do you have the new Prats and Nightingales CDs? . . .

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. . . because you should!

The Nightingales great second album "Hysterics" is on CD for the first time, courtesy of Cherry Red Records, and complete with the non-LP b-side of the "Crafty Fag" single, all four tracks from "The Crunch" EP and two more bonus tracks from who knows where - plus lovely liner notes from both Lloyd members of the band. (n.b. our own Dan Selzer gets a nod too.)

The Prats CD "Now That's What I Call Prats Music" is a nice thing as it compiles all six tracks from their days at Rough Trade, plus a Germany-only 7", the two "studio" tracks from the Earcom 7", two demo tracks and five live tracks. This may seem like barrel scraping, as the Prats were probably more infamous for their youth than their brilliant tunesmithery, but the material holds up better than one might expect given its inherent limitations. The band's output was very limited and their growth hard to quantify exactly since each "stage" of the band's lifespan spat forth only a couple of songs - but in a very general sense, the Prats spawn the gap between the Object Records "sound" and an idea of what one might believe younger siblings of the Prefects or the (early) Fall to resemble. Not quite as arty or verbose, but with a similarly skewed sensibility. For whatever reason, One Little Indian put this out - will it sell only seventeen copies or has the postpunk revival truly flourished to the point where such projects are viable?

― Dee Xtrovert (dee dee), Sunday, 18 December 2005 04:04 (twenty years ago)

I got put on to the Nightingales pretty late, via the Prefects reissue earlier this year. Purchased "Pissed and Potless" and then "Pigs on Purpose". I'll pick up "Hysterics" regardless, but does it cover a lot of ground that these two reissues neglect?"

― Dan Floss (Dan Floss), Sunday, 18 December 2005 04:25 (twenty years ago)

"Hysterics" and "Pigs On Purpose" have nothing in common at all, but "Pissed And Potless" has five songs in common with "Hysterics." One of these tracks ("Insurance") is nearly half a minute longer on "Hysterics" and the sound is pretty different on the other four when comparing the albums - so it can honestly be said there's very little crossover between the two.

Many of my fave Nightingales tracks, like "The Happy Medium" only appear on "Hysterics."

― Dee Xtrovert (dee dee), Sunday, 18 December 2005 17:51 (twenty years ago)

Pedantry alert - Earcom #1 was a 12", not a 7".

It's not that odd that One Little Indian put this out since that label was founded by one of Flux of Pink Indians.

― Colonel Poo (Colonel Poo), Sunday, 18 December 2005 20:06 (twenty years ago)

And there were three Prats tracks on that Earcom album. That stuff's pretty classic, though I wasn't so into the one later Rough Trade single of theirs that I heard ("General Something or Other" or somethin').

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Sunday, 18 December 2005 20:18 (twenty years ago)

I like the Disco Pope single. I think that was on Rough Trade, not sure.

― Colonel Poo (Colonel Poo), Sunday, 18 December 2005 20:20 (twenty years ago)

Greetings Colonel

> It's not that odd that One Little Indian put this out since that label was founded by one of Flux of Pink Indians.

Is there a connection between the Prats and Flux?

FWIW I won't be shelling out for it - IIRC there wasn't anything on that first Earcom 12" worth the vinyl... the one track from Graph was OK. The second one was the one with the Joy Division outtakes on?

> Pedantry alert - Earcom #1 was a 12", not a 7".

Yes, Earcom 3 was a double 7" and the best one of the three IMO. Nice DAF track, Noh Mercy's 'Caucasian Guilt' and two crackers by The Middle Class. Oh, and a postcard advertising the Fast Product film - did this ever happen I wonder?

― Niall, Sunday, 18 December 2005 21:24 (twenty years ago)

You didn't like the early Prats tracks? "INVERNESS! INVERNESS! WHAT A MESS! WHAT A MESS!"

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Sunday, 18 December 2005 22:11 (twenty years ago)

> You didn't like the early Prats tracks?

The power of ILM! I've just been upstairs, rummaged for Earcom 1 and listened to them. Time hasn't been kind IMO.

― Niall, Sunday, 18 December 2005 22:15 (twenty years ago)

...although I will say that The Flowers tracks sound better than I remembered them.

― Niall, Sunday, 18 December 2005 22:17 (twenty years ago)

I know that there were three tracks on that Earcom thing . . . the CD just has the two vaguely well-recorded ones, not the third one from a home cassette recording.

― Dee Xtrovert (dee dee), Sunday, 18 December 2005 22:45 (twenty years ago)

Oh, okay. Was that the "Prats" song? Why in the world would they leave such grebtness off the CD?

