a guest series, courtesy of a very friendly lawyer
One and Done : Bands that recorded only one album
JC says…….Delayed by 24 Hours as I’m an idiot!!! Apologies to Jonny and those who tune in regularly to this series.
Sound System by Operation Ivy.
From Energy (1989). The San Francisco punks were best known as the precursor to Rancid, formed by OpIvy alums Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman. The band anchored the Gilman Street scene and put Lookout Records on the map. The definitive version of this tune is by Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, who recorded it for the Take Warning: The Sounds of Operation Ivy tribute album.
Pretty Vacant by The Sex Pistols.
From Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols (1977). For all the hype and history and analysis and legacy, it’s worth noting that the Pistols only released one studio album. Recorded essentially as a trio, with Steve Jones playing bass on all songs except ‘Anarchy in the UK,’ which featured Glen Matlock. Noel Gallagher had this to say about it: “I made 10 albums and in my mind they don’t match up to that, and I’m an arrogant bastard. I’d give them all up to have written that, I truly would.”
Such Great Heights by The Postal Service.
Fom Give Up (2003). An indie supergroup, kinda, with Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie, Jenny Lewis from Rilo Kiley and Producer Dntel. The band name came about because the members posted DAT tapes to each other instead of recording together in a studio.
I’m A Pretender by The Exploding Hearts.
From Guitar Romantic (2003). This pop/punk band seemingly had the goods to go a long way. The Portland, Oregon’s debut is loaded with tunes in the vein of UK standard bearers Buzzcocks, the Clash and the Undertones. But tragedy struck when the group’s van crashed in the early hours after a gig. Singer/guitarist Adam Cox, bassist Matt Fitzgerald, and drummer Jeremy Gage were all killed. Cox, at 23, was the oldest band member.
From Seconds of Pleasure (1980). Bassist Nick Lowe, guitarists Dave Edmunds and Billy Bremner, and drummer Terry Williams recorded five albums between 1978 and 1981. Labour of Lust was released as a Nick Lowe solo album, while Repeat When Necessary, Tracks on Wax 4, and Twangin’ were all Edmunds’ solo LPs. The quartet also served as the backing band for Mickey Jupp and Lowe’s wife at the time, Carlene Carter. The four would record together off and on in later years, but Seconds of Pleasure is their only release as Rockpile.
Include Me Out by Young Marble Giants.
From Colossal Youth (1980). YMG were a truly post-punk act. As minimalist as possible; just bass, guitar, and vocals played to pre-recorded drum tracks. The slide guitar on this song is the only instrument overdubbed on their lone album. A favorite of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love, the latter of whom recorded a version of ‘Credit in the Straight World’ with her band, Hole.
From GI (1979). The Germs were such a chaotic mess. You get a big dose of singer Darby Crash‘s barely listenable schtick in the seminal LA punk film, The Decline of Western Civilization. It was years later before I saw that his lyrics were actually pretty good, especially for a 21 year old. Produced by Joan Jett, who was 4 days older than the doomed singer. After Crash’s suicide, guitarist Pat Smear performed as a member of Nirvana, eventually joining Foo Fighters.
Born To Lose by Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers.
From L.A.M.F. (1977). When the New York Dolls split up, Thunders took drummer Jerry Nolan and formed the Heartbreakers with Demons’ guitarist Walter Lure and Richard Hell, who’d been booted from Television. Then they booted Hell in favor of Billy Rath and went to England where punk was just underway. After joining the Pistols, the Clash and the Damned on the ill-fated Anarchy in the UK tour, the boys cut L.A.M.F. for Track Records. The sessions and mixing were so contentious they broke the band up. Thunders stayed a little longer in England to record his debut, So Alone, featuring Phil Lynott, Chrissie Hynde, Steve Marriott, and members of the Sex Pistols and the Only Ones.
From Grace (1994). It didn’t light up the charts, but Grace was a major critical success. Jeff Buckley had a knockout voice with tremendous range, power and emotion. His version of Leonard Cohen‘s ‘Hallelujah’ on the album is so beautiful it makes your teeth hurt. But Buckley accidentally drowned before he could complete a follow up. He was only 30, just two years older than his star-crossed father, Tim Buckley, was when he died of an accidental overdose.
From The La’s (1990). I’ve tried to look into why Lee Mavers packed it in after the Liverpool combo’s only LP. I never learned any satisfying reasons. Everyone loved the album and half the songs were singles. But Mavers said he hated it and never made another. It’s a shame, because the tunes still sound fresh 35 years later.
BONUS TRACK : Sound System – Cherry Poppin’ Daddies
As I said earlier, the definitive version of the tune.
Jonny
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 