The 1981 Listening Post - Mass (GR) - Swiss Connection

 Reviewed by Robert "I Listened So You Don't Have To" Sliger

Released: 1981 Mass (GR) Swiss Connection Genre: Metal Rating: 1 out of 5 Well, I think I might have picked the wrong album to review. This complete amateur-hour shit show of a record plays like a trailer park pastiche of every lazy, navel-gazing heavy metal cliche ever. It's sloppily played and sung with waaaaay too much sincerity (and way too little pitch). The recording (at least the 2010 remaster I heard on Amazon Music) is boxy, flat, and lacks both bottom and top end. If you ever got into a practice room with your high school mates and banged out a bunch of tunes onto a mis-aligned cassette deck with little practice first, you know exactly what this is. Wait: how the hell did this even get a remaster?! I recommend skipping this garbage dump sludge fest EXCEPT for one song: the hysterically bad closer "Firebird." 10 droning, half-baked minutes of the absolutely most pretentious prog-metal aphorisms about free will, overcoming government control, and being true to your non-capitalist self all held down (held back?) by meandering guitar noodling and thudding drums. I almost spit my drink out during the spoken word section. This is poorly played Spinal Tap without the mockery. Which makes it perfect to mock. (Ed. Note: Firebird is a bonus track on the 2010 re-issue and did not appear on the original 1981 release. From the 2010 liner notes: Firebird "is the second track from the unreleased debut album recorded at Studio 70 in München April 1975". Considering Robert's ridicule of the track, it's no wonder the album went unreleased.)

The 1981 Listening Post - John Lawton - Heartbeat (AKA Hardbeat)

 Reviewed by Robert Sliger

Released: February 1981 John Lawton Heartbeat (AKA Hardbeat) Genre: Krautrock, English Style Rating: 2 out of 5 Highlights: I forgot this as soon as I listened to it, so…maybe “Lola”? Heartbeat is a “solo” album from British Uriah Heep/Lucifer’s Friend vocalist John Lawton and Lucifer's Friend guitarist Peter Hesslein. I air quote “solo” because it basically IS a Lucifer’s Friend record, with the same mates playing the same Teutonic glossiness and chart-obsessed production of their album Mean Machine, also released in 1981. Heartbeat features typical pop rock stylings perfected by American bands like Loverboy, Toto, Jefferson Starship, and Survivor. Lawton is a fine singer in the Marty Balin/Bobby Kimball mode with a soft hint of Scorpions’ Klaus Meine, though he lacks their authoritative vocal pyrotechnics and presence. Lyrics are typical stadium pop-rock romantic drivel—where the key is to find a clever way of saying the same “how come you don’t WANT me anymore” cliche and falling way short of the mark because it’s hard as hell to be clever about being broken heart when that is so discordant with the feeling you’re trying to describe (“Stairway” and “Christine” being perfect examples). The very clean recording will be familiar with anyone who’s enjoyed Kraut-rockers like Nena or Peter Schilling (without the new wave affectation). Peter Hesslein’s guitar and unexpected borrowed chord structures are a highlight. Wish he’d solo more. The band plays everything with professional polish, especially the very elastic baselines by Dieter Horns. An exception to the many competent arrangement choices should be made for the faux-Caribbean nonsense of “Darkness Over the Island.” C’mon guys—commit to a style or don’t—make up your mind! Fun fact: “Hard Beat” is a (possibly bootleg) UK/Russian version of the record on CD, hence the misspelled title. [Ed. Note: This album was originally issued in 1980 in Germany and as a test pressing as Hardbeat. It then had a major release in North America in 1981 and was retitled Heartbeat.]

The 1980 Listening Post - Sad Cafe - Sad Cafe

 Reviewed by Robert Sliger

Released: October 3 1980 Sad Café Sad Café Genre: AOR Pop Rock With An Identity Crisis Rating: 2 out of 5 Highlights: Digital Daydream Blues (the intro and its variation, mainly) What Am I Gonna Do (Steely Dan embraces its soft pop side) I’m In Love Again (if you’re gonna pander New Orleans swamp rock tropes, do it like this) The best thing about this justly obscure album is its competence. It’s a bit too earnest and derivative for my taste, but is a perfectly “OK” late-70s blues-rock-pop album for the AOR-in-the-background-while-running-a-vacuum crowd. You know who you are. These are competently written uptempo tunes with some perky hooks, competently played by committed, professional musicians and competently recorded and mixed (though the Amazon Music stream I evaluated had some phasing issues, which I’m not assuming is on tape). It’s competently pleasant while listening to it and instantly forgettable when done. Just like this review. I know who I am.

