Songs In The Key Of Love
Coincidence Vs Fate | Warwickshire, UK | 05/29/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"It's early 1978 and already the Buzzcocks' blueprint is well-established; L.O.V.E.
The Fab Four's debut album is a lot of things; fast, furious, spiky, even progressive, but the golden thread throughout is love.
The album kicks off in fine fettle with "Fast Cars", "No Reply" and the 100MPH "You Tear Me Up", but the album really comes into it's own with the first of Pete's love songs, the delicious "Get On Our Own", a surefire single if I ever heard one. The album then dips a little with "Love Battery" and "Sixteen" before coming back to form with one of Pete's catchiest songs, the immense "I Don't Mind", just as good as "Ever Fallen" in my mind. Two great tracks follow, another Pete love song in "Fiction Romance" and one of Steve Diggle's best, "Autonomy". The album ends with the weakest track, "I Need" before ending with the bizarre "Moving Away From The Pulsebeat", a remarkable, lengthy track that reminds me of prog rock for some reason, maybe that was the Can influence, who knows.
There are loads of extras, some essential, some not so, it's nice to have the inclusion of the associated singles such as "Orgasm", "What Do I Get" and a shedload of Peel Sessions. The demos are also interesting, though I'm not too bothered about the live show, we've had a load of those before, but still welcome.
A great debut album from one of the true unsung heroes of British music. Get this, get "Love Bites" and then get "Tension". You'll thank me for it, I promise."