Tom Robinson Band



Arguably, TRB's "Power in the Darkness" (1978) is one of the finest debut albums in the history of popular music.  In my humble opinion at least.  Never mind the classic rock radio staple (The phenomenal "2-4-6-8 Motorway"), which, by the way, is NOT included on the original LP - it's just a cracking rock album, chock full of anthems and energy...as such albums should be.



So why isn't it more widely lauded then?  Well, wrongly pigeonholed in with the burgeoning Punk/New Wave movement of the time could have had a little something to do with it.  After all, TRB wore flares - a Punk no-no - and had a Hammond organ-player in their midst...although the Stranglers also had one of those.  Furthermore, perhaps, the gay rights posturing/preaching may have been a factor.  Say what you like about Tom Robinson, but he was/is never one to shy away from a topic close to his heart and mind.  Just take a listen to the unforgettable (You have been warned: A '60s hippie term coming up) 'protest song' "(Sing If You're) Glad to be Gay" (Again, NOT on the album!) to find out...

 

Produced by then-recent Sex Pistols/The Clash accomplice Chris Thomas, "PITD" packs a powerful punch.  "Long Hot Summer", "Ain't Gonna Take It", "The Winter of '79" (My favorite line: "Spurs beat Arsenal - What a game!") and single "Up Against the Wall" are just some of the highlights.

 

And odd as it may seem, Danny Kustow is for some reason not a household name today.  THE lost guitar god of the '70s if you ask me.

Inevitably, for the follow-up album, the big, currently hip American producer (Todd Rundgren, in this space and time) was flown in and the record was hastily finished in, eh, record time.

"TRB 2" (1979) wasn't an entirely bad record, but it wasn't very good either.  A Peter Gabriel co-write "Bully For You" (Later in the year nicked by Pink Floyd of all people for the depressing disco of "Another Brick in the Wall Pt.2") was a strong track and an obvious single, but which somehow - inexplicably - failed miserably chart-wise.

 



 

By then the writing was on the wall and by 1980 TRB had broken up.

Their fearless leader has never been completely out of the spotlight since, though in later years his profile has been somewhat lower.

But fear not.  Recently EMI had the good sense to put out the excellent and exhaustive 3CD/1DVD "Tom Robinson Band Anthology 1977-1979", containing all the essentials, previously unissued demos, live recordings and the like.  It should be available at a (net)store near you.

And, by the way, Tom Robinson Band recorded one of the finest Dylan covers the '70s served up.  But, yet again, it wasn't included on the album.  Which just goes to show how many good songs they had to begin with.  I suppose.    

 



   





Albums That Time NEARLY Forgot.

 

Heartbreakers/"L.A.M.F" (1977, Track Records)

 

 

 

The Heartbreakers' "L.A.M.F." (The original and, arguably, charming title of "Like a Mother Fucker" was aborted for this, most likely, record company sanctioned abbreviation) never got its due praise until a couple of decades later. 
Probably the second best punk album of all time.  Or, at least, of 1977.  No price for guessing the best one.  And, no, it's not The Clash's self titled debut - although that is a mighty fine effort as well.
"Mudded" mix has been blamed for "L.A.M.F''s original vinyl issue's lack of proper awe and respect at the time.  But it couldn't have been quite so simple.  Personally, I believe the origin of the Heartbreakers was somewhat to blame as well.  Although it may not have been a great sounding record, it was nonetheless a great record.



Formed from the ashes of the New York Dolls, by ex-Dolls Johnny Thunders and Jerry Nolan, to the coolest U.K. punks of '77 the Heartbreakers' was possibly not the most credible background around.  Being American probably didn't help matters much either - even though they did take the trouble to relocate to the U.K. 



The New York Dolls, although in the early '70s sounding like a fabulous and fresh cross between prime-era Stones and Mott the Hoople, by 1977 - and in spite of having an obvious influence on the likes of The Sex Pistols as well as Sham 69 (to name but two) - sounded a tad dated and worn.
Nonetheless, in the press and by the powers that were, the Dolls were touted as the predecessors of punk.  Remember those odd and opportunistic "New Wave" comps from circa '77, which collected artists as diverse as Ramones, Runaways, Flamin' Groovies, and, err, Little Bop Story?  Not to mention New York Dolls.  Well, those were the daze...