The 1980 Listening Post - Jamie Sheriff - No Heroes

 Reviewed by Robert Sliger

Released: 1980 Jamie Sheriff No Heroes Genre: Grand-ish Pop Rock Rating: 2 out of 5 Highlights: (there are no real “Highlights” here for me, so I’ll give each tune a little note, and you can deconstruct at your own discretion - or interest level) If you like a little Pomp with your Rock, have I got a cheesy Canadian treat for you! Jamie Sherrif is like a poutine with an extra side of curds. He sings and plays credibly but was going for something grander than the writing could support. This is innocuous swing-for-the-fences pop-rock, borrowing heavily from many better writers and more impassioned recording artists. He seems to be having fun, and we’re also meant to. But I’ve heard so many albums with big ambitions that don’t have the goods to deliver, so I can’t say I did. Sheriff is what can happen when Queen, ABBA, and Billy Joel get drunk playing Atari video games in an arcade and decide to put a record together with sober studio pros… in one day… while still drunk. The backing musicians do pro-level work: tight and controlled with solid arrangements (except maybe on track 8—more on that below). Based on the Internet Archive page I listened to No Heroes on, this is a very polished studio recording, with excellent instrumental and EQ balance, good dynamics, and decent punch. So there’s that. My Car: No, not Gary Numan’s car. That one has a level of inventive cohesion sorely missing from this hot-tempo, low-result dance pop. Coming Attraction: Its bombastic pop-rock shimmer is coming, but I wouldn’t necessarily call it “attractive.” Could It Be Love: Could it be The Cars’ “My Best Friends Girl”? Too Late For Siouxsie: Can I assume he’s talking about Siouxsie Sue by the spelling? If so, the answer to this Queen-Billy-Joel-derived ditty is “It’s never too late for Siouxsie.” Other than the cute horror keyboard samples, this song is definitely too late for me. Sexy Thing: Sheriff doing the Oingo Boingo thing. Or…the other way around? That minor mode guitar riffing is pretty solid, tho. No Heroes: Another Joel banger not written by Joel. Or Jim Steinman, for that matter. The Meatloaf vibes are strong with this one. Sample lyric: “He said, ‘Our hero has been shot. It’s gonna hurt a lot. I guess we’re really on our own now.” Really? How much did that string section cost? Polydor gave this dude some cash to make this. All Shot Down: Southern boogie rock mixed with a little Broadway. This one goes about like you think it would based on the description. Not well. I can’t get that damned sing-along out of my head, so maybe that’s something. Soldier: Did they really add the drum corps rolls at the beginning? That was a cliche before 1980. Then they double down on it at the end. Gag. Waitress In A Diner: Sounds like an outtake from an Andrew Lloyd Weber musical. In that context, it’s actually pretty good. If you’re into Weber, you’ll prolly like this. I mean, I didn’t, but I won’t judge you if you do.

The 1980 Listening Post - The Reactors - World War Four

 Reviewed by Robert Sliger

Released: 1980 The Reactors World War Four Genre: Punk Rating: 3 out of 5 Highlights: Bite the Hand Hard To Be a Rebel Membrane Weekend Serviceable yet unremarkable straight-ahead punk from San Bernardino California headed by charismatic Pagan Myth guitarist/vocalist Elizabeth “Dash” Frost. If you’re familiar with Dead Kennedys, The Germs, Buzzcocks, and early Siouxsie and the Banshees, you’ll get where this is coming from right away. Derivative? You bet. So was a lot of other punk records of the time. But they also may have inspired other songwriters. Check out the chorus melody on “Hard To Be a Rebel.” If Bobby and Larson Paine didn’t lift that for the wildly successful (on the West Coast, at least) “Johnny Are You Queer” it’s one hell of a coincidence. The album is properly raw and unaffected, the lyrics cover the expected subjects: anger at the cops, personal angst in an uncaring world, and the threat of war. Dash (1953 - 2018) was a capable and passionate singer: full throated and magnetic. The rest of the band (Mike Rodriguez, bass; Tony Bramble, guitar; Rob Vasquez, drums) get the job done in the DIY spirit of the genre, but bring nothing new to the plate. I would have loved to see Frost play live back in the day, but oddly The Reactors were never on the bill at the punk shows I attended.

