The Now Wave Sampler

 

 

Format: 7" EP

Label: Columbia

Country: US

Year: 1979

Price paid: $3.50

Purchased at: The Vinyl Underground, Kent OH

The 'Now Wave?' Never heard of it. I think Columbia was attempting to imply that the bands presented on this disc are 'New Wave'... or perhaps even something cooler? Based on the scruffy rag-tag groups I see on the sleeve I'm not buying it, but let's see what we've got here:


Sinceros- 'Take Me To Your Leader'

The sound is sort of a mix between Blotto and Queen. Inoffensive. But wow, they've got pedigree. Their rhythm section, consisting of members Bobby Irwin and Ron Francois, are credited with bass, drums, and backing vocals on Stiff artist Lene Lovich's debut LP 'Stateless.' They even joined her on the 'Be Stiff' promotional tour in 1980. After the band's demise in 1981 member Don Snow moved on to The Squeeze, while François joined The Teardrop Explodes before relocating (in 1982?) to Australia where he worked with such groups such as The Eurogliders. New Wave rating- A

Hounds- 'Doo Wah Diddy'

American band from Chicago formed in 1975. This single reminds me of The Cars on an off day. Supposedly they were a pretty big deal in the local Illinois music scene of the 70s, but outside of their home range they were seen as anachronistic relics, survivors carrying on rock's 'old school' sensibility. New Wave rating- F

The Beat- 'Don't wait up for Me'

Known in the US as 'The English Beat.' High-profile British 2-Tone ska band with a touch of punk thrown in for good measure. Odd song choice on this EP however, as by this point in their career they three singles in the UK top-ten charts to choose from... this was not one of them. New Wave rating- B

Jules and the Polar Bears- 'Good Reason'

If I were to go solely by the sound of this track I wouldn't be very impressed. Rather standard rock stuff, with a splattering of synth keyboards thrown in at the bridge for good measure. Not exceedingly cutting edge. However... the draw here would have to be Jules Shear himself. He found success as a writer, penning hits for both The Bangles and Cyndi Lauper. He was in a relationship with singer Aimee Mann, the subject of 'Til Tuesday's song 'J for Jules', and co-writer of the title track on their third album 'Everything's Different Now.' In January of this year (2013) he released the album 'Shear Shazar' with his wife Pal Shazar, formerly of Slow Children. New Wave level- A+

Aesthetically this one's a 'bit ugly' for my tastes- if I'm any kind of music snob then I'd have to be considered the type that's somewhat bias when it comes to sleeve graphics. I won't turn away good music due to lackluster packaging but, well, this one makes me feel a bit ill. Something about all those hairy 70s-era men on a poorly designed B&W sleeve is unsettling. I'll stomach it however since this was designed as a 'demonstration' (their words) promo and not for sale as such (where concepts such as 'pretty' and 'eye-catching' would be of greater importance...)*

Regarding rarity- although this is a 'promo' item it seems to be fairly common. My guess is it was a POS (Point of Sale) freebie given away at record store counters back in the day.

*edit- After further research it appears that this was a free EP given out when you purchased an LP by one of the featured artists. 45cat

Lene Lovich: New Toy (extended) / Cats Away

Format: 12"

Label: Stiff (BUYIT 97)

Country: UK

Year: 1981

Price paid: $5

Purchased at: The Record Archive, Rochester NY

'New Toy' is the first single off Lene's third LP of the same name. Thomas Dolby wrote and produced this single, which peaked at #53 on the UK charts.

The artwork on this one is simply marvelous IMO. The stripped down imagery evokes feelings of French surrealist film. Dangerous, tense, and immediate.

*note the resemblance to this Stiff Devo EP, 1977

Thomas Dolby: The Golden Age of Wireless

Format: LP
Label: EMI/Capitol
Country: US
Year: 1983
Price paid: $4
Location purchased: Books and Melodies, Syracuse NY

'Golden Age of Wireless', not surprisingly, has radio as its main over-arching theme.

There were no fewer than four vinyl releases of the album in 1983-1984, all with subtle track changes, remixes, deletions, etc. Most importantly 'She Blinded me with Science' does not appear on the earliest UK and US pressings. The UK and US first and second releases have completely different cover art. This example is the second US release.

