Georgio Moroder – From Here to Eternity

Album: From Here to Eternity (Casablanca, 1978) Chart pos:N/A



In defence of disco Part I.

With Donna Summer being nominated for the Hall of fame some people are riled that the brainchild of many of her biggest hits was overlooked. It was with good reason though as Georgio Moroder’s 70’s disco productions sounds way ahead of its time, yet he was no slouch on his own. From Here to Eternity sounds as hypnotic as Kraftwerk, yet it is more aligned with the dance floor than the avant-garde. It’s an underrated track from and underrated album that’s almost instrumental in the genesis of electronic music. While much disco music sounds horribly dated its amazing how this record has far outlasted much of the music from this era.

Be back soon

Ive just relocated to Leicester from Zummerset to do a postgrad degree, so ive been too busy to post. Hopefully tommorrow i can post somthing up.

Ray Pollard - It's a Sad Thing

Album: N/A (United Artists, 1966) Chart pos: N/A



It’s amazing that in the UK we love to pick up and dust off what Afro-Americans discard. When the blues went out of fashion in the US, delta bluesmen flocked to the UK and were treated like musical royalty. The same happened to forgotten US soul singers when they found their music was popular among the fledgling rare soul scene that was popping up amongst the clubs in the north and the midlands. Ray Pollard was one of those as his song The Drifter was a staple of the Northern Soul scene, as well as today’s song which is his 1966 single It’s a Sad Thing. The track It’s a Sad Thing has always played second fiddle to The Drifter on the Northern Soul scene but in my opinion, the song with its sweeping strings and mariachi horns is much better single. Ray Pollard who sadly died in 2005 managed to capitalize on his success by travelling across the pond to play to the Northern Soul faithful. And despite the fact that in his lifetime he managed to produce only a few singles they will always be remembered well especially by those with a passion for rare soul.

The Magnetic Fields - Its Only Time

Album: i (Nonsuch,2004) Chart pos: N/A



Stephin Merritt is one of America’s best kept secret; imagine a less sexually ambiguous Morrissey being raised in New York rather than Manchester and living on a diet of Steven Sondheim rather than Sandie Shaw then you probably have something close to Stephin Merritt. He is a songwriter who is adept at writing songs about romantic disappointment with a dry, mordant Cole Porter-esque wit. Its only time from The Magnetic Fields 2004 album i is possibly one of the finest song in his vast inventory of material. The song itself starts of as a straightforward piano ballad where Merritt sing his eternal devotion towards a lover which is saved from mawkishness by Merritt’s dry wit and droll delivery as he exclaims ‘Why would I stop loving you a hundred years from now?/ It's only time, It's only time. The song ends off on a repeated refrain of ‘marry me’ with the sound of guitar feedback in the background. All in all this is the perfect soundtrack to a wedding ..ahem civil partnership.
This has been a bit of a belated post as I’ve had quite a busy day packing.

Y'all Never do it Without the Fez on.

I decided to do a t-shirt based tribute to one of the most odd lyrics in music history.

The Dead Kennedys - Let’s Lynch the Landlord

Album: Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables (Alternative Tentacles, 1980) Chart pos: N/A



Despite not being a massive fan of hardcore punk this band has always been a favorite of mine. I was 18 I bought Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables and nothing else got played on my CD player for weeks on end. Even today where I’m more inclined to listen to 10cc and Steely Dan records I still have a soft-spot for the Dead Kennedy’s. I think much of this is down to the pitch black and downright macabre humor of Jello Biafra’s lyrics, which attacks everyone from smug liberals, self serving conservatives to unscrupulous theme park owners with more ferocity than Frank Zappa could ever muster. In Let’s Lynch the Landlord, Jello’s spat out lyrics satirizes greedy landlords with unforgiving vitriol backed with the usual three chord thrash, then midway through the song Easy Bay Ray launches into a solo more akin to surf rock than punk. It was this musical eclecticism as much as the witty social satire which lifted the band out of the early 80’s hardcore punk rank and file. The Dead Kennedy’s went on to make three more albums and an EP never quite reaching the heights of their debut album. In 1986 they endured a messy breakup that ended up with a court case and Biafa losing royalties and the rights to much of his bands back catalogue as a result.

