Jan 17, 2018

RhoDeo 1802 Aetix

Hello,


Today's artists an English punk band, among the earliest in the first wave of British punk. Formed in 1976, the mainstay of the band has been vocalist Charlie Harper, originally a singer in Britain's R&B scene. They were also one of the first street punk bands. Their style combined the energy of punk and the rock and roll edge of the then thriving pub rock scene. The band had hit singles such as "Stranglehold", "Warhead", "Teenage", and "Tomorrow's Girls", with several of their songs managing to enter the United Kingdom's Top Forty.......N'Joy

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One of the most important bands of the second wave of U.K. punk, the U.K. Subs had been on the scene since the early days of British punk. But as the first wave of bands began to crumble, the U.K. Subs just got tougher and faster, and slowly rose to fame as many of their peers were burning out, finally breaking out in 1979. If anything has been the U.K. Subs' trademark, it's longevity; vocalist and founder Charlie Harper has kept the group alive for 40 years, and while more than 75 other people have gone in and out of the lineup over the years, he's kept the beery rabble-rousing spirit of the U.K. Subs alive and well on the road and in the studio.

Harper founded the U.K. Subs in 1976. He had previously been the lead singer with an R&B act called the Marauders (and held down a day job as a hair stylist), but after catching a show by the Damned, Harper decided punk rock was the future, and he formed a group called the Subversives. Harper teamed up with guitarist Nicky Garratt, bassist Steve Slack, and drummer Pete Davies to complete the first edition of the group, whose name was soon pared down to U.K. Subs. The band began making the rounds of the London club circuit, and earned the seal of approval from influential BBC disc jockey John Peel, who recorded two radio sessions with the band, one in 1977 and another in 1978. Despite their growing notoriety, it wasn't until 1979 that the group finally scored a record deal, with GEM Records signing the band and releasing their first studio album, Another Kind of Blues.

As many acts on the U.K. punk and new wave scene were either breaking up (the Sex Pistols, X-Ray Spex, Generation X) or going through creative transitions (the Clash, the Damned, Wire), the U.K. Subs proved there was still a lively audience for no-frills punk rock, and Another Kind of Blues became a surprise hit, rising to number 21 on the British charts. The group's second album, 1980's Brand New Age, fared even better, peaking at number 18, and a live set recorded at the Roxy in London in 1977 received a belated release from Stiff Records (without the band's input) as Live Kicks. The band responded by delivering an album drawn from more recorded live shows, 1980's Crash Course, which took the band to the Top Ten of the U.K. LP charts, making it to number eight. Their live attack was also documented in a short documentary by filmmaker Julien Temple, Punk Can Take It! The hard-working Subs introduced a third studio effort, Diminished Responsibility, in 1981, which became another chart success, reaching number 18 on the British listings.

By 1980, the band experienced its first major lineup change, when Davies fell ill and was replaced for a tour by Ian Tansley, and then by Steve Roberts. Davies would return and depart the U.K. Subs numerous times over the years, as would guitarist Nicky Garratt and bassist Paul Slack (as well as Slack's initial replacement, Alvin Gibbs). In 1982, the U.K. Subs jumped from GEM to NEMS Records, and their first album for the label, Endangered Species, didn't fare as well on the charts as their previous efforts. And while many British punk acts found indifferent audiences in the United States, the U.K. Subs' most successful albums were never even released in America until many years after the fact, though they staged their first North American tour in 1980.

However, none of this kept Charlie Harper down, and while the U.K. Subs' personnel would change on a regular basis from the mid-'80s onward (Lars Fredericksen of Rancid was briefly a member in the early '90s), the band continued to tour nonstop, playing in the U.K., Europe, and Japan on a regular basis, and occasionally making their way to the United States. Between studio efforts, live discs, and compilations of their back catalog, the band had literally dozens of albums to their credit when they issued 2016's Ziezo, which Harper declared would be the U.K. Subs' final studio album. However, Harper insisted that the band wasn't over despite that claim, and several months later, Friends and Relations appeared, which combined new music with rare archival material.

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The U.K. Subs' debut can easily stand alongside any other punk classics released during its heyday. Musically, the Subs are similar to the early Clash, but where the Clash spit out balls of fiery rage, the Subs leaven their bile with sardonic humor. "Tomorrow's Girls" imagines a futuristic Venus who "will be pre-programmed," and the music spits out a hilarious series of mock computer beeps. "Crash Course" promises staid executives that, just by listening to the Subs' music and buying up the right clothes, they, too, can "learn" punk rock. Only the sneeringly sexist "All I Wanna Know" hits a sour note. The music is rooted in the typical punk influences: the New York Dolls, the Velvet Underground, and early Who, but the band adds a twist of classic '60s British R&B groups like the Yardbirds. It's melodic, punchy, and fast, delivering the necessary bite without ever becoming too abrasive or sugary. Another Kind of Blues is an impressive debut from the classic punk era.



