The Only Ones - Even Serpents Shine

 

I'm not sure how I got into The Only Ones. I think I may have heard the single "You've Go To Pay" on Nicky Horne's late night show on Capital Radio or maybe read a good review in Sounds or The New Musical Express. Whatever it was, after purchasing "Even Serpents Shine" I loved it straight away, and would play the album several times a day at home. 

It didn't sound like anything I had heard before, and I thought every track was brilliant. However, after playing the album in the School 6th form common room I discovered The Only Ones were an acquired taste and I was the only one who had acquired it, everyone else hated it !

Whereas The Only Ones' first album was a mixture of musical styles, "Even Serpents Shine" easily fitted into the new wave tag with a consistent set of brilliant songs, intelligent lyrics and brilliant playing dominated by virtuoso guitar of John Perry. Peter Perrett enhanced his persona of the elegantly wasted romantic poet of new wave with his distinctive vocals, which often drew comparisons with Lou Reed.

I thought the opening four numbers where just about perfect, and the standard didn't falter over the over 7 tracks

The album commences with the stunning "From Here To Eternity", a mid-tempo song with great drumming and a superb guitar solo for the fade out. Some of the lyrics are brilliant too and is where the album title comes from. "Such a tender age to sell her soul for dreams that don't come true. She's like a woman whose whole life has dissolved, she's the living proof that all that glitters is not gold and even serpents shine. Ah, she got bitten then, she'll get bitten again while I'm sitting here watching the tide come in" & "I got us into this, I've gotta get us out now. It's you and me all the way. From here to eternity it's you and me all the way"

"Flaming Torch" is a lively toe tapper with a dreamy organ line. "It's a crime I'm always in the wrong place at the wrong time"

"You've Go To Pay" has a jerky staccato rhythm for the verse and a great chorus with backing vocals from Koulla Kokoulli.

"No Solution" is much faster pace, notably for its driving bass playing but the mode slows with "In Betweens" opening with the sound of waves and seagulls noises from Perry's guitar. Again the drums and bass from Mike Kellie and Alan Mair are fabulous together with languid guitar solos, and there is a big finish for the end.

Side one closes the jaunty "Out There In The Night" which I thought was song of lost love, but later I read it was written after Perrett's cat went missing ! Kokoulli provides more vocals and there is another killer guitar solo.

The slower paced "Curtains For You" opens side two and has an ominous, menacing guitar intro.

"Programme" is played at a manic pace, and I can now see a hint of The Buzzocks, and X-Ray Spex when the sax comes in.

"Someone Who Cares" is a change of pace with some lovely piano and finishes with some organ notes which wouldn't be out of place on New Order songs circa 1986-89. "I'm scared of losing the most precious thing I own, wake up one day to find the bird has flown"

"Miles From Nowhere" is an uptempo number and has a beautiful guitar break. "I wanna die in the same place I was born, miles from nowhere".

"Instrumental" as the title suggests, it's an instrumental until near the end line when "Baby, you're just instrumental, just instrumental" is sung twice in echo. It starts with an almost oriental acoustic guitar before the melody is played by an electric guitar backed by the bass and drums. After a searing guitar break the lyric is sung again but this time in clear focus.

In summary, "Even Serpents Shine" sounds just a brilliant now as it did in 1979 !

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. From Here To Eternity
2. Flaming Torch
3. You've Go To Pay
4. No Solution
5. In Betweens
6. Out There In The Night

Side One :

1. Curtains For You
2. Programme
3. Someone Who Cares
4. Miles From Nowhere
5. Instrumental

Released 1979
UK Chart Position : 42

Singles :

You've Go To Pay ( - 1979 )
Out There In The Night ( - 1979 )

The Only Ones - The Only Ones

 

I only purchased The Only Ones debut album after playing to death the fabulous "Even Serpents Shine", their second release. I knew the critically acclaimed "Another Girl, Another Planet" but hadn't heard any of the other tracks before. I thought it was a good album, but not a patch on "Even Serpents Shine" and at the time I thought "The Whole Of The Law" was the best track on the album. 

