At An Exhibition was the first ELP album that I acquired, having liked it after borrowing from a friend and being attracted by the discounted price of £1.49 the LP was being sold at.

Loosely based around Modest Mussorgsky's composition in the 1880's, with arrangements of four pieces from Mussorgsky's suite and three original compositions, it is held together by "Promenade", giving the sense of the viewer wandering through the gallery. "Nut Rocker", Bee Bumble and the Stingers 1960's interpretation of Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker" tops it all off as the encore. The album was recorded live in Newcastle.

The introduction "We're gonna give you Pictures At An Exhibition" is greeted by huge cheers by the audience, who were presumably familiar with yet to be released the live piece.

"Promenade" opens the set with just its regal and ecclesiastical church organ, leading the way for "The Gnome". Powell's drumming opens the number, before being joined by jerky, staccato bass lines. The organ eventually crashes in before moving to a completely different moog synthesizer piece.

"Promenade" returns, this time with a gentle vocal and lasts just over a minute long. Greg Lake's "The Sage", the next track, is one of the highlights, being just acoustic guitar and vocals. Its a pastoral, folk song, with a medieval style solo, the type of which you would normally find in a Henry VIII film, leading into some Spanish guitar flamenco, before returning to the verse.

Screeching synthesizer in the style of the The Osmonds "Crazy Horses" opens "The Old Castle" followed by funky bass underneath the synth main line, which then morphs into "Jazz Blues Variation" which makes for a good ending to side One.

"Promenade" returns to open side Two but this time as a group effort with a faster tempo and violent drums. 

The Cossack rhythm's of "The Hut of Baba Yaga" last barely a minute before seamlessly moving into "The Curse of Baba Yaga", with a menacing synth, nice bass line, and a yelling vocal eventually joining in. It becomes all a bit manic, there's some over the top synth solo and I am not to sure when it becomes "The Hut of Baba Yaga" again. It all starts well, and there are some nice parts, but it is also a bit messy and extravagant at times, and its my least favourite track on the album.

The grand, anthemic "The Great Gates of Kiev" ends the piece and is a strong finish. "There's no end to my life, no beginning to my death, death is life".

With the conclusion of "Pictures At An Exhibition", the encore is "Nut Rocker", played in a honky tonk/ragtime style, with a short drum solo ( the best type of drum solo ! ), near the end.

"Pictures At An Exhibition" remains the best of the three ELP albums I have, and there probably weren't too many better live albums than this at the time of its release.

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. Promenade
2. The Gnome
3. Promenade
4. The Sage
5. The Old Castle
6. Blues Variation

Side Two :

1. Promenade
2. The Hut Of Baba Yaga
3. The Curse Of Baba Yaga
4. The Hut Of Baba Yaga
5. The Great Gates of Kiev
6. Nut Rocker

Released 1971
UK Chart Position : 3

Singles :

N/A

 

 

Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Tarkus

 

Tarkus was the second album from Emerson, Lake and Palmer and reached number one in the UK in 1971 to re-inforce their status as global superstars. I'm not sure when I acquired the LP, but it was probably in 1975 or 1976, and certainly before punk rock hit the music scene in 1977.

I remember thinking it was an OK album, quite liking the vocal parts of "Tarkus", even though I couldn't remember them now. I also liked the jolly "Jeremy Bender" and the solemn "The Only Way ( Hymn )" but I thought "Are You Ready, Eddie ? was rubbish. I vaguely remembered "Bitches Crystal". 

The album was notable for the absence of any Greg Lake folk songs or excessive drum solos from Carl Palmer, and there was hardly any guitar at all. Generally though, this would be like listening to most of the album for the first time.

The title track occupies Side One, a magnum opus of nearly 21 minutes in 7 sections, four of which are instrumental, and from the cover, Tarkus is depicted as half tank, half giant armadillo. The pictures on the inside sleeve tell the story of a creature that defeats some others, before falling victim to the half man, half lion Manticore.

