To finish this long,and sometimes boring,journey through the annals(or anals) of UK Pub Rock(some of you will be pleased to hear), here's a superb and wide ranging compilation covering everyone from Brinsley Schwarz to Chas and Dave.
I own two t-shirts with musicians emblazened across the breast area, One is ,of course, Motorhead, and the other is, less obviously, Chas and Dave. So its good to see them listed as Pub Rock rather than in the Novelty record section.
There are a few notable omissions, mainly the charlie big potatoes of Pub Rock, like Elvis Costello and Dire Straits;but who cares about that? A fine compilation indeed.
Tracklist:
1-1 –Chilli Willi & The Red Hot Peppers - Goodbye Nashville, Hello Camden Town 2:50
1-2 –Kilburn & The High Roads - Billy Bentley (Promenades Himself In London) 3:02
1-3 –Bees Make Honey - What Have We Got To Lose 3:34
1-4 –Brinsley Schwarz - Country Girl 3:10
1-5 –Country Fever - Only Daddy That'll Walk The Line 2:35
1-6 –Chas And Dave - Scruffy Old Cow 4:01
1-7 –Big Jim Sullivan - If I Could Only Play Guitar Like That 3:02
1-8 –Jerry The Ferret - How Long 3:02
1-9 –Eddie And The Hot Rods - All I Need Is Money 2:28
1-10 –Eggs Over Easy - Runnin' Down To Memphis 3:15
1-11 –Meal Ticket - Day Job 4:25
1-12 –Fabulous Poodles - Third Rate Romance 3:09
1-13 –Kursaal Flyers - Drinking Socially 3:38
1-14 –Writing On The Wall - Man Of Renown 3:08
1-15 –Albert Lee - Best I Can 2:43
1-16 –Unicorn - 115 Bar Joy 3:48
1-17 –Zoot Money - Arkansas 3:22
1-18 –Jo Ann Kelly Band - It's Too Late For That Now 3:48
1-19 –Brunning Sunflower Band - Good Golly Miss Molly 2:22
1-20 –Ernie Graham -Sweet Inspiration 3:19
1-21 –Bees Make Honey - Indian Bayou Saturday 3:26
1-22 –The Johnny Young Band - Country Boy 4:29
1-23 –McGuinness Flint - Ride On My Rainbow 2:58
1-24 –Dr. Feelgood Roxette 2:53
2-1 –Kilburn & The High Roads - Rough Kids 2:24
2-2 –The Count Bishops Train Train 3:19
2-3 –The Pirates - Gibson Martin Fender 3:23
2-4 –Matchbox - Rock & Roll Band 2:40
2-5 –Mick Farren- I Want A Drink 1:45
2-6 –Mickey Jupp - If Only Mother 3:01
2-7 –Black Claw-Another Useless Day 4:58
2-8 –Mountain Line - Midnight Flyer 2:28
2-9 –Chilli Willi & The Red Hot Peppers - Choo Choo Ch'Boogie 3:31
2-10 –Tyla Gang - Fireball 4:04
2-11 –The Cartoons - Lunchtime Love Affair 3:02
2-12 –Chas And Dave -I Am A Rocker 3:46
2-13 –Downliners Sect = Blues Coup De Ville 3:05
2-14 –Fabulous Poodles - Roll Your Own 2:46
2-15 –Bees Make Honey -Dance Around 3:23
2-16 –Country Fever - Mama Tried 2:19
2-17 –Stray -Oil Fumes And Sea Air 4:57
2-18 –Ernie Graham - Baby You're All I Need 4:02
2-19 –The John Dummer Band -Young Blood 3:06
2-20 –Unicorn - Country Road 4:14
2-21 –Nine Below Zero -Homework 2:30
2-22 –Eddie And The Hot Rods -Do The Monkey Man 2:56
2-23 –Kilburn & The High Roads - Crippled With Nerves 3:43
2-24 –Chilli Willi & The Red Hot Peppers - Six Days On The Road 2:50
The thing about Eddie and The Hot Rods was they looked like us 'real' kids, not the posh kids from Bromley , or the cliques from The Kings Road and Camden.Well at least before they started to wear expensive Ramones style biker jackets. It was impossible to buy drainpipe trousers anywhere, never mind designer bondage gear,
In Southend and the other provinces, we never had any art school drop out pop Svengali to introduce us to French Situationists, and the concept of Anarchy. We were angry and wanted an outlet, and if it rocked we wanted to hear it, bedecked in flared jeans, seventies polyester shirts and football scarves. So we definitely identified immediately with groups like The Hot Rods and Slaughter and the Dogs.It helped that they had records out before the punks too;but,It took time to see that the Punk groups were in fact just like us too, but with less silly clothes on.
