The Post Punk Chronicles
Left of the Dial
Rhino
The Post Punk Chronicles
Going Underground
Rhino
The Post Punk Chronicles
Scared to Dance
Rhino
Looks like Rhino gives us yet another “slice” of the “1980s” from the vast collection of crap they’ve got stashed away. This times the Kings of the E-mail Press Releases are presenting – – a bunch of stuff.
Left of the Dial features stuff from sometime in the early-to-mid 80s. Stuff like REM, Joy Division, New Order (get the joke?), Modern English, Thomas Dolby, Mission Of Burma, and Cocteau Twins. Looks mostly like B-sides or alternative versions of singles or album tracks that didn’t hit, but you might have heard them were you listening to college radio way back then. The Raincoats, Chills, and Comsat Angels are here, too.
Going Underground seems more familiar because I remember most of the songs from the summers I worked within range of good New York City radio stations. For example, there’s “Jet Fighter” by the Three O’Clock, and I remember hearing an extensive interview with them on WNYU back some time in ‘85 or so. Also showing up on this volume are Gang of Four, the Soft Boys, Pere Ubu (“Final Solution” – important song), the Jam, the Lyres, and Throbbing Gristle. There are a few other bands from that “era” featured, but I refuse to mention them.
Scared to Dance is my favorite of the three. On this volume they’ve included Echo and the Bunnymen, Heaven 17, Magazine, Ultravox, OMD, Japan, Tuxedomoon… Have you finished gagging? Ha ha! OK, I’ll give ‘em a break… Most oldsters (me) have a couple of double albums called Exposed and Exposed 2 that featured all the UK dancey-wobbly New Wave hit singles one could stand, so for me, Rhino’s simply putting old wine in new bottles. For you, well, this is pretty OK upbeat “pop.” Back to Scared to Dance : The Stranglers, Iggy Pop, Killing Joke, and the Skids show up, sort of unsweetening the mix.
Nostalgia or Neuralgia?
Rhino Records, 10635 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90025; http://www.rhino.com
