Feb 6, 2019

RhoDeo 1905 Aetix

Hello,


Today's artists had age, a pub rock pedigree, musical savvy, and long hair working against them – cardinal sins in a punk movement that was almost militaristic in its rigidness - but you’d be hard pressed to see how that hindered them.  .. ......N'Joy

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Part of the idea behind punk rock was that anyone could play it, but while most folks took that to mean the young and inexperienced could pick up a guitar and bash out two or three chords, the concept worked the other way, too. The Vibrators were one of the early bands to break out on the London punk rock scene, and created one of the first classic albums to come out of U.K. punk. But as much as they tried to look like kids off the streets, their leader was anything but. Guitarist and singer Knox (aka Ian Carnochan) was the ripe old age of 31 when he launched the Vibrators, and he'd been playing in bands since his mid-teens. But if Knox was a bit long in the tooth to be part of the youth vanguard, he was also in it for the long haul, and he's kept the Vibrators alive and productive through dozens of lineup changes well into the 21st Century.

Knox was born in London on September 4, 1945, and grew up in the neighborhoods of Cricklewood and Watford. He was 13 when he first started playing guitar, and he played in a pair of bands with his schoolmates, the Renegades and Knox & the Knight Ryders. Knox was the rare British art school student who put his guitar away while he studied painting, but by 1972 he was playing again and performed on the fringes of the U.K. pub rock circuit. In 1976, as punk rock was growing from an underground phenomenon to the next big thing, Knox chose to get in on the action and formed the Vibrators, with himself on guitar and vocals, John Ellis on guitar, Pat Collier on bass, and a drummer who was identified as Eddie the Drummer (real name: John Edwards). The group quickly jumped out of the gate, opening shows for the Stranglers and the Sex Pistols and becoming regulars at one of London's first homes for punk, the 100 Club. Mickie Most signed the group to his RAK Records label, and they dropped their first single, "We Vibrate," in November 1976. The same month, they were Chris Spedding's backing band for his novelty take on punk, "Pogo Dancing." Before RAK could release a second Vibrators single, they were snapped up by Epic Records, which released the single "Baby Baby" in May 1977. A month later, Epic unveiled their debut album, Pure Mania, to strong reviews and respectable sales, rising to number 49 on the U.K. album charts. In 1977, they also were the support act for Iggy Pop's U.K. tour (with David Bowie backing Iggy on keyboards).

A mere ten months later, the Vibrators dropped their second LP, V2, which featured a new bassist, Gary Tibbs, after Pat Collier left the group. A single from V2, "Automatic Lover," made it to number 35 on the British singles charts, which led to the Vibrators appearing on Top of the Pops. More live work followed, though John Ellis would drop out of the band in 1978, with Dave Birch signing on as guitarist; the group also added Don Snow on saxophone and keyboards. That lineup proved to be short-lived, and Knox and Eddie recruited guitarist Greg Van Cook and bassist Ben Brierly for a version that fell apart by the end of 1978. By early 1979, Knox left the Vibrators to launch a solo career, and while the band struggled along without him, they threw in the towel in 1980.

In 1982, Knox opted to give the Vibrators another try, and he recruited the original lineup (Collier, Ellis, and Eddie) to cut a new album, Guilty, for Anagram Records. This edition managed to stay together long enough to record the albums Alaska 127 (1984) and Fifth Amendment (1985) before Collier bowed out to pursue a career as a producer. Noel Thompson replaced Collier on bass, and after John Ellis quit the band to join the Stranglers, Mickie Owen took over on guitar. This lineup recorded a live LP, but by the time the group next returned to the studio, Noel Thompson was out and Mark Duncan was the new bassist. This edition cut two albums, Recharged and Meltdown (both 1988) before Owen dropped out and Nigel Bennett picked up the guitar spot. With Bennett, the Vibrators cut the albums Vicious Circle, Volume Ten, and Unpunked, between 1989 and 1996. From this point on, the number of personnel changes continued to increase, with Knox and Eddie as the sole constants (and with Knox even leaving the lineup in 2008 for 14 months after an accident). However, the band continued to record and tour regularly, playing upward of 100 dates a year, and were regularly lauded as one of the most indefatigable bands in U.K. punk. In 2017, as the band was preparing for what they announced would be their last United States tour, the Vibrators dropped a studio album, Restless, via Die Laughing Records. .

