Skids - The Singles

The Scottish band Skids were formed in 1977 with an original lineup comprised of Richard Jobson, Stuart Adamson, William Simpson and Thomas Kellichan.  While they never really took off in the States, they had quite a successful career in the UK with nine songs hitting the top 100, three of which were Top Twenty.  The band made their debut in February 1978 with the three-cut single Charles.  The title track (later re-recorded and included on their debut album Scared To Dance) has a punk edge with a driving, almost military beat and buzzsaw guitars.  On the flipside was "Reasons", some ragged punk a la The Skids and the Oi! sounds of "Test-Tube Babies."  After signing with Virgin Records the band went in with producer David Batchelor (known for his work with the Sensational Alex Harvey Band) and recorded "Sweet Suburbia," a song to me that really shows them finding their sound (and Stuart Adamson locking in on that distinctive guitar sound) and carries over to the faster paced b-side "Open Sound".  Next up was the Wide Open EP, which was led by one of their most iconic songs, the anthemic "The Saints Are Coming," which not only is used as walk-on music for the rugby team the Northampton Saints, but it was also covered by the likes of Green Day and U2.  The remaining tracks on the EP are "Of One Skin," a bouncy punk song with some interesting slowed down sections, the working man punk of “Night And Day” and the more mid-tempo “Contusion,” with its laid-back beat.  Hitting number ten on the UK charts, "Into the Valley" was their biggest single and is another infectious anthem that can also be heard at soccer stadiums.  Recorded live at the Marquee Club in England, "TV Stars", is the b-side and is a fun song primarily consisting of them chanting a list of names with the crowd joining in.  It is still included in their current shows with updated names.  With production from John Leckie and Bill Nelson (ex-Be Bop Deluxe) their next single "Masquerade" was another big hit reaching fourteen on the UK charts.  Although it has a touch more of a punk edge, it shows signs of where Adamson would head next in Big Country, and “Out of Town” on the flipside is another distinctive, hard-driving tune with plenty of hooks.  There was also a limited 50,000 singles that included a second disc with "Another Emotion," which has that familiar Skids sound and "Aftermath Dub,” a dub version of "Masquerade" that to me is pretty much a mess and a definite misfire.  Following the departure of drummer Kellichan, “Charade” was the first single to feature new drummer Rusty Egan (ex-Rich Kids) and takes their sound and adds a bit of an electronic element.  Non-album b-side “Grey Parade” is a darker, haunting tune with waves of synths that at that time was a definite shift in direction, but a sign of where they would be heading.  Although it was originally on the Days In Europa album, "Working For The Yankee Dollar" was remixed by Mick Glossop for the single release and is another great Skids singalong anthem, with the rollicking punk track "Vanguard's Crossing" on the flip (there were around 50,000 copies of the single that came with a free 7" containing "All The Young Dudes" and "Hymns From A Haunted Ballroom" recorded for the BBC, but they were unable to license them for this release).  The next single was "Animation" and it was the last to feature bassist William Simpson who by this time had left the band to be replaced by Russell Webb (fill in drummer Egan also left after the single's release).  While it sounds like the Skids, it still shows them expanding on the sound in some new directions, most likely due to the input of producer Bill Nelson.  Having said that, the flipside "Pros and Cons" is pure synth heavy new wave.  Featuring new members Russell Webb on bass and Mike Baillie on drums, "Circus Games" was the first single from album number three The Absolute Game.  It's an interesting track that musically follows along a similar path to many songs on the previous album, but also has a fun, almost children's song like singalong chorus that also included sections sung by children.  Also taken from the album, the b-side "One Decree" again has a very strong Big Country feel.  “Goodbye Civilian” is a very catchy, upbeat track that comes close to new wave electropop, but still maintains a little of the rock undercurrent.  The strangely titled b-side Monkey McGuire Meets Specky Potter Behind Lochore Institute is an interesting high energy punk instrumental with some jazz flourishes.  Probably even more than on any cut before, “Woman In Winter” ended up being the band’s last charting single and again is a precursor to Adamson’s influence on Big Country.  It was backed by a live version of “Working For The Yankee Dollar.”  Their fourth album Joy, found the band whittled down to Jobson and Webb with guest musicians.  "Fields" was taken from that album and included appearances from The Associates' Billy Mackenzie and Alan Rankine.  They also shifted their sound going in more of a folk direction with largely acoustic instrumentation.  That song and the non-album b-side "Brave Man," which has more of an electronic edge and doesn't really fit in on Joy are here in both 7" and 12" versions.  The band's final single was "Iona" (released for some reason in versions that are two different lengths), which was the last Skids' song featuring Adamson on guitar and also had an appearance from Mike Oldfield playing bagpipe samples.  It's a powerful Celtic-tinged anthem that is completely unlike anything they've done before, as is the b-side, the haunting “Blood and Soil,” with its sparse instrumentation (mostly keys and percussion) and a chant like vocal accompaniment.  Also included with this great collection is a sixteen page booklet detailing the story behind each single.  

