Come on in (The Exponents) (LP 4301 - 4303)

The Exponents  Something Beginning With C (CD, Mercury Records, 1993) *****  

The Exponents  Grassy Knoll (CD, Phonogram Records, 1994) ***** 

The Exponents  Hello, Love You, Goodbye (CD, Columbia Records, 1999) *** 

Genre: NZ Music, pop 

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records 

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Like She Said (Grassy Knoll)

Gear costume: The Nameless Girl; When She Was In Love (Something Beginning With C)

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: Yes! Two five-star albums from Jordan Luck and the crew (Brian Jones - guitar; David Gent - bass, and Harry Haralambi on drums) who make up NZ's brilliant rock band - The Exponents. 

Something Beginning With C has a terrific ramshackleness about it, but in reality it is carefully crafted classic NZ rock music. Plenty of hits on this album: Why Does Love Do This To Me; Who Loves Who the Most; Whatever Happened to Tracey; and Sink Like a Stone. My favs apart from those: Please Please and Thank Yourself;  The Nameless Girl; and When She Was In Love. It's a superb album - every Kiwi home should have one.

Great as it is though, I prefer the beefed up rock sound of Grassy Knoll. The guitars are turned up and the guys rock out like beasts! Amazingly guitars are by Dave Dobbyn and Brent Williams following the departure of Brian Jones).

This is the band at the peak of their powers - like no other NZ band that I can think of. One offs. Jordan Luck is a superb singer and he gets everything right on these two albums. 

The third album on my list is their seventh album - a composite of six studio songs and six live versions of their hits. Never a great sign! The band had undergone some further changes by this point. Jordan and Harry were joined by Steve Simpson (bass) and Dave Barraclough (guitar).

The new songs aren't that memorable and Jordan sounds huskier than normal. Overall, they are not at their best on this album - instead go for the five-star rated ones above.

Where do they all belong? There are some excellent compilations out there that trace the band's origins as The Dance Exponents to The Exponents. I can recommend Once Bitten, Twice Bitten - The Singles 1981 - 1995.