Sunday, December 13, 2009

CAPTAIN SENSIBLE reissues on Cherry Red!



When Captain Sensible briefly stepped away from his duties as bassist/guitarist in Punk legends THE DAMNED and decided to record a solo album, the last producer anyone expected him to work with was Tony Mansfield.  Not that there was anything wrong with Mansfield: he was an enormously talented songwriter, guitarist, producer and musical visionary.  The real issue was that the good Captain was in a PUNK band and Mansfield was best known at that time for fronting Synthpop band New Musik!

What people didn't take in to account at the time was that the Captain was a superb Pop songwriter and whether his tunes were fuelled by slashing guitars or blipping synths, it was the song that mattered. And judging by Women And Captains First, Mr. Sensible's gamble paid off... in spades!

The album's big UK hit out of the box was a cover of "Happy Talk", originally from the soundtrack of South Pacific.  An odd choice, but a brilliant single.  Captain is in fine form, vocally and Mansfield's production lets the synths do the talking... but without taking it to Human League/Soft Cell territory.  It's jolly, it's happy and it still sounds wonderful, overblown and fun.
The album's opener, the funky rappy "Wot", managed to creep into U.S. radio (including L.A.'s KROQ) and helped build the Captain a fanbase who probably had never heard a single note from The Damned. The song was also a decent sized hit in the UK.
Elsewhere, the album is as eclectic and the Captain is eccentric.  There's a healthy dose of great Synth-based pop ("Brenda", "Martha The Mouth" and "Croydon"), some poppy Punk-inspired rave-ups ("Yanks With Guns"), Dixieland swing ("Nobody's Sweetheart") and so much more. This Cherry Red reissue adds bonus tracks from the single b-sides (ranging from experimental to Pop to Psychedelic) plus the previously unreleased instrumental gem "Joe Meek" (why this was never released remains a mystery!).  This is a treat from beginning to end. To be honest, it may be TOO eclectic for some listeners, but you'll end up coming back and listening to it over and over eventually...








After the success of Women And Captains First, Mr. Sensible bowed out of the Damned and pursued his solo career, heading back into the studio with Mansfield for a second album that would capitalize on the success of his debut.

The Power Of Love was not as eclectic as Women... and, on many levels, is actually a better album for it.  The anti-war hit, "Glad It's All Over" continues in the same Synth vein as the debut, although the song has more depth, musically and lyrically, than any of his solo recordings up to this point.  While the album didn't have any singles as popular as "Happy Talk" or "Wot", The Power Of Love is a great, cohesive Pop album filled with delectable little Pop nuggets that demand to be heard.
"It's Hard To Believe I'm Not", "It Would Be So Nice", "Thanks For The Night" and "The Power Of Love" are guitar pop gems that are hook-filled and instantly hummable. "Stop The World", "I'm A Spider", "Royal Rave-Up" and "Secrets" are synth-dominated slices of pop pleasure that won't leave your head for days afterwards.  The Captain even shows his sweet side on "I Love Her" and "I Love You", two songs that are quite pretty and touching... but you're really not quite sure if ol' Cappy is being sincere or taking the piss!  Either way, they are classics.
The bonus tracks on this Cherry Red reissue are excellent additions, including the non-album singles "There Are More Snakes Than Ladders", "One Christmas Catalogue", "Come On Down" and "Revolution Now" plus the odd B-sides. Another must-have for any '80s pop collection... or ANY pop collection for that matter!




Wednesday, December 2, 2009

FREUR/Get Us Out Of Here & Doot-Doot




"While Karl Hyde and Rick Smith may have finally achieved success as dancefloor favorites Underworld in the nineties and noughties, they are surprisingly quiet about their ‘80s musical outlet, Freur. While their silence speaks volumes about how they feel about their past, Freur’s fan base has remained loyal and passionate.


The band didn’t achieve the fame they deserved, but they were one of the most unique and memorable bands of the era. Using electronics as a starting point, Freur cleverly mixed guitars, piano, percussion and other instruments into their melting pot, creating an atmospheric and experimental sound that was just as organic as it was processed. Never over baked, the quintet’s songs were layered with melodies that walked the tightrope between haunting and beautiful. While they are best remembered for the track “Doot Doot” (and using a squiggle for their name), the band had so much more to offer and this release containing both of their albums is proof that they made a delicious pudding.

Their 1983 debut album, Doot Doot, opens with the title track, a wonderfully gentle slice of ear candy that is not easily forgotten once you’ve let it sink under your skin. There is really nothing like it. Not quite a ballad, it is soothing without being maudlin, dark without being gothic and romantic without being sappy. The rest of the album strays from the title track’s musical formula, but they are all equally intriguing and melodic. “Tender Surrender” and “Whispering” have beautiful melodic choruses that will send chills up your spine. The singles “Runaway”, “Matters Of The Heart” and “Riders In The Night” are odd slices of pure twisted pop that should have been hits. The album reveals its secrets listen after listen and never overstays its welcome.

The real attraction on this two-fer is the first CD appearance of the seldom-heard sophomore album, Get Us Out Of Here, originally released in 1985. This second album picks up where Doot Doot left off, but then takes the music in a slightly harder direction. There’s nothing quite as unique as “Doot Doot”, but the band expands on their sound, adding echoes of soul, Celtic and rock music into the mix. Anyone looking for a carbon copy of their debut will be disappointed, but those wanting to hear the band expand on their sound will have plenty to love. The melodies aren’t quite as pretty, but they are certainly hook-filled and playful. “Look In The Back For Answers”, ‘The Devil And The Darkness”, “Emeralds & Pearls” and “The Piano Song” are a few of the real highlights.

Though this was the final Freur album, the sound of Get Us Out Of Here hints at the direction the band would take when they re-merged a few years later as Underworld, releasing the album Underneath The Radar. "- Stephen SPAZ Schnee


Tuesday, December 1, 2009

GARY MYRICK & THE FIGURES/Reissues reviewed!





"During the Punk, Power Pop and New Wave heyday of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, Los Angeles gave birth to some of the finest bands of all three genres. From X, The Germs, The Dickies and Social Distortion to The Knack, The Plimsouls, 20/20, The Go-Go’s and The Last, there were so many exciting bands treading the boards in Southern California. But of all the acts that emerged during this time, there were two unique outfits that used the energy of the scene but took the music in a different direction: Jules & The Polar Bears and Gary Myrick & The Figures. Both Jules Shear and Gary Myrick were immensely talented songwriters, but neither of them chose to stick to the “simple, short and sweet” formula that their contemporaries had been so successful with. Of the two, Myrick seemed the most likely to achieve commercial success.

The Texas-born guitarist formed The Figures in the midst of the Power Pop/New Wave explosion, inking a record deal and releasing their debut album in 1980. Their self-titled debut album was an amazing slice of audio energy and excitement that still sounds fresh and invigorating nearly 30 years later. With Myrick’s skillful guitar playing (he NEVER overplays), top notch songwriting skills and the band’s tight dynamic, this was one heck of musical statement.