The trademark ELP urgent organ, bass and, drums are present on "Eruption", with the music being suitable for a film clip where someone is running away. A gong sounds halfway through before it segues into the slow, tender "Stone Of Years", the first section with vocals. 

The short "Iconocast" is next, all frantic drumming and screeching keyboards, followed by "Mass", which has the first electric guitar part of the track and more vocals from Greg Lake. There are mazy keyboards and heavy drumming before the vocals return to conclude the song. Its a very listenable track with the lyric "the weaver in the web that he made" repeated at the end of each verse.

The instrumental "Manticore" again has a beat as if someone is running, leading into "Battlefield", the final section with a vocal. Its another section that is easy on the ear, with quite a nice keyboard motif and short Pink Floyd style guitar break from their Meddle/Obscured By Clouds era, which came after Tarkus was released.

The side closes with the upbeat military marching rhythms of "Aquatarkus", although the keyboard outro is increasingly annoying, before finishing with a reprise of "Eruption".

Side Two opens with "Jeremy Bender", a jolly tune with ragtime piano, hand claps but not the greatest vocal. Despite being labelled ragtime by most critics, the piano reminds me more of western bar/saloon playing, and The Tom Robinson Band's "Law And Order" now comes to mind.

"Bitches Crystal" was a disappointment, being mostly a tuneless mess, apart from little piano pieces before the final vocal screams.

"The Only Way ( Hymn )" is initially dominated by a church organ and its heavy lyrics, which try to be meaningful but now sound trite. The jaunty piano intersection seems a lit out of place but lessens the serious tone. Its perhaps the best tune on the album but probably should have been titled "Anti-Hymn", given the anti-god lyrics.

"Infinite Space ( Conclusion )" is a forgettable jazzy piano instrumental and "A Time And A Place" is just one of several moments that made me think of Spinal Tap.

The closer "Are You Ready, Eddie ?" is a rehash of the rock n'roll standard "The Girl Can't Help It" and is awful. Apparently recorded in one-take, there's plenty of bum notes. ELP were trying to show they can have fun, but they really shouldn't have bothered.

In summary, there were some good parts on the album, especially the vocal sections of "Tarkus", but overall it hasn't aged well.

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. Tarkus
         Eruption
         Stones of Years
         Iconoclast
         Mass
         Manticore
         Battlefield
         Aquatarkus

Side Two :

1. Jeremy Bender
2. Bitches Crystal
3. The Only Way ( Hymn )
4. Infinite Space ( Conclusion )
5. A Time And A Place
6. Are You Ready, Eddy ?

Released 1971
UK Chart Position : 1

Singles :

None

Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Emerson, Lake & Palmer

 

Emerson, Lake & Palmer were considered to be one of the first "super-groups", being formed by ex-The Nice keyboard player Keith Emerson, King Crimson singer and bassist Greg Lake, and ex-Atomic Rooster drummer Carl Palmer. They were seen to be in the vanguard of the Progressive Rock movement.

My introduction to Emerson, Lake and Palmer was via a friend who lent me his copy of "Pictures At An Exhibition" to listen to, and as I liked it I bought my own copy. 

A couple of years later I heard "Lucky Man" on the radio, found it came from ELP's first album so I decided to buy that. Frankly though, the LP was a bit of a disappointment. Whilst I didn't particularly dislike anything on it at the time, there also wasn't anything that I thought was special. After a few plays, I wasn't too interested in hearing it again.

I knew ELP had a reputation for plundering the classics but my knowledge at the time was such that I had little idea what they had been plundering here, apart for the label on the disc giving the writing credit for Barbarian to Bartok and Knife-Edge to Janacek !

Looking at the track listing again, "Lucky Man" is the only one I can remember, so it would be interesting to listen again to see what, if anything, comes back, and whether the album has improved with age. After all it is now 53 years old.....

Side One opens with "The Barbarian" which I now know is an arrangement of Hungarian composer Bela Bartok's Allegro Barbarian, a piece written for the piano. I also took the opportunity to listen to one of the performances of the original on YouTube.

