The (Count) Bishops "Live!" 1978***

I knew this band as The Count Bishops, but on the album cover they're credited plainly as The Bishops. And then, this live recording begins with them being introduced to their audience as The Count Bishops again. Apparently, what happened here was that the record company thought that the old name wasn't punk enough and took it upon themselves to shorten it, creating confusion to the record buying and concert going public. Now, the Count Bishops slightly predated punk, as they formed in 1975, playing the pub circuit alongside other pub rock bands like Eddie & The Hot Rods and The 101ers (who featured a pre-Clash Joe Strummer on vocals). Despite being sometimes refered to as such, pub rock wasn't a genre in itself: some bands leaned towards country, others towards reggae, funk, blues, or garage rock. Bands like Dire Straits and (Nick Lowe's) Brinsley Schwarz also came out of that scene, but The Count Bishops' sound was different, and arguably more representative of what we think of as "pub rock" today. They played loud and energetic no-nonsense R&B and 60's beat covers, of the kind that justifies their repute as precursors to punk. This live album is especially loud and aggressive - I'm not sure whether they sounded like this from the beginning or they took it further in order to fit in with the punk crowd which had by that time stormed the music industry and raised its flag upon the ruins of mainstream rock. Of course, around the time of this recording, they were playing support slots to another new group called Motörhead - and those guys, as I'm sure you know, were pretty loud, too. While researching The Count Bishops' history for this blog, I realized we've met some of them in this blog before: singer David Tice and drummer Paul Balbi used to play in antipodean Black Sabbath soundalikes Buffalo. Just what they are doing half the world away and playing in a completely different (albeit just as loud) style, I have no idea. The rest of the band (for this album) are guitarists Johnny Guitar and Zenon DeFleur, and bassist Pat McMullan. Incidentally, the original Count Bishops singer Mike Spenser is also an old aquaintance: I presented his other band The Cannibals on this blog, some 7 years ago (time flies, doesn't it?) These recordings come from London's Roundhouse venue. Initially they were supposed to use just one song for a live sampler by their label Chiswick Records, but when that plan fell out, they realized they had enough material for a mini LP, which initially came out on 10'' vinyl, featuring 10 tracks and clocking at only 26 minutes. My version is of the more common 12'' size, while there's a German version (also on 12'' LP) featuring 12 tracks. Lastly, there's an ultra-rare 30-year old Japanese CD reissue out there (also with 12 tracks), but otherwise the album has been forgotten and out of print for decades. As I previously mentioned, the performances are raw, fast, and loud. There's some fierce guitar playing, though the solos are very short as dictated by punk orthodoxy, while Tice's vocal is gruff and harsh but on the money. The material is equally divided among covers and originals. Covers include blues classic "Don't Start Me Talking", garage nuggets "Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White" (of The Standells) and "I Want Candy" (Strangeloves), The Kinks' "Till The End Of The Day", and bullyish rockabilly "Someone's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight" (an early Fleetwood Mac B-side). The band's original compositions are arguably better, opener "Too Much Too Soon" is a proto-punk rocker a la New York Dolls/Dictators, "Taking It Easy" is rockabilly, while "Train Train" and "I Don't Like It" are more blues-based. "Baby You're Wrong"'s catchy chorus distinguishes it as the (relatively) most melodic part of this collection. I, for my part, enjoyed the band's energy and choice of material, although I wouldn't mind them polishing the rough edges a bit. The punk crowd, though, loved it exactly as it was, and this live album gave them momentum. They quickly released another album, and got to appear on Top Of The Pops. Everything pointed to them being on their way to fame, but DeFleur's death in a car accident put an end to their career - and added a new member to the ranks of the "27 club". So they didn't leave much of a legacy behind, but they carried the flag for pure rock'n'roll proudly. If you'd fancy a rougher, punkier, Dr. Feelgood, you'll love this record.

