Customer Reviews

Didn't See It Coming

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It was just before midnight on a warm night in 1981. I was getting ready to go on the air on WTJU-FM, the University of Virginia radio station. As I looked at the new records that had come in to the station, I saw this "smash hit" of a cover and took a look. On the back cover I saw Steve Jones and Paul Cook! On the turntable it went. All The Way, Little Boys, Friday Night Square, Crescendo, Too Far To Fall... "My God...this is a ROCK album!" I thought. Unlike the first PIL albums, where the idea and concept were more important than the "music", "I Didn't See It Coming" is a tight, crisp, tuneful record with hard-pop songs. It's more like an Iggy Pop record than one by PIL. I played the whole album on my show that night. Within a day or two I had my own copy. I also got the 7-inch "Join The Professionals". All of this was "IMPORT ONLY", and there was never a US lable willing to take a chance on the "other" ex-pistols. Too bad. When you hear this recording, you can't help but recall the crunching riffs of the Sex Pistols albums and it proves to me that Cook & Jones were the musical power behind the band. This album still stands up as a power-chord classic. Looking backwards, it's hard to believe that these guys never caught on. The album is well produced and all the songs are catchy. I was lucky enough to see The Professionals at the old 9:30 club in Washington, DC and their show was beyond good...it was pure energy and power. Sadly, there were only about a hundred people there that night to see them. Anyway, for those of you who loved the Sex Pistols, or for those of you who are just now discovering the roots of punk, this is a must buy....and the extra tracks make it even more of an important addition to any punk collection.

I am a HUGE Sex Pistols fan from way, way back. I first heard them in 1985, and I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I quickly bought everything I could get my hands on, and it seemed that the Pistols never did a bad song. I even loved all of the "non-Rotten" stuff; Silly thing, Lonely Boy, and the Sid Vicious stuff.. Then as the 80's wore on more obscure stuff started surfacing, like the Jones/Cook classic "Here We Go Again" that appeared out of nowhere on "Pirates of Destiny". I was always particularly fond of that song.. pure PISTOLS even though Rotten was long gone.

A few years later, a friend of mine told me about "The Professionals", which was basically Steve Jones and Paul Cook continuing on without Sid or Johnny. I asked him what it sounded like. He said "Do you like the song HERE WE GO AGAIN"? - And I said "Oh wow, Yeah!", and I'll never forget he looked me right in the eyes and said "Well, the entire album sounds EXACTLY LIKE THAT...". He made me a copy of his LP, and I couldn't believe it. This was REALLY the Sex Pistols!!! I'm going to make a bold comment, but it's one I stand by: This album is the EQUAL TO "NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS". It's that good. Any Sex Pistols fan who heard all the stuff and wished there was more will be flipping thier wig - This album is a classic that sounds exactly like late-Pistols material. There are so many classics on this album, such as NORTHERN SLIDE and KICK DOWN THE DOORS. And then there are the songs THE MAGNIFICENT, ALL THE WAY WITH YOU, and TOO FAR TOO FALL, all of which are mind-bending tributes to thier fallen bandmate SID VICIOUS. This entire album seems like a bizzare tribute to Sid Vicious. I remember a good friend of mine once commented to me that this album sounded like "The Sex Pistols singing from hell". This is a very good description. The music is pure 1000% Sex Pistols, and Steve Jones's vocals are deep, echo-ey, and downright OTHERWORLDLY. This album is mind-bending. It is much better than the other available "self titled" CD, though you should buy that one too. The eight bonus tracks are nice to have, too, but the TRUE majesty of this album lies in the first 10 tracks, which is what this review is all about. Get this CD. It's the stuff Pistol's fan's DREAMS are made of.

You're Steve Jones or Paul Cook and The Sex Pistols fizzle..what do you do for act 2?? This is a great lost album of 1981. I lost the vinyl in a fire years ago, GREAT TO FINALLY FIND IT ON CD!
This album quite simply [REALLY GOOD]. The songs are catchy as hell and get lodged in your mind for days at a time (in fact what prompted me to find this on cd was the song "Crescendo" which had been haunting me for about a week and as we know the only way to exorcise a song like that is to actually hear it).
If Rotten and Vicious were respectively the mind and soul of the Sex Pistols, then Paul cook and steve jones were easily the blood, guts, and fists. When you hear these tracks you'll know where that sonic gristle came from., and how indespensible it was at getting the Pistols across. This Album isn't Punk,nor is it metal....it's something I'll call Power-Rock. Two big guitars, pulsing bass, and pounding drums mixed with the tales of a savvy, yet weary Londoner. TOPS!

Oh what a difference a few bonus tracks can make!

This was a candy pale version of the Pistols sonic boom when it came out in early 80's. And it really hasn't aged all that well since. But forget the original album!

The BONUS ALBUM (i.e. the 8 added tracks) is what you really want to buy this for. They rock with a venom and glory that was missing from the original release (except for the kick my ass "Little Boys"). From "Just Another Dream" to Steve Jones' Pretty Vacant re-working of Lou Reed's "White Light/White Heat" the songs are just catchy, nasty and fun as hell.