The first section might be labelled classic ELP with bombastic organ, bass and drums before leading into what is a fairly faithful reproduction of Bartok's original with just a hint of jazz piano flourishes and supporting drum and gong, before a reprise of the initial arrangement. On my first listen I was thinking what was the point, but on a second hearing I decided I quite liked it.

It wouldn't be a progressive rock album without a track over 10 minutes long, and "Take A Pebble" ticks that box, weighing in at 12 minutes 32 seconds. Beginning with a slow intro of keyboard, bass and percussion before Lake's enters singing a gentle ballad and sounding a lot like Justin Haywood from The Moody Blues. The track moves on to a lively piano break repeating the vocal harmony before fading into soft acoustic guitar and water like percussion effects which reminded me of parts of "Close To The Edge" by Yes. The acoustic guitar leads into a hoe-down rhythm and hand-claps. Another jazz piano interlude follows, which frankly goes on a bit too long before the vocals return to bring the song to its conclusion. I had totally forgotten the track, but overall I liked it, although I felt it could have done with a little editing.

"Knife-Edge" is apparently based on a movement from Czech composer Leos Janacek's orchestral piece "Sinfonietta" with a middle section from Johann Sebastian Bach's "French Suite No 1 in D minor". Another song I had completely forgotten and it was like listening to for the first time and I didn't recall any of it. It starts with just the bass and vocal before the drums and organ join in. You tend to either love or hate Emerson's organ playing and here it eventually falls into the annoying category, especially as the outro goes on way too long. For some reason I kept thinking is sounded like Ian Gillan era Deep Purple ! If the excesses had been curbed, this could have been a decent 3 minute single.

It also wouldn't be a progressive rock album without a track with its title split into several parts and the instrumental "The Three Fates" which opens side two fulfills that criteria, with three sections named after the Three Fates from Greek Mythology.

The first par"Clotho", is notable for its pipe organ, which could feature in a gothic horror movie. "Lachesis" is a baroque/jazz piano piece whilst "Atropos" is manic jazz piano and drums.  There didn't appear to be any involvement from Greg Lake on this track, maybe he was on a cigarette break or stuck in the toilet when they were recording this ? Whilst primarily being a vehicle to demonstrate what a fantastic keyboard player Keith Emerson is, it comes across as showing off, and quite frankly I couldn't wait for it to end.

"Tank" includes a drum solo, something that seemed to be mandatory for live performances for many bands in the 1970s, so it's hardly surprising that a super-group drummer includes one on their first album. It could have been worse, and the track is slightly redeemed by the toe-tapping outro, although again this goes on far too long.

The acoustic guitar ballad "Lucky Man" closes the album, and feels a little out of place with most of what has gone before. The electric guitar solo is enjoyable, but the Moog solo tacked onto the end was probably not necessary but maybe it was felt that Emerson had to be involved on every track one way or the other.

In summary, the album is good in parts, and if the over indulgent excess had been curbed it could have been so much better. In most cases when I have replayed an album, I remember the song once it starts. Here though, I was unable to recall anything apart from "Lucky Man" so it was like hearing it for the first time, and for "The Three Fates" and "Tank", the last time !

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. The Barbarian
2. Take A Pebble
3. Knife-Edge

Side Two :

1. The Three Fates
    1)     Clotho
    2)     Lachesis
    3)    Atropos
2. Tank
3. Lucky Man

Released 1970
UK Chart Position : 4

Singles :

None

Dave Edmunds - Repeat When Necessary

 

 "Repeat When Necessary" was the 5th solo album from Dave Edmunds. The Welshman had initially come to prominence as the guitarist in Love Sculpture, who had a top 5 single in 1968 with the high-speed, electric instrumental "Sabre Dance" from Khachaturian's ballet "Gayane". After Love Sculpture disbanded, Edmunds then had global hit in 1970 with the novelty song "I Hear You Knocking", which reached number 1 in both the UK and US.

