Customer Reviews

Positive Touch

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

 

 

This album, their third, shows the band using a more sophisticated approach to songwriting than their earlier efforts. Still, the songs are short, intense little drops of wonder, with a sweet innocence to the lyrics that make you wish life were this simple. Feargall's voice is as wonderfully wacked-out as ever(what a funky gene pool to produce his trill), and the O'Neill brothers' songwriting is top notch power pop with a Northern Irish soul.

Before the soul-heavy, dense "Sin of Pride," after the pop tunes of "Hypnotised" and the Ramones-like buzz of their debut album, this one fits perfectly as a pivot around which their other efforts align. The psychedelic swirl of "Julie Ocean," "Beautiful Friend," "It Happens All the Time" all gain clarity and punch on CD. The odd production only makes Fergal Sharkey's voice sound even more warbly, and the experimentation crammed into many of these three-minute gems makes this album stand the test of time, when much early-80s material from their contemporaries sounds very dated. This is the ideal album to start with.

Their earlier efforts, though more highly praised by critics, seem pretty juvenile nowadays, while this neglected album shines more brightly than ever. Lots of good pop songs and melodies, though the version of Julie Ocean is too short, as the Undertones themselves realized - they did it again (and better) for the single.

By the time The Undertones got around to their third album, "Positive Touch," their world had completely changed. No longer a gang of teenaged scruffs, they'd moved into their twenties and were somewhat affluent pop stars. The drive and desires that would have them forever have singing about cars and girls were supplanted by the fact that they all had cars, girls and even were property owners. Out was the hunger to impress the babes, in was the desire to express the artist within.

"Positive Touch" is the result of that desire given run of the studio. While it certainly doesn't lack for great catchy songs, the band couldn't keep their impulses in check. As a result, "Life's Too Easy," a song that would have sounded great stripped to its basics is buried in a mish-mosh of bad piano and overwrought production. (Even the band must have figured that out, the single remix/bonus track sounds infinitely better.)

There are also the O'Neill brothers' forays into psychedelia, as witnessed by "Julie Ocean" and "Sigh and Explode." While interesting, it also began to show Feargel Sharkey's limitations as a vocalist even as his ambitions were starting to exceed his grasp. Sharkey really didn't have the chops to sing soulfully, although "You're Welcome" reaches pretty hard and almost succeeds. (As would his eventual unlistenable solo albums.)

If you want the kind of brilliant fast pop tunes that The Undertones provided on their first two albums, they're still here. Songs like "His Good Looking Girlfriend," "Boy Wonder" and "It's Going to Happen" still show that the Tones' had a knack for an ace hook. "Positive Touch" still holds a spot in my library (the overly dense "Sin Of Pride" never stayed), but I really can't rate it any higher than average. In this case, getting older got the better of The Undertones.

UNDERTONES Positive Touch
Feargall Sharkey's relentless warble carried the Undertones through 'can't get a date - still tryin' Pop-Punk, space-tangled Motown and in 1981, to this curious set. POSITIVE TOUCH offers 14 DNA molecules of song, each one luring your ears to the next, from the serene glide of "Julie Ocean" to "Life's Too Easy" with piano tinkling behind its unsettled retorts. Synth-spawned Horns and Strings, meticulous keyboards, and rally choruses emerge nearly everywhere and there are those timely electric guitar catwalks played by the O'Neill brothers. The hopped-up "His Good Looking Girlfriend" and the impetuous push of "Boy Wonder" echo their callow, shallow past. A slide guitar on "Positive Touch" suggests a near Hoedown; "I Don't Know" is a delightful, jilted jumble of Foriegn matter. The lethargic resignation of "Forever Paradise" displays sufficient finality to render this re-issue's 4 'bonus tracks' unecessary - what's new? Alas, another fine band whose stylistic progression led them down the path of Extinction.
TONY C.
check my new and recent reviews tonyjcocuzza.blogspot.com

Many punx (and others?) who love the UNDERTONES dismiss the two albums after the first two perfect power punk pop albums they did (s/t and Hypnotised). This is the third album. It's softer than the first two but not as soft as the last one (Sin of Pride). I love this band so much that even these last two albums have, particularly this one, are a real pleasure. I suppose I couldn't give this one 5 stars only cuz I know how brilliant the first two are.

They have energy and strong guitar, one of the UNDERTONES' best traits and very strong song writing. The song writing did not decrease in quality for this album. It just, uh, I think they wanted to be more popular and, who but a person living there could possibly understand the whims and pressures of making it on the UK charts. Ever notice they'll have, literally, FRANK SINATRA and the SEX PISTOLS and BOB MARLEY all right on the same pop charts? It's just unnatural. It should be all rock, all metal, all rap, all sap, all punk, all kids, all big band or all classical (and have the country & western beat a fast retreat). Like it was intended, apparently. But, NOOO!, they have to like all kinds of music, all the time, just mixed up. And, they're apparently expert (they being UK pop fans, which, oddly, included fans of punk) at turning on a band as quick as they'll accept them. I blame the demise of the UNDERTONES on this state of affairs in the UK, though it's only a guess from across the globe. (I've read many Mojo magazines, doesn't that let me have a sneak peak into the over broad musical tastes of many UK music fans? Come on, SYD BARRETT, GRAM PARSONS, WHITE STRIPES, AL KOOPER, the CLASH, JOHN LYDON, JONI MITCHELL and MC5? Detroit and the UK, it's a conspiracy I tell you. Ok, so I'm joking, but Uncut film/music mag is even worse - better? no, worse, though I love Mojo. Uncut will have like a brilliant 9 page cover story of the CLASH and then be filled with stuff I have no interest in - John Hiatt, Greatful Dead, Chuck Berry etc. Oh, heck, it's only music, I'll let 'em have their fun). Sorry, where was I? Oh yeah, the UNDERTONES rule, even when they got a bit softer, and, it's clear they did on this release. But the songs are beautiful and I still cherish the album. There's a CD version with like 8 extra trax. Can't beat that.

Course, you can always get the A and B sides Singles 2xCD collection and that'll be all you really need from them. Ireland's finest, if ya ask me. They've reformed with a new vocalist. God Bless 'em. I hope they tour the West Coast one day, not just the East Coast. And I'll see 'em and cheer songs from any album, even the new one which is pleasant. Listen to the samples on this website and let yer ears determine if you like this, a course. I always will. chrisbct@hotmail.com

Positive Touch is as catchy as you would expect from The Undertones, based on their first two albums, but prepare to cringe at some of the gimmicks on this disc. Some are merely silly without spoiling whole songs, such as the dopey "AAAAH-AH" backing vocals that begin "Fascination." The same goes for the gratuitous reverb on "Julie Ocean," and all the horns. But others are just embarrasingly stupid--the pan-pipes on "Hannah Doot," the Spanish guitar on "I Don't Know," and pretty much all of the title track. Xylophone, slide guitar, latin beat, a title that sounds like the name of a straight-edge band... this song's a train-wreck.

That said, the album will grow on you. It is a tribute to the songwriting powers of the Undertones that I find myself singing along with every ridiculous song.