**** for Too Much Too Soon, Train Train, Baby You're Wrong

*** for Till The End Of The Day, Taking It Easy,Someone's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight, Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White, Don't Start Me Talking, I Don't Like It, I Want Candy

 

Terrorvision ‎"How To Make Friends And Influence People" 1994****

This is kind of a special album for me. Not because I listened to it a lot - which I did, although I mostly remember watching the videos on MTV's French counterpart MCM, which was the closest we had to a music TV channel in Greece at the time. But because it reminds me of the last time I was in the mosh pit in a rock concert: Rockwave Festival, Athens 1999. To be honest, at that point I was kinda too old for that stuff: I was already out of college and had just opened my dental practice. That day I went to the festival early, and alone; my friends would join later just in time to see that day's "big names". So I was walking the festival grounds and checking the wares in the tents, when Terrorvision came out, earlyish in the afternoon. It only took a few seconds for me to realize that I wanted to be in the center of the mosh pit: I put my shirt in my backpack and headed to the front of the stage. 45 minutes later, to their great surprise, my friends saw me emerge from the crowd half naked and covered in sweat. They might have been less surprised if I was moshing to a "cooler" band - the previous year Bad Religion played Rockwave and I was only standing at the edge of the pit, pushing the younger guys back to the throng every time they came my way, as good etiquette dictates. Bad Religion were hardcore, but Terrorvision were thought to be too commercial, so why mosh to that? Well let me tell you commercial they may be, but the live energy was not to be denied. Why be cool when you can have so much fun otherwise?

I used to have this on vinyl, but sold it during the great vinyl purge. I got maybe €2 for it, which was a fair price then, although it's now worth around €60. Yes, obviously the vinyl purge was a bad decision but at the time my living arrangements were such that there wasn't enough space for all my records. Plus, the purge paid for two or three months' rent, which came in handy at the time. At least I wasn't alone in that, many people sold off their vinyl collections, although most did it in the 90's. Years later, I found the CD on discogs for €1, and added it to my basket even though most of the songs here are included in the band's Best Of comp, which I already had. With hindsight, what was another mainstream alt.rock/metal LP at the time, seems quite exceptional: In 90's UK, Brit Pop reigned; bands reviving the smart pop of The Beatles and Kinks. As for the US, it was all about grunge; no room for snappy bright choruses. Terrorvision had the playful lyrics and pop savvy of British bands, combined with the aggressiveness and energy levels of American ones. "Alice What's The Matter?" is an energetic opener with choppy riffs, rousing solos, shouty vocals and instantly memorable chorus. It's followed by the ridiculously catchy chorus of "Oblivion": "woo-op, bappa-woo-op, bappa-woo-op, bap-ba-woo!" - I may be paraphrasing here, but believe me it's an earworm if I ever heard one. And that lyric "Oh goodness, my gracious, I hope it's not contagious", it cracks me up every time! "Stop The Bus" has a hard rock guitar sound, but is still rather poppy - at times I don't know if it reminds me of Soundgarden or Lenny Kravitz. No such doubts for "Discotheque Wreck", an aggressive piece that seems specially designed for headbanging and slam-dancing. The more melodic, almost Beatles-y, "Middleman" brings it down a notch, completing a near-perfect opening quintet. "Still The Rhythm", "Stab In The Back", and "Time O' The Signs" are a winsome combination of funk, alternative rock, and metal, but aren't as immediately memorable as what preceded them. "Ten Shades Of Grey" and "Some People Say" are sort of the token power ballads - the latter successfully combines a shouty chorus with melodic strings. "Pretend Best Friend" was one of the album's singles: it starts with a catchy riff and singer Tony Wright speed rapping, followed by a slow lounge section. The fast and slow parts keep alternating, and while in theory this shouldn't work, it all gels together nicely. "What The Doctor Ordered" is a metal-oriented track, while the album proper ends with rocker "What Makes You Tick". The CD continues with 5 minutes of silence followed by a "hidden track" - just noises and people talking nonsense, really. Crappy hidden tracks; another reason to keep your vinyl rather than "upgrade" to CD (calling it an upgrade sounds silly I know, but that's what we thought we were doing back then). The band would continue until 2001 (and reform again in 2005, and on various occasions since then), but while they released some great singles throughout their career, they never bettered this album. Well, almost 30 years after its initial release, I say it's time to give Terrorvision their due and recognize How To Make Friends... for what it is: one of the all-time classic rock albums.