(Captain Oi!)

Ruperts People - Dream In My Mind - Anthology 1967-1999

While there have been other compilations documenting the musical output of Rupert's People, the newly released 19 track CD Dream In My Mind – Anthology 1967-1999 is the most comprehensive.  Along with the three singles they released are a German B-side, two cuts from previously unreleased acetates, seven live recordings (three from 1969 and four from a reunion show in 1999), another previously unreleased cut and a single from their earlier band The Sweet Feeling.  Comprised of vocalist Rod Lynton, bassist Ray Beverley and drummer Steve Brendall, The Sweet Feeling caught the attention of Howard Conder, who quit his job with the Robert Stigwood Agency, and became their manager.  He got them a deal with Columbia Records who released their only single, which opens the CD.  Although it wasn’t successful saleswise, “All So Long Ago” is an impressive track that walks the line between The Beatles and The Kinks with the driving psychedelic “Charles Brown” on the flipside.  That song takes us to the first twist in their story when Conder asked Lynton to rearrange it to the tune of Bach’s “Air On The G String,” which ironically (or most likely not ironically) was also the tune that was the inspiration for Procol Harum’s just released single “Whiter Shade Of Pale.”  He then got the mod group Fleur De Lys to record the song under the name Ruperts People and released it as the single “Reflections Of Charles Brown,” which sounded nothing like the original, but instead was almost a clone of the Procol Harum song.  They also recorded the b-side, the hard-rocking “Hold On,” co-written by Lynton and Fleur De Lys’s Gordon Haskell, which has some great driving organ from future Procol Harum member Peter Solley.  To make the story even stranger, when the single was released the members of Fleur De Lys didn't like it and refused to do any promotion, so Conder asked The Sweet Feeling to change their name to Ruperts People to promote it.  Since they had their own songs, they didn't want to do that either.  Conder ended up putting together another band fronted by Chris Andrews, the Les Fleur de Lys singer who actually sang the song, but they broke up during rehearsals.  At this point he once again begged them to change their name, which they did, adding Dai Jenkins on guitar and John Tout on organ and recording their next single, “A Prologue To A Magic World”.  The Alice In Wonderland themed song is a dreamy piece of psychedelia that fits that theme perfectly, and the b-side “Dream In My Mind” is a heavier psychedelic gem with a bit of a freakbeat edge.  Strongly reminiscent of The Small Faces, “I Can Show You” was the final single released by the band, with the pop-tinged psychedelic rock of “I’ve Got The Love” on the back.  As for the bonus cuts, first up is “Love/Opus 193”, a raw, bluesy rock tune that was the German b-side to “Reflections Of Charlie Brown” and is rumored to have been recorded by session musicians.  Also included are a couple of unreleased acetate recordings.  "Water To A Stone" is an interesting cut that was produced by The Beatles' roadie Mal Evans and is an organ heavy tune with a lighter “Born To Be Wild” vibe at times, while “Flying High” is a gorgeous and mellow, somewhat psychedelic instrumental (a second version is also here, where in 1992 a reformed version of the band and some friends took the acetate and built on it, including adding vocals).  The remaining tracks are live cuts, three recorded in London in 1969 and four more from a 1999 reunion show featuring the three original members.  The 1969 tracks are from an audience recording and are surprisingly good.  They include “I See You’ve Changed,” a rocker with some really good guitar and organ playing, the heavier bluesy psychedelic “Reflecting,” and an interesting organ heavy cover of The Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” that’s a little slower and bluesier.   As for the reunion tracks, along with fairly faithful covers of The Small Faces’ “My Mind’s Eye” and The Beatles’ “Rain” are another run through “I See You’ve Changed,” along with “Hold On”, both of which sound great.  These definitely make for a nice addition to this outstanding collection that is well-worth the listen.  

