Search - Professionals :: I Didn't See It Coming

Sex Pistols redux

12/14/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With Johny Rotten in PIL, Malcome McClaren running Bow Wow Wow & Sid dead, Paul Cook & Steve Jones carried on without them! This, the Professionals' only official album, sounds less like punk than heavy metal/power pop (a la KISS!) but it IS a great album. Highlights: "little boys", "Northern slide" (the best song), "magnificiant" (a PIL parody!), "Cresendo" and "too far to fall" (an obvious attack on Malcome!). Pistols fans might also want to seek out the self-titled CD of singles & early recordings (including a great nastier earlier version of "little boys)."

Sould have been a contender...

David Wellbeloved | Washington, DC United States | 10/18/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It was just before midnight on a warm night in 1981. I was getting ready to go on the air on WTJU-FM, the University of Virginia radio station. As I looked at the new records that had come in to the station, I saw this "smash hit" of a cover and took a look. On the back cover I saw Steve Jones and Paul Cook! On the turntable it went. All The Way, Little Boys, Friday Night Square, Crescendo, Too Far To Fall... "My God...this is a ROCK album!" I thought. Unlike the first PIL albums, where the idea and concept were more important than the "music", "I Didn't See It Coming" is a tight, crisp, tuneful record with hard-pop songs. It's more like an Iggy Pop record than one by PIL. I played the whole album on my show that night. Within a day or two I had my own copy. I also got the 7-inch "Join The Professionals". All of this was "IMPORT ONLY", and there was never a US lable willing to take a chance on the "other" ex-pistols. Too bad. When you hear this recording, you can't help but recall the crunching riffs of the Sex Pistols albums and it proves to me that Cook & Jones were the musical power behind the band. This album still stands up as a power-chord classic. Looking backwards, it's hard to believe that these guys never caught on. The album is well produced and all the songs are catchy. I was lucky enough to see The Professionals at the old 9:30 club in Washington, DC and their show was beyond good...it was pure energy and power. Sadly, there were only about a hundred people there that night to see them. Anyway, for those of you who loved the Sex Pistols, or for those of you who are just now discovering the roots of punk, this is a must buy....even at the high price of an asian import."

The Side Men Rock

David Wellbeloved | 05/14/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This 1981 album showcases the talent of Steve Jones (guitar, vocals) and Paul Cook (drums), the other half of the Sex Pistols. While Johnny Rotten had provided the voice for the Sex Pistols (and Sid provided the attitude), Steve Jones steps forward on lead vocals with a refreshing collection of songs reminiscent of "Silly Things", "Here We Go" and "Lonely Boy" (three songs recorded with the Sex Pistols). This is not a "punk" album but rather a collection of serious rock'n'roll tunes. The only other material I know of that was recorded by The Professionals is a 45 released in 1980 which included two additional songs "Action Man" (an instrumental) and "Just Another Dream". Steve Jones' later solo material, which was much heavier, is not as good as this album. Paul Cook went on to form another short-lived group in the late 80's, The Chiefs of Relief, with the former guitarist of Bow Wow Wow. They released one album as well. It certainly would have been interesting to see how the Sex Pistols would have evolved if they had stayed together (with Glen Matlock on bass) and recorded more material. Judging from this album, they certainly had the talent."