***** for Oblivion

**** for Alice What's The Matter?, Discotheque Wreck, Middleman, Pretend Best Friend, Some People Say

*** for Stop The Bus, Still The Rhythm, Stab In The Back, Time O' The Signs, What The Doctor Ordered, What Makes You Tick

** for Ten Shades Of Grey

Julian Cope "20 Mothers" 1995***

Julian Cope is one of English rock's more interesting figures: in 1977, he co-founded Liverpool's first punk band The Crucial 3. They proved to be too combustible, so the members very soon went their separate ways: Ian McCullogh founded Echo & The Bunnymen, Pete Wylie The Mighty Wah!, and Cope continued with neo-psychedelic band Teardrop Explodes. T.E. did a good job of updating their 60's influences (The Doors, Syd Barrett, Love etc) for the new wave audience, but Cope fell victim to his own psychedelic explorations, frequent LSD use leading him to behave erratically, alienate himself from the rest of the Liverpool music scene, and display self-destructive behavior onstage. The 80's were a schizophrenic time for Cope, as he wore two identities, with looks and songs to match: the new wave pop star (when the record company had its way) and the fucked-up drug fiend (when he went off the rails). Slowly, though, another identity emerged: the scholar, the researcher of rare psychedelic music (he's published erudite treaties on German and Japanese rock) and, more surprisingly, an authority on England's druidic past, as well as neolithic and copper age archaeology. His book The Modern Antiquarian is actually both a best seller on the subject (thanks to his infectious enthusiasm for the subject) and a serious scholarly work (thanks to his deep knowledge and thoroughness of his research). Starting in the early 90's, he's gradually broken loose from the corporate rock world and makes records for himself and a few loyal followers. 20 Mothers strikes a balance between the commercial artist and music experimentalist - it even contains a hit single (his last) the instantly catchy "Try Try Try". The song is dedicated to his mother, while other songs here also touch personal subjects: the love for his wife, his kids (lightly strummed "I'm Your Daddy"), the relationship with estranged brother ("Wheelbarrow Man"), even his wife's 90-year old senile Greek grandma getting on everyone's nerves (on the upbeat garage rocker "Senile Get"). This presents a departure, following an album trilogy on heavier subjects: environmental destruction (Peggy Suicide), the perceived tyranny of the Judeo-Christianic faith (Jehovakill) and cars as the embodiment of modern consumerism (Autogeddon). The personal character of the songs is mirrored on the albums' cover, featuring 20 literal mothers - mostly friends and family. Wife Dorian is on front row, 3rd from left; if you're curious about the rest, read here. The back cover depicts Cope as a happy daddy posing with his two little daughters. "Stone Circles And You" is a pleasant mid-tempo piece augmented with otherworldly synthesizer sounds. This, and and the noisier "By The Light Of The Silbury Moon", are about those megalithic monuments he loves so much, while the appropriately Nirvana-like "Queen/Mother" is about Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love. Universal themes aren't absent of course: his concern for Mother Nature is voiced on the gentle acid folk "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud", and anti-religion views on "1995", a song reminiscent of Pink Floyd circa Ummagumma - especially in the percussion and oriental keyboard melodies. Another 60's-sounding track ("Adam and Eve Hit the Road") reprises Autogeddon's attack on the auto industry. I myself am rather partial to the metallic "Greedhead Detector" about large corporation CEO's, some of whom are mentioned by name in the liner notes. Especially of the chorus "fuck-fuck-fuck you, fuck-fuck-fuck you, fuck you!". Sometimes one word is all one needs to convey their meaning - and all that some people deserve. Musically, the album is all over the place. From a compositional point of view, the songs are quite straightforward. You can easily strip them down to demo-like acoustic guitar and rough-and-ready vocals. Then it sounds as if someone took these demos and superimposed all kinds of studio trickery - primarily keyboardist/co-producer Thighpaulsandra's retrofuturistic synths. Ballad "The Lonely Guy" is a good example, as it sounds like Frank Sinatra giving a concert in a flying saucer landing sight. "Don't Take Roots" has a groovy 60's garage rock vibe, while "Just like Poo Bear" is bouncy synth pop. It's followed by the understated "Girl-Call" emulating Can's motorik rhythms. "Highway To The Sun" initially sounds like Jim Morrison in his mystical crooner guise, later picking up pace and featuring an electronic screech. 20 Mothers is divided in four phases, roughly corresponding to four sides of a double vinyl album even though -this being 1995- there must have been very few vinyls pressed. The last phase kicks off with "Cryingbabiessleeplessnights" a stark folk piece - until, that is, a medieval choir starts chanting. "Leli B" is a instrumental, and orchestrated ballads "Road Of Dreams" and "When I Walk Through The Land Of Fear". Somehow I'm reminded of The Beatles' "The Long And Winding Road". Generally, while this 20-track/72-minute album doesn't contain any bad songs or performances, it could do with a bit of trimming and homogenizing. As it is, it can seem a bit too varied sonically, with the disjointed feel of a singles collection but without the well-crafted quality we associate with successful singles. Although it did get very positive reviews, and sold well enough, I personally don't consider it to be among Cope's best - that's my two cents' anyway. On another note, you might want to check the potentially interesting video below: Julian Cope the scholar taking us on an instructive road trip around neolithic England.

