Seconds of Pleasure [EXTRA TRACKS] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

Rockpile

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 27, 2004)
• Original Release Date: April 27, 2004
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0001Z3U56
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,109 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Though Rockpile managed only one, nigh-perfect album at the height of the '80s new wave boom, its members--Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, Billy Bremner, and Terry Williams--had played together in various incarnations, in some instances for over a decade: Edmunds and drummer Williams had been in the '60s power trio Love Sculpture; all had played on Lowe's '78 album Jesus of Cool and Edmunds's '79 collection Repeat When Necessary. But Seconds of Pleasure became their most complete and satisfying pop statement--if their ironic swan song, as well. This newly remastered collection features the complete original album, as informed and vibrant a tribute to American rockabilly and R&B roots (with an amped-up take of Joe Tex's "If Sugar Was as Sweet as You" and inviting reworkings of Gene Chandler's "Teacher Teacher" and Chuck Berry's obscure "Oh What a Thrill") as any contemporary group has ever managed--especially considering three quarters of the material is either Rockpile originals or contemporary compositions, like "Wrong Again" by Squeeze songwriters/mainstays Difford and Tilbrook. The generous slate of bonus tracks features all four acoustic, live-in-the studio tracks from the Nick Lowe and Dave Edmunds Sing the Everly Brothers tribute EP distributed with initial pressings of the LP; two fine live BBC recordings from '77; a cover of Graham Parker's "Back to Schooldays"; a band original, "They Called It Rock"; and a blistering live rendition of Parker's "Crawling from the Wreckage" from one of the band's last appearances together at the Concert for Kampuchea. Though Lowe may now downplay them as "a posh bar band" who "specialized in playing Chuck Berry music four times faster than anyone else," Rockpile was truly one of the great rock bands of their--or any--era. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Expanded Pleasure, July 26, 2004

By	Thomas Magnum (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

Rockpile was formed as a backing band for Nick Lowe and Dave Edmunds' solo records and as an outlet for the two the hit the road and play live. Along with Billy Bremmer on guitar and Terry Williams on drums, the unit played on great albums like Lowe's Jesus Of Cool & Labour Of Lust and Edmunds' Tracks On Wax & Repeat When Necessary which were essentially Rockpile records. Seconds Of Pleasure is the only official release under the Rockpile moniker. The album kicks off with a great one-two punch. First is an ode to teenage lust "Teacher Teacher" and then moves into an old Joe Tex rave up "If Sugar Was As Sweet As You". The third song is "Heart", which is probably more familiar in its later incarnation as a slowed down reggae song on Lowe's Nick The Knife album, is a fast-paced power pop tune, which is superior to the remake. Other standout cuts include "When I Write The Book", "Play That Fast Thing", "Now & Always" and the humorous "A Knife & A Fork". The original album contained a bonus 45 with 4 Everly Brothers remakes and they are included as the last four tracks on the disk. The best of the four is "Crying In The Rain". This remastered version has a great crisp and clean sound as great production is what Mr. Lowe is known for. The set includes three live tracks, "Back to Schooldays" and "They Call It Rock" which are from a 1977 BBC radio session and "Crawling From The Wreckage" which is from the live album Concerts for The People of Kampuchea which has sadly never been released on CD. All three songs give a glimpse into the band's live prowess. Unfortunately after this album and a supporting tour, Rockpile never recorded as a unit or played live again. They only sporadically worked on Lowe & Edmunds' solo recordings. Too bad we couldn't have had a few more albums from this fine band.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Seconds of Pleasure, a Quarter Century of Delight, May 14, 2004

By	Tim Brough "author and music buff" (Springfield, PA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This was a reissue worth waiting for. The one official recording by Rockpile, Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds, Billy Bremmer and Terry Williams, this 1980 CD has been in my fave albums pile ever since it came out. Had this foursome not been bar and band mates for each other before "Seconds Of Pleasure," this platter would have been trumped as a supergroup. Edmunds and Williams had already been well established as far back as the sixties with hits, Lowe would be in the history books if only that he released Stiff Records' first single. That Lowe's albums ("Pure Pop For Now People," "Labour of Lust") and as well as Edmunds' solos ("Repeat When Necessary," "Trax On Wax 4") not already given them stature among the cognoscenti, their contributions to the sound of the period as individual producers would.

