Pretty As A Panda--60 Foot Dolls'--The Big Three

The big Welsh Rock scene of the 90's sank in the Atlantic somewhere between Cardiff and New York on its maiden voyage. Too bad. We know about bands like Manic Street Preachers, Super Furry Animals, Catatonia, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci. 60 Ft Dolls? Often namechecked, rarely heard here. It is a shame, as their debut album The Big Three was released  by Geffen records here in the States. And it is a good album. Not great, but with great moments. Raucous but harmonious garage pop, they feel like local lads made good. I listen to the band and for some odd reason I keep thinking they are form Boston. They remind me of the Neighborhoods. And if they were they would have sold a pile of records over here. Today you can probably scarp up a used copy of this record for under a buck.

The 60 Ft Dolls are Richard John Parfitt vocals/guitar, Mike Cole vocals/bass, and Carl Bevan on drums.

You got to be so much better than the rest....

They are from Newport Wales. The Big Three was their debut album, originally issued on Indolent Records, and later put out by Geffen records to a worldwide audience.

There are a few odd things about this album (an album put out by a big label). First off, look at the cover. The drummers head is down. Did they only get one chance at a photo? I don't think they were trying to pull a Wilson-Phillips here in order to hide the drummers mug. So what's the deal? I also am curious as to why they chose the Welleresque Happy Shopper as a first song. Though it was their first single, I think it's one of the worst songs on the album. It starts off with a promising guitar buildup but turns out to be a pretty crap song. The next three songs are great on the album. I wouldn't be surprised if people heard the first song and said "thanks, but I've heard enough". Usually an album starts out with a strong track to encourage people to listen more. I'm hearing a bad decision on this one, though I'm sure there might be some disagreement there.

If I was a dictator in charge of this album, I would have started out with the song times Good Times. A tuneful song that comes off like a harder rocking version of the Smithereens. With that song followed up by the next 3, you have a winner. Stay is one of the strongest songs on this record, a scrappy classic pop punk number, like the Replacements playing Starry Eyes. Great harmonies. They sound like a bunch of likeable underdogs, regular guys you want to root for, whether to sell records, or maybe just to somehow win over that dubious girl in the local pub. I would be surprised if they were not the best band in Newport in their heyday.




Pig Valentine is another complete winner, a joyful revved up love song. For some reason the shoot-yourself in-the-foot uncommercial title is endearing to me here. I know its hypocritical for me to say that. But for some reason it makes these guys seem real to me. There is an obvious real life story to this song, not just another generic love song. And Jon Langford of The Mekons recorded this for them. I say ignore the title, love the song!

My favorite song on this album is The One. It is one of those infectious songs that just sticks in my head for hours. Like a brash punk rock Septembur Gurls. I think this song is absolutely perfect. You need to blast this in your car stereo. Songs 2,3,4 are enough on their own to merit purchase. But wait folks, there's much more...



Though I have mentioned the pop punk style of the band, there is a lot of classic rock swagger on some of the songs here. There is definitely a pretty big Who/Jam influence to this band, which mostly works. Talk to Me is an example of an aggressive riff filled tune full of Daltryisms on the vocals. Streamlined, on the other hand could have used a little editing. I think if it was a little shorter it would be more effective. It's not bad, with some terrific guitar work, but it sounds like an outtake from Quadrophenia. But that's just my opinion.

But there is so much here to recommend.  Loser is a great tune, with a nice sing-a-long vocals by Parfitt. New Loafers rips along at a frenetic pace with inane lyrics. A good one for the live set. Another energetic winner is the hedonistic No. 1 Pure Alcohol. "The more you take, the more you want, the more you get it wrong". Terminal Crash Fear is another great adrenaline basher, like the Modern Lovers' Roadrunner on amphetamines. "I'm on a terminal crash, and my foot's to the ground. Turn it up, Turn it up, Turn up your radio!"

I think they are at their best when they keep things moving. Hair is not a bad song really, but I guess it's the lyrics seem a little weird. There is so much talk about hair that it sounds like a shampoo commercial. The equally slow tempoed Buzz is a much better song. I think they tried to make an epic song like Oasis here. They would have been better off chopping a minute off this. It's still a pretty decent tune though. There's nothing really awful on this album, which puts it ahead of 90% of the competition. This is a pretty excellent album. And you can get it used on Amazon right now for a penny!

Crashing out and killing time