1979 - Buzzcocks - A Different Kind Of Tension (Special Edition 2013) (Flac)
It's conceivable that internal friction helped inspire the title of the third Buzzcocks longplayer, A DIFFERENT KIND OF TENSION; the group would splinter shortly after the album's 1979 release. But the U.K. pop punk band went out with a bang, marshalling one of their most diverse and exciting sets of songs under the guidance of producer Martin Rushent. The breakneck pace of their first recordings is well represented by such tracks as opener “Paradise,” though by the closing sound collage “Radio Nine,” chief songwriter Pete Shelley has managed to indulge his more experimental side as well – without ever abandoning the trademark Buzzcocks wit and emphasis on melody. A superb album is made even better in this Special Edition of A DIFFERENT KIND OF TENSION with an additional disc of affiliated singles, demos and Peel Sessions live recordings. (Rhino)
1978 - Buzzcocks - Love Bites (Special Edition 2010) Flac
1978 was an enormously productive year for the Buzzcocks. It not only saw the release of their exemplary debut album, Another Music In A Different Kitchen, but also their second, Love Bites. In addition, they issued five non-LP singles. An unbelievable pace, and one no band in their right mind would have attempted. But in the first flush of British punk, it seemed like there was no tomorrow, everything had to be done right now.
Love Bites (Special Edition) is Mute Records’ second offering in their stellar Buzzcocks reissue program. One of the great aspects of this series is the opportunity it affords us to reevaluate the albums in context of the times. Besides the original 11 songs, the set includes the two contemporary singles, “Love You More” and “Promises.” Additionally, there are seven tracks from the legendary John Peel Sessions, 13 demos, and a ten-song set recorded live at Manchester’s Free Trade Hall in July of ‘78.
Love Bites has been unfairly viewed as the least of the original trio of albums. I must confess that I once held this opinion as well. Listening to it freshly though, and with the attendant singles, I feel that Love Bites is a classic in its own right. The fact that the band had progressed markedly from Another Music may be a reason it has been dismissed. But any record that includes a single as perfect as “Ever Fallen In Love” deserves a second look.
Love Bites opens with some brilliant guitar work on “Real World.” The pure-pop brilliance of “Ever Fallen In Love” follows, and then the band’s more aggressive side is showcased. “Operators Manual” and “Just Lust” are prime examples of the Buzzcock’s patented punk hybrid — there was no other group around at the time who could have penned these tunes.
Side two of the original LP was nearly flawless. “Walking Distance,” “Nothing Left,” and “ESP” are simply amazing songs. For the closer, the group looked back at the way they ended Another Music, with “Moving Away From The Pulsebeat.” It was unlike anything that had preceded it, and Love Bites’ “Late For The Train” is a similar concoction. The nearly six-minute instrumental is credited to the entire group, and is intoxicating.
The seven John Peel Sessions recordings are excellent, with the band live in the studio playing songs from the album. But it is the live Free Trade Hall material (all of it previously unreleased) that should get Buzzcocks fans most excited. There was something about playing in front of an audience that got this group fired up. They certainly were at a peak that night, and the crowd definitely got their money’s worth.
In hindsight, Love Bites is the most underrated album in the Buzzcocks' canon. It stands as a truly brilliant record. And there was more to come. Another classic would follow, just a few months later, called A Different Kind Of Tension. (Blogcritics)
1977 - Buzzcocks - Another Music In A Different Kitchen (Special Edition 2013) (Flac)
Another Music In a Different Kitchen, the band’s first full-length, is as smart, streamlined and seamless as punk rock debuts go. More upbeat and hyperactive than The Sex Pistols, and much more pop-oriented than arty contemporaries such as Wire, The Buzzcocks mastered early on the art of witty, aggressive two-minute punk-pop bangers. Having been released during a time when singles were often released separately from albums, there are few Singles Going Steady gems to be found on Another Music, save for the chugging standout “Autonomy” and tuneful anthem “I Don’t Mind.” Yet it’s part of that separation that makes Another Music such an essential addition, as each of its 11 tracks is utterly fresh and fantastic, from the fierce riffs in opener “Fast Cars” (and its repetition of the two-note solo from early single “Boredom”) to the nervy, motorik grooves of “Fiction Romance,” and its intensifying coda. Frontman Pete Shelley’s articulate humor abounds, as he throws out hilarious lines like “All this slurping and sucking…it’s putting me off my food!” And the group saves their biggest surprise for the end, hammering out a Can-inspired epic in the seven-minute “Moving Away from the Pulsebeat.”
Fantastic as the original, 11-track album is, Mute’s reissue packs on so many extras that the collection more than doubles the length of the first issue. Long-adored and famous singles “Orgasm Addict,” “What Do I Get?” and “What Ever Happened To…?” immediately follow the album, as does a Peel Session with two of the album’s tracks and yet another version of “What Do I Get?” Meanwhile, more than half of the second disc is made up of demo versions of 14 of their classic tracks, beginning with Spiral Scratch standout “Boredom.” Many of these are actually being released for the first time, including a surprisingly loud vocal take of “You Tear Me Up” and a near-professional sounding “Get On Our Own” that only pales in comparison to the original by mere decimal margins.
Closing out the second disc the furious “Live at the Electric Circus” recording, which is not only intense and loud, but surprisingly crisp in fidelity. It’s a blazing way to close out an expansive and exhaustive look at the band’s first album and singles that surrounded it. It’s a bit mind blowing to think all this was recorded not just in one year, but that it would be accompanied by yet another blistering full-length later that same year! Admittedly, this is a lot of music for one sitting, and only a small part of Mute’s insanely extensive reissue collections. But if Another Music In a Different Kitchen is an essential purchase, and believe me, it is, then it’s that much more of a treat to have basically everything else the band did in the first half of 1978 in the same package. (Treble)