Although a few minor hits of covers followed, Edmunds enhanced his reputation when teaming up to much critical acclaim with Nick Lowe, Billy Bremner and Terry Williams to form Rockpile . However, as Lowe and Edmunds were signed to different record labels, Rockpile were unable to release records under their own name. Instead, in 1979 the band went to work on producing two albums, Lowe's "Labour of Lust" and "Repeat When Necessary" for Edmunds. I bought both LPs but the price sticker on the cover shows that I bought "Repeat When Necessary" for £2.25 in Buffalo Records in Cardiff, which suggest I probably purchased it in 1981.

Although I preferred "Labour of Lust", I still thought "Repeat When Necessary" was a good album, but the two records were very different, with Lowe's being a mix of pop, new wave and country songs, whereas Edmunds' was more rock n' roll or rockabilly. 

The other noticeable feature was whilst "Labour of Lust" was nearly all Lowe compositions, "Repeat When Necessary" didn't include anything written by either Lowe or Edmunds. Instead, Rockpile guitarist Billy Bremner wrote or co-wrote three of the songs, former Emmylou Harris guitarist Hank de Vito contributed two songs, whilst Elvis Costello, Huey Lewis and Graham Parker provided one each. The remainder were covers from the 1950s and 1960s.

"Girls Talk", the first single from the album, is often referred to as a cover of the Elvis Costello song, but in fact, Costello gave the song to Edmunds, who significantly rearranged its structure, and Costello only released and recorded his own version a year later as the B-Side to "I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down". It was included on "Taking Liberties", Costello's collection of B-Sides, out-takes, and songs not previously released in the USA, and as this blog comments on that LP, the version by Edmunds is significantly better.

https://fatbearslockdownlps.blogspot.com/2021/10/elvis-costello-taking-liberties.html 

Similarly Graham Parker doesn't appear to have recorded his own version of "Crawling From The Wreckage" until it was included on a live album in 1996. It's a song that led to a change in BBC radio's policy after it was played immediately after a news bulletin which included a story about a number of deaths following a multiple motorway car crash. After several complaints, a review was subsequently introduced to ensure the first song after a news break didn't have any offensive or controversial references to the news content.

Personally, my favourite songs from the album at the time were "The Creature From The Black Lagoon" and the second single "Queen of Hearts". I thought side one was the much stronger side and can recall all 5 tracks, whereas I can now only remember two of the songs on side two.

Listening now to "Girls Talk", the production sounds a little dated by today's standards and the guitar solo doesn't quite seem to fit, but despite that it is still enjoyable to hear again. As always, Costello's lyrics are worth listening to, "There are something you can't cover up with lipstick and powder, thought I heard you mention my name can't you talk any louder ?"

The turbo-charged rockabilly "Crawling From The Wreckage" should have been a much bigger hit. I love the line "crawling from the wreckage, crawling from the wreckage, bits of me are scattered in the trees and in the hedges" !

Billy Bremner's "Creature From The Black Lagoon" remains a great song, has a great guitar solo and could easily have been another single from the album. It also has some superb "King Kong" imagery lyrics, worth repeating some of them at length :

"All he wanted was a lady, when at night he came up from the deep, he was feeling like any other lonely fella, decided to take one while the city was asleep. The unsuspecting maiden was clutched from where she lay and taken away to a hole down under the waters of the local bay. By the creature from the Black Lagoon, strange to see him back so soon. After his last intended did the dirty on him, didn't last five minutes in the swim"

"Sweet Little Lisa" is a slab of 1950's rock n'roll, notable for the the guitar solo by Albert Lee. "There ain't nobody gonna make me shout, ain't nobody gonna put me out, ain't nobody gonna make me do like my sweet little Lisa dos"

"Dynamite" closes slide one and was an early Cliff Richard song. Its perhaps the weakest track on the album.

