The Gibson Brothers: "Cuba"

21 February 1980 (with some spill over here)

"Now if you're the sort of person who reckons that the only good disco record is a dead disco record, then do yourself a large favour and lock into this."

— David Hepworth

What I previously said:

At last, a hit! The only selection here without a trace of indie cred, this has elements of the suave, literary side of disco perpetuated by the likes of Chic and Dr Buzzard's Original Savannah Band. The catchy, discophied Latin rhythms also fit in well alongside reggae and ska. If only the vocal wasn't quite so earnest and pleading. Oh well.

David Hepworth had had enough. He saw what overseeing the singles had done to the late Cliff White and he wasn't about to let it lead him down a similarly dark path. Bags of mail were arriving from all over the country and the bulk of them carried much the same message: I hate the bloke doing the singles. Figuring a change was necessary, he has revamped the format so it is presented as an article rounding up all the new releases. "Specially designed," he states, "to foil those folks who scan the pages for the names of their favourites and then grab pen and paper to fire off the usual "Who does David Hepworth think he is?" letter. Well, that'll show 'em.

It's likely, though, that Hepworth is guilty of cutting off his nose to spite his face here. By altering how the singles reviews were being presented, he may have thrown off the irate readers but at the price of giving himself (and, crucially, other Smash Hits writers who may not have been quite so fond of the new layout) more work. A fortnight earlier, Julie Milton took a look at a total of nineteen records with most of them clocking in at around the forty word mark. Here, however, Heps has more singles to deal with but with nearly a page and a half's worth of space needed. Beyond simply trolling ver kids, I can see an upside to this approach. Rather than giving equal space for every single up for consideration, he has the luxury of devoting several paragraphs to the stand outs while summing up less satisfying listens in just a sentence or two. Yet, it wouldn't last and before long poor old Heps would be having to deal with cross words from grumpy Hits readers.

An error I frequently commit when dealing with vocal acts is assuming that their musical involvement is minimal or even non-existent. Much like the striker in football or the designated hitter in baseball, an apparently non-musical singer just fires off the words while everyone else does the heavy lifting — and then hogs all the glory! But this misunderstands the role of a good vocalist. Most of them do have musical backgrounds and may be capable pianists and/or guitarists. A good singer knows how to fit their voice around the music and production and doesn't just expect it to be catered to them.

Still, the perception that singers are "just" singers persists. This view isn't helped by so-called reality TV with clueless members of the public auditioning for stardom without the faintest idea about making music. Old school Rockism perpetuated the tired notion that "you're supposed to play your own instruments" in order to have any credibility but Poptimism hasn't helped either: singers are now just accepted as singers and who cares if they know how to "play" anything?

It must be said that vocalists often don't aid their cause. Disco had no qualms about skills with a stringed instrument or a keyboard and acts frequently presented themselves as just a bunch of singers. The Bee Gees had once been a "proper" five-piece but their lineup had been reduced to the brothers Gibb by the mid-seventies. They presented themselves as a trio of vocalists but leader Barry was a fine guitarist and Maurice could play just about any instrument he picked up. The Gibson Brothers were almost a Francophonie equivalent to the Gibbs, right down to their names: to the public they were three bothers who could all sing but they were also excellent musicians, a fact few seemed aware of. Hepworth himself seems ignorant of their proficiency. "Discover a rhythm section," he notes, "that makes nine out of ten rock bands sound not only dismally tired but also severely lacking in invention". If only he knew that Chris, Patrick and Alex Francfort (i.e. The Gibsons!) were members of that very rhythm section. But how was anyone to know any better? In the song's promotional video, the three do a simple routine in a studio with a bikini-clad beaut and a simple background of deck chairs and golden palm trees. Instruments? Who needs 'em!

Yet, he's absolutely right about "Cuba" which remains a blinder. Released a year earlier, it was a near hit but they would go on to have chart success with the singles "Ooh, What a Life" and "Que sera mi vida". Feeling that their flop still had life, it got a second chance, something that Hepworth comments on ("...at least there is one bona fide indispensable masterpiece, even if it is a reissue"); it would enjoy a respectable top 20 placing, their third of four on the bounce. And though it would be their lowest charting hit, it is probably the number they are best remembered for to this day.