(Strawberry)

Young And Wild - A Decade Of American Glam Metal 1982-1992

Following on the heels of the popularity of genres like punk, glam and NWOBHM, hair metal (or American Glam Metal as the title calls it) really started making its mark in the early eighties, and over the next ten years was one of the dominant forces in the music world.  Most of the bands put as much time and effort into their looks and presentation as they did their music, and the fact that MTV was getting its start at the same time created the perfect storm for many of these bands that were either in or gravitating to LA and Hollywood.  With fifty-eight tracks from fifty-eight bands, Young And Wild - A Decade Of American Glam Metal 1982 - 1992, does a good job giving a broad range of bands in that scene at that time and includes many that were pretty much household names like Twisted Sister (actually starting off as a glam band in 1972), Quiet Riot (first number one metal album in the US), Sammy Hagar, David Lee Roth, KISS, Ratt, Bon Jovi, Cheap Trick, Poison, Skid Row, Extreme, White Lion, Vixen, and Warrant.  Some of the others like Dokken, Tesla, Bulletboys, Kix and Winger were still quite well known, while many of the others were lesser-known outside of the hair metal community but were releasing music that was just as good.  Some of these include Helix, Black ‘N Blue, Kick Axe, Leatherwolf, Faster Pussycat, Dirty Looks, Bang Tango, Dangerous Toys, Junkyard and Electric Angels.  The collection also does a great job of showing the diversity in the genre with band’s adding elements that include the blues (Cinderella, Tora Tora), soul (Little Caesar) and Southern Rock (Tattoo Rodeo, Jackyl) among them.  A few of the other bands here really took things in a fresh direction that made them stand out to me and ended up as some of my go to bands at that time.  These include Enuff Z’Nuff with their psychedelic pop, Saigon Kick who were rock, but with an ever-present, hook-heavy pop side and plenty of diversity, and Warrior Soul who mixed in elements of psychedelia, goth, pop and punk.  Then there is Mother Love Bone, who while I question their inclusion here, have what I consider the box set’s best song, "Stardog Champion".   Fronted by Andrew Wood, who was destined to be a star, but unfortunately died of a heroin overdose several days before their full-length debut was scheduled to be released, they drew rock influences from band’s like Led Zeppelin and also had glam in there too but were not “hair metal.”  It should be noted that two members went on to form Pearl Jam who were lumped in with the grunge movement that is considered a contributing factor to hair metal’s decline.  As with any collection like this, people are going to come up with a laundry list of bands that they feel should be included and there are going to be plenty that they don’t feel belong here, but overall this is a really fun listen that will take you back to that wild, loud and over the top debaucherous era in music. 

(Lemon Recordings)

Elephant - III

For the past four years, with two albums and an EP under their belt, Rotterdam’s Elephant (Frank Schalkwijk, Michael Broekhuizen, Bas Vosselman and Kaj van Driel) have been the band I’ve returned to more than any other.  Like its predecessor, album number three (simply titled III) has everything that makes them sound like Elephant, but also finds them experimenting, which keeps things fresh and ever evolving.  While lyrically it’s a bit darker than most of their previous songs, the sunshine pop of opening cut (and first single) “For A Friend,” with its lazy groove and hooky chorus, brings to mind their earlier work.  When it was released as their second single, “20 K” took me completely by surprise.  You can still hear elements of their sound, but with its electro hip-hop beat, vocoder and noisier guitars, they have created an absolutely hypnotic track that’s unlike anything they’ve released before.  “You Wanted The Same” is melancholy dream pop with fantastic vocal interplay between Frank and labelmate Sofie Winterson.  She also appears on their unexpected cover of Blink 182’s “Always,” which finds them taking the core of the original with its upbeat bounce and making it all their own.  At just over six minutes, “Trust Me I Feel It Too” is a cool, laid-back cut that will have you gently swaying back and forth and has some really interesting guitar work that at times gives it a disoriented, almost dizzying, effect and also has a a long instrumental ending with some subtle “Joe Meek-like” space sounds.  Juxtaposed with darker lyrics, the stunning “Tried To Sleep” is a largely acoustic cut that puts a modern-day spin on the West Coast singer / songwriter sounds of the seventies and also has some really nice jazzy guitar work in the middle.  “Memories” again brings to mind their earlier work with a touch of alt country that really comes through in the guitar work.  The mesmerizing “Real Love” has some strong shoegaze elements, while “When You’re Down,” featuring Dewolff’s Pablo Van de Poel, who has also produced all their releases, is a simple, stripped-down tune with more great guitar work.  The experimentation is at the forefront once more with closing track “For A Friend Pt 2,” an ethereal instrumental soundscape enhanced by the sounds of a crackling fire.  Not to beat a dead horse, but as has been the case the case with their prior releases, III is easily one of my favorite albums of the year. 