While the album was one of the most impressive debut albums of the ‘80s, Myrick and co-horts crafted a slice of wax that was unique and, ultimately, hard to categorize. Was it Power Pop? Well, it certainly IS melodic but not sweet and sugary. Is it New Wave? Well, it certainly IS unique but not quirky or bathed in neon colors. Gary Myrick & The Figures was an album that stood virtually alone in a sea of records that were released during this era. There were shades of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Blues, Post-Punk, Power Pop, Punk and New Wave but not enough of each genre to easily classify the album.

“She Talks In Stereo” was a big radio hit and should have been the track that pushed the band to the top of the charts, but it wasn’t meant to be, I suppose. Other highlights off the album include the lead track “Living Disaster”, “Ever Since The World Began”, “Meaningless” and the epic “She’s So Teenage”. Not a bad song in the bunch. The only real disappointment is the fact that the album didn’t do better than it should have!

The excellent Wounded Bird CD reissue adds nine live tracks that prove that the band’s sound was not manufactured in the studio. Normally, I avoid live recordings at all costs, but even I’ll admit these are essential cuts from an exciting era in music history."-Stephen SPAZ Schnee




From All Music Guide:

"Their 1981 sophomore album, Living In A Movie, is a different ball of wax. Where their debut was drenched in adrenalin and sweat, Living In A Movie sounds like it’s bathed in darkness and paranoia. It’s not so much a case of the ‘sophomore jinx’ as it is the sound of a band whose bubble has been burst and they’ve been left alone to make sense of everything. While not the equal of the debut, this second album has plenty going for it. .

From the lead track, “I’m Not A Number” (another radio hit for Myrick), Living In A Movie twists and turns in directions previously only hinted at on their debut album. While still unclassifiable, the album veers closer to a jagged Post-Punk edge as it moves away from the hooky tunes of the previous year. The energy is still evident, but the album is bathed in more shadows than light.

Highlights include “Romance”, “Penetrate My Heart’ and “No Crisis”, which is about the only track that comes close to sounding like the first record, but perhaps that’s not a bad thing? If Myrick and the boys had made a carbon copy of the debut, then the results would have probably sounded forced and fake.

On it’s own, Living In A Movie is a fantastic off-center musical trip that never gets dull. Compared to the debut, it’s a less frantic ride but still reaches the same destination. The Wounded Bird reissue adds four bonus live tracks previously only available on a promo 12” single. Of those four tracks, “Fame Is Dangerous” is unavailable elsewhere."-Stephen SPAZ Schnee


BOTH TITLES AVAILABLE NOW!

Friday, October 16, 2009

BMX BANDITS/An EXCLUSIVE interview with Duglas T. Stewart




The Life And Times Of BMX Bandits



An exclusive interview with Duglas T. Stewart

By Stephen SPAZ Schnee

(An edited version of this interview appeared in Discussions Magazine)

What do you get when you mix Brian Wilson, Jonathan Richman, Burt Bacharach, Edwyn Collins, Mike Love and Winnie The Pooh together in a blender, add a healthy dose of indie DIY ethos and then pour the concoction over a sizzling selection of Punk, Bossa Nova, Power Pop and Country LPs? Some would say a mess, but the real answer is BMX Bandits!

Yes, you’ve probably heard of them. Maybe it’s because of their links to other great Scottish bands like Teenage Fanclub and The Soup Dragons. Or maybe it’s because Kurt Cobain was a fan (Cobain claimed on a New York radio show that if he could be in any other band besides Nirvana, it would be BMX Bandits). Or maybe it’s because you’re one of the lucky ones who have heard them!

For over 20 years, the Bandits have been creating quite the back catalog: they may not be as prolific as some bands, but each one of their releases is a cause for celebration. Vocalist and songwriter Duglas T. Stewart has fronted the band since its inception and remains the sole constant original member. He is one of the most honest and sincere songwriters of his generation, but fame and fortune have (frustratingly) remained just one big hit single away.

While BMX Bandits albums have flown under the radar in the U.S., there’s a new collection on the market that might help introduce (or reintroduce) the band to a generation of music fans who are looking for something different… yet something comforting and familiar. That compilation is The Rise & Fall Of BMX Bandits, released on the excellent Elefant Records label.

While not exactly a ‘best of’, The Rise & Fall… is a 23 track glimpse into the Bandits’ past and present. With tracks reaching back to their ‘80s seven inch single releases on the 53rd & 3rd label and taking us right up to date with new and previously unreleased recordings, The Rise & Fall Of BMX Bandits is a perfect starting point for the curious and a must-have for the converted.

I first interviewed Duglas over a decade ago for POPsided Magazine and was thrilled to be able to catch up with him again and discuss his 20+ year career and The Rise &  Fall Of BMX Bandits.


SPAZ: What music influenced you growing up in the Stewart household?
DUGLAS T. STEWART: The music that I liked best that I remember hearing around the house as a kid was music from Disney films like Mary Poppins and The Jungle Book. I later discovered this was by the Sherman Brothers. Some television theme tunes really made a big impression on me: the theme from The Persuaders by John Barry, Robert Melin's theme from The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe and the theme song from the program White Horses sung by Jackie. My dad liked some electronic music and I have very vivid memories of listening to Kraftwerk's Autobahn album in our VW Beetle. He didn't really approve of music being played in cars, as he thought it might distract people from driving, but he had discovered Autobahn through a BBC science TV show and it seemed to him to be music designed for driving to.
Another thing I got from my dad was the idea of music as an expression of romantic love. My dad was a very shy man; he wasn't a performer, he could never have spoke in front of a large group of people. But I have a wonderful memory of my dad singing a beautiful love song called “Jean”, written by Rod McKuen, to my mum in our kitchen. My mum was called Jean. After my dad died, I started singing that song at some shows and I've recorded a version of it with David Scott.

SPAZ: Do you remember the exact moment when you realized that you wanted to create music and pursue it as a career?
DTS: Well, I think I pretty much always wrote songs. When I say wrote them, often I would just start singing songs about what I was doing or about silly ideas I had. I started singing some of my nonsense songs in Primary School when I was maybe 7 or 8 and became a sort of celebrity at the school getting sent round the classes, singing my songs, doing impersonations and putting on little plays that I would write and perform with Lorna Gibb, the girl who lived next door to me.
My big sister thought I could be a popstar and tried to encourage me to start singing Donny Osmond hits but I wasn't interested in that.
In 1977, I bought an album called Rock 'n' Roll With The Modern Lovers by Jonathan Richman and it changed everything for me. It sounded wonderful; a bit like it was recorded in someone’s front room and it was full of warmth and humor. When I played it in our house, everybody would go about the house with a smile. I knew right then I wanted to try to make music to try and make a connection with other people the way that record had made with me. Seriously, I think the exact moment was during my first play of that album hearing Jonathan sing 'Ice Cream Man' for the very first time.