Fronted by David Johansen and Johnny Thunders, as the Jagger & Richards of their time, New York Dolls, in the early '70s, paved the way for mid '70s NY punks like Ramones, Blondie, Talking Heads, Television, etc.  But as The Clash declared "I'm so Bored With the U.S.A.", the U.K. punks were sceptical and eager to put as much distance between themselves and their U.S. counterparts.  Let's not forget that Ramones weren't even considered to be cool at this point in time.
That said, The Sex Pistols sonically and verbally attacked the NY wave with "New York"; The Heartbreakers aptly and ably responded with "London Boys".  Oh, well.  And this was 20 years prior to the limp Oasis Vs. Blur feud...
Around which time U.K.'s Jungle Records first saw fit to unleash the "proper" mix of "L.A.M.F".  Better late than never.  And since then there have been at least a couple of reissues of said mixes + rarities, demos, etc. and so on.  The last of which is a "Definitive" 4 CD box set, which, never mind the bollocks (in this case being pin badges), is as impressive and essential as they come....
  

 

 

Power Pop #1

The Best:

Nick Lowe/"Jesus of Cool" (1978/2008, Proper Records CD, CHOSEN1)

In March 1978 Nick Lowe's long-awaited first solo LP, "Jesus of Cool" appeared in British records stores.  Already hailed as the hottest "new wave" producer around with debut albums by Elvis Costello and The Damned among others under his belt, this former pub rock stalwarth apparently could do no wrong.  Accompanying single "(I Love the Sound of) Breaking Glass" immediately became a Top 10 hit in its own right and remains his biggest U.K. solo hit to date.

Even though the album was chock-full of sure fire hit single worthy material such as "Little Hitler", "Tonight",  "Marie Provost", "So it Goes" - his first proper solo single in 1976 - and a live version of its B-side "Heart of the City", "Breaking Glass" nonetheless became the sole charting single culled from the album.

In the U.S. the album's title was not surprisingly deemed a tad too risky, so with a couple of adjustments to the tracklisting (a studio version of "Heart of the City" replaced its live counterpart and Lowe's hilarious spot-on Bay City Rollers piss-take "Rollers Show" was also added) and a different title in the unforgettable "Pure Pop for Now People", the album was issued on Columbia Records also in March 1978.



Then in 2008 Proper Records collected both versions of the album onto one CD and beefed it up with single-only releases, B-sides and other rarities from the era, creating in the process a 21 track extravaganza no pure pop fan should be without.

Among the extra curios we have the original demo version of "Cruel to Be Kind" by his previous band Brinzley Schwarz (re-recorded for his next album, it became a sizeable worldwide hit for Nick Lowe in 1979) and faithful covers of such classics as Goffin/King's "Halfway to Paradise" and Sandy Posey's pre-feminist "Born a Woman", not to mention the little known gem which is "I Love My Label" - undoubtly inspired by his spat with his and Brinzley's old record company United Artists (Reportedly, another earlier and more blatant Rollers "tribute", "Bay City Rollers We Love You", got him kicked off said label):
,,They always ask for lots of songs of no more than 3:50 long, so I write them some.
  They never talk behind my back and are always playing my new track when I come along"   

A power pop classic!


The Rest:



The Romantics/"Super Hits" (1998/2007, Sony BMG CD, A 705482)

Okay, I first heard those guys back in 1979 and truth be told, was none-too impressed.  The album was "The Romantics" with the band wearing RED LEATHER SUITS on the cover!  In the era of back-to-basics punk and '60s inspired new wave, how utterly ludicrous and over the top they were!

But never judge a book by its cover since, thankfully, the music was an altogether different matter.

Although I must say I've never been overly fond of their best known - and most durable - track "What I Like About You".  But, admittedly, it has grown on me.  A gazillion movies, TV shows and commercials have served their purpose well... 



Nope, the song which I fell for from that album with the silly cover was "When I Look in Your Eyes".  "Tell it to Carrie" wasn't half bad either.





Musically mere inches from another overrated American - or so I thought at the time - act, The Knack, it was back to the British Invasion of the mid '60s for those guys.  With The Beatles' sense of melody and The Kinks' sense of energy firmly in the foreground. 

However, as far as I am concerned The Romantics have never been anything but a half decent singles band and therefore I can not recommend anything more than this 10 track "Super Hits" compilation CD.  It includes pretty much everything they're best known for.

And although, at the time, "What I Like About You" never became a big chart hit (it barely scraped the U.S. Top 50), their sole Top 5 hit "Talking in Your Sleep" (1983) and the following year's Top 40 entry "One in a Million" both sort of cement the "Super Hits" status.  Sort of...

 

HAJ August 2011.