         

**** for Try Try Try, Stone Circles 'N' You, I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud, 1995, Greedhead Detector, Cryingbabiessleeplessnights, Road Of Dreams

*** for Wheelbarrow Man, Queen/Mother, I'm Your Daddy, Highway To The Sun, By The Light Of The Silbury Moon, Adam & Eve Hit The Road, Just Like Pooh Bear, Girl-Call, Don't Take Roots, Senile Get, The Lonely Guy, Leli B.,When I Walk Through The Land Of Fear

The Heads "No Talking, Just Head" 1996**

I came across this CD while re-arranging my collection, and couldn't remember what it sounded like... with the exception of one song: opener "Damage I've Done", which I first heard on a free sampler CD given away with an American magazine called CMJ New Music Monthly, and which stuck with me. So when I found the Heads' sole album on sale I bought it, hoping it'd contain other, just as memorable, songs. Since then, it's happened countless times: I have boxes full of these magazine samplers, from Uncut and Mojo mostly, but also Q, NME, Classic Rock, Kerrang, Word, Songlines, as well as many Greek magazines. Each of them contains some tracks by bands I like, but more significantly also stuff by others I had never heard of but I invariably ended following up on. Nowadays free CD samplers are so commonplace as to be reduntant: with streaming, youtube, social media etc. there are so many other ways to discover music that a physical CD seems like a waste of plastic. But back then, CMJ seemed almost too good to be true: on occasion, magazines had given away cassettes, flexi discs (please tell me you know what a flexi disc is), or even the odd vinyl, but a whole CD of 20+ tracks by different bands, plus articles on all those bands? Every month? This was unprecedented. To top it off, these were all brand new (re)releases, and more often than not, they chose the lead single from each album. Still, this was highly specialized press: unlike Mojo and Uncut (which were soon to appear on the scene), you couldn't get them on just any foreign press agency. The Metropolis record store in downtown Athens brought 3 or 4 copies. I used to pass by at least twice a week anyway, so chances were good I'd be able to snatch one.