Here’s Jools Holland interviewing Jello Biafra.

The Ramones - It's Gonna Be Alright

Album: Mondo Bizzaro (Chrysalis, 1992) Chart pos: N/A



Mondo Bizzaro is The Ramones most underrated album defiantly a return to form after the chintzy and overproduced Brain Drain. With Ed Stasium back on board the bruddahs regained some sense of dignity after Dee Dee’s departure. With a new label and new bassist in CJ the band had a new lease of life. The song It's Gonna Be Alright is a wonderfully optimistic tribute to their fans that wouldn’t sound out of place on one of their early albums. This song stands up as a hidden gem amongst their vast body of work.

David Holmes - I Heard Wonders

Album: The Holy Pictures (Canderblinks/Mercury, 2008) Chart pos: N/A




Today I am going to look at a song from one of 2008’s most overlooked releases, David Holmes’ fourth album The Holy Pictures. The lead single I Heard Wonders hinted at something closer to the music of Brian Eno and Neu!, with its repetitive and hypnotic rhythms and icy electronic textures with David Holmes very own hushed vocals in the background. The overall effect is the complete opposite of the funky, hip hop influenced electronica of his previous album. Although less outgoing and more leftfield than some of his previous work I Heard Wonders the is still a joyous song, a celebration of life rather than something more downbeat. Its a standout track on an amazing album which encompasses themes such as growing up , loss and fatherhood. Essentially the go to guy for film soundtracks created a soundtrack to his life. This is an album that surely deserves a cult fan base despite the muted critical response and poor sales.

The Treasures - Hold Me Tight

Album: Back to Mono (Abkco,1991) Chart pos: N/A



The song Hold Me Tight from their 1963 album With The Beatles is most probably their weakest song, both Lennon and McCartney have described this song as mere filler. This 1964 this Phil Spector produced single by The Treasures reinvents the song in his trademark reverby Wagnerian doo-wop style creating a lost gem of a song in the process. The song itself rises above the throwaway Beatles composition it covers and becomes a great song in its own right, a pity the single sank without trace on release.

Unfortunately the Back to Mono box set is out of print and is only available to those with deep enough pockets to buy a second hand copy. But is available illegally here, download with caution.

Disc 1:
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?wjuziktaijj
Disc 2:
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?wmzywznwezm
Disc 3:
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?y1mcyodnknn
Disc 4:
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?4z4tjmlxyzy

There Is a reasonably priced Spector compilation availible but unfortunately lacks any rarities (including this song).

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Spector-Definitive-Collection-Various-Artists/dp/B000K2Q8DQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1253355906&sr=1-3

Al Green - How Can You Mend a Broken Heart

Album: Let’s Stay Together (Hi,1972) Chart pos: N/A



A brief post today due to the lack of time, today’s song is Reverend Al's wonderful version of the Bee Gee's rather gloopy ballad How Can You Mend a Broken Heart. Like fellow Memphis native Isaac Hayes, Al Green was adept at tight funk, soulful ballads and making other peoples tunes their own. Here Al stretches out the Bee Gee's 1971 hit to a lushly orchestrated six minutes without stooping to any kind of emotional heavy-handedness. While the Bee Gees sounded a tad melancholy Al Green pours so much emotion into the song that he sounds like a broken man. Despite not being released as a single the song has managed to feature in film’s such as Good Will Hunting and Notting Hill.

Warren Zevon - Desperados Under The Eaves

Album: Warren Zevon (Asylum/Elektra, 1976) Chart pos: N/A



If Elton John was yanked from suburban Pinner and forced to skulk around Hollywood’s darker corners he would probably end up sounding a bit like Warren Zevon. Although Zevon was part of the 70’s west-coast soft-rock milieu his work is full of noirish tinges with songs about prostitutes, heroin addicts and deadbeats, which is not surprising seeing his father had close ties with mobsters. Desperados Under the Eaves the final track from his self-titled album is one of the best examples of Warren Zevon’s skill at crafting brilliant first-person narratives complete with flawed central characters. The narrator in this song is an alcoholic lamenting the fact he’ll still have to pay the bill in his seedy digs and the lack of female companionship.

