Snips - The Solo Years 1978-1981
Disc one opens with the album Video King, which was produced by Steve Lillywhite and featured John Bentley (later in Squeeze) and Mick Dyche on guitar, Graham Deakin (John Entwistle's band The Ox) and Jackie Badger (Mother Superior) on bass. It’s a fun collection of tunes that find him shifting more towards New Wave in its early days especially on songs like the punchy, upbeat opener “Love Is Blind”, the midtempo “Film Club,” “Walking” (co-written by former Sharks bandmate Chris Spedding who later covered it) and they super infectious, keyboard driven “Eat It Up,” which sounds like it should’ve had an accompanying video playing over and over on MTV in its infancy. The quirky “Stravinky’s Shoes” also follows that path, but with its use of sax it has moments that bring to mind Psychedelic Furs and Spear of Destiny (interestingly it also has a passage that pops up a couple of times that is very reminiscent of Talking Heads “Psycho Killer” which came out at almost the same time). There are also several tracks that harken back to his work with the Sharks. “Video Kings” and “Dracula” are more straight-ahead rockers with a bluesy edge that are perfect examples, as is the slow, bluesy “Babaloomah.” “Under Suspicion” is an easygoing, almost loping, cut that mixes some rootsy elements with the New Wave, and closer “Animal Century” is almost six minutes and is a big sounding song with storytelling lyrics. Disc one also has fourteen bonus tracks starting with “Smash Your TV,” an upbeat power pop song with a touch of glam, that was the b-side to the “Waiting For Tonight” single. Next up are four previously unreleased tracks that appear to be demos, although there is no context given. The first three are listed as re-recorded versions of albums tracks "Radio Kings" ("Video Kings" on the album), "Dracula" and "Babaloomah." They are a little more ragged and the first two are heavier. The fourth is “Taxi,” a really strong rock track that also sounds a lot like his work with the Sharks. The remaining nine bonus tracks on disc one are a live set from November 22, 1978, recorded at the Paris Theatre in London for the BBC’s Andy Peebles Show. The recording itself is really good, and the band is tight and sounds great, playing a selection of songs from both albums along with a couple of energetic rockers “Flow My Tears” and “Music Breakout.”
Since Video King failed to have alot of sales, their record label Jet wouldn't pay for a second album, and the band was disbanded. Snips continued to cut demos and when he recorded the song "Nine O'clock," everyone thought he had a hit, which led to him getting a deal with MAM Records for three singles. At this point he teamed up with Midge Ure as producer, guitar and synths and along with Steve Young (Holly And The Italians) on drums and Jackie B on bass, they recorded a new version. The song went into heavy rotation on radio and had great reviews, but the label didn't press enough copies (stores were saying they sold out in three days) and the momentum was lost. To try to make up for it, EMI gave him an album deal, resulting in his second album La Rocca! Production on the remaining tracks was handled by Spedding, who also played guitars and keys, with Badger returning on bass, Bill Nelson (Be Bop Deluxe) on synths, and Clem Cattini and Dave Mattacks (Fairport Convention) on drums. Overall, the album moves even further in the new wave and power pop direction, but with more experimentation than the debut. The aforementioned "Nine O'clock" kicks things off and was definitely a missed opportunity. It's an insanely catchy power pop track with a bit of an edge that has hit single written all over it. Driven by a pulsing electronic beat and with a lot of synth washes mixed in, the experimentation is very evident on the title track. The new wave influence is strong on cuts like punchy rocker “Skies Of England” (a tribute to Brian Jones) and the upbeat power pop songs “Backs Of Millions” and “Happy Sometimes." “Telepathy” shows the quirkier side and the laid-back “The Rain” has a bit of New Romantics moodiness. “Dark Outside” and “Work” are a couple of rockers that have a soulful rootsy grit. The album also contains a cover of Larry Wallis’ “Police Car,” which has an interesting arrangement, slowing it down and giving it a dark, more intense sound. Disc two is rounded out with six more bonus cuts originally released as singles. “What’s Your Number” was the b-side to “Nine O’Clock” and is an early Elvis Costello-ish New Wave track. Their cover of Holland Dozier Holland’s “You’re A Wonderful One” (originally sung by Marvin Gaye) is a fun, R&B-tinged pub rock cut punctuated with some great sax with the heavier, kinder darker “Mr Dillinger” on the flip. The catchy New Wave power pop “Lolita” was the b-side to “Telepathy” and lastly is the “Tight Mix” version of album track “Tight Shoes” that is a lot better than the album version, which to me is a little lackluster, with “Noise” and its infectious driving beat on the back.
The third disc in this set is titled BBC Recordings and contains eighteen previously unreleased tracks recorded for the BBC during three different sessions. The first set was again recorded for the Andy Peebles Show, this time on February 16, 1979. Along with "Flow My Tears" and "Music Breakout," which were also on the earlier session, but never released in studio versions, are an energetic "Nine O'clock" and "Twelve O'Clock," which is a tad mellower, but just as catchy. The last two sets were recorded for BBC in Concert, starting off with a seven-song session recorded on March 5, 1980, and featuring Midge Ure on keys. In addition to tracks from the sophomore album and a single B-side they also played three songs that were never released. “Mr Machine” is a dark rocker with a strong noisy electronic element that shows Ure’s influence, while “I Am The Line” is more pop-tinged New Wave rock and “Rat Catcher” is a taut, midtempo track. The final seven songs are from a session that was recorded on January 6, 1981. This time they stuck pretty much with tracks from La Rocca!, with the closing “Kustom Car Kommandos,” being the only track not on the album. It’s a fun, super catchy, manic paced track, and it’s a shame it never got properly recorded in the studio. The various bands on all three shows sound great and the recordings are outstanding, definitely making them a great addition to the box set. Rounding things out is a booklet with detailed liner notes written by Snips.
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