This is the only one of their albums Howard Devoto appears on, and even though the purists claim the Buzzcocks were better with him, I'd have to disagree. With Devoto, the Buzzcocks were just a punk-by-the-numbers band with bratty vocals and songs about apathy. If they had kept him, they'd be more or less indistinguishable from every other UK punk band, and probably wouldn't be remembered today. Of course, you can't beat "Boredom" and its classic one-note guitar solo. And we've got the first ever recording of "Orgasm Addict!" It's vaguely amusing to hear Devoto snarl his way through tracks made popular by Shelley's poppy crooning.
While most of these are typical UK punk pseudo-rebellion songs, like "Breakdown," "Friends of Mine," and "Lester Sands (Drop In The Ocean)," several of these songs carry the theme of hopeless love, ("You Tear Me Up," "I Love You, You Big Dummy") and foreshadow the kind of music the Buzzcocks would be playing within a few years. Fans of the Buzzcocks will enjoy hearing early cuts of songs that would be redone by Shelley, but this really isn't the best place to start if you want to get into the band. Not bad, but largely forgettable.
"No Reply" is the perfect crossover song between Devoto and Shelley eras. It retains the same nihilistic-pop feel of Devoto's work, while being melodic and catchy enough so Shelley sounds right at home singing along. The only downside to this CD is that, since they were just finding their footing, some songs are a bit too slow and drawn out, like closing track "Moving Away From the Pulsebeat" or "Fiction Romance." But overall, the Buzzcocks have finally found a niche for themselves. Good things are coming, just you wait.
Fast, energetic, and melodic - the Buzzcocks are rapidly getting it together! This is far poppier than any other punk that was being released at the time, but it's so different that it stands out. All the typical UK punk has finally been worked out of their system, and the result is amazing. The track "Ever Fallen In Love" is one of the Buzzcocks' most popular songs, and was a successful single for the band. There are all sorts of great pop gems on here, like "Nostalgia," "Just Lust," and "Sixteen Again." "Operator's Manual" even has a cool east Indian vibe to it. Even lead guitarist Steve Diggle gets to sing, on the pseudo-acoustic track "Love Is Lies."
The production is great, but I think what these guys really have going for them is experience. They have learned to play their instruments well, and that always put them a cut above their pub rock peers. For all its pop influences, this CD has a sort of rock burn behind it, which shows up best in tracks "Real World" and "ESP." It's only downfall is ending with instrumental "Late for the Train," which is fairly unneccessary and bland. But other than that, this CD is the Buzzcocks at their best. If you want pop-rock done right, this is what you need.
It's not all bad, though. "Money" is a pretty awesome song with that same cool east Indian vibe to it, and "Paradise" and "You Say You Don't Love Me" are good pop songs with that cool Buzzcocks feel to them. It's just too bad the vast majority of this album is so awful, because if every song on here was like those tracks, it would be possibly better than Love Bites. The production is amazing for an album released in the 70's, but unfortunately, great production just can't save it. I don't know what the Buzzcocks were thinking.
The album opens with no better track than the hilarious "Orgasm Addict," then goes right into the greatest hopeless love song ever, "What Do I Get." "Ever Fallen In Love" and "Everybody's Happy Nowadays" are perfect examples of the Buzzcocks' melodic pop fare, and "Oh Shit!" has a definite rock edge to it. "Autonomy," "Noise Annoys," and "Just Lust" could mop the floor with any Britpop song today, and "Lipstick" is awesome rock-tinted pop and probably the best song on the CD. And those are just the tracks I felt like mentioning. There's no filler on this CD at all. Buy it, burn it - I don't care, just hear this album somehow. You'll thank me.