Because of the "Another Girl, Another Planet" single, The Only Ones, led by singer/song writer Peter Perrett were considered to be punk/new wave but this album had a wide range of musical styles with very little that was punk rock. Instead, there was some lounge lizard jazz, samba beats and three gentle, slow numbers. It was simply a collection of very good songs, which lyrically tended to be either about suffering in love, or warnings over the danger of drugs. 

The stunning "The Whole Of The Law" starts the album with sensuous sax, gently strummed electric guitar, terrific bossa-nova drumming and an emotional vocal. There is also a great sax outro to finish. It's a song of rare beauty, in just under two minutes.

"Another Girl Another Planet",  the hit single that never was, follows. Despite being re-released several times and hailed as a classic by most critics, it was never a Top 50 hit, but regularly features on the "Best Of...." punk/new wave compilations., It has a super intro, an out of this world guitar solo, a memorable chorus and great lyrics, and is rightly considered to be a rock anthem. "I always flirt with death, I look ill but I don't care about it." & "Space travel's in my blood, there ain't nothing I can do about it, long journeys wear me out, but I know I can't live without it".

"Breaking Down" has a much slower tempo, with jazz overtones until the chorus and the girly backing vocals. The electric piano solo though can only be described as jazz.

"City of Fun" is an uptempo 60s style rocker but is a bit of a filler, and the weakest track on the album.

Side One closes with the epic "The Beast" which weighs in at nearly six minutes long. It begins slowly, beginning with gentle guitar and cow bells but ends with some guitar pyrotechnics for a big finish. The beast in this instance is heroin. "Run from the beast, there's danger in his eyes. He's been looking for you for a long time, you might think this is funny, but I'm not laughing, I know it couldn't happen to me" & "'I've tried to show you your whole life in print, you can lead a horse to water but you cant make it drink, think about it! All you gotta do is think about it, there's no cure".

"Creature Of Doom" has a slow, grand opening before launching into a jerky rhythm before a glorious chorus. It's another song about the danger of drugs "I know something that you don't know".'

"It's The Truth" is a gentle song with the intro being just the lead vocal, acoustic guitar and girly backing vocal. It's another brilliant melody, and the second verse has an understated organ accompaniment. The song finishes with a short, tender guitar solo. "I gotta talk to you but it's the last time I'm ever going to".

The tone changes with the frantic "Language Problem" which is probably the closest The Only Ones get to sounding like punk on the album.“My parents told me that love don't exist just for pleasure so I guess I'll throw in some pain for good measure.”

The gentle tone returns with "No Peace For The Wicked" which is semi acoustic, semi samba, and has a killer guitar break.“Why do I go through these deep emotional traumas ? Why can't I be like I always wanted to be, carefree?”

The album closes with "The Immortal Story", another contender for the best track on the album award. A lively romp, with some more samba flavoured keyboards, a call-and-answer vocal by Perrett leading into a cacophony of guitar histrionics and feedback from John Perry to end the album. “I used to dream of this. I'd lay awake at night imagining this" & "Travelling down the road that leads to to fame and glory, this really is the immortal story".

Listening again to "The Only Ones" 46 years after its release it still sounds very good, and I liked two slow numbers "It's The Truth" and "No Peace For The Wicked" more now than I did back then !

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. The Whole Of The Law
2. Another Girl, Another Planet
3. Breaking Down
4. City Of Fun
5. The Beast

Side Two :

1. Creature of Doom
2. It's The truth
3. Language Problem
4. No Peace For The Wicked
5. The Immortal Story

Released 1978
UK Chart Position : 56

Singles :

Another Girl, Another Planet ( No 56 - 1992 re-release )

 

New Order - Technique

 

I bought Technique shortly after it was released, and thought it was the best New Order album up to that point. Although the use of electronics, programming, sequencing etc continued to increase, there was still plenty of indie dance/pop, and the tunes were consistently good. It was hardly a surprise it was a number 1 album in the UK.

"Run" was my favourite track and I was puzzled to later read the New Order had been sued by John Denver's Estate for similarities to "Leaving On A Jet Plane".

Listening to "Technique" again over 35 years later, I noticed a distinct split between the traditional guitar and bass indie tracks, which in places now tended to sound like The Cure and the electronica, which sounded like The Pet Shop Boys, with the Balearic club/acid house "Fine Time" an outlier.