SPAZ: How did you come to choose the name BMX Bandits? It’s not every day that a Scottish band decides to name their band after a low-budget Australian film!


DTS: I started with Sean Dickson, who went on to be in The Soup Dragons. I remember Sean and I, in my parent's old house, just trying to think of the stupidest names we could think of and crying with laughter. When the name BMX Bandits came up, it seemed really stupid but there was also a reference to one of my biggest musical heroes Brian Wilson; surfing was a big youth trend in 1961 when the Beach Boys started and, ironically, Brian didn't surf…and in 1985, BMX bikes were the big youth trend and I had never been on a bike. I've never seen the movie.

SPAZ: When you first started putting together the first line-up of BMX Bandits, did you look at it as a long-term goal or just a fun thing to do at the time?
DTS: I didn't think of it as being a long term thing, but it felt important to me. I had been in a group with Sean, Norman Blake and Frances McKee called The Pretty Flowers and Frances left that group to start a group with her new boyfriend Eugene Kelly (The Vaselines). I was heartbroken and had a couple of songs I wanted to record before I curled up and died of a broken heart. Norman had decided to quit making music and so Sean volunteered to help me record these songs, and so we enlisted Jim McCulloch and decided to call the group BMX Bandits for recording these tracks. We didn't even think then we'd do anything else or play any shows.

SPAZ: The band has had many members pass through it’s ranks who have gone on to form other successful bands like The Soup Dragons, Superstar and Teenage Fanclub. Do you think that their time in the Bandits gave them the confidence to move forward or do you think that they would have been successful regardless?
DTS: Well, The Soup Dragons really became successful before BMX Bandits and had a much bigger audience. Sean was very driven and went out and made things happen for his music instead of just playing it to a few friends in Bellshill. I think that made Norman and I think we should try a little harder. I do think that some of the people who've been in BMX Bandits have gained confidence being part of BMX Bandits that has helped them when they went on to do their own things. Also, Sushil said that he used BMX Bandits not being like a conventional group and not always being the same 4 or 5 people as the template for Future Pilot a.k.a. I'm sure most of these people would have had success anyway, but I think they mostly took something of their times with BMX Bandits to their later groups.

SPAZ: Your longest ally in the band was drummer/songwriter Francis Macdonald. When and how did you first hook up with him?
DTS: At the end of 1986, Norman had joined BMX Bandits as our drummer and then Sean left the group and so Norman became our other guitarist with Jim McCulloch. Joe McAlinden was now in the group playing bass and violin and we needed a new drummer. Joe said there was this 15 year old guy who played drums in a Jazz concert band that Joe played in and said we should get him to play with us. When we heard Francis play, he was so great and didn't play like an average British Indie Pop drummer at the time we asked him to join the group. He ended up joining three groups at the same time: Norman's new group The Boy Hairdressers, Joe's other group The Groovy Little Numbers and BMX Bandits.

SPAZ: The Scottish music scene was one of the most exciting during the late ‘70s and early ‘80s (The Skids, Orange Juice, Josef K, Aztec Camera, The Bluebells, Endgames, etc.). Were you influenced by what was going on during this period?
DTS: Norman and I were very much fans of Orange Juice, in particular, from the groups that you mentioned. I remember Norman from when he was 3 and I was 4 but our friendship was really sealed by our mutual love for Orange Juice's first single on Postcard Records. One of the things that I think attracted us to them was, although they came out of punk rock. they seemed to embrace other things in their music that we also liked like disco and soul and ‘60s pop like The Velvet Underground and a bit of Jonathan Richman. There was also strong humor in their songs and a home-made ethic that made us think perhaps. we could do that. Later on, we discovered The Pastels and, after Orange Juice had moved away to London to become a major label act, The Pastels seemed to be like a continuation of many of the things that had attracted us to Orange Juice.

SPAZ: Do you remember the first song you wrote or co-wrote that was actually recorded? And were you pleased with the results?
DTS: I can't remember if the first song that I co-wrote that was actually recorded was 'Strawberry Sunday', which I wrote with Sean or 'Groovy Goodluck Friend’, which I wrote with Norman. Both Sean and Norman were always very good at using porta-studios and so, although the first recordings of these songs were just rough home recordings. they sounded better than anything recorded by any of the local bands we knew. Also, most of the local groups were trying to fit in to particular scenes or sound like other bands but I always thrived on being different and not fitting in. People in Bellshill thought I was a big "weirdo" and probably gay. If someone shouted abuse at me, I took it as a victory. I had a lot of self belief. When I played these tracks to people, they mostly seemed impressed and smiled and so I was happy.


SPAZ: After a few singles in the mid-to-late ‘80s, you released the official studio debut album C86 in 1990. Why did it take so long for the album to be released?
DTS: I think if someone had said to us in 1985 or 1986, “Here's the money to go and make an album”, we would have done it without any hesitation, but the Indie scene in the mid '80s seemed very much a singles-based culture and we were on a label that didn't have much money. The label we were initially on 53rd & 3rd finished in 1987 and we couldn't find anyone who was interested in releasing any more BMX Bandits records and so we decided to do it ourselves. Norman had started a new group with Raymond MCGinley and Francis Macdonald called Teenage Fanclub and they were planning to record an album by paying for it by themselves and so I decided to do the same with BMX Bandits. Then I applied for a loan to start a label to release these two albums. So BMX Bandits and Teenage Fanclub, now with Gerry Love on bass, went into the same studio in Glasgow for two weeks each back to back and made C86 and A Catholic Education. There was a big crossover between the bands as Norman and Francis were in both bands and “Right Across The Street” was originally meant to be for Teenage Fanclub.

SPAZ: What are your thoughts on the C86 album today? Do you think that the CD reissue with bonus tracks (C86 Plus) has enhanced the album’s appeal, or would you prefer to see it issued on CD in its original form?
DTS: C86 has some of my favourite BMX Bandits songs on it, “Disco Girl” and “Your Class”, but I've always felt it wasn't recorded the way I really imagined it sounding in my head. “Your Class” sounds the way I wanted it, but it was recorded earlier. But the rest is a bit too Rock and a bit mushy sounding to my ears. I still think it's pretty good, though.
I do think that sometimes the original statement that an album was meant to make as a body of songs can be diluted or lessened by adding extra tracks but I don't really think that happened by adding extra tracks to the CD of C86. I think it's because it really was a collection of songs and there wasn't really an ethos that applied to those songs other than the general ethos of BMX Bandits. I wouldn't like some of our albums to be released with bonus material, but I didn't mind it with that album.