This song is an example of art imitating life as Zevon throughout his life had drink problems, even garnering the nickname F. Scott Fitzevon in reference to F. Scott Fitzgerald who famously drank himself to a premature death. Despite this, it was melothesioma (a cancer connected to asbestos) which sadly took the life of one of Americas most underrated singer-songwriters in 2003. However the laundry list of famous collaborators on his final album The Wind just goes to show how highly regarded he was by his peers even though his music didn’t sell by the bucket load.

Donald Fagen - I.G.Y.

Album: The Nightfly (Warner Bros,1982) Chart pos: US#26



Donald Fagan’s debut solo album The Nightfly sounded so much like a Steely Dan album that it could almost pass as one. Continuing in the same slick psuedo-jazz vein, Donald Fagan managed to stretch his wry lyricism into a conceptual album about the America of his childhood in the 50’s. I.G.Y the opening track brilliantly sets up the theme of the album, the track deals with pre-Kennedy era patriotism and scientific optimism. Fagan sings from a first person perspective of someone taken in by all the buoyancy of the era while making increasingly improbable predictions as the song progresses. Donald Fagans dryly ironic tone suggests that unlike the line "Well, by '76, we'll be A-OK" that America will be taken down a darker less optimistic road culminating in Vietnam and Watergate.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=GG9RRXTL

The Beatles - Helter Skelter

Album The Beatles [The White Album] (Apple, 1968) Chart pos: N/A

I’ve got blisters on me fingers.

One of the Beatles most famous album tracks, but mostly well known for inspiring a hippie sociopath to associate the name of a amusement park slide as a synonym of race war. The song conceived by Paul McCartney after a boast by Pete Townsend in Melody Maker is arguably the bands finest moment, a song that people mention in the same breath as Hendrix and Cream when describing the genesis of what became heavy metal. On Helter Skelter the guitars sound raw, dirty and thrash along with such ferocity that it borders on proto-thrash metal, far removed from Hendricks’ flowery virtuosity.

Since the Beatles reissue campaign last week there has been much debate as to which version is better, mono or stereo here’s are You Tube videos of both. Its strange how the monaural version despite having more oomph lacks famous the ‘I’ve got blisters on my fingers’ coda and fades out at before the four minute mark. Personally I find it difficult to decide which is better as both have their pro’s and con’s.

The Mono Version



The Stereo Version



Oh and this is for those people who don’t have 200 quid for a mono box set (which is most of us).

http://hotfile.com/dl/11629293/041f39b/White_Album-Mono_2009_Remastered.part1.rar.html

http://hotfile.com/dl/11629248/c7663e4/White_Album-Mono_2009_Remastered.part2.rar.html

http://hotfile.com/dl/11629249/2cf9a31/White_Album-Mono_2009_Remastered.part3.rar.html

http://hotfile.com/dl/11629251/069e919/White_Album-Mono_2009_Remastered.part4.rar.html

Radiohead - Lucky

Album: Ok Computer (Parlophone,1997) Chart Pos : N/A



Dark Side of The Moon 90’s style.

I find it difficult to hate Radiohead despite that the fact that their music has little in the way of levity and I find Thom Yorke's existential angst tiring at times . Ok Computer, thier third album the album that launched Radiohead amongst pantheon of bands deemed critic proof i.e. that means sitting near the top of every sodding top 100 albums list next to The Beatles and U2. But despite the endless praise iv’e never been a huge fan of Ok Computer as I would probably put forward The Bends or Kid A as a better album, yet there are moments on the album that still impress. Lucky, the penultimate track on Ok Computer is one of those , the songs haunting background harmonies and soaring guitars sound scarily like early 70’s era Pink Floyd, possibly sparking the myriad Pink Floyd comparisons. From then on the band found themselves shaking off prog comparisons for the next part of their career while garnering the occasional (if not overtly rapturous) praise from some of prog rock’s old guard, including former members of Pink Floyd.