'She Blinded me with Science' only reached #49 on the UK charts, but went all the way to #5 in the US and #1 in Canada.

Lene Lovich provided backing vocals on some tracks.

Lene Lovich: 1980 Global Assault

Format: 10" 
Label: Stiff/Epic 
Country: US 
Year: 1980 
Price paid: $10
Location purchased: Exchange, Kent Ohio

Lene Lovich is one of my 'top ten' New Wave artists. The poster child for Stiff Records who cultivated a dark, mysterious, and for the most part bogus slavic proto-goth image.

This ten-inch is a bit of a mystery to me. I don't use the word 'rare' lightly, but IMO this piece of vinyl certainly fits the bill. I'd never heard of it, even after a quarter century of collecting. Granted I've never sat down and pulled out a comprehensive Lene Lovich discography looking for holes in my collection. Information online is scant. Every copy I can confirm (three total) is marked 'Demonstration Not For Sale' with gold embossed 'promotion' and 'plug' markings on the back. Mine has the same markings. Did this ever see a legitimate release, or was it truly a promo-only item?

Either way this was obviously an attempt by Stiff to push their flagship artist onto the American public. A 'global assault' if you will. I think it goes without saying that this disc failed to inspire 'Lene craze' in the Yanks. She made nary a blip on the US charts during her entire career. God bless her!

When I first saw this one on the wall at a record store in Ohio it didn't register. The generic white sleeve was off-putting. After being initially drawn to the 'Stiff' label I was repelled by the 'Epic' on there as well, as that means it was intended for the US market and not a 'pure' British product. (joke)

The sticker makes all the difference though.

Design-wise there's not too much to talk about. Generic white sleeve with a sticker on it. I will say though that the sticker itself is well designed- minimal in a Russian Constructionist sorta way that manages to convey Stiff's style, the 80s aesthetic, and Lene's sham Slavic roots all in just a few lines and one color. The sticker placement isn't as haphazard as it looks either; every example I can find has the exact same sticker placement with the 'mock chance' tilt to it.

Tracklist:

Side A-  Monkey Talk, The Night, Too Tender (To Touch)

Side B- Angels, Lucky Number, Home

A-side recorded live at London Lyceum, 2/3/80
B-side recorded live at Paradise Theatre, Boston, 3/15/80

Lene and Les Chapell getting tipsy.

New Women in Rock

Author: Liz Thompson (editor)
Format: book
Publisher: Delilah/Putnam/Omnibus Press
Country: US
Year: 1982
Location purchased: 1/2 Price Book Warehouse, Syracuse NY 

 

If you don't know by now female vocalists are my thing. British groups/artists in particular. No one text has had a greater impact on my musical tastes and education than this book- flipping through it now I'm STILL amazed by the sheer amount of obscure data it contains...

'New Women in Rock' covers (not surprisingly) female artists that were hot in 1982. So tight is its focus though it could have been easily been called 'Women in New Wave' or even- and more accurately- 'British Women in New Wave' were it not for the inclusion of a few odd ducks such as Bette Midler and Joan Armatrading.

The biggies you'd expect to find are all here- Lene Lovich, Blondie, and Siouxsie to name a few. Where the book really shines though is the inclusion and equal treatment of all but unknown artists today such as Wendy Wu and the Photos, The Mo-Dettes, and Cherry Vanilla.The book assumes that you- a contemporary 1982 music lover- have at least a working knowledge of the artists covered; the write-ups are more of a 'slice of life' than an in-depth history.

Eleven different authors contribute, each with their own approach to their chosen subject. It is unclear if the article-format essays were written exclusively for this book (I assume they are), but the inclusion of writers such as Vivien Goldman hints at a deeper level of commitment to the subject since many are prominent reviewers of the day.

The book itself is gorgeous. Oversized and full-color, it contains many photographs of the artists I haven't seen anywhere else. The layout is tight and stylish, dripping with top-notch 80's class right down to the font choices- the slick presentation you'd expect from 80's Omnibus Press offerings. There's a rather comprehensive discography included as well; I'm sure hardcore completeness will snigger at the inevitable omissions, but it should keep the layman happy and busy attempting to track down its contents for quite a while.

Copies can still be found rather easily and cheaply today. Highly recommended.