Side two opens with the country/rockabilly crossover "Queen Of Hearts" which still sounds great.

"Home In My Hand" was previously covered by Brinsley Schwarz, and is a standard boogie.

"Goodbye Mr Good Guy" is more 1950's rock n roll and I could easily imaging Elvis singing it. The chorus is reminiscent of "This Old House", and Edmunds did produce some of Shakin' Stevens' early records.

The slower paced "Take Me For A Little While", covered by Dusty Springfield amongst others appears a little out out place, with a Phil Spector type production and Motown style backing vocals.

Bremner's "We Were Both Wrong" chugs along quite nicely but I couldn't help thinking it has has very close similarities in parts to Ringo Starr's "You're Sixteen" !

Huey Lewis' "Bad Is Bad" closes side two. Lewis, who released his own version several years later, plays Harmonica and it sounds like Dr Feelgood !

In summary, "Repeat When Necessary" was enjoyable to listen again, which its mix of musical styles. The first three songs are very much "modern" new wave for the late 1970s, whilst the subsequent material is a mix of 1950/60 rock n' roll, rockabilly, country and a hint of Motown. All good though !

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. Girls Talk
2. Crawling From The Wreckage
3. The Creature From The Black Lagoon
4. Sweet Little Lisa
5. Dynamite

Side Two :

1. Queen Of Hearts
2. Home In My Hand
3. Goodbye Mr Good Guy
4. Take Me For A Little While
5. We Were Both Wrong
6. Bad Is Bad

Released 1979
UK Chart Position : 39

Singles :

Girls Talk ( No 4 - 1979 )
Queen Of Hearts ( No 11 - 1979 )
Crawling From The Wreckage ( No 59 - 1979 )

 

 

Eddie And The Hot Rods - Thriller

 

Eddie And The Hot Rods' third album was a huge disappointment when it was released. At the time I thought it had one great track ( "The Power And The Glory" ), one half-decent ( Media Messiahs ) whilst the rest was virtually unlistenable. Whereas I had previously like Steve Nicol's high energy drumming, on "Thriller" I found it to be irritating, and I think one review described it as drumming as if he only had only one arm. As a consequence of poor sales of the album, The Hot Rods lost their recording contract with Island Records.

I probably only played the record three of four times, and it was never going to be confused with Michael Jackson's subsequent album of the same name. Hearing it again was not something I was particularly looking forward to but it wasn't actually as bad as I feared, and it wasn't a total dud.

The opening track "The Power And The Glory" remains a great song and in some ways is the "Do Anything You Wanna Do" power-pop anthem of the album. The screeching guitar and bass are great, the tune is decent and fortunately the drums are low down in the mix.

"Media Messiahs" didn't sound as good as I thought it was, but it had a nice guitar solo and is quite catchy.

Of the remainder, "Echoes" and "Breathless" were OK but unexceptional,"Circles" was another song with good guitar but an ordinary tune, and "Out To Lunch" was reasonable boogie, not too dis-similar to Dr Feelgood's "Lucky Seven", although that was hardly a great recommendation as it wasn't one of their better songs.

"He Does It With Mirrors" was just a mess, with feedback, an echo vocal and the guitar which seemed to be playing a different song."Take It Or Leave It" was just awful and "Living Dangerously" was a pointless rehash of "Get Out Of Denver". In many ways this summed up "Thriller" in that the band appeared to have run out of ideas and were no longer clear as to what they were still about or what direction they were heading.

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. The Power And The Glory
2. Echoes
3. Media Messiahs
4. Circles
5. He Does It With Mirrors

Side Two :

1. Strangers
2. Out To Lunch
3. Breathless
4. Take It Or Leave It
5. Living Dangerously

Released 1979
UK Chart Position :50

Singles :

Media Messiahs ( - 1979 )
The Power And The Glory ( - 1979 )

Eddie And The Hot Rods - Life On The Line

 

After the success of their first album, Eddie and the Hot Rods became a five piece with the addition of ex-Kursaal Flyers guitarist Graeme Douglas. Although not from Canvey Island, Kursaal Flyers hailed from Southend-on-Sea, so were still Essex Boys, and were known for the cheesy hit "Little Does She Know" and its famous line "Little does she know that I know that she knows, that I know she's two-timing me".