(Excelsior Recordings / Elephant)

Pilot - The Singles Collection

Before they founded Pilot, David Paton and Billy Lyall were substitute members of the pre-success Bay City Rollers. In the early seventies they were joined by drummer Stuart Tosh and after recording some demos they got a contract and recorded their debut album (produced by Alan Parsons) with session guitarist Ian Bairnson, who then joined the band as a permanent member.  If you live in the States you might be confused as to how there could be a two-disc release devoted to the singles of that band that you only know for their 1974 hit “Magic”, which hit number five on the US charts and is known to a younger generation through a cover by Selena Gomez and its use in Ozempic commercials.  While nowhere near as well-known as “Magic,” they did have two more singles that charted in the US, "January" at number 87 and "Just A Smile" at 90, and had four UK singles that hit 34 or higher (“Call Me Round”, “Just A Smile” and “January,” which was number 1 in the UK, Ireland and Australia were the other three).  From 1974 to 1977 they also released four albums and a total of thirteen singles.  The Singles Collection contains 31 songs comprised of those singles and their b-sides, one track released on a promotional flexi-disc, a single released under the name Scotch Mist before they became Pilot, and bonus solo singles from vocalist Paton and keyboardist Lyall.  While “Magic” is a power pop gem that has had people singing along for over fifty years, the rest of this release shows they were more than just a one hit wonder.  Many of the songs are notable for their strong vocal harmonies and production (strings and horns pop up from time to time), and while most are catchy pop and rock full of hooks, often bringing to mind Badfinger, Todd Rundgren (and his band Nazz), Wings, 10CC and Alan Parsons (producer of three of their albums), they also dip their toes into glam (“Call Me Round” opens like a glam rock stomper), funk, jazz and more.  Some of the songs that find them expanding on their sound include “Just Let Me Be, which is loaded with hooks and also has hints of jazz and funk and strangely reminds me of early Billy Joel at times, “Evil Eye,” an interesting track that has a bit of Alan Parsons and The Beatles with lyrics about their management’s greed and how they only saw the band as a means of making money, and “Ten Feel Tall” (the last official Pilot single) that at times sounds more like Queen and Supertramp. Considering that they did have some hits, and therefore some name recognition, it’s a real mystery why more of these songs weren’t hits as well.  There’s the lazy pop of “Love Is” (an album track that was released on a flexi disc given away in the UK in the weekly music paper “Record Mirror”), “Running Water,” a big power ballad with a strong 10CC vibe and “Penny In My Pocket,” an extremely catchy pop rock tune with some great guitar work that has hit written all over it.  “Monday Tuesday” and the dreamy, laid-back acoustic “Steps” are a couple of great ballads.  Then there’s “Are You In Love,” a gorgeous, semi-acoustic ballad with some nice prog elements in the guitar work (not sure why this was a b-side) and “Big Screen Kill,” a Beatles flavored tune with a big sounding, orchestral string section and lyrics dealing with Hollywood churning out crappy, violent movies just for the money.  In all fairness, there are a few tracks that to me just don’t really work.  “Ra-Ta-Ta” was the a-side of that pre-Pilot single under the name Scotch Mist, and it’s a cover of a 1970 hit for the band Rotation that’s driven by a military style beat and is really annoying (ironically the meandering psychedelic “Pamela” is the flipside and is a strong, dreamy acoustic track). Then there’s “Lady Luck,” which is kind of cheesy and sounds like they threw everything but the kitchen sink in production wise but just doesn’t work.  The solo singles are a nice addition to close out the disc.  Taken from his only solo album released in 1976, the two tracks that comprise Lyell’s only solo single are “Us,” a lightweight seventies power pop tune with some hints of ELO, and the very impressive, orchestrated, art rock pop song “Maniac” (a reworking of a song from the third Pilot album).  Phil Collins played drums on both songs and Phil Chen (Rod Stewart and many more) played bass.  Following Pilot's demise, David Paton started doing session work with artists like Kate Bush, Alan Parsons and Chris DeBurgh.  His single was recorded at Abbey Road and released in 1980 (the lack of radio play for the single ended up resulting in a proposed album being shelved).  The influence of his work with Alan Parsons is very evident on both "No Ties No Strings" and "Stop And Let Go."  Sadly, Lyall passed away in 1989, but various incarnations of the remaining members have gotten back together off and on over the years and in 2014 Paton, Bairnson and Tosh all reunited and released the album A Pilot Project.  Bairnston has since passed away as well in 2023.