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Monday, 19 December 2005 00:23 (twenty years ago)

"Prats 2" it's called (or so the liner notes say.) My guess is that it will be on its own CD with the other 47 (!) songs from the "Hidden Talent" cassette sessions.

― Dee Xtrovert (dee dee), Monday, 19 December 2005 02:38 (twenty years ago)

"Prats are sinking the same thing fast", or so it sounded.

― mark grout (mark grout), Monday, 19 December 2005 10:30 (twenty years ago)

dude. the noh mercy tracks are fucking amazing and the middle class is some good hardcore; but the daf track is not to spectacular (and unlike the mute single) was not saved by being revisited by sex-machine production on a later album.

so, even though the noh mercy tracks are so great, i would still say earcom 1 has to be the better earcom. it has the great flowers songs (those are different recordings than the 7", right? i mean they sound different and better). and it has graph's "drowning." though it has the really boring (and they are boring; and here i tie back into the threads point) prats songs.
the best of the earcoms has to be noh mercy, graph, and bascax.

i've never found the prats very interesting. the songs on earcom 1 are not good. especially when you compare them to something like the silver. who are good in not just theory. though i've never heard the disco pope 7" which is what i always hear people cite. "general" whatever is boring. plus aren't they then well into puberty?

― Dan Gr (certain), Tuesday, 20 December 2005 15:15 (twenty years ago)

No Dan Selzer on this thread yet? Something's wrong.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 20 December 2005 15:21 (twenty years ago)

>> Is there a connection between the Prats and Flux?

Not that I know of, I was thinking more of label started by member of post-punk band reissues other post-punk band = not that odd, really. Maybe that's not what Dee meant in the initial post by "For whatever reason, One Little Indian put this out", doesn't really matter anyway.

My favourite song off any of the Earcoms is probably the Thursdays off #2.

― Colonel Poo (Colonel Poo), Tuesday, 20 December 2005 15:43 (twenty years ago)

hey, I've been spending the morning trying to figure out how to get to work, or if to go at all! Answer=no! So it's off to breakfast and x-mas shopping!

A member of Bascax is putting out a Bascax collection, I only know the songs Madison Fallout and Celluloid Love, one I got from an mp3 blog I think, the other from a Hyped2Death comp. We've talked about Blank Frank before, I think on a punk band because prior to Bascax he was in Blitzkreig Bop, which I quite enjoy, and later the Gynaecologists and Makaton Chat.

I have the General Davis single, actually I have 2 copies of it for some reason, and a few songs on mp3, yes, I've never found a copy of Earcom 1.

Regarding the Nightingales, Hysterics is a great album, and I believe the third album, In A Country Way should be out on a british label, who may also be releasing a live Prefects show from back when. There's also some talk of compiling the new Nightingales singles, which are pretty great.

The Flowers songs are all great! The tracks on Earcom 1 were re-recorded for the Pop Aural single, and they had a second single that's not quite as strong, but still pretty great.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Tuesday, 20 December 2005 15:48 (twenty years ago)

i know Prats made it onto that Kilt by Death compilation, where can that be picked up?

― .- \(O_o)/-' (mookie wilson), Tuesday, 20 December 2005 17:52 (twenty years ago)

I have ways and means to get Kilt by Death. Please email me off-list and we can discuss!

And it's nice to read some Prefects love, or at least interest. I'd been obsessed with that stuff ever since hearing the peel sessions and I really thought, if promoted right, we'd do ok. Fact is, we promoted it pretty heavily and got some great press...all these reissues tend to get good press, especially from old fans who are probably sick of the new stuff. Anyway, I thought there were a few punk songs on there that any proper punk fan would require, and a few arty post-punk type songs that any proper post-punk type fan would need, I felt like in the PR and the press we made the case for this being key stuff, early punk band, played with all the greats, moved onto the post-punk thing in an exciting manner, etc.

Yet we haven't sold a ton yet. It doesn't help that we have no website (it's coming...), but I've been suprised there hasn't been much interest. I think we were unsucessfull in getting it to the punks, and only the hip art-punk/post-punk collectors caught wind of it? Maybe it'll be a sleeper...

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Tuesday, 20 December 2005 21:24 (twenty years ago)

I just listened to it (the Prefects CD) today (on mp3, sorry Dan!) and I'm definitely intending to buy a copy sometime soon!

I do think maybe you haven't got through to punk fans as opposed to post-punk fans, as a fan of both I've only ever heard about the Prefects via their post-punk connections. They seem to have been missed out of most histories of punk, anyway, and unfairly because there are some great punk songs on that CD.

― Colonel Poo (Colonel Poo), Wednesday, 21 December 2005 00:24 (twenty years ago)

one year passes...

PRATS ROOL

― sanskrit, Thursday, 2 August 2007 02:34 (eighteen years ago)

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