Search - Stiff Little Fingers :: Inflammable Material

One of the punk classics...but i know you want more!

I sold the world | 09/01/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a reissue of one of the classic punk albums, with a few bonus tracks thrown in - the most interesting of these is part one of an interview with SLF singer/guitarist Jake Burns, in which he relates interesting snippets of the band's history. The other bonus tracks are an alternative version of Suspect Device, the band's first single, and the angry yet humorous 78 RPM ('there's gonna be 78 revolutions per minute').

The album proper is right up there with anything by The Clash, The Sex Pistols and The Damned as a 70s punk classic. Several of the songs are about the then explosive political situation in Northern Ireland (Suspect Device, Alternative Ulster), making the band as politically relevant as The Clash in punk history, or even more so. This is angry music played fast and loud, yet retains a razor-sharp black sense of humour reminiscent of Elvis Costello at his acerbic best: Barbed Wire Love, with its pastiches of the Beach Boys and 50s doo-wop bands is perhaps the most obvious example of this.

If you have any interest in punk at all you need to hear this!"