Jumping on the punk bandwagon, the single "Do Anything You Wanna Do" was released under the shorter moniker "The Rods" although the song itself was more of a classic power-pop anthem rather than punk, and it gave the band their best ever chart placing, peaking at number 9 in the charts.

"Teenage Depression" was essentially a collection of songs penned by guitarist Dave Higgs, plus three covers, of raw, loud, in-your-face hi-energy R&B and a precursor of punk rock. Ironically, the release of "Life On The Life" led to Eddie and the Hot Rods being labelled as a punk band by many, despite the album being much more radio friendly. The change in style was also indicated by only one song being written by Higgs, the 8 minute long psuedo-psychedelic "Beginning Of The End". 

Indeed, the majority of the tracks were written by Douglas and producer Ed Hollis, with also occasional  contributions from the other three members of the Hot Rods. Rather than moving more to punk rock, the impact was instead actually, a move to the mainstream. Not that this was detrimental, and I liked the album, although not as much as "Teenage Depression". Despite there being nothing worthy of the label "R&B", I still thought it was good, but I couldn't say I like the cover art-work.

After a gap of nearly 40 years since I last played the album, I could still recognise six of the songs on the track listing, with only the last three songs on side one being a blank.

The outstanding "Do Anything You Wanna Do" is lyrically still as relevant today as it was back in 1977. "Tired of doing day jobs, with not thanks for what I do, I'm gonna be someone now, I'm gonna find out who". It remains a pop classic, with Byrds' like guitars, hand-claps and sing-a-long verses, never mind the chorus. The only surprise was it that it wasn't a top three song in the charts.

I bought a copy of the single "Quit This Town", albeit from a shop that sold surplus ex-Jukebox records at dirt cheap prices after songs were no longer in the charts. It's a fantastic short pop song, with a great guitar break, and a memorable chorus that clearly inspired The Jam's "Going Underground" three years later.

The reason I couldn't remember the last three tracks on side one was fairly clear, they are the weakest songs on the album. "Telephone Girl" is a fairly standard boogie and like "What's Really Going On" has a funky guitar part. It's hardly Punk, or even R&B for that matter.

"Ignore Them ( Still Life )" was a return to the bass, drum and guitar rhythm from the core of "Teenage  Depression", and seems to be an auto-graphical tale of troubles they got into on a tour of Belgium. As a result, it sounds like they probably would have voted Brexit.....

The title track "Life On The Line" opens side two. It has a slightly slower tempo, some great guitar and a good hook for the chorus.

"( And ) Don't Believe Your Eyes" is another pretty pop song with angst lyrics, much in the vein of "Quit This Town". It has a tasteful guitar solo but listening to it now the drumming seems to be trying to inject some unnecessary urgency where it isn't need, and out of touch with the feel rest of the song, and frankly a bit irritating. However, it's still a good song despite that.

"We Sing.....The Cross" is a mid-tempo guitar led instrumental with a gradual increase in pace as the track progresses. I remember it was heavily criticised at the time of it's release, but it sounds fine to me.

The closing number is "Beginning Of The End" which has many similarities to "On The Run", which was the last track on "Teenage Depression". It's the only Dave Higgs contribution and lasts over 8 minutes, but has a better middle eight to make it more memorable.