I thought of adding this video of Miley slagging off Radiohead, its funny the amount of times some Radiohead fans actually defend and condone Thom’s rudeness. I also can remember reading an interview where Jack Black claims he was actually blanked to his face by Thom when Jack complimented him on the show he just played. I wonder how Thom would feel if one of his musical hero’s snubbed him.



Oh and by the way here's a reggae version of the song.

Serge Gainsbourg - Je Suis Venu Te Dire Que Je M'En Vais

Album Vu de L'extérieur (Phillips,1973) Chart pos: N/A



More songs about Whisky & Gitanes.

On an album where the subject matters include sex, flatulence and fecal matter you hardly expect a surprisingly tender break-up song wedged between them. But if you think beyond the whisky, hedonism, womanizing and the televised lewdness you see someone who was at heart a romantic. In the song Je Suis Venu Te Dire Que Je M'En Vais (I Just Came to Tell You i’m Going) Serge bids adieu to a former lover backed with a spare folksy arraignment backed by piano and chiming percussion. This is a good example of the stripped down feel of some of Serge’s early 70’s music. In many ways it's a continuation from the last album (1971’s Melody Nelson) folksy sound minus Jean-Claude Vannier’s strings, yet much of the remainder of Vu de l'extérieur experiments with a laid-back funk style. In the years since his death Serge’s influence seems to grow year by year influencing groups like Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Goldfrapp and The Super Furry Animals. And despite being an ambivalent figure amongst the French in his lifetime his enduring popularity there has seen him compared to such songwriting greats as Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen.

Here’s an obituary from 1991 including one weird clip near the end where a bunch of children dressed like Serge are singing Je Suis Venu Te Dire Que Je M'En Vais with a Gitane an a glass of whisky in their hands while a rather disheveled Serge looks on.



And for an English translation.

R.E.M. - Radio Free Europe

Album: Murmur (I.R.S.,1983) Chart pos: US#78



Music that you can dance to.

R.E.M are one of those bands i usually find either unbearably twee or unbearably sullen so it came as massive shock that after listening to their debut album Murmur i was thoroughly impressed. Their first single Radio Free Europe starts with an echoy drum machine intro before launching into Peter Buck’s trademark jangly guitars while Micheal Stipe showcases his spontaneous stream of consciousness lyrics. The song beautifully recreates Bryds/Big Star jangle pop sound in a more DIY lo-fi post-punk-indie aesthetic much similar to what the Paisley Underground bands in LA were doing at the same time. There is a school of thought that R.E.M. didn’t make anything of merit since 1986 which is something I am starting to agree with and it isn’t down to some kind of haughty musical purism.

The video below is a so bad its good American Bandstand clip where people are dancing like idiots to Radio Free Europe (betcha you don’t see this at an R.E.M gig). Especially the bloke with his hands in his pockets thrusting his crotch in the cameras direction at 0:38.

My White Album Has Arrived

...two days after the latest wave of Beetlemania

and ive been suckerd in by fancy packaging

hmm the new remaster sounds a bit more punchier unlike the weedy original cd's.

but the packaging is so fucking flimsy

Jeff Beck - Beck’s Bolero

Album: Truth (EMI, 1968) Chart Pos UK#14 (as B-side to Hi-Ho Silver Lining)



The lost art of the B-side, part one of an occasional series.

A B-side that has more of a bigger reputation that the novelty hit that it backed, a song that has been described as a being a precursor to both progressive rock and heavy rock. The first part of the song is built around a rhythm similar to Maurice Ravel’s Bolero before launching into his slightly overdriven lead guitar before the sound of crashing symbols heralds a louder heavier changer of gear before reverting back the Bolero rhythm amongst heavily distorted guitar. The song manages to fuse classical and blues-rock influences beautifully while deftly sidestepping any music excess. This is proof alone that the single while a thing of the past in the download age will still be sorely missed, especially the hidden gems that ended up on the flipside.

