Customer Reviews

Life on the Line

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

 

 

As British pub-rock fed into punk-rock, bands like Eddie & The Hot Rods were caught deliciously in the middle. They were more accomplished instrumentally (and compositionally) than the punks, but they caught the fire of the latter's energy and teenage abandon. This LP represents the 'Rods second and best effort, adding a bit more of a melodic edge through the addition of guitarist Graeme Douglas. Many bright moments to be heard, including the superb UK chart hit, "Do Anything You Wanna Do." This import reissue is listed elsewhere as containing nine bonus tracks.

Not a dull moment on Eddie and the Hot Rods second LP. A masterful job from each member of the band from start to finish as they race thru the title track and other songs like "Telephone Girl" and "Ignore Them". If you like high energy rock, then you will love "Life On The Line".

I love love love this album--a perfect blend of raw rock'n'roll unafraid of great catchy hooks so conspicuously absent with so much so-called "pub rock". My gripe here has to do with not the album itself but a few things I noticed upon listening to it. #1-- Near the end of "Quit This Town" is an audible skip(!), I noticed it when I ripped ths disc onto my desktop, I could hear a sound similar to a record player skipping. Inexcusable, really ruins the song for me. #2--"Flipside Rock" is clearly recorded straight from a copy of the 7" single, noise and all--and a pretty crummy copy too. Awful. You can tell that the label was a little careless in putting this package together here, judging from the typos in the liner notes as well. I'm getting the Japanese re-release on Universal, I expect that'll be a little more of a worthy release.

great album by a very good band. never get tired of. some classic songs. cannot think of a better album from the period. wonder what happened to the band - whatever such a waste.

And so, your humble reviewers recent obsession with 'caveman music' comes to an inevitable head.

The last 'Lost Chord' you might say.

I'm fully aware, (and racked with guilt!) that I should be reviewing the magnificent 'Ken Russell at the BBC' dvd box-set; albeit with the hotly anticipated 'Dance of the Seven Veils' sadly omitted (Strauss urging his orchestra to play louder to drown out the screams of Jews being tortured was controversial to say the least in 1970, but almost 40 years later we're still being denied a chance to form our own opinion).

I should be hunched at the flickering keyboard, sweat on brow, divulging to the masses the profligate tenebrous and genius sweep of 'Elgar', 'Song of Summer', and 'the Debussy Film'.

So what are Eddie and the Hot Rods doing invading my Dante improvs and Isadora Duncan fascinations? Taking me forcibly away from writing about the finest dvd release of the decade, and compelling me to scribble about horrid old rock'n'roll.

In this case - Pub-rock; the ultimate manifestation of caveman music - in fact, it's so far down the music evolutionary scale, it's still underwater. This stuff is so basic, I can only think of 3 or 4 other groups in the whole genre.(you think I'm gonna name them - ha ha!).

The Ess philosophy specifies no junk, so how is this shamelessly loud mound of power-pop (another phrase likely to have yer average music fan fleeing to the mountains, but I'll chance it.) accruing the magical 5 vermillion Amazon review stars?

Easily. Eddie and the Hot Rods, sounding I AM aware, like some insane George Thorogood tribute act, are in fact, boil-impacted cousins of those other standard-baring R&B loud-mouths Dr Feelgood.

The Hot Rods leaven their row with pop as opposed to the Feelgood's old style blues - and the results are tremendous.

The 9 original album cuts, plus singles and oddities are Doc Marten to the groin, bottle over the head, punch in the solar plexus outstanding. They rant past at speeds approaching burn, stripped down to the rust. Fierce rock guitar, classic rhythm section, earthy singer; no affectations, this is the McCoy like no other. Symphonies of best bitter, nicotine-stained pictures of Her Majesty and the winners enclosure at Aintree, signed photo's of Johnny Kidd and P J Proby with his ripped trousers.

'Do Anything You Wanna Do'(is this the GREATEST song ever recorded?) 'Quit This Town', 'Ignore Them', 'Don't Believe Your Eyes', and the bruising 8 minutes of the glorious set-closing 'Beginning of the End'. Each and every one a slice of single-malt infused, Senior Service impregnated noise-nostalgia.

No-one will ever make a music like this again; no one is prepared to take the pain and strain for little or no gain. In the gimmick and idiosyncratic reliant I-pod and download culture we inhabit - the very idea just seems further and further away.

If just one of you in the colonies buys this on the strength of this review - I'll rest easy; my responsibilities discharged for a while. And I can leave the simple but highly addictive worlds of the caveman and the pub-rocker and return to Ken Russell, who's been waiting since the 60's.....

Great album, rotten remaster. How disappointing. Clearly Universal should also have listened to the master before pressing this disc, as it has the same skip in "Quit This Town" as the Captain Oi! version. So, if you're determined to have this on cd, buy the Captain Oi! version and save some dough since they're exactly the same. If you want a copy without the skip, my advice is try to find a clean copy of the vinyl, which is the only way to listen to music anyway...