SPAZ: A year later, the even-better Star Wars album followed. Was the band more confident in the studio with this release? It sounds far more accomplished and cohesive.
DTS: Well, at first it felt a bit strange because, up until, then my second in command and person I was writing songs with mostly was Norman; but suddenly, Norman was very busy with Teenage Fanclub. So I started writing more things by myself, Francis became my main writing partner and I wrote a couple of things with Joe McAlinden. It seemed that things were moving more towards noisy guitars and becoming more Rock and so I think I reacted against that trend and moved towards things that were more Pop, melodious, more gentle with other kinds of instruments and more harmonies. Just as I thrived on not really fitting in as a person I liked the idea that no other "Indie" bands I could think of at that time would have songs like “Extraordinary” or “Students of Life” or “Smile for Me: or the title track, “Star Wars”, on their records at that time.

SPAZ: What are your feelings about the album today?
DTS: I really like the spirit of that album a lot. A few of the tracks I don't think of very much, but I'm very proud of most of it and I think it sort of underlined the idea to listeners: BMX Bandits do whatever they want to do.




SPAZ: Two years later, you signed to Creation Records and released Life Goes On, the Bandits’ best album yet. Your most infamous track, "Serious Drugs", was featured on the album. What inspired that song? And why didn’t YOU sing it since the song was essentially your baby?
DTS: Well “Serious Drugs” was recorded as part of Star Wars and that's the version that's on Life Goes On. It was near to the end of the Star Wars sessions and I woke up early one morning with this melody and lyric in my head. So I phoned up Norman around 7 O’clock in the morning and said "Imagine this sounding a bit like a mixture of Chic and something from George Harrison's All Things Must Pass album!" and then I sung it down the phone. I asked Norman if he could find chords for my melody that were Chic-like. When we got to the studio and ran through it with just the two of us, no one seemed very impressed and so most of the group, Francis, Gordon and Eugene, went home. Norman played an acoustic and electric guitar to a drum machine and then he had to leave to go do some Teenage Fanclub stuff. So Joe McAlinden and I were left to finish it. It was in quite a high key for me and I wanted, when people heard it, they would be confused and think "How can that be BMX Bandits?" I liked the idea of messing with people's preconceptions of the group - people who thought they didn't like us and people who thought they did like us - and so I got Joe to sing the lead vocal. He had such a sweet and soft voice, I thought it made the line "get some serious drugs" all the more surprising and just made the whole track much less what people would expect.
The song was based on a real life incident. I had been going through a rough time with depression and was on anti-depressants and I'd started a romance with a girl who was studying medicine in Aberdeen. When she discovered I was taking anti-depressants she said "you don't need those tablets, my love will make you feel better". A few weeks later, our relationship wasn't really working out and she said "I think you need to get some stronger tablets". I saw some tragic humor in that and thought it would make an interesting and unexpected lyric for a song but with a musical setting that was very pretty and soulful.
I really think there was no other track in 1991 that sounded anything like it, but it wasn't released until 1993. Alan McGee heard it and asked us to keep it off Star Wars so he could release it on his label Creation Records.

SPAZ: You reissued the "Serious Drugs" single later with Norman Blake singing lead. What was the reason behind that?
DTS: The first time it was released it got rave reviews and Alan thought it was going to be one of Creation's biggest hits, but BBC radio banned it after misunderstanding the lyric. Later on, the song continued to gain acclaim; it was the only record on Creation Paul Weller ever contacted Alan to get a copy of, bands in America and Europe had started doing versions of it in their sets and it seemed other groups were trying to make tracks that sounded a bit like it and so Alan wanted to give it another chance to be a hit. Joe had left BMX Bandits to concentrate on his group, Superstar, by this time and his new record label weren't happy about it being released as a single with Joe doing the lead vocal. Norman and Joe's voices could sound quite similar, and so we got Norman to replace Joe's vocal.

SPAZ: How does the album rate with you 15 years later?
DTS: I think it's a really strong album. I think “Kylie's Got A Crush On Us” shouldn't be on it. It doesn't fit the mood of the rest of the album and it isn't really a BMX Bandits song. We started playing it for fun when Gerry Love stood in on bass at a couple of BMX Bandits shows. He'd written it for a side project he had with Brendan from Teenage Fanclub called The Clydesmen and they did a much better version than our's. I really like “Space Girl” and “Cats and Dogs” and “It Hasn't Ended” a lot. I think there are some really good arrangements in those songs and they weren't typical of the time.


SPAZ: While the following album, Gettin’ Dirty (1995), did not fare as well as Life Goes On, it was an even better album. Do you feel that the band had reached its first peak at this time? Last time I interviewed you, you explained that this joyful-sounding album was far from a happy experience because of a relationship that had fallen apart during the recording of the album. Can you listen to the album subjectively now?
DTS: Francis and I were the main writers on the Gettin' Dirty album and I think neither of us were completely satisfied with how it turned out. There were plenty of things on it we really liked but there were some other tracks that felt like we were repeating ourselves and were like less good versions of songs from Life Goes On. But “Gettin' Dirty” and “Come Out Of The Shadows” are two of my favourite BMX Bandits tracks.
I was going through a very difficult time in my personal life. I found myself a single parent with a two month old baby girl after the break-up of a very troubled relationship. I'd had my ribs cracked, been spat at, held at knife point, had all my hair forcibly cut off and a lot of other upsetting things. I was both emotionally and physically battered and bruised but trying to be both mummy and daddy to this little baby. The lowest point came when my ex returned saying she wanted to try a reconciliation. I remember Sushil dropping me off at my parent's house the night she came back unexpectedly and giving him detailed instructions of what to do if I was killed. It might seem ridiculous but it seemed possible. The suggestion of reconciliation wasn't sincere and I ended up drugged and locked in my apartment as she tried to abduct and leave the country with our daughter. The next day, I was flying down to collect my baby daughter from a police station at Heathrow Airport as the rest of the group were, ironically, working on “Waiting for a Baby”, a track I'd written with Francis about waiting for my daughter's arrival. I was told there were a few tears shed for us as the group were working on that backing track. I've not listened to the whole of Gettin' Dirty for a long long time but certain tracks bring me great pleasure when I hear them. People tell me they listened a lot to “Waiting For Baby” when they were waiting for their baby to arrive, and that it meant a lot to them and captured how they felt. That's lovely to hear.



SPAZ: Nearly three years passed before Theme Park’s release in 1996. The album was classic BMX Bandits but possessed a raw, slightly disjointed and almost primitive feel. Did you attempt to shake things up on this album?
DTS: I think the wild roller-coaster nature of Theme Park was a bit of a reaction against what Francis and I felt was the overly smooth and bland, to our ears, on Gettin' Dirty. When we made Star Wars, everyday in the studio felt like playtime and I think we wanted to reclaim that.
The other BIG factor was Kim Fowley entering the picture.



