Customer Reviews

Shades in Bed

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Been looking for this on CD for years. Their greatest hits was
a very good apeaser but, this record...by THE RECORDS is just a great Beatle-esq must have, if you like young British nasal guitar rock bands with great, sincere hooks and juvenile lyrics.

The Records debut has been a favorite of mine ever since I bought the vinyl album in 1979. I have always loved power pop, and this album is one of the best examples of the genre ever. Of the ten songs on the original album, it is impossible to say one track is superior to another, it is a rock-solid collection of great tunes - everyone a winner.

The songs don't have much depth lyrically, but boy, do they rock! Their songs all revolve around the teenage experience. The Records sing about teenage girls (Teenarama), fantasy girls (Girls That Don't Exist), girls that have done them wrong (Girls, Affection Rejected), partying (All Messed Up and Ready To Go, Up All Night), dreaming of being a rock star (Another Star), and general neurosis (The Phone, Insomnia). The only song that doesn't fit the teenage mold is the hit "Starry Eyes" which is about the band's misadventures with an early manager.

I was ecstatic to see this reissue, complete with the songs contained on the bonus 45 included with the original album (their version of Spirit's 1984 is KILLER) and even more bonus tracks. Head Held High is a re-write of Another Star (or is it the other way around?) and all of the other bonus tracks are essential Records music. The track sequencing is a little different than the original US release, but in fact mirrors the original UK release, with Girl being track 1 and All Messed Up being track 6. (It was the other way around on the US release). Plus, the re-issue sticks the original version of Starry Eyes into the rotation and tacks on the US version as a bonus track. The original UK version of Starry Eyes is quite a bit different but is satisfying and well worth hearing. If it bothers you, you can always use the programming feature on your CD player to sequence the tracks in their original US order - the booklet even gives you the correct sequencing order to make it easy.

The booklet has some great info on the band and some extra photos and artwork. A first-class reissue production!

The Records' second album "Crashes" is a lot weaker in my opinion as the band went for a less power/more pop sound. Even though the lyrics may be more mature than singing about teenage girls and wanting to be a rock and roll star, the punch of the first album just isn't there on "Crashes". Not to say that it isn't worth owning, but if I had to choose one over the other, I would go with "Shades in Bed" - no question.

The Records released a thrid album "Music On Both Sides" which has not yet been released on CD. For this album, they brought in a new lead singer, which alienated a lot of fans and the album didn't receive much support from their label, Virgin. It has it's moments, and deserves to be preserved on CD, although some of the better tracks can be found on The Records compilation "Smashes Crashes and Near Misses".

OK where to start? This is the finest album to come out of the New Wave era. It is my favorite album of the 80's even though it was released in 1979 (I bought in the Autumn of '79 but associate The Records with New Wave of the 80's).

The lead guitarist is immaculate, his name was Huw Gower, he is left handed and could write guitar hooks in his sleep. His playing was pristine, unmatched by anyone of the era. The Songwriters John Wicks and Will Burch, 2 talented tunesmiths deserve kudos for assembling an incredibly consistant batch of songs for their first release.

The songs on this album (for me the US name "The Records") stick in my head to this day, most of you probably know "Starry Eyes", a great lyric, especially the part about the lawyers upstairs and the writ has hit the fan, great Byrds like guitars and acerbic John Lennon wit in the lyric. The other songs on the LP were more about teenage romance and such, but the music was and still is top drawer all the way, songs like "All Messed Up" "Up All Night", "Girl", "Affection Rejected", "Another Star" were all Killer material. I'm especially thrilled to see that this CD has the old 45 Covers that were included as an EP with the original album, the Kinks' "See My Friends", The Rolling Stones "Have You Seen Your Mother Baby, Standing in the Shadows", Spirit's "1984" and Blue Ash's "Abracadabra". In addition the B Sides "Paint Her Face" (This tune is equal to ANYTHING on the album), "Held Up High" (which I think was an early version of "Another Star"). Plus the 12 inch singles: "Rock `N Roll Love Letter" (I believe was covered by the Rollers) and "Wives And Mothers Of Tomorrow". I was lucky enough to catch this band twice, the first time was the original Band with Huw Gower at the Bottom Line in NYC, they closed with "Paint Her Face" - I still have a recording of this show that my sister taped for me off the radio. This is a 5 Star Classic, a no-brainer purchase at twice the price!

March 13, 2008. A Post script: Just got the CD yesterday, for the Audiofiles among us the sound is terrific, it is detailed with clarity, power and sonic resonance not heard before with these songs. Excellent job on the mastering. Two songs worth mentioning that I didn't know about, 1) Starry Eyes is represented here in 2 versions, the 45 "Hot Version" that I'm familiar with on the US release and the British LP version which is a bit different, there is an "extra" guitar sound on it and it also has "stops" inserted into the song for emphasis. I like it, it's not better, not worse, but different. Also Rock n Roll Love letter is a different version and I believe the Mutt Lange version included here is the definitive version.