Oh I decided to include a performance of Bolero in this post, it’s a tune that’s also been pilfered by Andrew Lloyd-Webber but at least Jeff Beck has an original thought in his head unlike that shameless hack.

Outkast - B.O.B.

Album: Stankonia (Arista/ LA Face, 2000) Chart pos UK#61 US#69 (Hip Hop)



I thought today of doing something a bit more mainstream even though this single was as much a big as flop as the rest of the songs I’ve reviewed so far. In 2000 Outkast’s fourth album Stankonia was an album that wowed the public as well as the critics and was also thier international breakthrough. The album fused hip-hop with George Clinton-esque funk and created something that had a more forward thinking attitude that the vast majority of hip hop music has had over the past decade. Although Mrs. Jackson was the smash hit the finest cut (and most leftfield) from the album was the lead single B.O.B (Bombs Over Baghdad). The song launches is to some sped up jungle beats while Andre 3000 and Big Boi trade off rapid fire rhymes before the sound of eerie organs, gospel choirs, scratching and overdriven guitar solos are added into the mix before finishing on an extended chanted refrain. This is the sound of two men throwing in everything but the kitchen sink , while standing back and watching all the elements work together beautifully.

Unfortunately the video here isn’t the official video as the assholes at Sony have disabled embedding.

Syd Barrett visits his accountant.

Just thought i'd put up this funny tribute to Rock n Roll's most famous acid casualty.



Nasty prisms, good sir.

Tom Tom Club - Genius of Love

Album: Tom Tom Club (Island, 1981) Chart pos: US#31



If there was anyone deserving of the moniker ‘the funkiest white woman alive’ I think Tina Weymouth deserves it the most. Its difficult to think how different the post-punk/indie rock landscape would be the same without her lending a funkier edge to Talking Heads arty post-punk . Formed during a lengthy Talking Heads hiatus in the early eighties with her husband (and Talking Heads drummer) Chris Franz the Tom Tom Club couldn’t be more removed from Talking Heads tense and nervy post punk. Instead the band leaned towards a lighter tropical fusion of funk and reggae, though that’s not to say it was any worse than Talking Heads in fact its quite the contrary. The rubbery funk and hushed girly vocals of single Genius of Love may sound twee on paper but in practice it’s a catchy and infectious number that’s almost impossible not to love. The record went on to be their only US top 40 hit and had a following in hip-hop circles and went on to being sampled by Grandmaster Flash and Mariah Carey.



On another note this song is quite an impressive homage to the Tom Tom Club, well its certainly better than Mariah’s shameless pillaging. The song is Chewing Gum By Annie and was a UK top 30 hit for her about two years ago.

Scritti Politti - The Sweetest Girl

Album: Songs To Remember (Rough Trade,1982) Chart pos: UK#64



This entry is a bit different as unlike the other posts I am writing about a group of whose body of work (bar a few songs) I have heard little of, the band in question is Scritti Politti. The band which is essentially a vehicle for singer-songwriter Green Gartside were born out of the post-punk independent rock boom. Gartiside (born Paul Julian Strohmeyer) was an unusual front man ,a pretty boy Marxist who wears his university education on his sleeve by alluding to Marxist thinker Antonio Gramsci (in the title of the band) and writing a song about French theorist Jacques Derrida.

Despite the intellectualism Gartside has always had a certain pop sensibility and their 1981 single The Sweetest Girl is seen as the pivotal moment when the band made the leap from post-punk to pop. I think this record could be more aptly described as a transitional record as it stands somewhere between the slick pop of their later career and their earlier anarcho-punk. Listening to this song with its hissing drum machine, reggae rhythms and looping pianos (courtesy of then label mate Robert Wyatt) it becomes clear that the song is sticks too much to a roughly-hewn lo-fi indie aesthetic, yet Gartside’s move to a falsetto vocal style does hint at what came later. The single however limped into the lower reaches of the charts possibly due to its lo-fi sound and the fact that the song doesn’t stick to a traditional verse chorus verse structure . In 1986 when Scritti Politti were at the height of their fame Madness managed to break the top 40 with their own version of the song.