Here's the boys in their preferred environment, live, fast and sweaty, cranking it out for the kids. Although the Rainbow was a bit too big for them to be as intense as they could be in a small club or a pub; nevertheless, a shit hot performance, albeit a badly mixed soundboard recording.
Tracklist:
1 Get Access To You
2 96 Tears
3 Keep On Keepin' on
4 All I Need Is Money
5 Show Me
6 Woolly Bully
7 Horseplay
8 Why Can't It Be
9 The Kids Are Alright
10 Teenage Depression
11 Been So Long
12 Hard Drivin' Man
13 Double Checkin' Woman
14 On The Run
15 Get Out Of Denver
16 Gloria
17 Writing On The Wall
A bunch of previously unreleased demo's and out-takes, recorded by the 'Classic Line Up' from the peak of the Hot Rods between '76 and '78. A few of these turned up on their later albums, like 'Fish'n'Chips', and 'Hit Or Miss' was covered by the Damned (mark II).
Not quite as electrifying as Live Rods, or stuff from their first two magnificent albums, but still better than half of the also-rans from that golden period.
I suppose 'The Curse' is how inexplicable it is that such an intense and hard working band as this never got the rewards they deserved when dross like U2 and Dire Straits became world beaters?
In fact No, it's not inexplicable, its totally expected that John and Janet Q. Public automatically lean towards the crap and the bland, rather than the excitement and unpretentiousness of some honest Rock'n'Roll.
Tracklist:
At Night
I See The Light
Wide Eyed Kids (Different Version)
I Got Mine
Romance In A Used Car Lot
You Better Run
Making The Body Respond To The Brain
Observations Of The 2nd 2nd Time Around
Hit Or Miss
Looking Round
Red Light Blue Light
Act Sharper
Boxes
The pop group I've seen live more than any other, second only to Volcano The Bear(who aren't pop I suppose?), is the superbly energetic Eddie and the Hot Rods. UK Proto-Punk Pub Rock at its very zenith; balls to the wall rock'n'roll, played at a pace not seen or heard before. This was one of the primary sources of the speed with which the majority of the lesser Punk groups played; noticeably The Pistols and the Clash were sedentary in comparison to the Rods (The Damned are,of course, excused from this criticism).
This nastily packaged compilation brings together the Rods better singles, a superb peel session, and some intense live stuff. It's all pretty high octane stuff, and one of the better collections for this great group.
"Do Anything You Wanna Do" is probably one of the more appropriate theme tunes for this blog, and something I've done all my life.....so should you.
Tracklist:
1 Get Out Of Denver
2 Horseplay
3 All I Need Is Money
4 Writing On The Wall
5 Wooly Bully
6 Been So Long
7 Get Across To You
8 Double Checkin' Woman
9 G.L.O.R.I.A.
10 At Night
11 I Got Mine
12 I See The Light
13 Teenage Depression (Live)
14 Do Anything You Wanna Do (Live)
15 Quit This Town (Live)
16 Telephone Girl (Live)
17 Moon Tears (Live)
18 You Better Run (Live)