Wont repeat the on-the-mark words of most of the other reviews. Except to say - it was a surprise that this record did not launch the band to the top of the charts. There are so may potential hits. For some reason, people historically compare them to The Knack. But The Records first album had much better songs, guitars and harmonies.

Also, IMHO - the single 45 version of Starry Eyes is far superior to the British album cut. It is much tighter and fluid. Perhaps the album cut was released as the single in the UK, and that's why it was more of a hit in the USA.

One bonus regarding this CD, is that it includes all the songs from EP that was included in the initial US release of the album. Very good covers - of a Kink's classic, and of the great obscure HAVE YOU SEEN HER.

The one negative of the CD is the cover. The US cover of the female DJ in the leather zipper dress is, well, 1000% better than the UK album cover of the four blokes.

Their 2nd album, Crashes, was OK and attracted some decent reviews - I never regretted buying it. The 3rd album is for completists only.

Shades in bed was the greatest cd of its time it every thing you want in a power pop record.The lryics arent the best ,but the guitar playing made this cd ,the terriffics hooks made this cd.From tennarima,to starry eyes,to up all nite this is a great power pop cd and i wish they made more cds.For me i will try to find some more of ther cd ,but if you havent got this cd buy it it wont let you down,and oh yea this version of the cd has remixes of the songs and bonus track that were only in a ep when this album first came out.I hope this review was helpfull to you

I have been a Records aficionado since I heard "Starry Eyes" at 16 years of age played on the then-new local rock radio station in Knoxville, Tennessee. In fact, the first two albums of my rock record collection were Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon and The Records (as Shades in Bed was titled for the US release). I played the Records incessantly, much more than the Pink Floyd album. I faithfully purchased the vinyl versions of the Records' 2nd and 3rd/last albums, Crashes and Music on Both Sides. When I learned that the first copies of The Records were packaged with the 45-rpm 4-track disc of covers, I searched for ten years and was finally elated to find a pristine copy at a San Antonio record store.

Although late, I am even more elated that Will Birch, the Records' drummer and co-writer of most of the Records' songs, has reissued Shades in Bed and the Records' other two albums on CD. Shades in Bed is a great example of how a reissue should be handled, with rare and unreleased tracks and liner notes and photos. Of course, the four cover songs from the 45-rpm bonus disc are included, plus the Mutt Lange-produced "Rock'N'Roll Love Letter" and the single version of the classic "Starry Eyes". This is a power-pop classic that should have reached a much larger audience than it did and anyone who enjoys melodic concise rock songs that are unpretentious but do not insult one's intelligence should purchase a copy. My only quibble is that the Mick Glossop-produced version of Rock'N'Roll Love Letter is not included. The Lange version is more ornate and has a vague orchestral "wall of sound" quality, while the Glossop version is leaner and more direct. I happen to like both versions, but others may prefer one over the other and in any event, each has its own virtues and are distinctive enough that both should have been included, much like the two versions of "Starry Eyes" included on this CD. For those interested in the Glossop version, it can be found on the 1995 Records' compilation Smashes, Crashes, and Near Misses. The reissue of the Reccords' three albums and their bonus tracks renders the Smashes, Crashes, and Near Misses compilation almost completely superfluous, except for the Glossop production of "Rock N Roll Love Letter". Fans of the Records or intelligent power-pop should grab both reissues of Shades in Bed and the even better Crashes before they go out of print again.

I wore out 'Shades In Bed' vinyl decades ago, and was so happy to see it come out on CD. I actually bought this first album after hearing their second (Crashes). Anyone who likes this era of music needs to hear this! As I stated; 'It doesn't get any better than this'!

While held in very high regard by dedicated fans of Power Pop, "Shades in Bed" wasn't quite the huge commercial breakthrough the group had hoped for. The single "Starry Eyes" barely missed the top 40 in the U.S.

The Records quickly followed with a superior album titled "crashes" (1980), but it seems that commercial success was not in the cards for these purveyors of real rock 'n roll. In a fair universe the Records would be a household name.

Some of you may disagree with my three star rating, but it isn't meant to imply that this is not a GREAT powerpop album. I simply think the group needed to refine their sound a bit, which they surely did on their follow-up release (Five Stars).

If you're a fan of Power-Pop, you certainly can't go wrong with the purchase of ANY release by the Records!!

-JM

P.S.

John Wicks (vocalist, songwriter, and co-founder of the Records) has continued to release music over the years. As of April 2007 he has released a new CD on the KoolKatMusik label titled "Rotate" (look for it online). I can honestly say that "Rotate" is the best album EVER RELEASED by Mr. Wicks, with or without "The Records".

Will Birch has also written a fine book titled "No Sleep Till Canvey Island - The Great Pub Rock Revolution", an outstanding read. We also owe him our sincere thanks for re-releasing the original albums on CD via his "On the Beach" label! Good show Will!!!

-JM