great expectations dashed

I'm not sure if this counts, but so many folks had talked-up Lou Reed's infamous live album, TAKE NO PRISONERS as being such a forgotten gem and a must-have-document of vintage Reed vitriol. I finally found it on disc (very pricey indeed) and found it to be nothing much more than a combination of Reed's poor stand-up comedy act and a handful of otherwise decent tunes ruined by patchily-audible rants. Yawn.

i can think of a couple 'second coming' obviously and every primal scream record since 'screamadelica'. oh and boymerang too.

I first encountered Hurrah! around the middle of 1985, supporting Microdisney at Reading Univ. I was vaguely aware of their early singles on Kitchenware, which were good but not great. So I wasn't exactly prepared for what happened as I wandered into the gig about half way through their set. Hurrah were blistering through each song at a ferocious pace, yet the guitar interplay was crystal clear and precise, like a more-pop,less-rock Television. I recognized a couple of the singles, "Gloria" and "Who'd Have Thought" which tonight sounded like the best guitar pop since "Ticket to Ride". The last song in the set,"Who Wants to Live By Love Alone" just about took the roof off, with each chorus more intense than the last.Epic without pomp, this was unbelievably good. I had to hear more.

For the next year or so, I saw Hurrah around 10 more times and they were always thrilling - probably the best live band I've ever seen. "Who wants to live..." got even better, singer/guitarist Taffy Hughes almost incandescent with passion each time. They had some other fantastic songs in the set now - "Let It Be Her" , "Around and Around", "How High The Moon" and "Better Time" ("There's never been a better time to be a young boy..."). All as good as anything, ever.

A tie up with Arista looked promising - at last some money to record the debut album. I can't remember the exact month, but sometime in early/mid 1987 it finally happened - 'Tell God I'm Here', hit the racks and on release day I stopped by the Virgin Megastore to pick up my copy. As I lifted it out of the rack I froze in horror at the cover. The three main men, Hughes, fellow writer/singer/guitarist Paul Handysides and bassist Dave Porthouse were picured on the cover, but charmingly scruffy as usual - they'd had a makeover! Taffy's hair was sort of slicked down and back-combed, and Porthouse has swopped his usual unkempt bowl-cut for a short back and sides. The three held a pose with facial expressions more suited to a Johnny Hates Jazz album. Ok, maybe the suits at Arista insisted on this cover, but surely the music will be as great as I hoped for?

What can I say - it's not a terrible album, they couldn't make a truly TERRIBLE album. But it's very poor. Great songs ruined by a production that manages to make them sound like 'just another guitar band'. Bloated yet thin at the same time, with far too many guitar overdubs. 'Better Time' ruined by fussy little touches which IT DIDN'T FUCKING NEED! Incredibly, Gil Norton, who let so much space into the Pixies sound later on was the producer!

They supported U2 at Wembley, and live they were still as good as ever, but the moment had passed, the chance blazed wide of a gaping net. I don't own a copy now, and I haven't heard it in 10 years. A second, even drabber album, "The Beautiful" came out virtually un- noticed in 1989 and they packed it in in 1991. Rev-Ola issued a collection of singles, b-sides and demo tracks which includes better versions of 6 tracks from 'Tell God...', but all too late. I also have 'Boxed' a long-deleted singles round up on Kitchenware, which includes the great 'Tame'.

Even now, I'd give a limb to have a good quality live recording of Hurrah at their peak. The thought of those mid-80's gigs still brings shivers - should I be disappointed then? It's just that 15 years ago Paul Handysides and Taffy Hughes were the best songwriters in the world, and Hurrah were one of the main reasons why I love music. But it could have been so much more.

hmmm,

mercury rev's deserters song probably takes the biscuit for this one. everything, and i mean everything, they'd done was ace, and then, then, this turgid tedious boring nothing. opus 40 was ok, but ok? from mercury rev? that sounded like a paris 1919 outtake, and the rest? just very disappointed. and i tried, i really tried with deserters song, but to this day...rubbish

see also flaming lips soft bulletin. but to a lesser extent.

stereolab. dots&loops. not rubbish, but mediocre and disappointing. everything since has been mediocre too.

piano magic - artists rifles. i do like it, but its just not as good as the others.

I agree with a good deal of that, Dr. C, except that I think those four early singles are as thrilling a pop testament as exists anywhere. The Arista LP is probably my greatest guitar pop disappointment too.

That live LP which came out on Esurient ("Way Ahead", recorded in '85 I think) may leave something to be desired in terms of fidelity, but really burns.

There are a few bands from that time - probably fewer than 5 - who I rate in the top rank of pop ever but who found themselves fatally out of step with contemporary tastes, and who these days are barely even granted the posthumous dignity of a cult following. Shame.

I haven't got the live Hurrah! album. No doubt it's impossible to find a copy these days. What are the other bands you're referring to? I'd be inteested to know.

I suppose people who are used to me banging on about these bands will be bored witless by this but I suppose The Claim, the Jasmine Minks, the Hellfire Sermons, the June Brides. Maybe Emily. The Stockholm Monsters on their day. Told you there were less than five (!), and I suppose some of these have what might be termed a cult following, but not enough. Never enough. There are probably one or two others who'd fit in that list also.

I'd definitely agree about The Jasmine Minks - "Where the Traffic Goes" etc. Damn Good.

Stockholm Monsters 'Alma Mater' is fantastic. A pity it hasn't yet been re-released as the Factory Once project seems to have ground to a halt. They must be just about the only Factory mainstay who haven't had their work re-issued - even bloody Tunnel Vison have a career retrospective out! The early releases are pretty bad though (Fairy Tale, Soft Babies).

Screaming Blue Messiahs live album. Recorded at Town and Country Club, London. It's still too painful for me to explain......

The Embarrassment, God Help Us. There's Mission of Burma - a band that reforms with performance and songwriting skills intact - and then there was the Embarrassment's lifeless comeback.

i didn't like the new hella album this year. great band, but this ones too "rock" for a 2 piece that can do much better.

It's Return of the Living Dead Threads!

Radiohead's Hail to The Thief was OK, but I was obsessed with the previous two albums and expected to be more impressed. It turns out that I just don't like Radiohead other than Kid A and Amnesiac.

the last dismemberment plan album was a piece of crap.

and in honor of the medulla thread: vespertine. so boring.