So yes, CMJ was my introduction to a lot of new artists, from Morcheeba to Cornershop and from Rammstein to 16 Horspower. And in this case, to a new/old band, seeing as The Heads are just The Talking Heads without their lead singer, David Byrne - ergo the title No Talking, Just Head. It seems strange that their only album would be so quickly forgotten. One reason is, of course, that Byrne tried to bury them legally: He argued their name and sound (and, I might add, the cover artwork) were too similar to his/their old band, and tried to stop them from performing and releasing even this one album. Another reason probably had to do with the cold reception they got from both fans and critics. The opener (and lead single) "Damage I've Done" gathers some of the harshest reviews, I think mainly because it doesn't sound similar to The Talking Heads at all. I, on the other hand, like the juxtaposition of the new-wavey intro and grungy chorus with Napolitano's angst-filled vocal. Critics call it garbage, but to me it sounds more like Garbage. The band. Who were at the time among the hottest alternative rockers around. So The Heads could have gone that way: get a singer with a completely different style and pursue a more "modern" sound. Or, alternately, they could choose to emulate their older selves. It might lead to uncomfortable comparisons, but it'd make sense if they intended to tour extensively. Instead, they do not seem to be able to choose a direction: they're torn between re-hashing their glory days and attempting to modernize their sound by adding loops and other electronic elements. And instead of settling on a singer, thay asked a bunch of guests to write lyrics and sing, resulting in an uneven patchwork of an album. (Concrete Blonde's) Johnette Napolitano is followed by (INXS)'s Michael Hutchence on the groovy "Like A King", and then by two CBGBs alumni, Debbie Harry on "No Talking Just Head" and Richard Hell on "Never Mind". The former is too electronic for my liking, while the latter is reminiscent of their art-funk style. Substitute Hell with Byrne, and it could be The Talking Heads at their more mediocre. Then we're back to pseudo-techno with "No Big Bang" (feat. Maria McKee). A song that might work for The Cardigans, but does not work for this band and this singer. A more interesting pairing is with (Happy Mondays/Black Grape singer) Shaun Ryder, who takes over "Don't Take My Kindness for Weakness" and makes it sound like one of his side-projects. I don't know who Malin Anneteg is, but she has a "sexy" spoken word piece here. It's OK for what it is - a spoken word interlude with sympathetic art-funk backing. "Punk Lolita" (bassist Tina Weymouth with guests Debbie Harry and Johnette Napolitano on vocals) is another interesting direction not taken, a dance/post-punk hybrid somewhat similar to Le Tigre, if not as riotous as them. "Indie Hair" (feat. Live's Ed Kowalczyk) sounds like it could have been a Talking Heads song, but the singer -while good- is a bad fit for the material. "Only the Lonely" (feat. Gordon Gano) sounds like a 50/50 mix of Talking Heads and Violent Femmes. Since I like both bands, and while the song isn't anything special, it's among my favorites here. "Papersnow" (with XTC's Andy Partridge) comes close to emulating the spirit of The Talking Heads without emulating its sound. Maybe the most interesting (almost "progressive") composition here. The album closes with the jazzy and atmospheric "Blue Blue Moon" featuring Gavin Friday, previously of Virgin Prunes, on vocals. The band toured for a bit with Napolitano as main vocalist. There's a full performance on youtube, which isn't half bad. In this live setting, and with basic rock instrumentation, the new songs mingle well with Talking Heads classics - of course they do, since it's 3/4 of the original band playing. Had they continued on the way hinted by the concerts rather than by the album, they might have had something interesting in their hands, but David Byrne had his way and shut them down. What we're left with is a flawed and directionless album with some interesting moments. Yet, I'm not sure it deserves the oblivion it has been designated to. If you're a fan of The Talking Heads, or have a penchant for lost albums, you should check it out.

**** for "Damage I've Done" (feat. Johnette Napolitano)

*** for "The King is Gone" (feat. Michael Hutchence), "Never Mind" (feat. Richard Hell), "Don't Take My Kindness for Weakness" (feat. Shaun Ryder), "Only the Lonely" (feat. Gordon Gano), "Papersnow" (Vocals by Andy Partridge), "Blue Blue Moon" (Vocals by Gavin Friday)

** for "No Talking Just Head" (feat. Debbie Harry), "No Big Bang" (feat. Maria McKee), "No More Lonely Nights" (feat. Malin Anneteg), "Indie Hair" (feat. Ed Kowalczyk), "Punk Lolita" (Vocals by Napolitano, Harry and Tina Weymouth)