I'm not a huge fan of bass players as a rule, as I am generally suspicious of any highlighting of musical talent above songwriting ability, but there some bass guitarists who I admire. One is Jah Wobble, purely for his playing on the first Public Image single. It's basically two notes but he generates a wonderful rumble that is as much part of the record as John Lydon's singing. He repeats the task with tonight's opening song, taken from the PIL first LP.Ìý
While I'm at it, here's the rest of the bass players list. Dee Dee Ramone.
Public Image - Low Life
Clash - The Right Profile
Wedding Present - At The Edge Of The Sea
Subway Sect - Vertical Integration
Iron Cross - Live For Now
Barracudas - I Can't Sleep
Au Pairs - Domestic Departure
Mo-dettes - White Mice
Teenage Jesus & The Jerks - Orphans
Farmers Boys - The Way You Made Me Cry
Patti Smith - Kimberley
Captain Beefheart - Gimme Dat Harp Boy
Rejects - Stir Crazy
Gods Gift - Discipline
Sorry for the delay, I couldn't find the 'enter' button on the computer.
What happens when one of your songwriters leaves, Ìýtaking one of his best songs with him? I reckon that's what happened when Richard Hell left the Heartbreakers, the band he formed with Johnny Thunders, when both found themselve at a loose end in New York in 1975. Richard had a great song called 'Love Comes In Spurts' which bears a resemblance to a song of a different name which surfaced on the Heartbreakers LP in 1977. Could be a complete coincidence, of course. Or collaboration.
Tonight we also haveÌýsix brothers, or to be more accurate, four brudders and two brothers. The Ramones meet the Paleys, from the Rock n Roll High School soundtrack. They found common ground with the Ritchie Valens song, I presume. Its not bad, but there's too much Paley and not enough Ramone for my taste
Ìý
Richard Hell - Love Comes In Spurts
Ramones & Paley Brothers - C’mon Let’s Go
Stoat - Office Girl
Sham 69 - Angels With Dirty Faces
Five Or Six - Another Reason
Echo & The Bunnymen - Villiers Terrace
Eddie & The Hot Rods - The Kids Are Alright
Microdisney - This Liberal Love
Magazine - You Never Knew Me
Splodgenessabounds - Blown Away Like A Fart In A Thunderstorm
Stiff Little Fingers - Wasted Life
Downbeats - Daddy’s Been Working
Count Five - Declaration Of Independence
Joy Division - She’s Lost Control
I like aÌýgroup that makes one great record and then decides not to hang around afterwards. The Table were one such band, who predated punk rock but managed to make their OGRÌý just in time to be labelled punk. They weren't punk , of course, they were quite possibly hippies, but I don't know for sure because they are untraceable. Unless IÌýemploy private detectives. There's a thought.
Another thoughtÌýfor Rob Tyner, mighty afro-ed singer with the MC5, who died twenty years ago this week.ÌýGreat rock and roll starÌýwho enjoyed the rise in the band's reputation when young punk rockers in 1977Ìýreclaimed their first two LPs from the racks of deleted records. What else ? Oh yes, The Exploited, in response to a call from some listeners to revisit the 1980s class of punk rocking minstrels. Just because they had mohican haircuts didn't mean they made bad records. Not the most elegant sentence construction but fitting for bands like the Exploited.
Ìý
The Table - Do The Standing Still
Teardrop Explodes - Treason
The Cold - Wake Up
That Petrol Emotion - Spin Cycle
McCarthy - Monetaries
Velvet Underground - Hey Mr Rain
MC5 - High School
Young Marble Giants - Music For Evenings
Exploited - Dead Cities
Flamin' Groovies - Slow Death
Hard Ons - All Set To Go
Dictators - Baby Lets Twist
New York Dolls - Personality Crisis
Lurkers - Countdown
Despair - Andy Warhol
I saw Nick Lowe on Breakfast TV this morning sitting on the sofa talking about his new LP. The sound was turned down but he looked great. Nick was the punk rock producer of choice, certainly on this side of the Atlantic. Apart from his work at Stiff , where he earned the (Nick)name 'Basher' (as in 'bash it down and we'll add reverb later'), he also produced the first four Elvis Costello LPs, each one very different from the last. By the fourth, in 1980, Elvis had decided to do a Motown/Stax record. At least that's how I heard it described, but 'Get Happy' is more than that. It had twenty songs on it, which in the days of vinyl meant a considerable effort on the part of the man who masteredÌýtheÌýrecord to squeeze all the tracks on to it. NowadaysÌýyouÌýcan buyÌýit as aÌýdoubleÌý45 rpm LP which is , I presume,ÌýHigher Fidelity than we had.
Also tonight, how many songs with the wordÌý'Yeah' in the title can you think of ? I came up with three but then I have a limited imagination.Ìý
Elvis Costello & The AttractionsÌý- The Imposter
Heartbreakers - All By Myself
Siouxsie & Banshees - Slowdive
Gun Club - John Hardy
Madness - Cardiac Arrest
Shadows Of Knight - Oh Yeah
Revillos -ÌýYeah Yeah
Vibrators - Yeah Yeah Yeah
JD Buhl - Do You Blame Me ?
Members - Killing Time
X - In This House That I Call Home
Beat - Walk Away
Jonathan Richman - It Will Stand
Tenpole Tudor - Go Wilder
I Jog & The Tracksuits - Redbox
Creation - Life Is Just Beginning
I remember buying the third Blondie LP in 1979, despite fairly lukewarm reviews from the NME, whose Julie Burchill said that the third wasn't as good as the second, which in turn wasn't as good as the first. Things like that stick with me, although I assume Blondie weren't too bothered as they read the NME charts which showed ÌýParallel Lines going toÌýnumber one. I think Julie (if it was her, my memory sometimes plays tricks) was right, though. Parallel Lines does contain some recordings which shouldn't have passed the quality control department. That criticism doesn't include their version of the Buddy Holly song, which fairly rattles along. Also, some revisionism from me, with my opinion of the 101-ers being raised the more I listen to them. OK, Joe's first band weren't as good as the Clash, but they were a light in the prog rock darkness of mid seventies music.
Ìý
Blondie - I’m Gonna Love You Too
X Ray Spex - Let's Submerge
Howard Werth - Obsolete
Boys - Taking On The World
Jesus & Mary Chain - Just Like Honey
x-x - A
101'ers - Letsgetabitarockin
Half Man Half Biscuit - Len Ganley Stance
Pop Rivets - Beatle Boots
Cheepskates - Run Better Run
Specials - Pearls Cafe
Only Ones - Miles from Nowhere
Wire - Ex Lion Tamer
Outcasts - Ruby
Doors - Touch MeÌý
