Ducks Deluxe "Ducks Deluxe" 1974****

According to received wisdom, pub rock kept the "flame of original rock'n'roll" alive during the dark prog era of "bloated" concept albums with symphonic ambitions - at least until punk rock came to remind us of the simple values of rock'n'roll. Nonsense, I say! Prog and punk? They're apples and oranges! As for rock'n'roll? Cherries! Because exactly how are Richie Valence and Johnny Rotten similar? That said, I've found out that I quite like this pub rock thing. It's not a homogenous genre: there are different combinations of rockabilly, R&B, country, garage rock, even reggae, involved. What all these bands have in common is simpler song structures, the element of fun, and lack of pretention and self-importance which was often evident in 70's mainstream rock. The immediacy of their approach worked best in small venues like pubs, which gave this "genre" its name in contrast to the "arena rock" - even though some of those stadium rockers (e.g. The Rolling Stones) weren't musically a world away from pub bands like Ducks Deluxe, meaning that pub rock wasn't as revolutionary as music critics imply.

 

One thing's for sure, punk rockers were listening. The laddishness of pub bands like Dr. Feelgood spoke to them at least as much as their energetic music, while the absence of outlandish glam costumes (prog and glam being the era's dominant music trends) made it easier to think of them as "one of the guys". Suddenly it once again seemed possible for anyone to pick up a guitar and form a band, no "rock star quality" needed. Something that always struck me as odd, though, was how these British pub rockers seemed totally enamoured of the American culture: from their love for the American roots sounds of country, soul, and rockabilly, to their lyrics. In this album too, references to middle America abound. Check "Daddy Put The Bomp", a country-ish tune which somehow reminded me of  Creedence's "Lodi", with its references to New Orleans, and lyrics like"My daddy was a preacher...My mommy Texas lady". Same goes for the roadlust exhibited in opener "Coast to Coast", a raucous garage rocker written by Nick Garvey, and reminiscent of The Flamin' Groovies - maybe not coincidentally, as he once served in the Groovies' road crew. It's followed by another wild rocker, a cover of Eddie Cochran's "Nervous Breakdown". Martin Belmont wrote and sings lead on a soul ballad called "I Got You", as well as on the more satisfactory folk rocker "Heart On My Sleeve". He shares lead vocals and songwriting credits with Garvey on the fast R&B rocker "Don't Mind Rockin' Tonite", while Garvey sings lead on "Nervous Breakdown", sped-up Stones cover "It's All Over Now", and his own composition "Please, Please, Please" - also reminiscent of The Stones, circa Between The Buttons. The rest of the songs feature Sean Tyla on lead vocals. These include the propulsive proto-punk "Fireball", soulful R&B "Falling For That Woman", laid-back funk "Too Hot To Handle", and "West Texas Trucking Board" - the latter reminded me of Them's cover of Dylan's "It's All Over Now Baby Blue". All in all, Ducks Deluxe is an excellent debut whose timeless songwriting is both a throwback to the 60's and a precursor of new wave artists like Elvis Costello and Graham Parker. Martin Belmont did end up playing in Parker's backing band The Rumour, while Nick Garvey co-founded successful new wave band The Motors, and Sean Tyla fronted the Tyla Gang. So, while Ducks Deluxe broke up after only one more album (1975's Taxi To The Terminal Zone), at least their legacy lived on in those other bands. The band's two LP's were never re-released on vinyl, but they have been bundled together for a CD reissue, plus there are some compilations going around, both in vinyl and CD form. All well worth checking out, probably among pub rock's finest hour - next to Dr. Feelgood, of course.

**** for Coast To Coast, Nervous Breakdown, Please Please Please, Fireball, Don't Mind Rockin' Tonite, Heart On My Sleeve, Falling For That Woman, West Texas Trucking Board, Too Hot To Handle

*** for Daddy Put The Bomp, I Got You, It's All Over Now