All my loving (The Beatles) (LP 4568)

The Smithereens  Meet The Smithereens! (CD, Smithereens Enterprises, 2007) ***  

Genre: Beatles' pop 

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: I Wanna Be Your Man

Gear costume: Not A Second Time

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: The Smithereens is a four piece band from New Jersey. For their seventh studio album they decided to cover the Beatles' U.S. album Meet The Beatles.

Why? Because as Pat DiNizio (vocals and guitar) says, "I believe Meet the Beatles is historically the most important rock-and-roll album ever released in America". Good enough for me!

Given that I don't think anyone improves on a Beatle version (with very rare exceptions), this isn't a bad effort. The arrangements don't stray much from The Beatles and Pat DiNizio's delivery is different, which is fine, but I'll take the originals thanks.

Where do they all belong? Nice to have in the collection, even though it's a bit of a pointless exercise.
 

Instant hit (The Slits) (LP 4567)

The Slits  Cut (CD, Island Records, 1979) ****  

Genre: Post punk, New wave 

Places I remember: Fives

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Typical Girls

Gear costume: Instant Hit 

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: The year 1979 was a classic one for bands who took the punk aesthetic to the next level - I'm thinking of bands like The Ruts and The Slits.

By the time of their debut, Cut, The Slits was made up of Ari Up – vocals, Viv Albertine – guitar, Tessa Pollitt – bass guitar with Budgie adding the drums.

The sound is a very agreeable combination of reggae and punk with Ari Up's rather eccentric/ distinctive vocals. Given this grew out of punk, the sound is of the unvarnished variety which also adds to the appeal. 

Where do they all belong? It's one of those albums that sits outside of time and place and will continue to be an enjoyable listen for a long time to come.

Past present and future (The Shangri-Las) (LP 4566)

The Shangri-Las  Past Present and Future: Golden Hits of The Shangri-Las (Vinyl, Philips Records, 1971) ****  

Genre: Pop 

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Leader of the Pack

Gear costume: Give Him a Great Big Kiss

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: I am a keen listener to and collector of girl groups from the sixties and seventies. A great example is The Shangri-Las - a trio that hit it big for a year or two between 1964 - 1966.

The group was made up of Mary Weiss (who took most of the lead vocals), her sister Betty Weiss and twin sisters Marge and Mary Ann Ganser. Between them, they provided the vocals and the music came from session musicians under the guidance of George 'Shadow' Morton. He produced some lush musical backgrounds for the girls' songs of teenage melodramas.

Leader of the Pack, a tragic tale, was their huge hit but the catalogue contains many terrific songs like Remember (Walking in the Sand), Train from Kansas City, I Can Never Go Home Anymore and Give Him a Great Big Kiss. All of those are on Past Present and Future.

The writing team of Barry/ Greenwich had a great vehicle for their two minute teenage operas in The Shangri-Las.

Where do they all belong? I've had this record for a looooong time. All these boy/girl sagas are timeless (and still relevant).

Holidays in the sun (The Sex Pistols) (LP 4565)

The Sex Pistols  Never Mind the Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols (CD, Virgin Records, 1977) **** 

Genre: Punk rock

Places I remember: The Warehouse

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: God Save the Queen

Gear costume: Pretty Vacant

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: Popular wisdom would have it that the debut album by these punk tearaways is a five-star classic. I think that comes from the influence of the album, rather than the quality on offer.

When I listen to it now, a few key tracks stand out, but there are also a few fillers. Basically they are a rock'n'roll band with a sneery/confrontational lead singer and some provocative lyrics. The whole thing sounds quite cartoonish nearly fifty years on.

Some of these songs (not all) hold up which is quite remarkable really. Holidays in the Sun, God Save The Queen, Pretty Vacant and Anarchy in the U.K. are all brilliantly performed and simply roar out the speakers. Yes, they reflect the late seventies teenage rage and angst in England superbly. But, they are just pop songs at the end of the day. 

Where do they all belong? The band certainly inspired many others to take up the punk challenge, but the movement was short lived and quickly morphed into New Wave. Afterall, it's hard to hold into all that rage against the machine and sustain it into a music career.

Hello (The Seahorses) (LP 4564)

The Seahorses  Do It Yourself (CD, Geffen Records, 1997) ****  

Genre: Alt rock 

Places I remember: Fives

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Love is the Law

Gear costume: Blinded By the Sun

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: When ace guitar slinger John Squire left The Stone Roses he formed an alt rock band called The Seahorses. This is their debut album, and also their last album.

I really like his playing style - all that Hendrixian fuzz, and he benefits from having a good vocalist onboard. While he is no Ian Brown or Liam Gallagher, Chris Helme sounds like a sixties/seventies rock stylist and that fits the retro feel of the album.

Clearly John Squire is inspired by Revolver era Beatles and that's no bad thing. Obviously, I'm a fan! 

Where do they all belong? The band fizzled out without developing their sound which is a shame. I did try the Squire/Liam G collaboration album but it didn't do much for me. The Seahorses is better in my opinion.

Fall for anything (The Script) (LP 4562 - 4563)

The Script  The Script (CD, Epic Records, 2008) **  

The Script  Science & Faith (CD, Epic Records, 2010) ***  

Genre: Pop rock

Places I remember: FOPP, Virgin Megastore (Dubai)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Nothing (Science & Faith)

Gear costume: For the First Time (Science & Faith)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: I bought the first album for three pounds from FOPP. I can't remember why. I don't think I'd ever heard the band before. Maybe I took a punt on an Irish pop band. It was certainly worth the three pounds at the time, and I did play it a bit while living in England. 

I took a listen for this blog's entry and it didn't do much for me, as they come close to producing boy band moves at times. They don't sound like U2 at all and maybe the closest comparison is an Irish version of Embrace or Train (but I love Embrace and Train). Unfortunately there aren't any clear standout tracks on the debut.

Their second album is the better of the two in my opinion with quite a few memorable songs - the first three songs are crackers! They certainly mastered the art of producing anthemic/ melodic pop songs. Both albums sold by the truckload at the time.

Where do they all belong? I have no idea what happened after Science & Faith and I'm not that inclined to find out. 

One way street (The Saints) (LP 4561)

The Saints  (I'm) Stranded (Vinyl, EMI Records, 1977) *****  

Genre: Punk rock

Places I remember: Little Red Bookshop

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: (I'm) Stranded

Gear costume: No Time 

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: It's a case of don't judge the music by the cover. These four archetypal Aussie larrikins hardly look like punks but their punk thrash outdoes many of those who did look like Sid et al.

First song (I'm) Stranded sets out the stall - high energy, a clear sense of dislocation, frustration and anxiety. As AllMusic points out the album "is built around the chainsaw guitars of Ed Kuepper, the thundering rhythm section of drummer Ivor Hay and bassist Kym Bradshaw, and the hoarsely powerful vocals of Chris Bailey".

All that and the band's ability to write classic sixties garage rock anthems made the album an essential part of the movement to get back to basics at the end of the seventies.   

Where do they all belong? A great Aussie album and a great rock'n'roll album.