I was really ignorant of this group, but their name was dropped quite often in Big Takeover magazine as a leading Scottish band of the era, along with bands like Orange Juice, the Fire Engines, and Josef K. I can't help but think I heard their music being play at my College Radio Station in the early 80's, as they were very big on playing new music, including local bands from Worcester, Mass and the New England Area. But sadly, I am drawing a complete. Now that I am finally hearing this great music, I am catching up quickly.
That somebody did not released this music sooner is a bit of a baffler--there probably is a story behind this.
The music is uniformly excellent on this collection. I don't think there are many surprises here. If you are fans of groups like The Jam, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Teardrop Explodes, Joy Division, you have struck gold here. Over a short period of time the band changed a bit stylistically, got a bit slicker, added a horn section Ala Teardrop Explodes. Songs are still good, though I would agree with singer Norman Rodger's take in the albums liner notes that the band was best as an unadorned 4 piece. I would also argue that some of their best songwriting came later on, one song of which seems particularly relevant in 2011.
From what the liner notes say, the band achieved a modest level of success, opening for acts like The Jam, The Skids, even The Rolling Stones. Frustration ended the group, when they realized that when they opened for Jagger and Co, and no industry people came to the shows. They decided that they were not going to achieve international success anytime soon. Despite all that I saw some 2003 Scottish newspaper poll of the 100 best Scottish albums, and TV21's only full length album Thin Red Line was not included. People have short memories I guess, particularly when the album was only available as vinyl for so long.
But we have these fantastic recordings as a testament to their talents. The first song is just awesome, the combing the high energy of Stiff Little Fingers with the pop sensibilities of The Jam. Listen to the second song here, Shattered By It All, and you start to understand that this is not your run of the mill band. It doe not take long to vet out that this collection is blessed with both quantity and quality. 19 songs, mostly all top notch. For some reason one of the most noteworthy things about the band is the bass playing of Neil Baldwin. It seems to set the band apart a bit from the competition of the day. Other band members include Dave Hampton on keys, Ally Palmer on Guitar, and Ali Patterson on drums.When you hear this compilation you will find that TV21 are the equal of their better know contemporaries. I wonder if there is more that could be released. I certainly would like to hear more. (I know, its just a matter of time before I shell out for Forever 22). I do understand that they did a Peel session early on in their careers.
Now........
The song I was referring to before was What's Going On? a political screed, decrying the gap at the time between the populace and its representatives, and taking on the obsessive madness of the Cold War military buildup. Take away some of those references, and this sounds like an anthem that rings true in our economically unstable times. Something's Wrong is equally great, sounding like a harder hitting outtake from the Teardrop Explodes' songbook.
Now.....
So in a nutshell, this is a great collection of music from a criminally neglected band. I would highly recommend this music to anybody who loves the bands I compared TV21 with, or is a fan of some of the contemporary bands who have been duly inspired by their brief output, like Franz Ferdinand. Maybe with these two new releases the band will get some of the recognition they deserve.
And Then.....
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