After all, between the two of them, they should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for their production library. Edmunds for Stray Cats, kd lang, Fabulous Thunderbirds and (fer crying out loud) Foghat; Lowe for Elvis Costello, Graham Parker, Pretenders, and John Hiatt all but sealing their rep as a pair of men that made a decade sound the way it did. Yet for all that star power, when it came time to record a proper album as a group, Rockpile made it sound like no sweat.

"Seconds Of Pleasure" took all things great about basic bar band rock and made it sound fresh. It was almost as if they came at you with the credo that anything that they couldn't make sound as simplistic as a Chuck Berry riff or Everly Brothers' harmony wasn't worth the tape it took. To that end, the band cribbed from the best, covering a pair of classics (Berry's "Oh What A Thrill" and Joe Tex's "If Sugar was as Sweet as You"), then surrounding them with originals that were every bit as perfect ("Teacher Teacher" and "When I Write The Book"). They were even so hot a band that Billy Bremmer got the lead vocal on what should have been a classic single, they bouncy "Heart."

Albums this effortless sounding are rare jewels. If you're an aficionado of this style of buoyant 80's sound or Brit Pub rock, "Seconds Of Pleasure" is absolutely indispensable. The addition of the original album's bonus EP, "Nick and Dave Sing The Everly Brothers," two unreleased live cuts and "Crawling From The Wreckage" from the "Concerts of Kampuchea" make this an even better buy.

To paraphrase one of Edmund's albums. "Git it." Four and a half stars.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Seconds of Pleasure, a quarter century of delight, August 16, 2004

By	Tim Brough "author and music buff" (Springfield, PA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This was a reissue worth waiting for. The one official recording by Rockpile, Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds, Billy Bremmer and Terry Williams, this 1980 CD has been in my fave albums pile ever since it came out. Had this foursome not been bar and band mates for each other before "Seconds Of Pleasure," this platter would have been trumped as a supergroup. Edmunds and Williams had already been well established as far back as the sixties with hits, Lowe would be in the history books if only that he released Stiff Records' first single. That Lowe's albums ("Pure Pop For Now People," "Labour of Lust") and as well as Edmunds' solos ("Repeat When Necessary," "Trax On Wax 4") not already given them stature among the cognoscenti, their contributions to the sound of the period as individual producers would.
After all, between the two of them, they should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for their production library. Edmunds for Stray Cats, kd lang, Fabulous Thunderbirds and (fer crying out loud) Foghat; Lowe for Elvis Costello, Graham Parker, Pretenders, and John Hiatt all but sealing their rep as a pair of men that made a decade sound the way it did. Yet for all that star power, when it came time to record a proper album as a group, Rockpile made it sound like no sweat.

"Seconds Of Pleasure" took all things great about basic bar band rock and made it sound fresh. It was almost as if they came at you with the credo that anything that they couldn't make sound as simplistic as a Chuck Berry riff or Everly Brothers' harmony wasn't worth the tape it took. To that end, the band cribbed from the best, covering a pair of classics (Berry's "Oh What A Thrill" and Joe Tex's "If Sugar was as Sweet as You"), then surrounding them with originals that were every bit as perfect ("Teacher Teacher" and "When I Write The Book"). They were even so hot a band that Billy Bremmer got the lead vocal on what should have been a classic single, they bouncy "Heart."

Albums this effortless sounding are rare jewels. If you're an aficionado of this style of buoyant 80's sound or Brit Pub rock, "Seconds Of Pleasure" is absolutely indispensable. The addition of the original album's bonus EP, "Nick and Dave Sing The Everly Brothers," two unreleased live cuts and "Crawling From The Wreckage" from the "Concerts of Kampuchea" make this an even better buy.

To paraphrase one of Edmunds' albums. "Git it." Four and a half stars.