Last Friday on BBC3 there was a really impressive documentary on Rough Trade charting the label from its beginnings in Ladbroke Grove in the late 70’s to its demise in the 90’s ending with the labels reactivation and newly found success in the new millennium. Gartside and former drummer Tom Morley were interviewed , the documentary is viewable here, enjoy.

Crowded House - Distant Sun

Album: Together Alone (Capitol,1993) Chart Pos: AUS#23 UK#19



This band were the background music to my childhood, my mother had their best of on tape, my dad pinched it and used it in the car and I have childhood memories of me and my dad driving two of my uncles to one of their gigs in Bournemouth circa 1996. So even though I’ve been familiar with this band for ages I’ve never really been much of an admirer until recently. It wasn’t until after discovering Split Enz True Colours album and an appreciation of all things jangly I began to actually enjoy Crowded House. One of my favorite of thier songs is ‘Distant Sun’ the lead single from their Together Alone album. This song proves Neil Finn is quite an impressive songwriter who has a certain aptitude for writing jangly melodies and soaring choruses. This is the kind of music that could fill stadiums, yet at the same time strays away from any sense of empty bombast and pretension.

Sparks - Cool Places (feat. Jane Wiedlin)

Album: In Outer Space (Atlantic,1983) Chart pos: US#49



The 80’s eh, an era of cocaine, neo-liberal economics, mass unemployment, bad fashion, the Cold War and (mostly) bad music, when even respected musicians like Bob Dylan and Neil Young were churning out bad synth-rock. But after a recent critical reexamination the eighties are seen by many as not being so bad after all especially with the current Wonky Pop zeitgeist (another faddish psuedo-genre invented by NME) which includes popular groups like La Roux, Ladyhawke and Alphabeat emulating 80’s synth-driven new wave. It’s a surprise that Sparks new-wavy 80’s material hasn’t been given a critical reappraisal due to the eighties revival fad.

One of the brothers Mael’s better albums of this era was In Outer Space, the opening track and lead single Cool Places actually gave the brothers a modest hit in their own country. With its bouncy synths and guest vocal from The Go-Go’s guitarist Jane Wiedlin it couldn’t be more new wave if they tried any harder. Even so it remains one of their better moments since they said goodbye to blighty. In the video Ron manages to look like some evil 40’s bank manager whose been dragged into the 80’s while Russell is wearing a horrid pink suit and sporting a rather bad haircut.

Here’s a pretty terrible cover version from 80’s children’s TV show Kids Incorporated

Can - I Want More

Album: Flow Motion (Virgin, 1976) Chart pos: UK#26



Krautrock goes disco rock.

In 1976 Can made it on Top of the Pops and even having the honor of Noel Edmunds introducing them on with an obligatory bad pun. The funny thing about this song in particular is that its one I’ve always a soft spot for despite not being a massive fan of the band. Its possibly due to the fact this song sounds a more like a slightly creepy Georgio Moroder production than their earlier avant-garde psychedelic rock with its mix of funky wah wah guitars, hypnotic electronica and distorted vocals. Anyone who likes this song should try and procure a copy of Moroder’s 1977 album From Here to Eternity an album that almost makes disco look credible.

Leonard Cohen - Memories

Album: Death of a Ladies Man (Columbia, 1977) Chart pos: N/A



Leonard Cohen collaborating with Phil Spector in 1977 came as a shock to many. A folkie who preferred sparse arrangements collaborating with a borderline crazy Wagner obsessed pop producer was bound to incite of anger from the purists. While Death of a Ladies Man is in my opinion a very good album it does have its flaws like most as like most of Spector’s late period productions it sounds rough and unfinished. This is because Spector locked Cohen out of the sessions before he could properly finish recording the vocals. Around the same time Len also found himself at a mid-life crossroads in a decaying relationship with the mother of his children and floundering career, and much of this personal turmoil comes out in this record.