SPAZ: Kim Fowley produced a few tracks on the album. What was he like in the studio?
DTS: Kim is probably the most extreme human being I've ever met. He's a legend; he's sold more than 120 million records as a producer, songwriter and recording artist. He's worked with everyone from Doris Day to Jonathan Richman to Cat Stevens to The Runaways to John Lennon to George Lucas and so on. He's been making wild and inspired records since the late 1950s and he's brilliant but he's not conventional.
Our first session with him was 26 hours long, with only a half hour break for dinner. He refused to record any of the songs we'd prepared and so we wrote, rehearsed, recorded and mixed six new songs with Kim in those 26 hours. Four of them ended up on Theme Park and two others were a single. Being in the studio with Kim was a bit like being on a roller coaster; it was, at times, pretty scary but was also a whole lot of fun. Kim would lie on the couch, speed reading, while barking out orders like "Guitarist, that solo was bad. I want to hear dog's piss with blood in it in the solo". So we'd go for another take and Kim would say "Okay, that was a little better. I heard the dog's piss but where was the blood?”
Kim was a key player in the late 1960s Psychedelic scene in L.A. and I remember one of us asking him if he'd done a lot of drugs back then. His reply was "I never drank alcohol and I never did drugs, I didn't need to I was already THERE". We loved Kim and something of his wild spirit stayed with us even on the tracks that he wasn't involved with on Theme Park.

SPAZ: Francis McDonald’s "I Wanna Fall In Love" is one of the most perfect Pop songs ever written. Does it get frustrating when you know that certain songs should be massive but don’t quite get the respect and airplay they deserve?
DTS: I have a co-write on “I Wanna Fall in Love” and did contribute to it, but it was mostly Francis' song and I think he thinks it's still his best. We thought it should have been a single but it seemed that our record label didn't agree. By that time, Alan McGee was much less involved in the running of the label and I think the other people at Creation weren't interested in BMX Bandits. Oasis had arrived and were making everyone lots of money and so we weren't important. I still think “I Wanna Fall in Love” should have been a hit single… but I also think “Serious Drugs” should have been. In some ways, it is frustrating, but then you think “September Gurls” by Big Star wasn't a hit, “I Saw The Light” by Todd Rundgren wasn't a hit. Those are two of the greatest examples of pure pop songs ever made and recognized as such, so it's all a bit random.

SPAZ: How do you feel about Theme Park now?
DTS: I like it. It brings back lots of happy and fun memories. Another of Francis' songs is one of my big BMX favorites, “One Big Heart”.

SPAZ: Why did the Bandits leave Creation? Do you feel that it was a positive and productive partnership while it lasted?
DTS: It was a mutual decision. I can't remember exactly what happened but I think I called up Alan McGee and said I thought we were probably going to be dropped from the label and wanted to thank him for believing in the group and giving us his support. We decided we should agree to part company professionally and remain friends. The label had changed a lot in the time we'd been there and it felt like we didn't fit there any more.


SPAZ: You released a solo album, Frankenstein, roughly around the same time. The Bandits have always been perceived as Duglas Stewart plus whoever else was in the band at the time. Why did you feel it necessary to make a solo album?
DTS: Well I wanted to make another album and I wanted to do quite a lot of cover versions and quirky lo-fi home-recorded things on it and we were still on Creation at that time. I knew Creation wouldn't want to do it. I knew I couldn't do it and call it BMX Bandits or Creation wouldn't be happy, so it became a Duglas album. Because of that, it also meant that I could do exactly as I pleased and didn't have to listen to anyone else in the group's opinion. At that point, BMX Bandits had become more of a partnership with two leaders, Francis and me, and although Francis was involved in some of the tracks, I was the boss on these tracks. Also it allowed me to do things with people like Bill Wells and David Scott, who were outside BMX Bandits.

SPAZ: "Stupid" is one of the best songs from the Stewart/Bandits catalog. How did that song come about?
DTS: Well, it was one of those songs that was reporting on the sad break up I mentioned earlier. It was probably meant to be a self healing thing. I remember coming up with the idea of the "dumb dumb dumb" line and loving it, as it's like something that people hum spontaneously, but also worked in capturing me sitting in my room, banging my head and saying to myself that I was "dumb dumb dumb".


SPAZ: Although there were a few compilations released in the meantime, it took quite a few years for the next Bandits studio album to appear (2003’s Down At The Hop). What took so long?
DTS: Francis got busy with starting his own label, Shoeshine, rejoining Teenage Fanclub and other stuff, and I was busy being a dad and working on a music program for the BBC called The Beat Room. We made more than 300 Beat Room programmes in three years and we had the UK TV debuts of acts including Cornelius, The White Stripes, Peaches, Yo La Tengo and lots of groups who you'd normally never see on TV.

SPAZ: Down At The Hop was released on Francis’ Shoeshine Records label. Was the label and his band, Radio Sweethearts, the main reason he retired from the Bandits?
DTS: Not really. I asked Francis to leave the group. It felt like BMX Bandits had two leaders but we both wanted the band to be two different things. I let Francis hear some things that I'd been working on that I thought were the best songs I'd ever written and he didn't seem very interested in them. Also. he was getting more and more busy with drumming for Teenage Fanclub, running his label, managing Camera Obscura and lot of other stuff. It was getting really difficult to find time when he was available to play live or record.
I felt like Francis felt strongly about what he wanted the group to be and I felt like he wanted it to be more guitar based Power Pop and if it went in that direction, I would really just be the singer in his group. I felt I was moving further and further away from traditional guitar pop and I thought there was three options for the future: 1) It could be Francis' group and I could be his singer; 2) It could be my group and Francis might not want to just do what I wanted to do; or 3) it could be a compromise of both of us trying to fit in with each other. I made the difficult decision that I didn't want to be the singer in someone else's group, I didn't want to compromise and if I left the group, it wouldn't be BMX Bandits. By this time, I'd recorded a lot of My Chain and Francis hadn't been involved. I didn't want to compromise that album and so I had to ask Francis to leave.
It was very difficult; he'd been part of the group for 18 years and had written or co-written some of our best-loved songs. Francis was very gracious about it and even came to the first show we did after that and made the point of telling me and the new members of the group how great he thought it was. Since then, I know Francis has said he thinks it was the right decision and he should have seen it was time for us to go our separate ways. I still think we might end up writing some songs in the future again.


SPAZ: Creation Records issued the excellent Serious Drugs compilation in 2005. Did you feel that it was a decent representation of your output with the label?
DTS: Well. we liked this compilation because we were allowed to select what went on it and what didn't. Francis and I picked the line up of tracks and the running order. The only disagreements were I didn't want “Kylie's Got A Crush On Us” on it and Francis didn't really think “Little Pony” or “Little River Of Spring” should be on it. But we agreed to allow each other these tracks as a compromise. I think it works well as a document of our time on Creation and also works well as a listening experience.