The 1980 Listening Post - Bob Weston - Nightflight

 Reviewed by Robert Sliger

Released: April 4 1980 Bob Weston Nightlight Genre: 70’s Yacht Rock or The Dire Straits Album Dire Straits Didn't Make Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Highlights: Eye Of The Hurricane Midnight Fever (imagine ELO played by late 70s Pink Floyd) Bob Weston, who passed away in 2012 at age 64, was most famously a member of Fleetwood Mac (1972 - 1973), sharing guitar duties with the legend Bob Welch. After his sudden departure from Mac (due to his having an affair with Mick Fleetwood’s wife!), he worked as a session player around England and France before recording Nightlight in 1979. The full length was competently produced by Jimmy Page manager Allan Callan. It’s a pleasant enough album, a noodling hodgepodge of folk rock, blues, balladry and even a little calypso. Professionally rendered, the 11 tracks roll together with an easy-going stride, expertly mixing tempos and musical textures. It’s hardly demanding the way Richard and Linda Thompson’s seminal Shoot Out the Lights is, and hardly as rewarding. It’s not really a dis to say this is second-tier 70s Dire Straits, but it does somewhat limit its appeal. I can imagine Weston and Callan doing a deep dive into Dire Straits before making Nightlight. Weston’s breathy vocal delivery works well on the mellower songs like “Throw Me A Line,” “Eye Of The Hurricane,” but lacks the gravity and forcefulness needed for the more demanding “Silver Arrow,” the album’s sole single. I hear a distinct-yet-tempered Mark-Knopfler-meets-Jerry-Garcia nasal quality here. What absolutely works on Nightlight is the guitar playing. Weston is a fantastic guitarist. His playing is fluid, muscular, and melodic. Every tasty lick here (and there are MANY) sounds easy on the ear and hard to pull off. He has major Joe Walsh energy and the chops to match. Spiritually, though, his folk-blues phrasing and vocal melodies are far more akin to the previously-mentioned brit guitar god Richard Thompson, without the poetry, wry humor and smirking. He nearly matches Thompson in casual virtuosity with his approach to the disparate demands of acoustic and electric playing. The true treat of listening to Nightlight is Weston’s stellar musicianship and how he effortlessly plays both tastefully and with great command simultaneously, much like drummer Steve Gadd. On his Wikipedia page, the falling interest in English blues-rock was the reason for its failure on the charts. It’s certainly—to my ears, anyway—not the overall quality of the disc.

The 1980 Listening Post - Yipes!! - A Bit Irrational

 Reviewed by Robert Sliger / LISTENING POST DISCOVERY

Released: 1980

Yipes!!

A Bit Irrational

Genre: Power Pop

Rating: 4 out of 5

Highlights:

I Can See You’re In Love

Magic

Darlin’

(I Can Hardly) Wait For Night

Influences = The Knack, Marshall Crenshaw, Elvis Costello, and the Cars with a pinch of Cheap Trick.

This turned out to be a great party/road album: bouncy, loud, fun, and catchy as hell. I don’t hear a lot of pop-rock albums that hurtle forward with such energetic abandon. It’s like a speeding train careening down the track, threatening to derail but kept in place through musical competence and sheer will. These guys really went for the top-40 the way The Knack did, but weirdly didn’t make it.

Because of the fine consistent tone and quality of each song, I’ll sum up all of them this way: Every song here is a short, easy listen with the kind of bouncy energy of Rick Springfield’s “Jesse’s Girl” and Elvis Costello’s “Radio, Radio.” The posted video album isn’t complete, as it cuts out at “Ballad of Rudolf Kaiser (Einstein)” in the first 20 seconds. Too bad: that one, like so many others here, sounded like a real banger.

(Ed. Note: the YouTube video cutting off the last three tracks sucks huge ass. This is a great album. I did find the last track, Heartbreak Again, which, imho, is another highlight!! See below to listen.)

A Bit Irrational follows the reliable power-pop formula to a T: super catchy melodies, performed fast and tight with well-arranged harmonies, lots of jangly, bright guitars and pounding drums. It leans hard on propulsive and fun.

On first listen, I came away feeling the album was too derivative to be a Discovery Pick, but on second listen, I got swallowed up into the endless hooks, strong production value, and addictive energy, so I’m going to call this a Discovery Pick. It may not be for those with more austere, intellectually-demanding tastes, but for those who want to have a good time, it’s well worth a loud listen the next time you have like-minded friends over for a barbecue or attack your favorite back country road (preferably with the top down, if you got a convertible).