In my brief write up above, I mention how "Cuba" reminds me of the works of Chic and Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band (which by this point had splintered with leader August Darnell forming the more successful Kid Creole & The Coconuts) but it's difficult to say exactly why. I suppose it has a certain continental sophistication to it (the Francforts were originally from Martinique but had transplanted to France) as well as an exoticism in the Latin rhythms and in extolling the virtues of an island paradise that was otherwise being ruled with an iron fist by Fidel Castro. There's also the crispness of the playing (yet another tip of the hat to the "rhythm section") which is not unlike the economic genius of Chic leaders Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards.

The only sticking point was Chris Gibson's vocal which I found to be far too pleading for my tastes. I'm over all that now though. Yeah, it's a bit much but, listening to a lot of disco over the last year since expanding this blog to include earlier entries, it's kind of nice hearing someone over-emote for a change. Donna Summer and the aforementioned Barry Gibb aside, disco wasn't really packed with outstanding vocalists and their performances often come across as generic (even an excellent single like McFadden & Whitehead's "Ain't No Stopping Us Now" isn't made by the pair's singing). But here we have a vocalist who does tropical with a nice dash of sandpaper and he overdoes it but to convincing affect. And there you have it: as singers and musicians —and as a group — The Gibson Brothers brought it.

~~~~~

Also Reviewed This Fortnight

Martha & The Muffins: "Echo Beach"

"Outsiders worth backing," Hepworth concludes both his review of "Echo Beach" and his lengthy singles round up. They must have seemed that way at one time. Not many bands are able to ride out a decent reputation based on just one big hit but Toronto's Muffins were lucky that way. "Echo Beach" is a fantastic new wave single, with Television-like guitars and that shuffling beat that everyone used back then. The lyrics seem naff ("from 9 to 5 I have to spend my time as work, my job is very boring I'm an office clerk": how this hasn't been spoofed several hundred times over the years is beyond me) but once they get into the "far away in time" bit and the sax begins to wail this doesn't matter a bit. Perhaps it was so good that they could never hope to better it. Martha Ladly's departure reduced them to just one Martha and they never fully recovered. Still, you try to write a song as awesome as "Echo Beach".

Introduction: Audibly Edible Items

"The Leggy Blonde One turns in her usual Sweet Little Sixteen vocal," cooed reviewer Cliff White, "the arrangement and production are a treat for the feet." He continues, "the group is cooking on regulo 9", and, just to finish up on a slightly less complimentary note, "the song is not just throwaway junk." Blondie's "Heart of Glass" was huge and everyone — well, at least one critic at any rate — saw it coming. White's Smash Hits review cites it as the one most likely to thrive on the charts but nowhere does he state that it's his personal favourite.

"Going Underground", "Oliver's Army", "Love Will Tear Us Apart", "Ashes to Ashes", "Kids in America", "Geno", "Making Plans for Nigel", "Tainted Love", "Cars", "Video Killed the Radio Star", "Ghostown", "Don't You Want Me": late-seventies/early-eighties British pop is loaded with remarkable singles. Virtually all were massive hits at the time — sorry Nigel, obviously hitting the top of the charts wasn't part of the plans they were making — and they're all well-remembered to this day, even by listeners who weren't around at the time to enjoy them. Some were part of the zeitgeist of Thatcherism and strikes and an all around sense of malaise of the time. And like "Heart of Glass" not one was a Smash Hits Single of the Fortnight.

Of course the SOTF spot didn't exist in these early days of ver Hits so I've had to go over Brian McCloskey's indispensable Smash Hits archive to spot any early examples. Some, like "Heart of Glass" as well as "Going Underground", were highly acclaimed but weren't specifically cited as the best of the bunch. It's only once we get midway through 1981 that the SOTF starts to become a thing and that's where we'll be kicking things off in the next post. For now I could only find seven singles that reviewers picked out as "single of the week" (sic.) or "most essential swap for a quid note this fortnight" or — my personal favourite — "arguably the most audibly edible item on the menu this sitting".