Side One opens with "Fine Time" which I didn't like much at the time and it is still my least favourite track on the album. Heavy with electronic bass, drums and synths and a ridiculously deep "sex-god" vocal.

Fortunately "All The Way" goes back to their  traditional guitar and bass orientated indie pop with bass, drums and strummed guitar and a nice melodica motif before the second verse and again in the outro. There is a hint of The Cure's "Just Like Heaven". "It takes years to find the nerve to be apart from what you've done. To find the truth inside yourself and not depend on anyone" Hint of Just like Heaven..

"Love Less" is one of the highlights on "Technique". A mellow song with more melodic bass and rhythmic acoustic guitars, it's another song that could be The Cure. "Can't you see? Why don't you look at me? It's not your right to be so much my enemy".

"Round And Round" is back to the sequencing and electronic music but it now sounds like The Pet Shop Boys. Despite that, it is quite hypnotic. "The picture you see is no portrait of me. It's too real to be shown to someone I don't know. And it's driving me wild, it makes me act like a child".

"Guilty Partner" is another proper song with great driving bass and here the drums sound real. It has a Spanish guitar style solo. "I'm not some kind of foolish lover. I couldn't take this from no other. You're not being cool with me 'cause I always know you'll come back to me. Yes, you'll come back to me".

"Run" starts Side Two and remains my favourite song on the album. I still don't see much similarity to "Leaving on a Jet Plane" apart from perhaps the guitar solo between verses at a stretch could be vaguely similar to Denver's verse ? If that is the basis of the out of court settlement and Denver getting a song-writing credit, then just about every song could be sued by somone, music only has eight notes ! Anyway, I love the slow synth break and drums before the bass and guitars join in for the big finish.   "Answer me, why won't you answer me? I can't recall the day that I last heard from you. Well, you don't get a tan like this for nothing so, here's what you've got to do. You work your way to the top of the world then you break your life in two".

"Mr Disco" is dominated by the bass and electronic noise but has quite a decent tune. The electronic hand-clapping sounds are a bit cliched but I quite like them ! It's another one that could be The Pet Shop Boys. "I can't find my peace of mind because I need you with me all of the time. I used to think about you night and day, I used to feel what language cannot say". "Ibiza, Majorca and Benidorm too, these are the places I never found you".

"Vanishing Point" is another disco track with electronic bass, drums and synths. I like the rising piano and bass leading into more Pet Shop Boys synths and vocals. "My life ain't no holiday. I've been through the point of no return. I've seen what a man can do. I've seen all the hate of a woman too".

The album closes "Dream Attack" starts with strummed guitar and heavy drums, then there are some lovely guitar lines before being joined by the bass and then the vocal comes in. There is a nice piano break after the first verse and the chorus. "I don't belong to no one but I want to be with you. I can't be owned by no one what am I supposed to do?  I can't see the sense in you leaving, all I need is your love to believe in".

In summary, despite now recognizing that some it sounds like other bands, "Technique" remains a fantastic album.

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. Fine Time
2. All the Way
3. Love Less
4. Round And Round
5. Guilty Partner

Side Two :

1. Run
2. Mr Disco
3. Vanishing Point
4. Dream Attack

Released 1989
UK Chart Position : 1

Singles :

Fine Time ( No 11 - 1988 )
Round And Round ( No 21 - 1989 )
Run ( No 49 - 1989 )

New Order - Substance 1987

 

This compilation of 12 inch singles or re-recordings was my way into discovering New Order. I had previously purchased the "Shellshock" single but that was the only track I knew apart from "True Faith", which was released at more or less the same time as Substance 1987 ( and I also bought ), and the mega-hit "Blue Monday". Embarrassingly, I had not heard the rest before, despite nearly all of them getting into the charts !

I adored this album and played it a lot, leading me to start acquiring several of New Order's earlier albums.

"Ceremony" was a Joy Division song that has a bass intro, great guitar and drums. The vocal is low in the mix and I've only recently seen the lyrics. I had always thought it was "While I break them down on the seashore, heaven knows it's got to be bedtime", but it is actually "Oh, I'll break them down, no mercy shown, heaven knows, it's got to be this time" !

"Everything's Gone Green" features bass, drums, sequenced synths and electronic noises and the rhythm is not too dis-similar to Blue Monday. For some reason it was only released as a single in Belgium but was available on import. Listening to it now I found it fairly dull.

