26 July 1979 (and here)
— Red Starr
What I previously said:
The spidery riffs and a hard-plonking beat make this an easy to like if kind of underwhelming first SOTF. The ghostly, expressionless vocals and minimalist atmospherics put it very much in the context of late-seventies new wave. It seems they were very young at the time — the fact that they were on a label known as Teen Beat sort of gives away their age — and, thus, were a promising bunch. Or so it seemed.
Cliff White and Red "Ian Cranna" Starr switched places this fortnight. It seems it was something they agreed to do just to spite all the youngsters who had been writing in to complain about their awful reviews. This fortnight's singles begins with a short message which reads as follows:
Being in the middle of 1979, it's strange to think that Liverpool was having an especially tough time of it. Their Bob Paisley-era football squad was at its zenith with a high-powered offence and a stingy defense (just sixteen goals allowed all season!) that once again put them comfortably atop the old First Division. (Inevitably to be outdone was Everton coming a respectable yet underwhelming as ever fourth) In terms of pop music, this was hardly The Beatles rockin' The Cavern Club but there was probably a good deal more depth to be found in Scouse post-punk than during the Merseybeat boom.
Not leading the way and not forging a future was Glass Torpedoes. For a nice debut single by a young act, there was every reason to expect they had a bright future. For whatever reason, it didn't happen but it says a lot that Starr would nevertheless see big things for their hometown in general on the evidence of this one record. Well, not really. He's nearly as impressed by "The Pictures on My Wall" by Echo & The Bunnymen, yet another new act out of Liverpool. Listening to the pair of new releases back to back it's difficult to spot the group who would carve out a nice career and the group that would ultimately go nowhere. They're both solid examples of post-punk but neither is particularly notable beyond speculating where they'd be headed next, if anywhere. Quite what did a Glass Torpedo think when Ian McCulloch claimed that his group could have been U2? "Yeah, and we could have been Echo & The bloody Bunnymen".
While it is very much a period piece, it didn't occur to me how ahead of its time Barbara Donovan's vocals are. She anticipates many of the riot grrrl acts of the nineties with her monotone delivery. It's impossible to say if the likes of Sleater-Kinney or Babes in Toyland knowingly cribbed from her but there's always the possibility of a domino effect. I certainly hope so since it would be nice if there was a bit more to them than just a proto-Single of the Fortnight.
Finally, in my original write up from March of 2018 I seem unaware that this is an E.P. we're dealing with. I guess I didn't examine Starr's review very well since he brings it up himself. The other two tracks are all right and further evidence of their promise. If only they'd been able to deliver on it.
What I previously said:
The spidery riffs and a hard-plonking beat make this an easy to like if kind of underwhelming first SOTF. The ghostly, expressionless vocals and minimalist atmospherics put it very much in the context of late-seventies new wave. It seems they were very young at the time — the fact that they were on a label known as Teen Beat sort of gives away their age — and, thus, were a promising bunch. Or so it seemed.
Cliff White and Red "Ian Cranna" Starr switched places this fortnight. It seems it was something they agreed to do just to spite all the youngsters who had been writing in to complain about their awful reviews. This fortnight's singles begins with a short message which reads as follows:
Well, it's what you wanted, wasn't it? No Cliff White on singles and no Red Starr on albums? What do you think of it so far? — Ed.And there we all were thinking that Tom Hibbert ushered in the era of trolling-merriment to ver Hits.
Being in the middle of 1979, it's strange to think that Liverpool was having an especially tough time of it. Their Bob Paisley-era football squad was at its zenith with a high-powered offence and a stingy defense (just sixteen goals allowed all season!) that once again put them comfortably atop the old First Division. (Inevitably to be outdone was Everton coming a respectable yet underwhelming as ever fourth) In terms of pop music, this was hardly The Beatles rockin' The Cavern Club but there was probably a good deal more depth to be found in Scouse post-punk than during the Merseybeat boom.
Not leading the way and not forging a future was Glass Torpedoes. For a nice debut single by a young act, there was every reason to expect they had a bright future. For whatever reason, it didn't happen but it says a lot that Starr would nevertheless see big things for their hometown in general on the evidence of this one record. Well, not really. He's nearly as impressed by "The Pictures on My Wall" by Echo & The Bunnymen, yet another new act out of Liverpool. Listening to the pair of new releases back to back it's difficult to spot the group who would carve out a nice career and the group that would ultimately go nowhere. They're both solid examples of post-punk but neither is particularly notable beyond speculating where they'd be headed next, if anywhere. Quite what did a Glass Torpedo think when Ian McCulloch claimed that his group could have been U2? "Yeah, and we could have been Echo & The bloody Bunnymen".
While it is very much a period piece, it didn't occur to me how ahead of its time Barbara Donovan's vocals are. She anticipates many of the riot grrrl acts of the nineties with her monotone delivery. It's impossible to say if the likes of Sleater-Kinney or Babes in Toyland knowingly cribbed from her but there's always the possibility of a domino effect. I certainly hope so since it would be nice if there was a bit more to them than just a proto-Single of the Fortnight.
Finally, in my original write up from March of 2018 I seem unaware that this is an E.P. we're dealing with. I guess I didn't examine Starr's review very well since he brings it up himself. The other two tracks are all right and further evidence of their promise. If only they'd been able to deliver on it.
~~~~~
Also Reviewed This Fortnight
Talking Heads: "Take Me to the River"
There's been some backlash of late towards David Byrne. His old bandmates, it would seem, object to the fact that a self-centred, socially awkward geek doesn't seem to care about them. Curious. While it's always worth going back to see just what a wondrous foursome they were forty years ago, it's also important to acknowledge that not everything they touched turned to gold. Underrated songwriters, they attempted a rare cover here that they were fond enough of to keep as a part of their concert setlist for the next five years. I'm happy for them they like it so much but the results are grim. Nothing beats ruining a perfectly good soul classic like sucking all the life, religiosity and sexiness out of it. But don't just blame David Byrne.
There's been some backlash of late towards David Byrne. His old bandmates, it would seem, object to the fact that a self-centred, socially awkward geek doesn't seem to care about them. Curious. While it's always worth going back to see just what a wondrous foursome they were forty years ago, it's also important to acknowledge that not everything they touched turned to gold. Underrated songwriters, they attempted a rare cover here that they were fond enough of to keep as a part of their concert setlist for the next five years. I'm happy for them they like it so much but the results are grim. Nothing beats ruining a perfectly good soul classic like sucking all the life, religiosity and sexiness out of it. But don't just blame David Byrne.
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