The Buzzcocks reformed in 1989, 8 years after their breakup, probably because they were having trouble making money any other way. They toured for four years beating the dead "punk nostalgia" horse with their old songs, before deciding to record their first album in 12 years. This album came out a couple years before pop-punk hit and every other '77 band was frantically booking reunion tours to cash in on their reputation. Now, this album isn't bad, but the main problem is that they've lost their original drummer John Maher and bassist Steve Garvey. The songwriting team of Pete Shelley and Steve Diggle is still there, but some of the instrumental subtlety and creativity of their original songs has been lost.
Despite some outstanding moments like, oh I don't know, the awesome fact that STEVE DIGGLE HAS ACTUALLY LEARNED TO SING, this album seems like the Buzzcocks are just going through the motions. I mean, "Palm of Your Hand" is just a redone "Orgasm Addict." There's still the energetic flurry of Shelley and Diggle's poppy guitar solos, but there's no experimentation like in the days of "I Believe." However, brief moments like "Alive Tonight," "Isolation," "Crystal Night," "Innocent," and "Smile," although they won't win any awards for band progression, make picking up this CD worthwhile. Good on the Buzzcocks for actually writing new material, rather than getting by on their reputation.
As for experimentation...woo! We finally have some of that! "Hold Me Close" has this cool groove to it that reminds me of their songs like "Why Can't I Touch it?" Both Shelley and Diggle somehow sound better on their vocals, too. There's also some sort of organ scattered all throughout the album. Sometimes it borders on being annoying, but overall, it adds a cool touch to the band that wasn't even there in the 70's. The production on this album is great - it gives the band a kick they were lacking in the lo-fi days. The Buzzcocks are somehow managing to get better, even though most people would dismiss them as being "too old" to pass their peak.
I was expecting an improvement over All Set. I mean, they were making all the right moves. But somehow, the Buzzcocks have created a very inconsistent album. Despite the second half being just as good as the best tracks of All Set, the first half is mind-numbingly bad. It's like A Different Kind of Tension all over again - being weird just for the sake of appearing "arty." The Buzzcocks seem to have trouble distinguishing between "good experimentation," such as adding depth to your songs rather than remaking the same hit over and over, and "bad experimentation," such as cramming synthesizers and drum machines everywhere. I wish I was lying, but that's exactly what this album did.
Yes, this album's first half unfortunately comes off as some sort of bad 80's new wave compilation. Oh man, I hate the 80's. Seriously, let's never revive that decade, especially not with a good band. But luckily, once you get to the tracks "Runaround" and "Doesn't Mean Anything," the Buzzcocks make things right by creating tight pop songs like "Turn of the Screw." Steve Diggle's songs are very inconsistent, just like his earlier work, but Pete Shelley's contributions are fairly strong and reliable, albeit sometimes a little too predictable. "Under the Sun" is probably the stand-out track of the album, and the closest to a cool 70's rock track. Sadly, it's still a large step down from All Set.
Let's be honest here: as legendary and influential as the Buzzcocks are, their reunion albums have usually missed the mark and ended up inconsistent and nowhere near the glory of the Buzzcocks' original days. However, any fear I had of the Buzzcocks ending up a cash-in band constantly faltering with every release dissolved with this album. This is the closest they've come to their heyday in over 20 years, yet it retains the catchiness and creativity of a band trying to evolve beyond what is expected of them. It may sound like an oxymoron, yet somehow, it's true. This is the band's first consistent effort since the reunion, and the wait is well worth it.
Co-founding member Howard Devoto makes a guest appearance on this album to co-write "Stars" and sing a remake of Time's Up track "Lester Sands." As much as I disliked Devoto's vocal work in the band's earlier days, just like Steve Diggle, he has greatly improved with time. The remake of "Lester Sands" is infinitely better than the original. "Morning After" and "Sick City Sometimes" will also stick with you long after you've removed the CD from your stereo. You can listen to this album from beginning to end and still want to hear it again, just like with Singles Going Steady. This proves that not every punk reunion can have nothing good come of it. Even 25 years later, the Buzzcocks can beat out any band that calls itself pop-punk.