U.K. Subs - Another Kind Of Blues (flac  361mb)

01 C.I.D. 2:16
02 I Couldn't Be You 2:07
03 I Live In A Car 1:37
04 Tomorrows Girls 2:23
05 Killer 1:29
06 World War 1:22
07 Rockers 3:37
08 I.O.D. 1:24
09 T.V. Blues 2:08
10 Blues 1:52
11 Lady Esquire 1:58
12 All I Wanna Know 1:46
13 Crash Course 1:43
14 Young Criminals 2:20
15 B.I.C. 1:37
16 Disease 1:29
17 Stranglehold 1:58

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'Endangered Species' was the UK Subs fourth studio album, and already their time of commercial success was coming to an end. The damage had been done by the weak and poorly produced third album 'Diminished Responsibility' and of course due to the fact that the first big phase of punk rock had been and gone. The above said, this is an absolutely brilliant album and I would describe the production as perfect. The sound is solid, rich and as full bloodied as any heavy rock album I have ever heard. More importantly, this album included some brilliant classic heavy rock music in for example 'Endangered Species', 'Living Dead' and 'Down On The Farm', and also features the UK Subs in surprisingly creative mood in tracks such as 'Flesh Wound' and 'Ice Age'. Also check out 'Ambition' which has some brilliant harmonica playing.



U.K. Subs - Endangered Species (flac 333mb)

01 Endangered Species 3:25
02 Living Dead 1:40
03 Countdown 4:58
04 Ambition 3:41
05 Fear Of Girls 2:13
06 Lie Down And Die 1:58
07 Down On The Farm 3:18
08 Sensitive Boys 4:10
09 ÷8 × 5 2:50
10 Ice Age 3:37
11 I Robot 2:55
12 1Flesh Wound 2:53

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Compiling the last sessions recorded by the classic U.K. Subs lineup of Charlie Harper, Nicky Garratt, and Alvin Gibbs, A.W.O.L. sounds less like a patchwork recording than it should. Despite the presence of no less than three drummers, the album holds together because the band works as a cohesive unit. The tracks veer from the all-out fury of "Police State" to the darker, murkier "Enemy Awaits," displaying more growth in the band's songwriting skills. "Keep On Running" even incorporates new wave-style keyboards -- an unthinkable move on previous albums. Unfortunately, after these sessions, the band's classic lineup broke up, and afterward the U.K. Subs became little more than a collection of sidemen assembled by frontman Harper. Only the album's brevity keeps it from being a definitive recording on par with the seminal early albums. Still, for a last shot of the classic Subs, this album is definitely worth tracking down.



U.K. Subs - A.W.O.L (flac  236mb)
 
01 Self Destruct 2:26
02 Ship Wrecked 2:10
03 Enemy Awaits 4:07
04 War of the Roses 2:14
05 Police State 3:14
06 New Barbarians 2:50
07 Keep On Running 2:32
08 Limo Life 3:41
09 Postcard from L.A. 4:18
10 Betrayal 4:27
11 Nobody Move 1:34
12 Beer Police 1:34

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Cramming 28 tracks into a lean 59 minutes, Singles compiles every A- and B-side released by U.K. Subs during the height of their influence. While the strictly singles format omits some classic album tracks such as "Emotional Blackmail" and "Down on the Farm," what remains is an hour of punchy, melodic punk rock. In fact, the album reveals the Subs as a true missing link between hardcore English punk and '60s music. It's not just the covers of the Zombies' "She's Not There" and the Velvet Underground's "I'm Waiting for the Man." The instrumental "The Harper," with its bluesy guitar licks and harmonica, sounds like a revved-up Yardbirds song, and "Keep on Running" could have fit on the legendary Nuggets anthology. The Subs also have an element that distinguishes them from too many other punk acts: a sense of humor. "New York State Police" is a hilarious swipe at police brutality, while "Teenage" is a dead-on satire of young consumerism. Singles is not only a worthy anthology for fans, who will be pleased that many difficult-to-find tracks are compiled in one place, but will also be the perfect intro to newcomers to one of the best, most underrated bands in punk history.



U.K. Subs - Complete Punk Singles 1 (flac  323mb)
 
01 C.I.D
02 Strangehold
03 Tomorrow Girls
04 She's Not There
05 Warhead
06 Teenage
07 Party In Paris
08 Keep On Running (Til You Burn)
09 Countdown
10 Self Destruct
11 Another Typical City
12 Private Army
13 This Gun Says
14 New Barbarians (Live)
15 Hey! Santa  

U.K. Subs - Complete Punk Singles 2   (flac 303mb)
01 Motivator
02 Sabre Dance (Extended)
03 Jodie Foster
04 Postcard From L.A.
05 Betrayal
06 War On The Pentagon
07 Day Of The Dead
08 Ciberjunk
09 Riot
10 Reclaim The Street
11 Dunken Sailor
12 666 Yeah
13 Warhead 2008
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2 comments:

Mick said...

Have you got "Brand New Age (1980)" by them by any chance?

petar.petrovic said...

Pleae re-up.
Thx