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Crossing
The Red Sea With The Adverts. (Bright Records March 1978)
I don't think Tim liked me criticising Red Sea but he didn't convince me otherwise and my opinion
stays firm. Red Sea
is a flawed album. Its arty cover , dim backcover lack of
lyrics and repros of old tunes ( 4 of them) make it a bit suspect. The title
comes
from the journalist Jane Suck and when I questioned Tim he said
the songs had to be re-recorded for the theme of the album. What's the theme
or am
I a bit thick ? Is the album leading the punks to a promised land ? Is it the band
coming in at One Chord Wonders and reaching a land where they are a fully
fledged band ? Too complicated for my liking and not all the songs work. Don't get me wrong its not a bad
album but it doesn't deserve all the plaudits it gets. |
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Its only my view above so here's another
one to redress the balance. Lifted from Amazon
*****
The Best Punk Album Ever ...... Probably, 27
August, 2001
Reviewer: Mark Armstrong from Somerset
I bought this album on vinyl in 1978 at the age of 15 and still hold a great
affection for it. It was always going to be an impossible album to follow up for
TV Smith and The Adverts; there is such tension in the songs where the
bass,drums and guitars struggle to hold it together. I've never heard an album
quite like it since. Many punk bands were accomplished musicians who jumped on
the musical band wagon of punk, whilst a very few like The Adverts were there
from the start and with the songwriting talents of TV Smith created this one
album of teenage angst and social comment (the follow up album was a commercial
and critical flop). By the time the early punk acts like the Adverts, X Ray Spex
and The Banshees either got a record deal or recorded enough for an LP they were
able to comment on the development of Punk as a 'movement' - listen to Safety in
Numbers.One of the greatest british punk albums and therefore part of an
important part of british culture. Also another great production by John Leckie. |
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| Television's
Over / Back From The Dead |
| RCA
Records November 1978 |
And then suddenly
that was it. From crossing the Red Sea to all at sea on the major
label RCA. 1978. No Pistols or Damned. Punk had moved on. The Stranglers
released Black & White, The Clash - Give 'Em Enough Rope
and Siouxsie - The Scream. 8 months had elapsed since their last
single. In the previous 8 months they had released 4 singles and an
album and had two hits. That said this single is a corker.
Heavier and a more complete sounding band. Honours go to the
B-side written with Doctor Of Madness Richard Strange, a
rumbustious punk driven thang. Dodgy cover tho. From
here on it was playing to an audience that didn't care anymore and so
The Adverts played out their time with a couple more singles and an
album 'Cast of Thousands' that no one shouted about and that's how it
ended. |
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