I had read that The Cure had been jumping New Order's train, which I didn't understand at the time but hearing "Temptation" I could see that the intro was "borrowed" by The Cure for "In Between Days" but instead played on acoustic guitars. "Up, down, turn around, please don't let me hit the ground. Tonight, I think I'll walk alone, I'll find my soul as I go home. Ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh"

There can't be many people who haven't heard "Blue Monday" but it continues to grow on me after not particularly liking it much when it first came out.

"Confusion" is a plodding electro dance track, heavy drumming, electronic beats, funky bass. I thought the backing chant was "Future" but it is actually "Confusion" !

"Thieves Like Us" has a slow synths and drums intro before leading into a Human League style synth lines. The vocal isn't the greatest, perhaps they should have invited Phil Oakley to sing it !

"The Perfect Kiss" has a jerky bass intro, drums, then the electronic beat before finally a glorious synth line. I love the lengthy outro with mesmerising synths, artificial sounds of croaking frogs, then hypnotic bass. "Then I knew it from the start this friend of mine would fall apart. Pretending not to see his gun I said, "Let's go out and have some fun".

"Sub-culture" is an Ibiza style disco/club anthem with soulful female backing vocals. "In the end you will submit. It's got to hurt a little bit".

"Shellshock" has another great intro with synth lines and an electronic beat before launching into the melody and a great chorus "Hold on! It's never enough. It's never enough until your heart stops beating. The deeper you get, the sweeter the pain. Don't give up the game until your heart stops beating"

The intro to "State Of The Nation" has synths, electronic beats and bass and the bass, synth and guitar all take their turns in playing the melody as solos in the extended outro. Along with "Confusion" its a relative rarity in that the song title actually features in the lyrics.

"Bizarre Love Triangle" is an extended version of the song on "Brotherhood", with a lot more electronic sounds, more drum parts, a lovely synth break and decoded vocal part.

"True Faith" was their breakthrough single in the US and their highest charting single in the UK up to that point, and is an almost perfect combination of dance pop and electronica. The accompanying video of costumed men slapping each other was highly acclaimed.

In summary, I would categorise nine of the twelve tracks as astounding, with "Everything's Gone Green", "Confusion" and "Sub-culture" in the OK category.

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. Ceremony ( 1981 - No 34 )
2. Everything's Gone Green ( 1981 - )
3. Temptation ( 1982 - No 29 )

Side Two :

1. Blue Monday ( 1983 - No 9 )
2. Confusion ( 1983 - No 12 )
3. Thieves Like Us ( 1984 - No 18 )

 

Side Three :

1. The Perfect Kiss ( 1985 - No 46 )
2. Sub-culture ( 1985 - No 63 )
3. Shellshock ( 1986 - No 28 )

 

Side Four :

1. State Of The Nation ( 1986 - No 30 )
2. Bizarre Love Triangle ( 1986 - No 56 )
3. True Faith ( 1987 - No 4 )

 

Released 1987
UK Chart Position : 3

  

New Order - Brotherhood

 

Brotherhood was New Order's fourth studio album and at the time I thought it was the best they had released. The sticker shows I paid £6.29 for the LP but it is not clear from where I bought it.

I liked every track on the album as the band moved away from the dance-rock hybrid of "Power, Corruption & Lies" and towards "post punk", but with their strongest collection of melodies. 

The only song I had heard before was "Bizarre Love Triangle" as the 12 inch version was on the "Substance 1987" compilation, although I was unaware it had been their breakthrough single in the USA as I had not heard it when it was released as a single in the UK and got no higher than 56 in the UK chart. The song was subsequently used in the film "Married To The Mob", which starred Michelle Pfeiffer.

It was sometime after that I discovered that side one was supposed to have the "post punk" material whilst side two was "electronica". To me though, the only significant difference was perhaps the drums on side one were real but electronic on side two ?

"Paradise" opens side one with some crisp drumming then a synth bass line. The chorus has a lot of uncharacteristic "Sha-la-la-la-la"s which makes it quite catchy. "If we left this town we could walk the Earth together. If you let me down I will live in you forever".