In conclusion, "Life On The Line" is still a good album. Despite some reviews, it isn't Punk, but has three outstanding power-pop songs, and several other track hard to categorise but still worth a listen,

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. Do Anything You Wanna Do
2. Quit This Town
3. Telephone Girl
4. What's Really Going On
5. Ignore Them ( Still Life )

Side Two :

1. Life On The Line
2. ( And ) Don't Believe Your Eyes
3. We Sing...The Cross
4. Beginning Of The End

Released 1977
UK Chart Position : 27

Singles :

Do Anything You Wanna Do ( No 9 - 1977 )
Quit This Town ( No 36 - 1977 )
Life On The Line ( No 55 - 1978 )

Eddie And The Hot Rods - Teenage Depression

I first became aware of Eddie And The Hot Rods when their Live At The Marquee EP started to getting significant airplay on Nicky Horne's late night radio show on Capital Radio. Despite being covers, all three songs on the EP were new to me and I thought they were superb. Starting with a high energy version of ? And The Mysterions "96 Tears", then a frantic version of Bob Seger's "Get Out Of Denver" before finishing with a rousing sing-a-long version of Van Morrison's "Gloria", or G-L-O-R-I-A as it perhaps should have been titled. 

The debut album was eagerly anticipated, and it didn't disappoint. Like Dr Feelgood, the Hot Rods came from Canvey Island and the two bands were often compared with each other. However, although the Feelgoods possessed the menace of Lee Brilleaux's vocals, Wilko's spiky guitar and a reputation for their energetic live performances, their rhythm section still gave a smooth sound to their essentially R&B set-list. 

The Hot Rods on the other hand were much more raw, and whilst Dr Feelgood have been labelled as an essential precursor to punk-rock who heavily influenced punk's leading lights, Eddie And The Hot Rods have subsequently been cited as the missing link between pub rock and punk.

Indeed, "Teenage Depression" was loud, fast and full of angst. The 11 songs lasted only a little over 31 minutes but it didn't feel as if the listener was getting short changed. Eight of the tracks were penned by guitarist Dave Higgs, with three covers. Generally, the original songs worked best, with Joe Tex's "Show Me" and Sam Cooke's "Shake" probably being the weakest tracks. However, given the high benchmark that didn't mean they were bad. Another aspect was that the two tracks which were recorded on the same night as the Live At The Marquee EP, "Been So Long" and "The Kids Are Alright", were almost the album's highlights.

As as an indication of how often I must have played all the LP, I could remember all of the songs but it would be interesting to see how good they sounded today 46 years after its release.

Side one begins with "Get Across To You" which is the perfect opener and scene setter for what is to come. Starting with some manic drumming before the urgent guitar joins in, it has has a toe-tapping tune and a crazy guitar solo. 

"Why Can't It Be ?" is another high tempo song, and might perhaps today be labelled as power-pop, and paving the way for the Buzzocks. The bass lines are particularly noticeable.

"Show Me" comes next and is more obviously a R&B song, and the next track, "All I Need Is Money" has a pacy chorus and the attitude that many a punk band espoused.

"Double Checkin' Women" is lyrically the closest to material on this album that Wilko Johnson might have written, and is another track that might be considered to be R&B.

Side One closes with a live version of Pete Townsend's "The Kids Are Alright", and is a good, energetic version of a good song that probably deserved wider exposure, having only reached number 41 as a single for The Who. It's one of my favourites on the album.

The title track and only single from the album starts Side Two, and is perhaps the best studio song on the LP, and has the best riff.

"Horseplay" is the only song to feature piano, but it is low down in the mix so barely noticeable. It is pacy, but probably the most monotone of the 11 tracks on the album.

"Been So Long" is my favourite song on the whole album. The other live recording from the Marquee gig, it has a slightly slower pace, a great bass intro, a jagged guitar riff and the tempo gives the verse space to breathe, before a faster chorus. It should have been the second single.

"Shake" only lasts for 1 minute 30, and feels slightly out of place here, being move of a Twist type song than a prototype punk rock track.

The six-minute finale "On The Run" is a great track but slightly against the grain from the preceding 25 minutes. Although there is a similar angst, paranoia and frustration in the lyrics, musically it borders on the psychedelic, especially the guitar lines, and some weird noises. The spoken "A number, I am not a number" is taken from the cult TV series "The Prisoner" which was enjoying a hugely popular repeat re-run when "Teenage Depression" was released, and in 1977 Dr Feelgood released the album "Be Seeing You", the title being another popular recurring line from the series.