YouTube - Track 12, Heartbreak Again, can be heard here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqckFgDuQVo Missing 2 tracks - Ballad Of Rudolf Kaiser (Einstein) and Kiss Me

The 1980 Listening Post - Drastic Measures - Drastic Measures

 1980 Housekeeping LISTENING POST DISCOVERY

by Robert Sliger 

Drastic Measures

Drastic Measures

Genre: Art Pop

Rating: 4 out of 5

Highlights:

Flowers

TNT ("Don't play with TNT. Play with meeeee!")

The Teddy Bear Song (yes, THAT teddy bear song!)

I can see why this Toronto, Canada-based band never made it to the big time. Too odd for mainstream radio and way too musical theater for first-and-new wavers. 

And that’s a shame. 

At turns psychedelic, vaudeville, and post-punk (before that was a thing), this is an unexpected treat. Hooky enough to grab the ear and strange enough to keep us guessing what’s coming next, I was constantly engaged during it’s short (36 minute) run time. This is the anarchic playfulness of XTC combined with the oddball charisma of the Sparks brothers.

Singer Tony Malone’s delivers his offbeat lyrics and melodies with a lively combination of Bryan Ferry’s effete croon and Stan Ridgeway’s snarky enthusiasm. There’s also a touch of Donovan and a healthy shake of what would become the Dukes of Stratosphere in both the writing and performance. 

This is a weird, bouncy, joyfully outsider record that sold dismally (7000 unit, according to Michael Panontin on Canuckistanmusic.com. Also in his writeup is this quote from Malone: "I told a young friend once that I wished I'd been born twenty years later, and he said, 'Everyone is writing weird pop songs now - you'd be huge!'. We were hacking out a path that others could follow. But it was lonely and everyone's dreams got dashed.” A prescient comment, for sure. Cake, Weezer, 

Seek this one out, guys. Open-minded listeners will find unexpected surprises in every tune: odd key changes, thoughtfully arranged with unique appropriations of instruments, and a  winking silliness in the lyrics. The quartet’s gung-ho delivery and total commitment of purpose makes this one hell of a sleeper. Don’t sleep on it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vX5zw-Wm7XQ

The 1981 Listening Post - Raven - Rock Until You Drop

Raven - Rock Until You Drop 

#576

By Robert Sliger

October 1981

Raven

Rock Until You Drop

Genre: A Motley Judas Nugent walks into an Iron Saxon and comes out unscathed

Allen’s Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Robert’s Rating: 3.5 out of 5.0

Tracks

Hard Ride *

Hell Patrol *

Don’t Need Your Money

Over the Top

39/40

For the Future

Rock Until You Drop *

Nobody’s Hero

Hell Raiser/Action *

Lambs to the Slaughter *

Tyrant of the Airwaves

Wiped Out (not on the original album)

Crazy World (not on the original album)

* Highlights

Members:

John Ryan Gallagher (8-string bass [!!!], vocals)

Mark Gallagher (guitar, vocals)

Rob “Whacko” Hunter ([left-handed!!!] drums, percussion, vocals)

Produced by Steve Thompson (producer/mixer/engineer of an incredible variety of artists, from Alphaville to Sheena Easton, The Rolling Stones to Celine Dion, Korn to Missing Persons—and still working today)

Engineered by Mickey Sweeney

I’ll make this short and simple: if you like British (non “hair”) metal and you’re not familiar with Raven, you’ll want to check this one out. While critics almost universally panned their later output, this trio from Newcastle, UK, discovered and nailed down the debut album’s metal formula. I think Rock Until You Drop is one of the great sleeper metal albums of all time. (I would rate this higher if it weren’t for the reductive nature of heavy metal music of the period. My inner headbanger likes this a lot more than my outer hoity-toity intellectual does.)

As a heavy metal album, with all the trappings of the genre, this one checks nearly all the boxes:

Shouty sing-alongs

Neck-snapping head banging

Hooks for days

Double entendres (though surprisingly restrained here)

32nd-note guitar-monkey solos

32nd-note triplet drum fills

Recorded-in-a-closet sonics

Prodigious commitment

Rock Until You Drop is heavily influenced by Judas Priest (what metalhead wasn’t in the late 70s/early 80s?), with some of Saxon’s heavier feel, Iron Maiden’s propulsive syncopation and lightning velocity, with a sprinkling of Ted Nugent’s southern boogie machismo. All in, it works better than maybe my description does. Heavy metal gives simple, predictable pleasures to listeners (see trappings bullet points above). Given how outstanding Raven was at providing these, I’m shocked this album didn’t do better on American radio charts. KMET, El Lay’s progressive rock/heavy metal radio station, played the title track, but little else until “On and On” came out as a single four years later. 