Date	"Artist"	Single
26 July 1979	Glass Torpedoes	"Someone Different"
20 September 1979	The Freeze	In Colour EP
21 February 1980	The Gibson Brothers	"Cuba"
15 May 1980	Roxy Music	"Over You"
4 September 1980	XTC	"Generals & Majors"
18 September 1980	The Teardrop Explodes	"When I Dream"
16 October 1980	XTC	"Towers of London"

Glass Torpedoes: "Someone Different"

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.

The Freeze: In Colour EP

Guest reviewer Andy Partridge of XTC — a rather big part of this maiden blog post I'm happy to report — thumbed his nose at virtually every single on offer in this issue, kind of liked "Video Killed the Radio Star" but still wasn't convinced it could be a hit (then again, he hardly possessed cunning smash single instincts, did he?) and then proceeded to give Scots indie noisesters The Freeze his stamp of approval. I can't see why. Whereas Glass Torpedoes must have seemed like an act that people in the know wanted to keep an eye on, The Freeze are just tired, churning out the same unconvincing punk rock that was already a cliché by this point. Clearly some had yet to move on — and that goes for reviewer and reviewed.

The Gibson Brothers: "Cuba"

At last, a hit! The only selection here without a trace of indie cred, this has elements of the suave, literary side of disco perpetuated by the likes of Chic and Dr Buzzard's Original Savannah Band. The catchy, discophied Latin rhythms also fit in well alongside reggae and ska. If only the vocal wasn't quite so earnest and pleading. Oh well.

Roxy Music: "Over You"

The Rox handed in their weakest album at this point but their creative nadir didn't have any effect on the public and, indeed, on critics. As one (possibly pseudonymous) Mrs Esmé Sprigg of Hounslow raved, "Stand aside. Here comes a perfectly executed pop record, reeking of class and presenting Roxy Music at their dazzling roxiest." If by that she means "by numbers and nowhere near "Virginia Plain" or any of their old stuff but probably the best they could do at the time though worryingly evident of a dullness they would never be able to shake" then, yes, I wholeheartedly agree.

XTC: "Generals & Majors"

Old Farters Parters may not have had great taste in records but he and his chums knew a little about pumping out ace stuff of their own. Seemingly as much attracted to this due to its value-for-money two record set as for its infectious synthesized whistling and all-around jauntiness, it's interesting to note just how much emphasis reviewers placed on B-sides and extra tracks in making their evaluations. It's commendable of them to do so but in the case of "Generals & Majors" they needn't have bothered as it fizzles with energy and is a perfect launch pad for their sublime album Black Sea — and a taster for what a live powerhouse they were supposed to be at the time.

The Teardrop Explodes: "When I Dream"
Reviewer Mark Ellen described this as "bursting its sides with lightness, depth and ingenuity" and it's not difficult to see why. Julian Cope and his old Teardrop mates leave nothing on the table for this, even if it does go on a bit long — although there could be a single edit that I'm not aware of, I used the version that closes the kind-of-dated-but-also-kind-of-timeless Kilimanjaro. A cracker.

XTC: "Towers of London"

UK music critics at the time were crazy about Swindon's XTC — just as North American hacks were similarly gaga for them by the end of the eighties — as this second proto-SOTF in just six weeks indicates (perhaps it was also to make amends for spurning "Making Plans for Nigel" a year earlier). Spinning a yarn over London's growth and the poor, wretched individuals who built it, the song clangs of hammered iron, which hints at what they'd eventually do on their patchy '84 album The Big Express. Clearly XTC were on course to become a preeminent eighties band. What could possibly go wrong?

And there you have it. Seven proto-Singles of the Fortnight to get this thing going. I'll be back next week with something rather less well known than Blondie, although at the same time they probably aren't quite in the realm of the obscure as Glass Torpedoes and The Freeze. They're in that pop music grey area.