Red Lorry Yellow Lorry "Smashed Hits" 1982-1986(rec) 1988(comp)****

Back in the late 80's I used to have one side of a cassette of Red Lorry Yellow Lorry which was at least a third generation tape, maybe more -meaning that I had copied it from a friend who had copied it from a friend who also wasn't the original LP owner. It was the analogue version of today's file sharing. Even then, record companies were complaining that "home taping is killing music" adding this slogan to LP inserts and music ads. Pretty heavy claim, coming from the greedy suits who had been robbing artists for years and tried to bury everything interesting and original in order to peddle their own prefabricated pop shit. Serves them right they nowadays survive by selling ringtones, though the whole situation kinda sucks for the workers in record pressing plants, a noble profession slowly going down the drain. When I'm cataloguing my records and CDs and see every one of denotes "made in EU" (or UK/US/Japan etc) I can't help but think of the people who made them and of the jobs lost in these places. Just one more reason for me to keep buying music in material form - next to the fact it actually sounds way better than shitty MP3s played on a shitty laptop or a mobile phone. And don't pretend it's normal, exchanging your stereo for a frigging telephone, a device that should forever have stayed connected to your home line. Think of the beautiful old round dials and the noise they made when you turned them with your finger. And of the receivers, feeling so sturdy in your hand. Think of all the bones and heads that wouldn't have broken if people had been watching their step instead of their phone screen while they walk. OK, enough - grumpy old man signing off for now...

"Smashed Hits" is a compilation of early singles, the title being a clever wordplay between the commercial pop Smash Hits magazine/compilations and getting smashed/drunk. It seems rather short, but it's of normal duration for an LP - it remains the only R.L.Y.L. compilation ever issued in vinyl, though I have the CD version myself. Listening to it now, I'm immediately transported to the late 80's and the alternative bars of the Athens Exarchia neighbourhood where I spent my student years: Iris, Allothi, Oktana and the recently resurrected Decadance. Alcohol-fueled late nights, legions of black-clad youths and punks with dangerously pointy hairstyles, deafeningly loud post-punk music: The Sisters of Mercy, Bauhaus, Killing Joke, The Sound...and less celebrated bands like R.L.Y.L. Coming from such a background, how could I not like it? Soundwise, R.L.Y.L. is a very typical dark wave band of the era: angular guitars, throbbing bass, and rousing, rhythmic, quasi-military drums courtesy of Mick Brown who'd later join The Mission. The compilation opens with first single "Beating My Head" (1982) and "Take It All" (1983) both betraying a strong Joy Division influence. On later singles they would adopt an even darker sound with Chris Reed's sinister vocals reminiscent of Bauhaus ("He's Read" 1983, "Hollow Eyes" 1984) and Sisters of Mercy ("Monkeys On Juice" 1984, "Spinning Round b/w Hold Yourself Down" 1985). Later singles like "Cut Down" (1985) and "Chance" (1986) continued in the same dark mood and relentless pace. Now that I think of it, the total absence of ballads sets this album apart from other "goths" of the era. Maybe there is some truth in their allegations that they were not goths at heart but rather influenced by garage/punk bands like Wire and MC5. The CD contains two 1984 B-sides not present in the LP: "Push" is an instrumental and "Feel A Piece" is another fast Sisters of Mercy-like tune. If you like the bands mentioned above, you should definitively check out R.L.Y.L., they're among the best of the era. "Smashed Hits" would be a solid but incomplete introduction, as it contains essential early singles but ignores album tracks and post-1986 material.

***** for Beating My Head, He's Read, Hollow Eyes, Hold Yourself Down

**** for Monkeys On Juice, Feel A Piece, Generation, Spinning Round, Cut Down, Chance 

*** for Take It All, Push