I have to admit that I was worried that "Teenage Depression" might have sounded terribly dated but I needn't have worried as still sounded great and I really enjoyed hearing it again.

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. Get Across To You
2. Why Can't It Be ?
3. Show Me
4. All I Need Is Money
5. Double Checkin' Women
6. The Kids Are All Right

Side Two :

1. Teenage Depression
2. Horseplay ( Wearier Of The Schmaltz )
3. Been So Long
4. Shake
5. On The Run

Released 1976
UK Chart Position : 43

 Singles :

Teenage Depression ( No 35 - 1976 )

Echo And The Bunnymen - Ocean Rain

 

Unlike its predecessor "Porcupine", which wasn't the most commercial offering, "Ocean Rain" took a very different direction with lush orchestral arrangements and being as melodic as Echo and the Bunnymen could get. There was no longer a rich, complex wall of sound but a generally slower tempo, stronger tunes and even acoustic guitars on most of the songs. 

Whereas with "Porcupine" I struggled to remember the songs when looking at the track listing, here there were only two that drew a blank, but my memories were that there wasn't a bad track on the album.

"Silver", the second single from "Ocean Rain" immediately set the tone with strings for an intro for a guitar driven track. "Swung from a chandelier, my planet sweet on a silver salver".

The waltz like "Nocturnal Me" has a military beat and drumming, whilst the strings add an almost ghostly feel to the ending. "Take me internally, forever yours nocturnal me".

"Crystal Days" was much better than I expected. A short pop song with a nice guitar riff, it could easily have been another single from the album.

"The Yo-Yo Man" has tempo similar to "Nocturnal Me" but with a pretty instrumental break with a Chinese vibe.

The dramatic "Thorn of Crowns" closes side one. I'm not really sure what was meant with "c-c-c cucumber, c-c-c cabbage, c-c-c cauliflower, men on Mars, April showers" but they don't write them like that anymore !

Side two starts with "The Killing Moon" by some distance easily the best song ever recorded by Echo and the Bunnymen. Beginning with the sounds of a wind before the guitar motif,  the drums then kick start the song and the bass adds an urgency before the first verse. "Under blue moon I saw you, so soon you'll take me, up in your arms to late to beg you. Or cancel it though I know it must be, the killing time, unwillingly mine". There also a killer guitar break to help build to the dramatic crescendo.

"Seven Seas" is another outstanding single although much softer in nature, and almost happy and optimistic by the Bunnymen's standards. There is a David Bowie "Starman" style acoustic guitar intro and a great bass line to the fore. Another fabulous guitar break leads into a rising middle-eight, before returning to the gentleness of the verses."Seven seas, swimming them so well. Glad to see my face among them kissing the tortoise shell".

"My Kingdom" is a pleasant mixture of melodic acoustic guitar with psychedelic guitar breaks. "B-b-b burn the skin off and climb the roof top, thy will be done. B-b-bite your nose off and make the most of your king-kingdom, kingdom, kingdom"

The album closes with the funereal melodrama of "Ocean Rain" where the strings dominate over a tender guitar refrain. "All hands on deck at dawn, sailing to sadder shores. Your port in my heavy storm harbours the blackest thoughts"

In summary, "Ocean Rain" appears to have stood the test of time well, and remains an outstanding album. I would put it in the rare category of there isn't a bad track on the whole record.

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. Silver
2. Nocturnal Me
3. Crystal Days
4. The Yo-Yo Man
5. Thorn Of Crowns

Side Two :

1. The Killing Moon
2. Sevens Seas
3. My Kingdom
4. Ocean Rain

Released 1984
UK Chart Position : 4

Singles :

The Killing Moon ( No 8 - 1984 )
Silver ( No 30 - 1984 )
Seven Seas ( No 16 - 1984 )