Search - Professionals :: Didn't See It Coming

More of a new wave album than the first disc.

Joseph P. Ulibas | Sacramento, CA, USA | 05/29/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I Didn't See it Coming (1981) was a re-recording of the first album that was shelved due to legal issues. Steve Jones and Paul Cook found some new bandmates and relaunched the Professionals. Instead of sounding like The Sex Pistols they looked and acted more like Duran Duran.

Some of the tracks were from the first (and better) album. But this disc has some great songs (The Magnificent and Payola) the re-recorded tracks are okay. What makes this disc a keeper is the extra tracks, You get the singles and some outakes from the first album!



Too bad the band fell apart due to ego and drug problems (mainly drug abuse). They could have been a force to reckon with in the eighties. Steve Jones would later kick his horse habit and embrace 'heavy metal" bands such as Motley Crue and Guns N' Roses. For shame!



Highly recommended."

THE NEW SEX PISTOLS...

Pistols Fan | Nevada | 09/28/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am a HUGE Sex Pistols fan from way, way back. I first heard them in 1985, and I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I quickly bought everything I could get my hands on, and it seemed that the Pistols never did a bad song. I even loved all of the "non-Rotten" stuff; Silly thing, Lonely Boy, and the Sid Vicious stuff.. Then as the 80's wore on more obscure stuff started surfacing, like the Jones/Cook classic "Here We Go Again" that appeared out of nowhere on "Pirates of Destiny". I was always particularly fond of that song.. pure PISTOLS even though Rotten was long gone.

A few years later, a friend of mine told me about "The Professionals", which was basically Steve Jones and Paul Cook continuing on without Sid or Johnny. I asked him what it sounded like. He said "Do you like the song HERE WE GO AGAIN"? - And I said "Oh wow, Yeah!", and I'll never forget he looked me right in the eyes and said "Well, the entire album sounds EXACTLY LIKE THAT...". He made me a copy of his LP, and I couldn't believe it. This was REALLY the Sex Pistols!!! I'm going to make a bold comment, but it's one I stand by: This album is the EQUAL TO "NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS". It's that good. Any Sex Pistols fan who heard all the stuff and wished there was more will be flipping thier wig - This album is a classic that sounds exactly like late-Pistols material. There are so many classics on this album, such as NORTHERN SLIDE and KICK DOWN THE DOORS. And then there are the songs THE MAGNIFICENT, ALL THE WAY WITH YOU, and TOO FAR TOO FALL, all of which are mind-bending tributes to thier fallen bandmate SID VICIOUS. This entire album seems like a bizzare tribute to Sid Vicious. I remember a good friend of mine once commented to me that this album sounded like "The Sex Pistols singing from hell". This is a very good description. The music is pure 1000% Sex Pistols, and Steve Jones's vocals are deep, echo-ey, and downright OTHERWORLDLY. This album is mind-bending. It is much better than the other available "self titled" CD, though you should buy that one too. The eight bonus tracks are nice to have, too, but the TRUE majesty of this album lies in the first 10 tracks, which is what this review is all about. Get this CD. It's the stuff Pistol's fan's DREAMS are made of."

Street Smart Catchy Punk Rock

W. De Vil | Tallahassee, FL | 12/09/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Some people don't consider this to be an actual punk album. I beg to differ. This album contains all the grit, power and tunefulness that characterized the stronger crop of the classic British waves of yester-year. In fact, I would even go so far as to suggest that this might be what the Pistols may have sounded if they'd been an Oi! band. Steve Jones' guitar sound evokes the crunch of the 'Bollocks' album, and of course, Paul Cooks' steady backbeat provides enough gusto for those listeners dying for an excuse to pogo. The songs are catchy, have pop-quality, and certainly worth the outstanding list-price (not too bad, considering it's an import). Particular highlights are "the Magnificent" and "payola." If you dig real punk rock--and I mean the REAL stuff, not the shamefull crap they push down your throat on MTV--definitely get this. No complaints here whatsoever. It's just too bad they didn't include "conned again" as a bonus track."