This is a 7'' split EP with the surprisingly poppy number Losing The War by SICK56 on side A and two songs by HIGGINS ++ on the flip side. The SICK 56 track is not bad at all, sort of catchy really, but not as good as their Recipe For Disaster CD. I'd liked this new track better if they'd ditched the skate punk guitar bit and kept it raw too.
HIGGINS ++ is JSNTGM label boss ANDY HIGGINS and I didn't particulary like his Commercial Brake CD. This 7'' came with a personal note to me that said 'I hope you hate it' which shows that he doesn't just have a lot of spare copies of his records, he has a sense of humour too. In my never ending quest to disappoint I've gotta say I don't hate it. This time he's backed by SICK56 which gives the songs a bit more punch. The last song called Got A Revolution is pretty good even though the guitars sound too much like some 80's hair metal band. HIGGINS' vocals have improved. There's even some STIFF LITTLE FINGERS in them somewhere.
No, I don't hate it. Can't say I love it either. This is the second split 7'' they do together. It's a ltd ed yellow vinyl release.
This V/A CD came free with BLACKPOOL ROX II issue 8 2005. It's also distributed free by The Blackpool Evening Gazette and the label itself.
The record opens with Blackpool's pride and shame SKREWDRIVER and their classic single An-ti So-cial. This was done in their pre-nazi prime and it's a great little 1977 pub punk number. I'm sure there's no royalty money going anywhere near the National Front from this and I doubt that ANDY HIGGINS was ever swapping spit with IAN STUART, at least not in the friedly way, so you can relax and enjoy the song. What I think is more troublesome is that in their punk days SKREWDRIVER was banned from playing Blackpool by the Blackpool council and now they're sponsoring this release.
There's an irony in a Just Say No To Government Music release being paid for by the Blackpool council, and I'm not sure that it's such a good idea in general. Ok, there's some great music made available free but at the same time JSNTGM is also giving credit to the enemy. Half the songs here are about how useless and boring the council made Blackpool and now they can pride themselves with a punk rock charity case. Maybe it's not such a big deal. I don't know what to say about it really, but I had to say something. Don't think the council had anything to do with the selection, but ''council approved punk'' is enough to make this old punk rocker cringe. Ok, enough about that.
ZYKLON B, MALE MODELS and TUNNEL VISION all do decent but somehwhat gloomy post-punk stuff, with the first band being the best. They eventually became SYNTAX who are also included here. KENNETH TURNER SET was just a local rock band I guess. SECTION 25 is one of the old Factory Records bands and you know what that sounds like. A mellow JOY DIVISION sort of thing.
ONE WAY SYSTEM did two good albums and a few singles back in the early 80's and all of it have stood the test of time really well. Their first LP All Systems Go is exceptional and should be part of every punk rocker's record collection. The classic Jerusalem is included here.
ANTISOCIAL best known anthem Official Hooligan from 1982 is here, as is Honey This Ain't No Romance done by THE GENOCIDES. Both good songs from two very different looking sides of punk. The skinheads and the rockers. This is probably the first time both bands appear on the same compilation, but it works well together. If you ignore the hair cuts they're not that far from each other musically. All good Oi is just basic rock'n'roll. THE FITS were another band that reached far outside Blackpool and there's an old b-side included here. If you don't know them they were a good band doing early 80's punk somewhere between THE PROFESSIONALS and ANTI-PASTI.
SIGN LANGUAGE sounded so 80's they had to reunite for the current revival. The song here is really good once you get used to the flangers and effects. Love And Glory it's called and it's from 1984. They're followed by THE MEMBRANES and an alright fast rock number. The demo song from unknowns TAKE LINDY SURFING is a good 1978 type punk number done in 1991. SHRINK is up next and they sucked pop cock so bad you'll gag. Vile. THE PHANTOM CREEPS were average garage rock with the usual horror movie ingridience. You'll forget them as soon as the song is over.
ERASE TODAY was ANDY HIGGINS band in the mid-90's and the song here is ok loud guitar rock. CONTAINER DRIVERS appearantly had some commercial success in the late 90's but I don't remember them. Their singer sounds a bit like LOU REED. The music is simple mid-tempo guitar based rock.
KING MOB ECHO reveals that the 90's Action Rock trend found Blackpool in 1997. It turned out as not very good 70's rock. This was done slightly better in 2002 by UNCLE FESTER, at least when they do Kill Someone. PINK TORPEDOS had members that are now in SICK56. The live track here is ok pub rock with a bit of punk attitude. I guess you had to be there.
The latest stuff on this compilation, which is in chronological order, is not very interesting at all. THE(E) TRANSMISSIONS song is just university rock. Dull. NEOCOMA has a song called Alcoholocaust but it's not as cool at it sounds. It's more university rock. So is both CHANG and CERAMIC HOBS. A bit arty farty too. RAZOR DOG is basic rock with attempts at 'proper singing'. The comp ends with the SICK56 song No Accident and it's a cut or two above the other newer stuff.
It's an interesting compilation. A lot of it is really good too. It is strange how there's no bands with a US hardcore or straight edge sound here. Maybe that didn't reach them? Anyway, there was never a Blackpool sound, so this isn't some Madchester or Seattle grunge type thing. It's just a local compilation that shows how the trends in alternative music through out the last three decades affected one town.
Hurry up and send them 2 Euros or 2 USD to cover postage if you want one, because free stuff runs out fast.