At least the band delivered the goods for those who followed them (like my older brother, who really dug them). John Gallagher’s fluid Geddy Lee-like bass lines impress but are buried in the sludgy sound typical of UK metal records of the period (you know who you are, Martin Birch [RIP]). Guitarist Mark Gallagher fares much better, with his stinging guitar tone and volcanic riffs careening across the entire soundstage. Holding it all down is Rob Hunter’s drums, who’s as virtuosic as any of his contemporaries (and arguably more imaginative than the 32nd-note-tom-fills-for-days-with-little-else Nicko McBrain of Iron Maiden. These dudes were tight, and best of all, you could tell they were having a blast making this record.

So, if you’re a metalhead (or want to know what one is) and have not listened to Raven’s Rock Until You Drop, turn it on, turn it up, and try to keep your head attached to your neck. Your body will thank you. Not so sure about your ears.

https://open.spotify.com/album/7vowWR7ZnvZq4iJb2FHppA?si=Vmb4HViVQqmB9yqlSno87A

The 1981 Listening Post - INXS - Underneath the Colours

 INXS - Underneath the Colours

#531

By Robert Sliger

October 19 1981

INXS

Underneath the Colours

Genre: 80s Rock

Allen’s Rating: 2 out of 5

Robert’s Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Highlights:

Stay Young

Horizons 

Underneath the Colors

Night of Rebellion

Michael Hutchens - vocals

Andrew Farris - Keys/guitars

Jon Farris - Drums/percussion

Tim Farris - Guitars

Kirk Pengilly - Guitar/sax

Garry Gary Bears - Bass

Like several friends I knew in high school, I became a musician because of INXS. Specifically, “Don’t Change” from SHABOOH SHOOBAH. I hunted my apartment for every flat pillow I could find, arranged them as snare/tom/cymbals, and beat the hell out of them for literally hours. I remember at the time that I wasn’t interested in the “musical” part of it (though that song still gets me pumped every time, forty years and thousands of listens later). I wanted to figure out how to play that fast. Jon Farris had a unique sound that kept surprising me with unpredictable hits and oddball accents other new wave artists weren’t even trying to pull off. Plus: Rototoms!

Underneath the ColoUrs is competent and entertaining, if a bit milquetoast. INXS’ second album features every good thing the six mates from Australia would further develop into the enormous stadium-sized chart-toppers in the mid-to-late 80s: quirky arrangements, snappy grooves so tight you couldn’t put a piece of sheet music between the gaps, and cryptic lyrics soulfully presented by Michael Hutchins’ charismatic voice. What’s missing are the consistent hooks, tightly-focused stadium presence, edgy, blue-eyed funk of THIEVES, and (especially) KICK. Later 80s, INXS created a sound that invited you into the party, then kept you dancing without pause. Ballad? What’s that? Underneath the Colours is more aloof; that welcoming vibe was not yet part of their otherwise substantial musical toolbox. They’re trying hard here, but the band had not yet worked out the easy-going authority of their best recordings.

The production is clean and the playing energetic. I am reminded of Thomas Dolby, Thompson Twins, and a bit of Oingo Boingo. Especially early The Fixx, another Aussie band who found brief success in the early-to-mid 80s only to be buried by the grunge juggernaut of 1991.

“Stay Young” Kicks (sorry/not sorry) off the album with sing-songy guitar and vocal hooks wrapped in the super-human-tight groove of Garry Gary Bears on bass and Jon Farris’ drums.

“Horizons” veers from moody, syncopated verses to alternating graceful and bouncy choruses. It’s a fun listen that lacks the more elegant and rousing tonal shifts they would perfect on LISTEN LIKE THIEVES and KICK.

“Underneath the Colors” previews most of the sonic direction Hutchens and Company would mine for gold in the coming years.

“Night of Rebellion” features a hot mess of ska energy and rock slash that somehow works despite the lack of focus. 

“Barbarian” is ONLY A LAD-period Boingo without the quirk.

“All Those Years of Learning” apes Thomas Dolby and Thompson Twins without quite nailing either’s special sauce.