What's most amazing is that this long forgotten relic is one of the only discs I can think of where the Bonus cuts beat the crap out of the original and offer true redemption! Name another...I'd love to know!

Start this at track 11 and you won't be let down. Four stars!

This little-known album is by a short-lived band formed by Steve Jones and Paul Cook after the Sex Pistols. Blasted by Johnny Rotten as a Ramones ripoff, the materials is not at all in the Ramones style.

More melodic and not as hard as the Bollocks ablum, "I Didn't See It Coming" nevertheless has its own charm. With lead vocals handled by Jones (who was lead singer before J. Rotten joined the Sex Pistols), the songs are quite catchy and endearing. Particular favorites are "The Magnificent," "Payola," and "Little Boys."

I have the original album release, and am quite pleased that it has been released on CD so more Sex Pistols fans can discover it.

back in the day a record store friend or mine told me about a band called the professionals. all that was out at the time were the singles .
i kept waiting 4 the album with these gems to b released but it was not 2 be when this album was originally released on vinyl none of the singles were on it (but r on this cd)
that in itself makes this well worth a purchase! this band and cd are truely as magnificent as any pistols archived lineup
i rode 100 miles in winter on a motorcycle 2 see them live in a very small place in OKC and everybody kept yelling god save the queen ,,,anarchy,, i yelled kick down the doors ! steve looked at me and said YOU GOT IT RIGHT MATE i'll never forget that night ....these songs or the cold ride home
you may never see them live but don't miss the songs,,,,
a truely great band and cd JOIN THE PROFESSIONALS

Some people don't consider this to be an actual punk album. I beg to differ. This album contains all the grit, power and tunefulness that characterized the stronger crop of the classic British waves of yester-year. In fact, I would even go so far as to suggest that this might be what the Pistols may have sounded if they'd been an Oi! band. Steve Jones' guitar sound evokes the crunch of the 'Bollocks' album, and of course, Paul Cooks' steady backbeat provides enough gusto for those listeners dying for an excuse to pogo. The songs are catchy, have pop-quality, and certainly worth the outstanding list-price (not too bad, considering it's an import). Particular highlights are "the Magnificent" and "payola." If you dig real punk rock--and I mean the REAL stuff, not the shamefull crap they push down your throat on MTV--definitely get this. No complaints here whatsoever. It's just too bad they didn't include "conned again" as a bonus track.

Almost 25 years after the inevitable meltdown of the Sex Pistols, as myth begins to separate itself from reality, what's still lost in the shuffle is this terrific little album featuring that band's engine room, Steve Jones and Paul Cook. Despite all the hoopla surrounding John Lydon's dreadful Public Image Ltd. and the senseless but also inevitable deaths of Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen, Jones and Cook simply soldiered on doing what they do best, aided and abetted by bassist Paul Meyers and guitarist Ray McVeigh. Reportedly delayed by Jones' growing heroin "problem" and a flurry of lawsuits and injunctions filed by original member Andy Allen, when "I Didn't See It Coming" was finally released, all of the songs on which Allen originally appeared were re-recorded. Just as well, really, because the result is a near-perfect blend of Jones' patented wall-of-noise guitar racket, Cook's punishing drums, and big, beautiful, soccer terrace sing-along choruses. Amidst the constant circus-like atmosphere, numerous distractions, and, undoubtedly, countless pints at countless pubs during the Sex Pistols' brief existence, it's obvious Cook and Jones never stopped practicing, practicing, practicing, earning them bragging rights as the glue that held the band together. One listen to this album will leave no doubt that at some point along the way, they mastered their instruments. Through the magic of digital technology, all of those glorious non-LP singles and B-sides as well as a few songs from the proposed first album recorded with Allen, are included. Bravo, lads!

Cook n' Jones were the real talent in The Pistols. They did "Silly Thing" from 'the ...Swindle'. And if you have the Pistols Pack (box of 7"'s) or the Japanese 'Best Of' there's another one called "Black Leather". Anyways, this album will not disapoint. It's just great rock n roll. And with 8 bonus tracks ...you can appreciate what a great band this was. Join The Professionals & 1-2-3 were only available as hard to find singles. Now there is a b-side instrumental "Action Man" missing but tracks 12 + 14 are new to me so I'll quit complaining. ....

I Didn't See it Coming (1981) was a re-recording of the first album that was shelved due to legal issues. Steve Jones and Paul Cook found some new bandmates and relaunched the Professionals. Instead of sounding like The Sex Pistols they looked and acted more like Duran Duran.

Some of the tracks were from the first (and better) album. But this disc has some great songs (The Magnificent and Payola) the re-recorded tracks are okay. What makes this disc a keeper is the extra tracks, You get the singles and some outakes from the first album!

Too bad the band fell apart due to ego and drug problems (mainly drug abuse). They could have been a force to reckon with in the eighties. Steve Jones would later kick his horse habit and embrace 'heavy metal" bands such as Motley Crue and Guns N' Roses. For shame!

Highly recommended.