On Death of a Ladies man the finest moment comes at the tail end of the first side with Memories which was the only song on the album that managed to become something of a live favorite in later years. The combination of widescreen doo-wop backing to Cohens leering vocals works together beautifully to the point that its impossible to think this song would work better in a another context. The lyrics like many of Cohen’s best songs are full of ambiguities, what appears to be a song about a man making lustful advances at a dance is punctuated by allusions to Nazism especially in the opening line which goes ‘Frankie Lane, he was singing Jezebel/ I pinned an Iron Cross to my lapel'. While the song like many others on the album has been criticised for being more overtly sexual than usual. This is an argument which doesn’t hold much weight as Leonard went on to write lyrics like ‘I need to see you naked/In your body and your thought’ on one of his greatest albums 11 years later.

Btw here’s attempt by The Last Shadow Puppets trying to tackle the song

Magazine - Shot by Both Sides (single version)

Album: Real Life (Virgin, 1978) Chart pos: UK#41

I can remember discovering this song a couple of years ago while I was on the bus home from work , after pressing the random button on my mp3 player this song popped up and the nihilistic post-punk struck an instant chord and from then on I was hooked. Magazine was a band that occupied a strange place in the UK’s post-punk landscape, being too virtuoso to be punk, too nihilistic to be New Wave or New Romantic (despite Formula, McGeoch and Adamson’s ties with Visage) and not quite dark enough to be part of the fledgling Goth scene (although McGeoch left them in 1980 to join Siouxsie and the Banshees).

Shot by Both Sides was the bands first single and the shows the band at their most raw, with the song based around a riff that was also used on The Buzzcocks B-side Lipstick (hence Shelley’s co-writing credit). The is quite unique musically amongst their body of work as it fits easily into the post-punk zeitgeist, while the lyrics could be seen as a metaphor for Devoto’s desire to break free from punk’s sloganeering and empty political statements. Dave Formula’s menacing synths were non existent here (he was yet to join the band) and Barry Adamson’s criminally underrated bass playing isn’t pushed to the fore as it would in later releases. So while this single was possibly one of the greatest opening statements of post-punk the band went on to bigger and better things and created a unique sound that has been continuously emulated by others, especially bands like Simple Minds and Maximo Park.

Unfortunatly i couldn't find the single version on You Tube so this will have to do. In this video Devoto looks quite androgynous in a balding Brian Eno esque sorta way.

Public Image Ltd - Rise

Album: Album (Virgin, 1986) Chart pos: UK #11



John Lydon is one of those people who comes across as rude and obnoxious while at the same time articulate and brutally honest. A case in point is this 1979 appearance on Juke Box Jury, a moment so surreal I felt like I was watching a Monty Python sketch.Joan Collins, Alan Freeman and Elaine Page are next to John Lydon on the jury and it couldn’t be any weirder if they were on the same panel with Genghis Kahn or Attila the Hun as Johnny looks like the archetypal fish out of water. The most amusing thing is that while Freeman prefers to launch into some dull hyperbolic spiel on generic disco records, Johnny on the other hand approached each tune with a short derisory statement. The best bit is when Lydon describes a single by a ten-a-penny punk band (The Monks) as ‘patronizing rubbish’ much to Fluff’s shock and awe before going into a rant about how he wishes to distance himself from the kind of music he made four years earlier. Pretty ironic seeing Mr. Lydon has over the last ten years made a living from digging up a legacy best left buried.



Some followers of his music seems to chart his decline from rock legend to rock caricature from the late eighties when he released Album in 1986. The somewhat unfair criticism of the album is possibly down to the fact that this was a PiL album in name only. Levene and Wobble were long gone and instead of a solid line-up there were a revolving door of session musicians brought in by producer Bill Laswell including Steve Vai, Ginger Baker and Ryuichi Sakamoto. The single Rise was a big departure from their recognized sound instead of Wobbles bouncy bass lines and Levine’s cold, metallic guitar work we have pounding drums and jangly guitars backing Lydon’s offbeat lyrics about apartheid, racism and torture. The song itself possibly ranks as the poppiest moment since Lydon made a music career out of offending royalists, despite the allusions to torture.