— Johnny Black
In a Q Magazine 'Cash for Questions' feature back in 2000, Julian Cope was asked by a fan if he liked Blur's "Country House" because it poked fun at fellow ex-Teardrop Explodes member and Food Records exec David Balfe. The 1995 single famously defeated Oasis' "Roll with It" in 'Battle of Britpop' number one sweepstakes but it also had its detractors. The goodwill Blur had been slowly building over the course of the nineties was beginning to dwindle just as they were at their commercial apogee.
Cope didn't mince words. He felt that "Country House" was "dreadful" and a "pile of crap". "To me," he reasoned, "a piece of art's intention doesn't automatically qualify it for a tick [of approval]". The singer, bassist, author, historian and madman also likened it to much of the work of Dexys Midnight Runners and, in particular, "Liars A to E". "You'd read what it was about and you'd go, Yeah! And you'd hear it and you'd go, Urrgghh."
While I understand Cope's point, I can't agree with the examples discussed. First, "Country House", while far from Blur at their best, isn't that bad. Guitarist Graham Coxon, who most people cite as being the prime instigator of their move from Britpop to lo-fi indie rock, has admitted that he has made his peace with the song and has even stated that it's fun to play live. It's easy to get sick of but every so often I hear it and I find myself getting sucked in. As for Dexys, I have a question for ol' Jules: Huh???
As a Motown/Northern Soul enthusiast, I have a difficult time imagining Kevin Rowland sacrificing the quality of a song just to prove a point. The man put every bit as much of himself into his music, compositions and performances as Cope did and this is not what those coasting on good intentions do. I have no doubt that Julian dislikes Dexys Midnight Runners, I just don't think it has anything to do with the reason he gives. (Hint: it's a matter of taste, as it always is)
There's another peculiar aspect to this comment of Cope's and that's "Liars A to E" itself. "Country House" was a number one smash at the forefront of the Britpop boom and it would have been difficult to avoid for a few weeks in the summer of '95; Dexys' seventh single, on the other hand, failed to chart. If Cope didn't want to have anything to do with Rowland's latest offering he wouldn't have had to put himself out very much.
But enough with Julian bloody Cope — at least for now. Hit or flop (and their chart peaks were seemingly so random that there would have been no way of knowing quite where they were going to place) every Dexys single from "Dance Stance" to "Because of You" is first rate and "Liars A to E" is no exception. In terms of significance, it is only a notch below "Geno" and "Come on Eileen": while only a fraction as popular their pair of number ones, it signals the change that was coming as they went from their early horn-fueled sound to the fiddles and banjos that marked the second wind they enjoyed in 1982.
Yet that's cold comfort to this record, one that is typically overlooked likely due to its failure to dent the Top 100. As Johnny Black suggests, the masses simply didn't have the patience for it. With hollers of "now that I'm fit to show it, don't want anyone else to know it...", some listeners may have geared themselves up for something relatively harsh; others may have found the transition from acapella rage to a lush string section jarring. It's a deceptive song that can get stuck in the brain without warning, making it almost as catchy as "There There My Dear" or "Come on Eileen" but without the ecstatic wedding dance cheeriness of either.
Perhaps feeling like he didn't get it right the first time (even though he did), Rowland ended up having it redone the following year for the Too-Rye-Ay album. The shouting at the beginning was jettisoned, he re-recorded his lead vocal to make it more considered and sensitive and he added a group of backing singers who added nothing. An exceptional single had suddenly become a forgettable (and, frankly, skippable) deep cut. Kevin Rowland should have known better than to second guess his instincts. Like Julian Cope, he had his convictions and was always at his best when he kept to them. Bandmates, critics and fans be damned!
~~~~~
Also Reviewed This Fortnight
The Teardrop Explodes: "Colours Fly Away"
Sadly, I am unable to locate a Kevin Rowland quotation in which he rips into The Chemical Brothers' "Setting Sun" as belabouring the acid rock-ness and comparing it with The Teardrop Explodes' "Colours Fly Away". Those early Teardrop singles "When I Dream", "Reward" and "Treason" are all wonderful examples of new wave psychedelia but there's nothing new going on here. Black curiously describes it as "Byrds meets Pink Floyd" while also praising Cope for being ahead of the field, though he may have a point considering the mid-to-late eighties would be increasingly about looking back at the sixties. In truth, Cope probably was indeed ahead of the pack, especially the band he had clearly outgrown. "Sunshine Playroom", "Sunspots" and "Trampolene" would be the future which had no place for the likes of something so uncharacteristically ordinary.
(Click here to see my original review)
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