SPAZ: My Chain was released in 2006 and is a gorgeous and emotional album. Yet, most of the time, it feels like a Duglas solo album. Did it start out as a solo release or was it always going to be a Bandits album?
DTS: Well, originally I was writing songs for BMX Bandits but, as I said before, Francis didn't seem interested in what I was coming up with. Also, I'd built up a really strong friendship and musical relationship with David Scott at that time. David wasn't in BMX Bandits and Francis was, so I thought I would maybe have to release this as a Duglas album. That frustrated me because I really felt this was me really arriving at somewhere as an artist and I thought this could be the best thing I'd done. I knew if I released it under my own name, it would reach a smaller audience. I played the stuff I'd done so far to Norman and Sushil and they said "You have to release it as BMX Bandits" and "BMX Bandits is the world according to Duglas through music", and so they helped me decide what I had to do.
It doesn't have a traditional group feel to it; it's more intimate and most of it was made by just David and me, but it's my favourite BMX Bandits album. It's the only one that there is nothing on it that I would change even if I could. I'm completely satisfied with every note, every sound, every mix, everything.


SPAZ: Bee Stings followed in 2007 and seemed to be yet another peak in the Bandits’ career. With the addition of vocalist Rachel Allison, the album has added emotional depth. Have you always imagined the Bandits with a female vocalist working alongside you? "I Wanna Fall In Love" (from Theme Park) seemed to be pointing the way…
DTS: I'm glad you think that. Bee Stings started with writing and recording “Doorways” and, as a writer, it felt like a big victory. Thematically, it was a continuation of the love story from My Chain, but musically it was quite different. I'd read about Henry Mancini writing “Moon River” as a portrait of Audrey Hepburn in music; trying to capture her essence in music. Rachel had joined us close to the end of the recording process of My Chain and, after that, I wanted to write something especially for her and so I tried to create a portrait of Rachel in music. Then later. I added a quite emotionally raw autobiographical lyric. When I heard Rachel singing this lyric that was so personal to me, I liked the idea of having an album with two narratives running through it, a male narrative and a female narrative, and having them blurring and crossing over with each other. In some ways, it's musically our most ambitious album. There's a couple of tracks that I think, when I listen to them now, we didn't quite get 100% right, but I think all the songs are really strong.
A lot of my biggest musical heroes are female and a lot of my favorite music is sung by female voices and so I always was attracted to working with women and writing for them. Rachel came in to the studio one night just to do a little bit of backing vocals, but somehow, she just seemed to fit and there was a chemistry between us.
Rachel really understands the emotional content of songs and knows how to make them connect with people.
Also, I really like having not just guys in the group; I don't enjoy the company of men that much; as individuals yes but not really as a gang. Having a girl changes the chemistry and atmosphere in the group for the better.

SPAZ: How do you think the album rates compared to the Bandits back catalog?
DTS: It's my second favourite of our albums. I especially love listening to the songs Rachel sings. It feels lovely to be slightly removed from the finished track by not having my voice the main point of focus. So when I listen to emotionally raw tracks like “Doorways” or “Just Remember I'm a Woman”, they don't hurt, they just sound beautiful, and then I can feel something lovely came out of some heartache.


SPAZ: Now, in 2009, the excellent Elefant Records has released The Rise & Fall Of BMX Bandits, which is a collection of non-Creation material plus some new recordings. How did you go about choosing the material? There is an awful lot of great songs to choose from…
DTS: I just followed my instincts. The only track that I don't really enjoy at all on it is “Whirlpool”, but I know some people really love that track. It was always a big favorite when we played it live and so I decided it might be a bit unfair to leave it off. Of course, I was most excited by the new stuff. My favourite is “I Can Wait Forever”, which is the first song the three of us, David, Rachel and I, have written together. Also I think “Disco Girl” sounds much better than it did on C86.

SPAZ: Three of my favorite songs EVER are included on the collection including "Extraordinary" (the other two being "Stupid" and the slightly different mix of "I Wanna Fall In Love"). When you look back on your songs, do you feel that some are overlooked more than others? "Extraordinary" was a stand-out track on Star Wars….
DTS: I do like 'Extraordinary' a lot and feel it's like the ancestor of quite a few other BMX Bandits songs like “4 Minutes 22” and “Death & Destruction”. We played “Extraordinary” live at our most recent concert and releasing this compilation album has brought some of these older songs that weren't singles back to the front of my mind. “Stupid” is another BIG song for me and that's why I had to include it on this album. It's like me saying "Maybe you missed this one the first time so here's another chance to discover it".

SPAZ: Do you feel that, if someone were to listen to The Rise & Fall… and the Serious Drugs compilation that they would have a pretty good idea of what the Bandits are all about?
DTS: To some extent, yes. Only I feel it would be a bit of a shame because then they wouldn't hear anything from my two favorite BMX albums.

SPAZ: What’s next for Duglas Stewart and BMX Bandits?
DTS: We've started the new album for 2010 called BMX Bandits In Space. The opening track is recorded and a couple of people have said they think it might be their favorite BMX Bandits song so far. It's called 'Still'. BMX Bandits have a new line up again. Joining David, Rachel and me are the original BMX Bandits guitarist Jim McCulloch, Finlay Macdonald, who played on all our Creation albums, and Jim Gash.
Also I've recorded a single with a Korean singer called Yeongene, which was produced by Saya from Tenniscoats. I hope that will be out later this year. And there is a CD of tracks David and I produced for Yeongene called Bonnie Gene that is coming out in January 2010.

SPAZ: What do you have currently spinning on your CD and DVD players?
DTS: I've been watching a lot of Billy Wilder's films again recently. My big favorites are Irma La Douce, The Apartment and Some Like It Hot.
I've been listening a lot to Tenniscoats and another group from Japan called Eddie Marcon. This last week, I've been listening to Daniel Johnston's new album, Is And Always Was. He has such great songs.
There's a band from Memphis called Magic Kids that have a song called 'Hey Boy', which is like The Beach Boys meets the Langley Schools Project meets Wizzard, that I love. I think that song could send one million copies and make the world feel a little better for a while (http://www.myspace.com/themagickids ).
I've also been listening to stuff from two young Scottish songwriters. The first one is called Adam Ross and he has a project called Randolph's Leap (http://www.myspace.com/randolphsleap). I think he's in the tradition of people like Norman Blake and Stuart Murdoch, he's very charismatic and I really think he could be one of the major guys in the future.
The other new person is Ashley Little (http://www.myspace.com/ashlitacoustic). So far, she's only done home recordings of her songs but they have a really deep impact on me when I listen to them. There's a rare purity and directness in her writing. In some ways, it's a bit like when I listen to Daniel Johnston. I don't need all the production and stuff to connect to these songs. Also, I keep thinking I'd like to sing that song. Maybe she'll write some thing for me to sing someday. David is going to produce some of her songs and I'm excited to hear that.
Another big thing this year was returning to Kate Bush and, in particular, “Wuthering Heights”. I hadn't listened to it for years. It had a big emotional connection with some things that made me sad to think of but when I rediscovered it, I couldn't stop listening to it. I slept about a total of an hour over two days just listening to it over and over again.