The rest of the tracks are pretty standard filler—nothing offensive, tired, or lazy. In fact, the effort this young band put into these performances suggests the chart dominance they would enjoy for the next eight years. INXS was on its way, and the experimental restlessness of albums like Underneath the ColoUrs was an essential step on the journey to radio ubiquity.

https://music.amazon.com/albums/B07W2VXWT6

The 1981 Listening Post - Ian Hunter - Short Back 'n Sides

 Ian Hunter - Short Back 'n Sides

#386

By Robert Sliger

August 1981

Ian Hunter

Short Back ’N Sides

Genre: Pop rock

Allen’s Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Robert’s Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Highlights: 

Central Park N’ West

Gun Control

Lisa Likes Rock N’ Roll

Leave Me Alone…(shit, just about the whole record, really)

TRACK LISTING

Central Park N' West

Lisa Likes Rock N' Roll

I Need Your Love

Old Records Never Die

Noises

Rain

Gun Control

Theatre Of The Absurd

Leave Me Alone

Keep On Burnin'

I am a big fan of Ian Hunter’s preceding album You’re Never Alone With a Schizophrenic, along with his work with Mott the Hoople. So I was surprised I had never listened to his follow-up Short Back N’ Sides, as it got zero radio play when it came out. Discovering it as a newbie in The Listening Post group was a tremendous surprise. Short Back N’ Sides is one highly entertaining and dexterously written LP, with Hunter’s unequaled gift for both cynicism and sincerity in full bloom.

Hunter’s cache in British rock circles is in evidence with the excellent mix of session players and Rock Gods playing on Short Back N’ Sides. Guitar “Micks” Jones (The Clash) and Ronson (David Bowie, Mott the Hoople), drummers Topper Headon (The Clash) and Eric Parker, Keyboardists George Meyer (Meat Loaf) and Tommy Mandel, and bassist Tommy Morrongiello add tremendous support. The playing is polished and tight but loose enough to keep the record from becoming stiff and corporate.

The production team was also full of heavy-hitters: Recorded by David Tickle (Tangerine Dream), Mike Scott (Tony Bennett, Peter Frampton, Men Without Hats), and legendary engineer Bill Price (Mott the Hoople, The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Who—the list goes on). Bob “trash can” Clearmountain handled the mixing duties. It’s too bad with this pedigree that the record’s mastered sound is pretty bad (at least on the 2000 remaster I heard), with lots of tape flanging and compressor pumping.

Hunter adroitly presents a wide range of emotional and thematic themes, fluctuating between cynicism (the foot-stomping rallying cry “Gun Control”) and earnestness (“Rain”), sometimes even within the same song (the faux-disco mocking and mawkish “Leave Me Alone”). A central pursuit of his writing includes ruminating on being alone, the benefits of isolation and connection, as well as the detriments. “Central Park N’ West” is a great opener. Catchy as a virus at a Trump rally, snarky and affectionate in nearly equal measure, this one’s like the rocking stepchild of Leonard Cohen’s “Chelsea Hotel.”

I enjoy those sarcastic bits more, but the earnest tunes are also beautifully constructed. Take the final stanza of the album closer, “Keep on Burning”: 

“Lost lovers in a moonlit night

Broken lovers in a starless night

I lay my heart down at your feet

’Cause all I want is for you

To keep on burning”

If this sounds a little heady, relax, because the music—in all its early-80’s, gaudy-gloss presentation—is a fun, catchy menage of post-punk, synth-wave, British reggae, and commercial rock. And the hooks keep coming. From rousing sing-alongs “Lisa Likes Rock N Roll” and the sadly-prescient “Gun Control” to the nostalgic “Old Records Never Die,” with its creative (or unintentional?) variation of Mozart’s The Magic Flute “Pa Pa Pa” riff, there are enough earworms here to go fishing with for the weekend.

Hunter’s voice is incredibly energized on Short Back N’ Sides, his high tenor clearly cutting through the sometimes cluttered arrangements with a full-throated delivery that often seems on the verge of spinning out of control. Whether sneering or full-throated emotional, he gives every note just the right weight and push as it’s moment requires. He also sounds like he’s having a ball.

Short Back N’ Sides is the sound of an artist in full command of his considerable gifts swinging for the fences. If he was going to break through to widespread commercial success, this jubilant party disc was the record that should have done it. Sadly for Hunter, who would continue to struggle to expand his devoted fanbase for the remainder of his career. Which is especially unfortunate considering how much he succeeded artistically here. This is a very enjoyable collection of cleverly-written pop/rock tunes, performed with gusto by that all-star lineup. This superlative addition to Ian Hunter’s prodigious catalog of work should be a classic. Very Highly Recommended.

https://open.spotify.com/album/0yA8hpeu47XQUwGuiAyyhA?si=OvxI9h_0Qne8tzxvjReWOQ