The uptempo "Wierdo" is dominated by thrashy guitar  "Just like the ocean or the sea. Just like the blood that burns in me. Someone like you cannot be free. Just like a lock without a key"

However, the pace changes with "As It Is As It Was" which begins with a slow acoustic guitar intro, then the drums and bass come in. "I've kept my head against the wall, I've been this way for so long now. You weren't exactly falling over yourself when last I saw you. Well I always thought we'd get along like a house on fire, until you told me that I'd have to go. How can someone like you, work that slow?"

The post punk vibes return with "Broken Promise" which has an urgent bass and guitar intro. "And I never could believe it, and I never could be true. For the things that mean so much to me, don't mean that much to you"

Heavy drumming gets "Way Of Life" under way and around the two minute mark there is a killer guitar solo after which the bass and drums take over. "Who do you think you're talking to? When I look at you I know you're lying. All you say and do seems to fall apart and leave you crying".

Side two starts with "Bizarre Love Triangle", in which electronic beats and synthesized strings dominate.

"All Day Long"is a pretty but sad song, with Wagnerian style synths and then a lovely guitar break. "This is a song about an innocent who died at the hands of a desperate man. He trusted those who he thought he knew. He trusted those who he looked up to".

"Angel Dust" is perhaps the weakest song on the album. There's a simple one note at a time piano break, and dramatic synth strings. It's a decent track, but simply pales in comparison with the rest of the album.

The album finishes with "Every Little Counts", which is my favourite track. Starting with bass and cymbals not too dis-similar to Lou Reed's "Walk On The Wild Side", Bernard Sumner burst out laughing when trying to sing "I think you are a pig". However, the song continues and has some gorgeous guitar and synth strings. The guitar break plays the melody and a great synth motif comes in near the end. The track then the sound of a record being scratched by the needle to finish.

Having heard "Brotherhood" for the first time in over thirty years, it remains a fantastic album.

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. Paradise
2. Wierdo
3. As It Is As It Was
4. Broken Promise
5. Way Of Life

Side One :

1. Bizarre Love Triangle
2. All Day Long
3. Angel Dust
4. Every Little Counts

Released 1986
UK Chart Position : 9

Singles :

Bizarre Love Triangle ( No 56 - 1986 )

 

New Order - Power, Corruption & Lies

 

As written in the review of "Movement", I first started to get into New Order around 1986 when they released the single "Shellshock", which I bought, and then the 1987 compilation album "Substance". I then subsequently worked backwards until I got to their 1983 release "Power, Corruption & Lies", which was their second album.

Frankly, it was a record that I struggled to relate to. Whilst I took an instant like to the outstanding "Age Of Consent" I struggled to really like too much of the rest, and now only vaguely recall "Your Silent Face" and "Leave Me Alone".

I subsequently learnt that the album was highly acclaimed, with its heavy use of synthesizers, being a definitive break from their Joy Division past, and pioneering the dance-rock hybrid music of the 1980s. Not that I knew this at the time. It was released at more or less the same time as "Blue Monday" which became a huge hit worldwide, but was a song I was ambivalent about when it was released in 1983, but liked it on the "Substance" LP four years later.

The album cover was confusing, with no name, title or track listing, which were only circularly written on the disc and not easy to read, so you were reliant on recognizing it by the flowers on the front.

Side One opens with the fantastic bass riff of "Age Of Consent". I love the soaring synths that come in around 1 minute 40 followed by the guitar break. The drumming is also impressive. It's an almost perfect track.

The pace and mood changes with the "We All Stand". Starting with a slow jazz/funk bass line and synth motif before a gloomy vocal. It could have been on Joy Division's "Closer". "Three miles to go"

"The Village" has an upbeat bass and keyboards, and by New Order's standards is almost happy. "Our love is like the flowers, the rain, the sea and the hours".

"5 8 6" has a very Kraftwerk intro before morphing after nearly two minutes into virtually a copy of the riff from "Blue Monday". "I see danger" & "I heard you calling". It slows down and splutters for the finish as if running out of power.

The side two opener "Your Silent Face" has more nice synths over a hypnotic electronic beat. The bass plays the synth lines for the instrumental break then the guitar takes over before then the synths return. There is also some whimsical melodica. "You've caught me at a bad time, why don't you piss off".