On July 16, 2007, the band re-formed for a benefit concert in honor of Paul Fox, who had been diagnosed with lung cancer. Henry Rollins filled in on lead vocals, and the Damned, Tom Robinson, and Misty in Roots were among the opening acts. This inspired the band to return to the studio, with John Jennings and David Ruffy joined by guitarist Leigh Heggarty. In June 2008, another compilation, Original Punks, was released by Music Club Deluxe in the UK. The two-disc set included demos, alternate versions and live tracks plus songs recorded by Ruts D.C. They would record material over the next five years at Mad Professor's studio; Rhythm Collision, Vol. 2 arrived in 2013. A concert album, Live on Stage, appeared in 2014, while a new studio album, Music Must Destroy, arrived in 2016, with Henry Rollins performing guest vocals on the title track and Jake Burns of Stiff Little Fingers and Kirk Brandon of Theatre of Hate and Spear of Destiny appearing on "Kill the Pain." The same year saw another Ruts compilation, Babylon's Burning, which repackaged the Live and Loud! and In a Can albums as a two-LP set.

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Were the Vibrators real punks? Maybe not, but then again, were the Stranglers? Or Eddie and the Hot Rods? Even more to the point, was Steve Jones? Plenty of rock careerists jumped onto the punk/new wave bandwagon in the wake of the Sex Pistols' success (and more than a few folks, like Jones, stumbled into the new movement by accident), but unlike most of them, the Vibrators took to the fast/loud/stripped down thing like ducks to water, and both Knox (aka Ian Carnarchan) and Pat Collier had a genius for writing short, punchy songs with sneering melody lines and gutsy guitar breaks. If the Vibrators were into punk as a musical rather than a sociopolitical movement, it's obvious that they liked the music very much, and on that level their debut album stands the test of time quite well. Pure Mania boasts a bit more polish (and less politics) than many of the albums from punk's first graduating class (such as Damned Damned Damned or The Clash), but if you're looking for a strong, satisfying shot of chugging four-square punk, cue up "Yeah Yeah Yeah," "No Heart," "Petrol," or "Wrecked on You" and you'll be thrown into a gleeful pogo frenzy. Maybe Pure Mania isn't purist's punk, but it's pure rock & roll, and there's nothing wrong with that. interspersed with the group's rather amusing take on early rock & roll.



 The Vibrators - Pure Mania (flac  315mb)

01 Into The Future.... 2:18
02 Yeah Yeah Yeah 1:19
03 Sweet Sweet Heart 2:38
04 Keep It Clean 2:58
05 Baby Baby 3:41
06 No Heart 1:50
07 She's Bringing You Down 2:27
08 Petrol 2:09
09 London Girls 2:32
10 You Broke My Heart 3:28
11 Whips & Furs 2:14
12 Stiff Little Fingers 2:17
13 Wrecked On You 1:29
14 I Need A Slave 1:43
15 Bad Time 1:55
Bonus
16 London Girls (Live) 2:40
17 Stiff Little Fingers (Live) 2:13
18 We Vibrate 2:10
19 Whips & Furs (Single Version) 2:26

 The Vibrators - Pure Mania  (ogg   106mb)

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As in their first album, V2 shows the Vibrators taking the driving energy of punk and applying it to songs that have a subtle, pop-like quality; while it does not have the wonderfully brash and itchy cohesiveness of Pure Mania, it's a solid album well worth hearing. The songs are mostly catchy and listenable, the lyrics are as capable as those in the group's previous release, and the arrangements have much more variety and color than most punk records of the time do. "24 Hour People" sports Chuck Berry-style guitar licks and 1960s-derived backing vocals, "Public Enemy No. 1" and "Fall in Love" are less punky and more straightforward rockers, "Feel Alright" has a 1960s garage band-style chorus, and "Nazi Baby" audaciously adds strings to the fast, almost danceable music. The only really ineffective excursion on this album is "Troops of Tomorrow," a slow, menacing number that somehow gets too thick for its own good and is further marred by an excessively lengthy opening section.



  The Vibrators ‎- V2   (flac  236mb)

01 Pure Mania 3:00
02 Automatic Lover 3:04
03 Flying Duck Theory 2:58
04 Public Enemy No. 1 2:07
05 Destroy 2:16
06 Nazi Baby 4:19
07 Wake Up 1:57
08 Sulphate 1:43
09 24 Hour People 1:52
10 Fall In Love 4:10
11 Feel Allright 1:51
12 War Zone 2:17
13 Troops Of Tomorrow 5:39

 The Vibrators ‎- V2    (ogg   91mb)

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After Knox's unguarded comments about starting a solo career had ensured the death of the original Vibrators in 1980, they seemed destined to be remembered as underachieving also-rans from punk's first wave. However, in 1982 bass player Pat Collier, who had established the highly successful studio enterprise Alaska 127, decided to get the old gang back together, putting out a call to fellow original members John Ellis, Knox, and Eddie. Knox recalls the spirit behind the reunion: "They were initially saying, 'Oh, we can knock out any old rubbish and make some money.' But I said that we couldn't really; we had a history for being a good band, so we had to write good material." One thing his fellow band members did impress on Knox was that they wanted an equal share in songwriting. Not a good idea -- the resulting Guilty suffers from a lot of uneven compositions.



