Originally published in Noise for Heroes #21 by Steve Gardner

Adverts - Costello, Elvis  |  Damned - Hollywood Brats  |  Jam - Only Ones
Radiators from Space - Ruts  |  Saints - Thunders, Johnny  |  UK Subs - Yachts

THE JAM
In The City (Polydor)
This Is The Modern World (Polydor)
Setting Sons (Polydor)
I suspect the average British critic would pick All Mod Cons as the Jam's landmark LP, since that's the one that kicked off the mod revival and moved the Jam to star status in the isles, but it's really my least favorite Jam record. In The City was rough and raw with an early Who sound...some great songs and some not so incredible but the good songs were enough to make it rate highly. The title track is particularly great, and "Away From The Numbers", "Bricks And Mortar" and "Art School" aren't far behind. The Modern World was my favorite, especially the US release with "All Around The World", "In The Street, Today", "Here Comes The Weekend", "Life From A Window" and "The Combine". I suspect that during my lifetime I've played this more often than any other record; it appeals on so many levels that it's almost always worth putting on. By the time of Setting Sons, the Jam were big stars and the record isn't punk at all, but it's still got a pile of great tracks, especially if you get the US copy with "Strange Town", but "Eton Rifles", "Thick As Thieves" and "Private Hell" are powerful, too.

THE JOLT
The Jolt (Polydor)
Proof that timing is everything...if these guys had put this record out in 1979 they'd have hit the crest of the mod movement and probably been as big as Secret Affair or the Chords, if not the Jam, but instead they put it out at the beginning of 1978 as their career was running down. But it's really a pretty strong mod punk hybrid that's musically as powerful as a lot of the early Jam stuff although the lyrics don't measure up. Still, other than the Jam and Chords, I reckon the Jolt as the best mod band of the late 70s...really good tuneful tracks with lots of energy and a real raw edge to it.

JOY DIVISION
Closer (Factory)
If a band starts a new direction, can they be blamed if those that follow all run off the edge of a cliff? Joy Division pioneered this depressing, pre-suicidal style of music which others managed to commercialize by toning down the guitars, turning up the synthesizers, and schmaltzing up the vocals. It certainly isn't a punk record, but it's an important one in understanding how the punk ethic twisted into a boring, stale mass of synthesizer bands. Joy Division definitely conveyed an emotion in their music, but their more successful imitators totally overlooked it and unfortunately dragged masses with them...you can still see them today with their gothic getups and their Smiths bumperstickers.

KILLING JOKE
Killing Joke (Malicious Damage)
Just about the only industrial band worth listening to in my book, and judging from the number of fans you used to see at hardcore punk shows in the mid 80s with Killing Joke stenciled on their leather jackets I'm not the only punk fan who thinks so. On this LP Killing Joke sounds like a grinding factory pounding out machine parts with a hammering, precision rhythm and soulless singing. This is another pioneering record that set a trail for a new kind of band, and as for Joy Division, hundreds wrecked it later.

THE LURKERS
Fullham Fallout (Beggars Banquet)
If you're sick of trendsetters and just want some old time ramalama punk rock with great singalong tunes, this is your ticket. ZigZag magazine used to rave about these guys, but nobody else seemed to catch on to how great they were...they're just another Ramones cop for sure, but they really do it well; right up there with the Undertones. The Lurkers' strong point is chorus hooks with lots of cool "oh-oh" backings. This LP is by far their best with production that really makes the guitar kick. It's sloppy and amateurish, but that's what makes it so great. Hey, Beggars Banquet, do you remember when you actually released records like this one?

MAGAZINE
Secondhand Daylight (Virgin)
Magazine were Howard Devoto's band after he left the Buzzcocks...for some reason Devoto is regularly given vast amounts of credit for the fact that the Buzzcocks were as good as they were, but I dunno why; his efforts outside of the Buzzcocks didn't come close. Magazine had a few really good songs, and it's tempting to pick their first LP over this one because it has "Shot By Both Sides", Magazine's best. But I think Secondhand Daylight is more representative of what Magazine was about...sort of moody, sinister songs. Even on the great, poppy, "Rhythm Of Cruelty", the underlying lyric is unsettling, and on "Permafrost" it becomes a full on horror show. Magazine were another band that tried to figure out how to use synthesizers, and they also weren't too successful at it. Their best songs are the ones with the synth at the back.

THE MEKONS
The Quality Of Mercy Is Not Strnen (Virgin)
The Mekons are still around, though I haven't heard anything they've done for a long time so I don't know if they are remotely like they used to be. But they sure were clever bastards back when this came out. The cover has a monkey at a typewriter, and he almost types out the first line of the famous "mercy speech" from Shakespeare's Merchant Of Venice. There's a similar amateurish quality to the Mekons themselves...they sound like the Lurkers trying to imitate Gang Of Four...yobbish singing, muddy production, choppy playing, but the result is somehow really good. The songs are pretty spastic, but they're also really interesting and hold up to repeated listens quite well. It's not a major league punk record, but it's a pretty decent one.

THE MEMBERS
At Chelsea Nightclub (Virgin)
1980 The Choice Is Yours (Virgin)
Two brilliant records, these. I don't know how many people I convinced with the Members feature I wrote a few issues back, but these guys are killers. A superficial listen will leave you mostly with an impression of Nicky Tesco singing, and he's got a loutish Cockney voice that's punk personified. But a few more listens and you'll begin to take note of a couple of things. First off, this is a world class band musically, and they're playing some really complicated songs that shift tempos and switch back and forth from reggae to rock and hammering hard to subtle and soft. Then the lyrics will catch you; they're both humorous and insightful at the same time. The Members manage to have it both ways; they've got punk energy but they've got mainstream proficiency and they can be complicated without compromising their great songs. After these two albums they lost it, but I've played both these records year in and year out and I always love 'em.
See Also: Sound of the Suburbs (Caroline)

999
Separates (UA)
There are many people who think Nine Nine Nine were one of the great punk bands. I'm not one of them...they had some really fun songs like "Nasty Nasty", and live they were pretty entertaining the time I saw them, but they always struck me as though they'd just as soon play something else if it was popular. "Homicide" from this LP, which was about their most well known song, was pretty close to disco, but there's plenty of other catchy ones here, like "Tulse Hill Night", "Out Of Reach" or "Let's Face It" (which continues "The boy can't make it with girls!"). Singer Nick Cash has a sort of affected, high pitched snarl when he wants to emphasize a point, but when the band sings straight verses or chorus parts with backing vocals they can have a nice punk pop sound that's a lot like the Boys.
See Also: Homicide (Cleopatra)

THE ONLY ONES
Special View (Epic)
Actually, as I've said before, if I had to pick one Only Ones record, I'd take the Peel Sessions LP, but I think for this purpose it's only fair to take one that came out in the period when they were active. This record was released in the US and it's kind of a compilation of the tracks from their first two UK LPs that Epic thought were their best. They came pretty close to being right, too. The four best Only Ones songs are here..."Another Girl Another Planet", "Lovers Of Today", "Out There In The Night" and "You've Got To Pay". These guys were rather old farts to be considered punks, but they sure latched onto the new style and put together some great loser songs. This stuff's about halfway from power pop to Johnny Thunders, if you need to pin it to a style. There's lots of great tasty guitar chunks and cool rocking songs. Yeah!