"Ultraviolence" has funky bass and drums and a computerized dance beat in the vein of "Blue Monday".

"Ecstasy" has a robotic Kraftwerk type encoded vocal, think Space Lab, over throbbing bass and drums. Otherwise its virtually an instrumental.

"Leave Me Alone" is a great closing track. It has another great bass line intro with some pretty guitar playing and a lovely melody. It is both beautiful and sad, and  reminded me a little of "Every Little Counts" from Brotherhood.  "But from my head to my toes, from my knees to my eyes. Every time I watch the sky, for these last few days leave me alone. But for these last few days leave me alone, leave me alone".

I have to say "Power, Corruption & Lies" was so much better than I remembered it to be. I liked all of the tracks except for maybe "We All Stand".

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. Age Of Consent
2. We All Stand
3. The Village
4. 5 8 6

Side One :

1. Your Silent Face
2. Ultraviolence
3. Ecstasy
4. Leave Me Alone

Released 1983
UK Chart Position : 4

 

New Order - Movement

 

I first started to get into New Order around 1986 when they released the single "Shellshock", which I bought, and then the 1987 compilation album "Substance". I then subsequently worked backwards until I got to their 1981 release "Movement", which was first album in their new guise after the demise of Joy Division.

Three singles, "Ceremony", "Procession" and "Everything's Gone Green" had been previously been released and been minor hits, and I was familiar with "Ceremony" and "Everything's Gone Green" from the Substance album, but none of these were included on this album. Indeed, none of New Order's first eight singles were include on any of their albums at the time of their release.

The sticker on the cover shows I paid £6.49 in Our Price records, but looking at the track listing I don't remember a single song ! I can't even recall what I thought of the album at the time I bought it.........

Side one begins with "Dreams Never End", which is sung by bass player Peter Hook, with the vocal low in the mix and sounding a lot like Ian Curtis. The music though is the style New order would move to later in the 1980s. The intro has a twangy lead bass melody and is then joined by the guitar, before launching into the driving main part of the song at just under the one minute mark. A Post punk sound, it could have been a single. It's a really good song, and I am disappointed with myself in that I had no recollection of it !

"Truth" is sinister, with yet another fantastic bass line and haunting oriental style synths, and an occasional burst of guitar. It sound like a Joy Division song.

"Senses" can perhaps be described as post punk funk but this time it's Bernard Sumner who sings like Ian Curtis.

The fairly danceable "Chosen Time" closes side one although I can't say I really liked what appear to be video game sound effects in the overlong outro.

"ICB" opens side two, with the initials widely believed to stand for Ian Curtis Burial. There's another bass intro, with the drums generating a marching a beat but overall it's a bit of a dirge. There are also some more fairly pointless sound effects, clearly someone had been given a new toy to play with !

"The Him" starts with slow tribal drums and the bass line. The pace increases in the middle before returning to the slow bass line and the drum patterns and the mournful vocal. Just when you think the song has finished it continues with some pacy thrashy guitar with the drums and bass.

"Doubts Even Here" is the second track sung by Peter Hook., sounding again like Ian Curtis. Gillian Gilbert has some spoken lines towards the end of the song but it is difficult to hear what she is saying.  It's another gloomy song that again wouldn't have been out of place on Joy Division's "Closer" as a filler.

"Denial" has a rattling drum intro, then the guitar riff before the joining the bass increases the tempo. However, its a pretty dull track although the synth lines towards the end are quite nice.

"Movement" is clearly the work of a band unsure of what direction to be heading in, and in many parts sounds like the next Joy Division album rather than the first New Order LP. With the tragic loss of their vocalist, they didn't have a ready made front man and for the want of not knowing anything better or yet having their own style, the vocals either attempt to sound like the late Ian Curtis, or are very low down in the mix.

In playing the album I did not remember any of the songs, and I am sorry to say only the vaguely commercial "Dreams Never End" and "Truth" are probably the only ones I would want to listen to again. The rest aren't bad but there is nothing as remotely interesting as say "Atrocity Exhibition", "A Means To An End" or "The Eternal" on "Closer".

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. Dreams Never End
2. Truth
3. Senses
4. Chosen Time

Side One :

1. ICB
2. The Him
3. Doubts Even Here
4. Denial

Released 1981
UK Chart Position : 30