(7T's)

Semihelix - Deeper Space in Time / Tin Blvd single

With a full-length release tentatively scheduled for late 2025, Austin three-piece Semihelix is back with their latest single.  "Deeper Space In Time" starts of with an infectious meshing of jangly guitar pop and driving riot grrrl punk and builds and builds in intensity before settling into a slower, more melancholy groove.  At first, the flipside "Tin Blvd" has more of the jangle rock guitar but with a bit of a Pixies feel, but evolves into a very taut and tense, fast paced song that becomes almost manic, but still with a sense of melody.  This is another great single that really has me looking forward to the upcoming album.

(Semihelix - Bandcamp)

Atomic Rooster - Atomic Rooster (Remastered and Expanded)

When The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown came to an end in 1969, two members of the final lineup, organist Vincent Crane and drummer Carl Palmer, decided to form a new band and Atomic Rooster was born.  Rounded out by Nick Graham on bass, they recorded their debut album before both Graham and Palmer left the band.  Over the ensuing years and a multitude of member changes (including expanding to a four-piece at one point), they released five albums, with Crane the only consistent member, before calling it a day in 1975.  Fast forward to 1980 when Crane and John Du Cann, who had been in the band on guitar and vocals from 1970 to 1971, decided to give the band another go with session musician Preston Heyman, who left the band after recording the album.  The resulting release was the self-titled Atomic Rooster (not to be confused with their debut Atomic Roooster), which has now been remastered and reissued in this new edition that also includes eleven bonus tracks, and a second disc recorded live at the Marquee Club in 1980.   

While their last two releases before the breakup had more of a soul influence, this album found them shifting back in a hard rock and prog direction, taking influences from the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal that was hot at the time, along with some elements of punk (Du Cann's vocals were notably different here with more of a punk snarl). The album starts strongly with "They Took Control Of You", which opens with screeching guitars and is a powerful, all-out rocker that's musically very reminiscent of Deep Purple (especially thanks to Crane's organ work), but with a touch of punk.  "She's My Woman" and "He Did It Again" are a couple of muscular rockers, the latter of which has more emphasis on the organ, giving it a bit more of a prog element with hints of Argent. While not totally punk, "Where's The Show?" really shows their punkier side.  At almost seven minutes, "In The Shadows" is a very organ driven track that is dark and a little evil sounding and in more of a prog direction.  The punk influence shows up once again on "Do You know Who's Looking For You," a track that is more aggressive but still with plenty of keys.  "Don't Lose Your Mind" has more of a classic rock sound that is reminiscent of the band's early days.  Instrumental "Watch Out!" is a solid prog instrumental that at times brings to mind Yes, although it's a bit faster at times.   ”I Can’t Stand It” is a fun rocker with a punky attitude that’s kind of upbeat with sprightly keys giving it a bit of a bounce, and closer “Lost In Space” is another more prog influenced track.  Rounding out the first disc are eleven bonus tracks starting off with “Throw Your Life Away” (originally released as a b-side), a high energy track that really showcases Du Cann’s guitar work and has more of his old school vocals, and “Broken Windows,” an unreleased, hard-driving rocker that was possibly initially recorded as a b-side.  Next up are four demos of songs that ended up on the album and four more that were recorded for a potential follow-up album before Du Cann left the band again.  They include the muscular rock of “End Of The Day” (released a year later as a single by a different incarnation of the band) and “Play It Again,” and the bluesy, soulful “Hold It Through The Night.”  The final bonus track is the short instrumental “Moonrise”, that is just listed as “last recording 1981.”

As was mentioned earlier, after the album was recorded, Heyman left the band and was replaced for a very short time by Ginger Baker followed by the return of Paul Hammond.  At this point the band was back to the lineup that recorded their sophomore album Death Walks Behind You.  This is who played in 1980 at The Marquee in London, which is documented here on disc two.  It was originally recorded on cassette on a single onstage microphone, so it definitely has that bootleg feel, but considering how it was recorded, it sounds extremely good and really puts you right in the middle of the action.  The band sounds really tight and the performance is strong, which is even more impressive since they hadn't been back together that long.  Along with four songs from the Atomic Rooster album, there are five from Death Walks Behind You along with "Devil's Answer," which had been released as a single back in 1971. These earlier cuts tend to be a little heavier than they were originally, putting them more in line with the rest of the set.  This disc is a great addition to this release that shows where the band was at that time.     

(Esoteric Recordings)