Thanks to Duglas T. Stewart


Special thanks to Luis (Elefant Records) and James Agren (Darla Records)


Get on your bikes and ride,
Stephen SPAZ Schnee

Sunday, October 11, 2009

DURAN DURAN/Rio (Deluxe 2CD Edition) review




While I was never a hardcore Duran Duran fan, I must admit that their first two albums were (and are) amazing slices of '80s pop.  From Funk-inspired rhythms to soaring melodies, Duran Duran successfully melted their influences (Chic, Roxy Music) into a sound that was unique, glossy and commercial.

Originally part of the New Romantic movement alongside their biggest rivals, Spandau Ballet, Duran Duran hit all the right buttons (literally and figuratively) and broke away from the pack with a successful self-titled debut album and a sound that was more instantly loveable than any of their contemporaries.

When the band released Rio in 1982, it became a bigger monster than anyone could ever imagine.  The album single-handedly destroyed the band's link to the New Romantic movement and created something entirely unexpected: Duran Duran as a teenybopper band!  No one was more surprised than the band themselves! They did not, in their wildest dreams, ever imagine that they'd be embraced by a generation of teenage girls who loved their look just as much as the music they created. 

This teenage adulation pretty much killed the band's chances of ever winning over the critics, but then again, they became millionaires almost overnight so they weren't complaining! 

Rio contained a handful of successful singles including "Hungry Like The Wolf", "My Own Way", "Save A Prayer" and "Rio". The rest of the album's tracks also recieved plenty of exposure on radio stations like KROQ (Los Angeles) including "Hold Back The Rain", "Last Chance On The Stairway" and "Lonely In Your Nightmare".  Of all the Duran Duran albums, this is the one that EVERYBODY seemed to own. While the first album was an exciting glimpse inside a new band and a new scene, Rio was a slicker, more confident album that deserved every bit of it's success.

After Rio, everything went downhill. Seven And The Ragged Tiger was a mess and pretty much every album they've released since then has been a missed opportunity: great singles mixed with barely tolerable material. All these years later, they still haven't managed to create a single album that is worthy enough to stand in the same room as Rio...

But that's not so bad, because EMI have chosen to release the ULTIMATE Rio experience with a two CD deluxe edition of the album that not only reminds us of what a great album it is, but also offers up an insider's view of the album by adding remixes, demos, non-album b-sides and so much more.

For 25 years, I was never aware that the US pressing of the album contained alternate mixes to the UK version (but maybe that's because I never owned the import vinyl?)!  Disc One of this set contains the original UK mix of the album (which is way better in my opinion) plus five of the US mixes from the American version of the album. These are the mixes that all of us yanks know backwards and forwards, so it's really exciting to hear the original mixes.  They do sound much better and, while I can still appreciate the US mixes, I'll forever swear by the UK mixes now!

Disc Two features early demos of four tracks plus non album singles/b-sides (including the single version of "My Own Way", which is as close to Disco as the Duran boys ever got) plus extended mixes and more.

If you thought that Rio was perfect already, then prepare to be gobsmacked because this is even better!

Up to this point, no UK band had managed to create an album that summed up the times so perfectly. Ironically, it was their old rivals, Spandau Ballet, who actually bettered the Duranies the following year when they released their classic album, True.

But that's another story....






Disc 1

Original U.K. album mix U.S. album & EP remixes

1. Rio 10. Rio (U.S. album remix)

2. My Own Way 11. My Own Way (Carnival Remix)

3. Lonely In Your Nightmare (U.S. 12” Carnival EP)

4. Hungry Like The Wolf 12. Lonely In Your Nightmare

5. Hold Back The Rain (U.S. album remix)

6. New Religion 13. Hungry Like The Wolf (U.S. album remix)

7. Last Chance On The Stairway 14. Hold Back The Rain (U.S. album remix)

8. Save A Prayer

9. The Chauffeur



Disc 2

Manchester Square demos (recorded August 28, 1981)

1. Last Chance On The Stairway

2. My Own Way

3. New Religion

4. Like An Angel

Non-album U.K. singles & B-sides

5. My Own Way (original 7” version - U.K. single A-side, released Nov. 1981)

6. Like An Angel (U.K. single B-side, released Nov. 1981)

7. Careless Memories (live - U.K. single B-side, released May 1982)8. The Chauffeur (Sing Blue Silver) (U.K. single B-side, released Nov. 1982)

Alternate versions & re-mixes

9. My Own Way (Night Version) (U.K. 12" single A-side, released Nov. 1981)

10. Hungry Like The Wolf (Night Version) (U.K. 12" single A-side, released May 1982)

11. Rio (Night Version) (Dutch 12" Carnival EP, released Sept. 1982)

12. New Religion (Carnival Remix) (Japanese 12" Carnival EP, released Sept. 1982)

13. Hold Back The Rain (Carnival Remix) (U.S. 12" Carnival EP, released Sept. 1982)
 
 
Hungry Like The Spaz,
Stephen SPAZ Schnee

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

PARK LANE ARCHIVES/A delicious platter of Scottish Pop rarities!



Contains exclusive, unreleased outakes & demos from Glasgow’s Park Lane Studio!


Features rare tracks from TEXAS, PRIMAL SCREAM, DEL AMITRI, BLUEBELLS, ALTERED IMAGES, GUN, DEACON BLUE, HIPSWAY, LOVE & MONEY and many others!

PARK LANE STUDIO in Glasgow was host to many young bands from 1980 onwards, many making their first recordings and still seeking a record deal. Some did become successful, and a vibrant scene soon developed centred around the studio. Now the studio archives have been prised open, and a treasure trove of fascinating and unreleased tapes discovered! This 80-min. album with 22 tracks offers a unique and broad insight into the whole history of that important Glasgow scene, the studio and the many interwoven bands that recorded there.

16-page booklet with photos, stories, biogs and notes by those who were there.

TRACKLIST:

Bourgie Bourgie – Breaking Point (demo)
Bluebells – Young At Heart (demo version)
Texas – I Don’t Want A Lover (demo version)
Del Amitri – Hammer And Peach (unreleased song)
Primal Scream – Velocity Girl (alt. mix)
Altered Images – Now That You’ve Gone (demo version)
The Jazzateers – Sixteen Reasons
Hipsway – Broken Years (demo)
Love & Money - Candybar Express (7” mix)
Deacon Blue – Ribbons & Bows (demo)
Kevin McDermott Orchestra – Wheels Of Wonder (demo)
Gun – Better Days (demo)
Slide – Life Of Our Own (unreleased)
Kissing Bandits – The Only Thing That Keeps Me Alive
Petted Lips – Somebody (unreleased)
Rutkowski Sisters – Riverman (unreleased)
Painted Word – Independence Day (alt. mix)
ac acoustics – Bluff Drive By (unreleased song)
Whiteout - Jackie’s Racing (alt. mix)
The Smiles – God Only Knows (demo)
Primevals – Diamonds A Fur Coat Champagne
Nectarine No. 9 – Curdled Fragments

Coming November 2009!

