Secondary
Modern: 1976-1979 has the original singles + B-sides, with 4 later songs
from aborted recording sessions and a live track (with Robyn Hitchcock
on bass). Debut single Sick of You, a John Peel favourite, is still
riveting. Phil Burkill, the Users singer, does his best to out-sneer
Iggy, but it is the scuzzy cranked-up guitar that leaps out of the
speakers ("sounds like it was recorded in a bucket of vomit" said Melody
Maker at the time). No other record sounds quite like this. Chris
Free was a guitar hero in the Pete Townshend mould. Second single Kicks
in Style has a restless speedfreak riff and glitterstomp handclaps.
For a brief time in 1979, The Users `went Mod', calling themselves The Persuasions. The first four songs on the CD could have been the foundation for a classic power pop album. Their cover of The Who's It's Not True is better than the original. Listen and Now That It's Over have an infectious swagger and some great lyrics (Like a Peckinpah film / I won't give up without a fight; I'm waiting by the telephone / chewing paracetamol.
Hearing these songs again after 30 years is like greeting a long-lost friend. This band were as good as we thought they were back in '77. They were the real deal - and here's the evidence. The cover, design, photos and text to Secondary Modern are superb. The Users should have been massive.
For a brief time in 1979, The Users `went Mod', calling themselves The Persuasions. The first four songs on the CD could have been the foundation for a classic power pop album. Their cover of The Who's It's Not True is better than the original. Listen and Now That It's Over have an infectious swagger and some great lyrics (Like a Peckinpah film / I won't give up without a fight; I'm waiting by the telephone / chewing paracetamol.
Hearing these songs again after 30 years is like greeting a long-lost friend. This band were as good as we thought they were back in '77. They were the real deal - and here's the evidence. The cover, design, photos and text to Secondary Modern are superb. The Users should have been massive.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario