The Sound "Jeopardy" 1980 *****

As promised, cd1 of the new Sound boxset.

When it comes to discussing the greatest post-punk bands, The Sound are rarely considered as contenders. They didn't had any real hits and their albums have remained out of print for long periods of time. This, their debut album, although hastily and cheaply recorded, won 5* reviews. But, despite the reviews and obvious quality of the songwriting, it failed to find an audience. To me the reason why is unfathomable. On hearing the opening song of this album, I was immediately hooked. As long as I can remember, no Rock DJ has failed to get a good reaction with it. And, in Greece, in the 80's and 90's, everybody played it! It starts off slowly and keeps building up to the desperate chorus "I...Can't...Escape Myself!". For those who have never heard the band, points of reference would be early U2 and Echo & the Bunnymen, Bauhaus and, above all, Joy Division. Imagine a rockier Joy Division, with louder guitars. Lyrically there are also similarities - maybe the frontmen of both groups projected in their music the mental health problems which eventually led them to suicide, although The Sound's Adrian Borland displays a fighting spirit despite the gloominess. Second track "Heartland" should also have been a hit, it's fast and punky with loud keyboards and a rousing chorus. "Hour Of Need" and "Unwritten Law" are dark and atmospheric, reminiscent of The Cure circa Faith and Pornography. First single "Heyday" is a blazing (post) punk rocker, while further highlights include the punk angst of "Words Fail Me", social commentary of the anthemic "Missiles" and aggressive call for Resistance in the same-named song: "Caught in the comfort of my trap/Where it's easier to die than to fight back/Half-dead, but I hope it's not too late/To take some action and change my fate/Hold on, Hold out/Resistance!". This edition of the album adds formerly single-only tracks "Physical World" and "Brute Force" plus 8 live songs that sometimes surpass their studio counterparts. These hail from the Dutch promo-only Live Instinct EP and a 1980 BBC session. A classic album that I keep getting back to and never seizes to amaze...

***** for I Can't Escape Myself, Heartland, Heyday, Missiles, Resistance

**** for Hour of Need, Words Fail Me, Jeopardy, Unwritten Law and BBC Live versions of Heartland, Unwritten Law & I Can't Escape Myself

*** for  Night Versus Day, Physical World, Brute Force, Desire, the Live Instinct versions of Heartland, Brute Force, Jeopardy, Coldbeat and BBC Live version of Jeopardy