 The Vibrators - Guilty   (flac  365mb)

01 Wolfman Howl 1:22
02 Rocket To The Moon 2:39
03 Sleeping 3:38
04 Parties 2:51
05 Jumpin' Jack Flash 2:47
06 Watch Out Baby 2:32
07 Do A Runner 2:43
08 We Name The Guilty 3:50
09 Baby, Baby 3:07
10 Fighter Pilot 2:50
11 The Day They Caught The Killer 2:44
12 Kick It 2:40
13 A Dot Ain't A Lot 3:17
14 Claws In My Brain 4:23
Bonus
15 Dragnet 3:04
16 Hang Ten 3:00
17 Guilty 3:08

 The Vibrators - Guilty    (ogg  120mb)

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The Vibrators' second album following their 1982 reunion. The title was taken from producer Pat Collier's studio, which had become their adopted home. It's actually a much better affair than its predecessor, Guilty. "Amphetamine Blue" starts things off and is typical of the 12 committed punk-pop efforts on display here. Sadly, there were precious few people prepared to take the Vibrators seriously the first time around; there were next to none now. Despite some real classics such as 3D Jesus, Shadow Love, pity this line-up did not record many more.



 The Vibrators - Alaska 127    (flac  251mb)

01 Amphetamine Blue 2:44
02 Somnambulist 3:27
03 Baby Blue Eyes 3:18
04 Peepshow 2:44
05 4875 3:00
06 3-D Jesus 3:27
07 Jesus Always Lets You Down 2:56
08 Flying Home 3:09
09 Shadow Love 2:51
10 MX America 2:43
11 Flash, Flash, Flash 1:48
12 Punish Me With Kisses 2:46

 The Vibrators - Alaska 127    (ogg  82mb)

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The Vibrators couldn't have been more removed from punk's eternally youthful and musically inept ideology. Guitarist Ian Carnochan's (aka Knox) songs nodded more to Chuck Berry than to Johnny Rotten. The bandmembers were already passing their mid-twenties when they entered the punk scene, making them seem hopelessly unfashionable. However, the "Vibes" -- as fans and writers lovingly nicknamed them -- sidestepped those issues with a gleeful irreverence that did much to win over the new scene's fans. John Peel's show provided one of their best outlets, since he was the first major DJ to play punk on his show, from which these broadcasts are taken. Not surprisingly, the October 28, 1978, session is as barebones as they come; "We Vibrate," "Jenny Jenny," and "Sweet Sweet Heart" chug by in suitable Berry-ish fashion, but there's also no denying the sly humor of "Whips and Furs" or "I Wanna Be Your Nazi Baby." Steady gigging on the Pure Mania debut album's heels did much to make the Vibrators into a more cohesive, confident unit. The improvements are obvious on the June 22, 1977, session, whose take of the band's best-known song, "Baby Baby," crackles with spunky self-assurance. The material gets increasingly poppier as time passes, which doesn't dampen the boisterous noise aired on March 6, 1978, as exemplified by the cunning puns thrown throughout "Automatic Lover" -- although "Troops of Tomorrow" displays a moodier side than most listeners associate with the band. By the time of May 4, 1978's "In Concert" broadcast, the Vibrators felt emboldened to add Don Snow on sax and synths, which brightened the sound without watering down the energy. Never the trendiest of contenders, the band knew how to play up its strengths while playing to the gallery; this album is a worthy snapshot of that progress.



 The Vibrators - Peel Sessions    (flac  332mb)

John Peel 28.10.76
01 Dance To The Music
02 Sweet Sweet Heart
03 Jenny Jenny
04 I'm Gonna Be Your Nazi Baby
05 We Vibrate
John Peel 22.6.1977
06 Petrol
07 Keep It Clean
08 Baby, Baby
09 London Girls
10 She's Bringing You Down
John Peel 6.3.1978
11 Automatic Lover
12 Destroy
13 Troops Of Tomorrow
14 Fall In Love
Old Grey Whistle Test 4.4.1977
15 War Zone
16 Flying Duck Theory
17 Wake Up
18 24 Hour People

 The Vibrators - Peel Sessions    (ogg  108mb)

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1 comment:

Roger Roobarb said...

Hi Rho

Again, I must thank you for posting some more Punk classics,(The Vibrators).
Still think it strange Gary Tibbs went off to join Roxy Music in the eighties.


Kindest regards
Roger the Dodger : )