Customer Reviews

Ghosts of Princes in Towers

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If one were compiling a list of all-time greatest punk/new wave LP's (or, if you prefer, CD's), "Ghosts of Princes in Towers" may not be an obvious choice. You have to dig a bit deeper to discover this underrated jem, but it's well worth the search.

What initially drew my attention to the band was former Pistols' bassist/songwriter Glen Matlock. Unlike Sid, whose many talents included self-destruction, alleged murder, and dying young, Matlock was a skilled tunesmith who could actually tune and play his instrument. His contributions to the Sex Pistols are often overlooked. For that matter, so are his contributions to The Rich Kids. Hell, the band in general has been criminally passed over for years. But this was a collective effort, to be sure. Future Ultravox vocalist and solo artist Midge Ure and guitarist Steve New also helped with songwriting duties.

You can hear a variety of styles here, including powerpop, new wave, punk and straight-ahead rock 'n roll. You'd think that such a mixed bag would make for an uneven record, but such is not the case. If anything, it's more consistent than alot of higher profile punk/new wave LP's from the time. The comparassons to the later Damned seem pretty right on. The Buzzcocks also come to mind.

I wouldn't say that Mick Ronson's production is "muddy". Perhaps "overblown" is a more accurate description. He goes a bit crazy with the reverb on many of the tracks, especially the drums. I would have preferred a dryer, punchier sound. But that's just me. Regardless, this is a classic.

The unfortunate reality for this fantastic album is that it was pretty much killed by the press labeling The Rich Kids as being a new 'super group' - pretty much the kiss of death (take a look at Visage as well). The Ghosts single was fantastic and with 'only arsenic' as a equally strong B-side, many thought that the Kids were on their way....but...no matter how GREAT the album was, it was set up to fail by the hype. Is the sound muddy? Yes it is.....the band sounds fairly 'loose' on some of the tracks and there are a abundance of guitar overdubs that contribute to the thickness of the sound wall as well as to the muddiness....It almost sounds to me like they did a lot of ping pong guitar overdubs----a lot of doubling----it can be difficult to mix, expecially with the available technology of the time (listen to how clean Catherine Wheel sounds with a dozen guitar tracks per song).... All this being said, this album belongs right next to your copy the Machine gun Etiquette and The Crack by the Ruts.

Every track on this album is gold. It feels a lot like The Damned during their transistion from punk to goth, the Black Album era, to be specific. I'd have to say this is the second best punk album to ever come out of Britain, if not the best.
I don't know what the other guy is talking about when he says that the production is muddy, I think it's excellent, but perhaps he's used to overproduced albums like Combat Rock.
Fun fact: Midge Ure was the Sex Pistols original vocalist (Glen Matlock was their bassist as well, not Sid Vicious, in case you didn't know). I'm kind of glad that he left the band, otherwise, this gem likely never would've been recorded, though the Sex Pistols might never have sucked. What a dilemna.

In closing: This album should be in any punk fan's collection. Heck, this album should be in everyone's collection.

This is a sadly underrated album, which is virtually unknown in America. Ghosts of Princes in Towers (the song) is by itself worth buying the C.D. for...The music is power pop with a little punk thrown in for good measure...Other highlights include Empty Words, Rich Kids (the song), and Lovers and Fools.. Had a couple of U.K. singles on it...Rich Kids, Marching Men, and Ghosts...The production as the previous reviewer has pointed out has been cleaned up...Well worth it..

Ever since I became hooked on the song "Lovers and Fools" from college radio back in the mid-80's, I have searched for material from the Rich Kids. Although the original mix was muddy sounding, Cheery Red Records did its best to clean it up the sound of their debut album. This high energy material conjures up comparisons to the Buzzcocks and a bit of The Damned. Don't worry, Midge Ure's vocals are still able to penetrate the slightly muffled production of the material.

After the Sex Pistols were thrown off EMI, Glen Matlock quit the Sex Pistols. EMI were so keen on Matlock's songwriting abilities, they had to have him back and signed the Rich Kids. Some years ago, EMI had made a particular recording of the Beatles and lost it. Then they made a documentary on how they'd lost it and won an award for the documentary. EMI made a wonderful live recording of the Rich Kids and promptly lost it too. No word as yet on the forthcoming documentary. Part of this live recording is available as one of the b-sides on this CD, 'Here Come The Nice', originally recorded by The Small Faces in the mid-'60s. This song was released as the b-side of the Rich Kids' 'Marching Men' single. Another bonus track on this CD, 'Empty Words', was released as the b-side of the Rich Kids' first single, 'Rich Kids' (originally a red-vinyl 7"). The final bonus track on this CD, 'Only Arsenic', was released as the b-side of the Rich Kids' final single, 'Ghosts Of Princes In Towers', released as the band had all but split. To put the Rich Kids' career (somewhat) in perspective, as the Sex Pistols were doing their 'S.P.O.T.S.' tour of England, the Rich Kids were gigging and recording their album. As the Sex Pistols were touring America and spitting (and splitting) up, the Rich Kids were touring England and putting out another single. Before Johnny Rotten's PiL had released a single or played a gig, the Rich Kids had split up for good. Some demos for a second album, which, after hearing them, would undoubedtly have been a pretty poor follow-up, have been made and are available (in part) on 'The Best Of The Rich Kids' and (originally) 'Burning Sounds'. One of the demos, 'Ambition', was (much) later recorded by Glen Matlock for The Philistines' 2005 album 'On Something'. This album is incredible and should be sought out immediately by those reading this. Glen's '80s output was a bit irregular, due to short-lived bands, alcohol use and stints with Iggy Pop and Johnny Thunders. The '90s livened up considerably Glen's 1996 solo album and singles, the on-and-off Sex Pistols reunion (which continues to this day: there is even a more-than-rumour of a new Sex Pistols album!), the 'Open Mind' album from 2000 and finally the 'On Something' album and Sex Pistols new live DVD. Glen Matlock has written some wonderful pop music over the last 30 years, up there at times with the great Captain Sensible (just not as frequently).

Songs Include :
1. Strange One
2. Hung on You
3. Ghosts of Princes in Towers
4. Cheap Emotions
5. Marching Men - The Rich Kids, Ure, Midge
6. Put You in the Picture - The Rich Kids, Ure, Midge
7. Young Girls - The Rich Kids, Ure, Midge
8. Bullet-Proof Lover
9. Rich Kids
10. Lovers and Fools - The Rich Kids, Ure, Midge
11. Burning Sounds

Great band. Great pop album. Produced by Mick Ronson. Midge Ure was the wrong choice for lead vocalist; Glen should have had the confidence to carry this record; I'm sure it would have been taken a lot more seriously by the press as Ure's last band was the horrible bubble gum POP band Slik. Never mind, its worth $17 of anyone's money to be sure. Strange One is brilliant, and Marching Men is all over the world . . . Rocking Russian design . . . man, you can't go wrong. A real slice of London New Wave. GO. BUY!!