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Sunday, October 4, 2009

4 OUT OF 5 DOCTORS/Reconstruction review





Here's what I had to say about it on All Music Guide!

"For nearly 30 years, I have been an avid 4 Out Of 5 Doctors fan, consistently singing their praises although their original LPs have been deleted for decades. I’ve scoured the used bins and bought copies of the albums to give to friends who were in need of some cool tunes and inspiration. Apart from my friends, I felt that I was the only true hardcore fan of the band.


That is, until the internet allowed me to connect to fans all around the world. Eventually, the ‘net led me straight to the doorstep of the band members themselves and I would occasionally communicate with guitarist Jeff Severson and vocalist/bassist Cal Everett. But, after loosing contact over the years, nothing prepared me for the self-released two CD set, Reconstruction. After years of sending off e-mails to various labels, begging for the band’s back catalog to be reissued, my prayers were answered by the band themselves!

Reconstruction contains digitally remastered versions of the band’s two albums (1980’s 4 Out Of Five Doctors and 1982’s 2nd Opinion) plus two unreleased bonus tracks. To say that this is an extraordinary release is an understatement! First off, the sound is amazing and I do actually hear little riffs I missed while listening to the vinyl thousands of times, over and over again. And “Waiting For Roxanne” (from 2nd Opinion) even has a count-in that wasn’t available on the original vinyl release! OK, so it may be nerdy to get excited about things like that, but what the hell! I’m a nerd!

4 OUT OF 5 DOCTORS: Throwing this talented, yet unknown, American band in the studio with established producer Alan Winstanley (who, with his "other half," Clive Langer, produced some of the finest albums of the '80s including all of Madness' albums) was a brilliant idea. The Doctors' had three fine songwriters in their ranks (bassist/vocalist Cal Everett and guitarists Jeff Severson and George Pittaway), and, as a whole, the Doctors (and Winstanley) crafted an album of songs that were stylistically varied but were absolutely POP to the core. Although the album itself was geared toward a younger crowd, the Doctors' inventive arrangements were more mature than "clever," creating an album that was more "timeless" than "of it's time." Of course, there were attempts to turn the Doctors into a new wave band (just listen to the quirky spy-themed "Danger Man" for proof) but their keen sense of melody saved the day. In fact, the Doctors were classic songwriters, putting as much into the verses, bridges, and middle eights as they did with their choruses. Lyrically, they were clever, not relying too much on the normal new wave themes of the time (though both "Modern Man" and the aforementioned "Danger Man" do allude to their times). The centerpiece of the album is two rockin' songs linked together that close the first side of the album, "Opus 10" and "I Want Her," both rather basic in formula but powerful in their delivery and placement on the album. A touchingly endearing album with more heart than you'd expect.

2ND OPINION: Though their self-titled debut album met with little or no national success, the Doctors entered the studio to record their second album, this time with hitmaking producer Jeff Glixman, who had handled many commercial rock artists in recent years, including Kansas. Strange as it may seem, the Doctors' '80s outlook and Glixman's hard rock history created an album as exciting as the Doctors' debut, though less varied. Using the first album's "I Want Her" as a jumping-off point, the Doctors rock hard on 2nd Opinion without losing any of their charm or melodicism. Bassist/vocalist Cal Everett sounds more confident vocally and his songs have even more hooks than before. "Breaking Rocks" rocks hard with a vocal that will melt even the most hardened criminal. "The Lonely Ones" is equally wonderful. "Dawn Patrol" is the pop/rocker that Night Ranger wanted to write but was too pompous to do so. Guitarist Jeff Severson's "Waiting for Roxanne" is an absolute classic right out of the box and should have been the big radio hit that the Doctors were waiting for.
An essential purchase for any fan of Power Pop, New Wave, ‘80s Rock and ‘60s-inspired tunesmithery."

Here's some clips from the band's 2008 reunion show performing some of the wonderful tracks from this release:




Recommended by 4 out of 5 Spazzes,
Stephen SPAZ Schnee

Saturday, October 3, 2009

PURPLE HEARTS/the Mod Singles Collection reveiw


PURPLE HEARTS were one of the most popular of the Mod bands that hit the British music scene in 1979 and 1980. The excellent Captain Mod label (an offshoot of Captain Oi) has just issued a collection of all the band's singles (A and B-sides) entitled The Mod Singles Collection.  This is what I had to say about it on All Music Guide.


"The Mod scene briefly took hold of the British (and, to a lesser extent, U.S.) music scene in 1979 in the wake of The Jam’s enormous success. When Weller and Co. released their third album, All Mod Cons, in 1978, it not only sent them straight up the charts, it also freed them from the Punk shackles that had weighed them down since the release of their debut album.
Because of the success of the album and the resurgence of Mod culture, labels began snapping up ‘60s-influenced acts like The Lambrettas, The Chords, The Jolt, Secret Affair, Squire and Purple Hearts. Of these main players, Purple Hearts were the least likely to succeed but it certainly wasn’t from lack of talent or ambition. With a Punk attitude and ‘60s Garage Rock influences, the band’s songs were less chart-friendly than their contemporaries and didn’t quite connect with the fickle public.
Signing to Fiction Records, the band released a handful of singles and one album in 1980 (Beat That!) before fading into the ether. They resurfaced briefly in ’82 and again in 1986 but fame and fortune proved to be elusive.
While not a great ‘album’ band, the Hearts sounded far more exciting on their singles, all of which are collected on this compilation (A and B-sides). The singles are joined here by three excellent 1981 demo recordings lifted from The Beat Generation & The Angry Young Men compilation.
Though Who and Kinks influences abound, the real meat of their sound is snotty Garage Rock, which really comes to the fore on tracks like “Frustration”, “Just To Please You”, “Plane Crash” and “Head On Collision Time”. On the other hand, the band’s pop smarts shine brightly on “Jimmy”, “My Life’s A Jigsaw” and “Friends Again” and all three of the bonus compilation tracks (‘I’ll Make You Mine”, “Concrete Mixer” and “Hazy Darkness”).
This 17 track collection showcases all of the band’s strengths, although I must admit that their version of “Scooby Doo” is the only obvious mis-step here. Released on Captain Oi’s excellent offshoot label, Captain Mod, the booklet contains informative liner notes, release information and reproductions of the picture sleeves.
Needless to say, The Mod Singles Collection is the best place to start your Purple Hearts collection."




Head On Spaz Time,
Stephen SPAZ Schnee