The Tokens do seem to love their


biggest hit ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’; not only is it included here, its characteristic wailing wordless vocal interludes are reproduced on several other songs. You can hear them in the studio now: “Hey, Mitch, this bridge sounds boring, what shall we do?” “Jay, do what you did nine years ago, that’ll fill up the dead time”. Having said that, Both Sides Now


is a very likeable record, with exquisite harmonies, fine covers – ‘Green Tambourine’ is terrific – and a giddy bonus track called ‘I Could See Me (Dancing With You)’. It’s intelligent soft-pop doo-wop, and there aren’t many times when you can slip that phrase into conversation. Jeanette Leech


THE USERS Secondary Modern 1976-79 Bin Liner CD www.detour-records.co.uk


Many will already be familiar with The Users’ ‘Sick Of You’, a seminal 1977 UK punk release that appears on numerous “top punk singles” lists. What might come


as a surprise are the tracks from the Cambridge band’s final ’79 recording session, salvaged from the only remaining cassette copy. These four tracks have more to do with early power pop than punk. It’s a shame that the band split and never released these songs at the time, as they are much better and more energetic than the sound of contemporaries like The Pleasers, sounding not unlike a UK version of The Nerves. The vocals are confident and tuneful and the songs are driving but melodic, holding their own when compared to the better known early singles. My only reservation is that this


nine-track, 25 minute mini-album might find more takers at mid price rather than full price. Phil Suggitt


revelation at the time. Elsewhere the band are great, from the Davie Allen style instro ‘Bikers From Hell’ to the crunchy and punchy R&B of originals like ‘For All I Care’ to inspired covers like ‘Unchain My Heart’. From the outset they understood the need for variety and pace. Unfortunately one of the four


bonus cuts is a second version of ‘Jack The Ripper’, and another is the Link Wray instro version. Of the two additional Gruesomes originals, ‘Things She Does To Me’ finds them in a more restrained, poppier mood. Phil Suggitt


DAVID JOHANSEN David Johansen/Live It Up BGO CD www.bgo-records.com


David Johansen’s solo career has taken some unusual twists and turns since his early days with The New York Dolls, but his self- tilted solo album from 1978 finds


him in fine form. The straightforward production and sharp tunes co-written with ex-Doll Sylvain Sylvain (‘Frenchette’, ‘Funky But Chic’) make the album sound like the Dolls without Johnny. Johansen was able to cultivate a streetwise NYC rock style that was based on his proto-punk roots but was more acceptable to the mainstream. Songs like ‘Donna’ with it’s passionate vocal and backing vocals moved closer to Springsteen and Mink De Ville territory. Johansen continued in a pop


direction for ‘82’s live album. Punk purists may have sniffed at ’60s covers, including an Animals medley and Four Tops and Foundations hits, but these rocking versions work and the Dolls’ ‘Personality Crisis’ doesn’t sound out of place at the end of the set. Phil Suggitt


SHINDIGGERS Maximum Beat Off The Hip 2-CD www.offthehip.co.au


THE GRUESOMES Tyrants Of Teen Trash Ricochet CD www.ricochetsound.com


The Gruesomes were one of the outstanding bands of the ’80s garage revival, one of the few bands who sounded at least as good as their mid- 60s heroes. In 1986


this LP was a marvellous antidote to the popular excesses of the time. I instantly fell in love with the way they couldn’t see for their bowl cuts. 22 years later, the music still excites. Covers of ‘Jack The Ripper’ and ‘The Witch’ have become passé over the years but were a


72


In ancient times, pyramids were developed separately by civilisations thousands of miles apart. In the ’80s, The Medway Milkshakes and


Melbourne’s Shindiggers independently forged a manic musical style based on early ’60s British beat with a helping of punk attitude. Basically, if you like one band you are bound to like the other. This compilation is great value, as


it includes 51 songs, virtually everything The Shindiggers’ ever recorded – the early demos, singles, mini–LPs, live cuts and their final CD. The band never wavered from their Star-Club style beat and raw rock‘n’roll. The early demos are no great shakes, but everything else is fine, their own compositions standing proudly with some classic covers. After lots of activity in the mid-80s, the band regrouped for the Surf,


Sex CD in 2006, which features a more assured vocal sound and some of their most memorable and exciting tunes. Let’s face it, a band called The


Shindiggers has to be good, right? Phil Suggitt


THE STEMS Mushroom Soup Shock CD www.shock.com.au


Whenever I think of The Stems I conjure up an image of a bowl cutted, spiky booted garage guy making out on the sofa with a girl who is a big pop fan.


The Stems were shining lights of the ‘80s garage scene, with the ability to effortlessly combine a raunchy garage sensibility with genuine pop songwriting talent. This CD compiles all the singles recorded for John Needham’s Citadel label before the band signed with Mushroom records, and very good they are. Richard Lanes’ garage organ powers the excellent ‘Tears Me In Two’ and Dom Mariani’s fine vocals drive ‘Make You Mine’ and the gorgeous ‘Love Will Grow’. Also included are four solid


unreleased tunes shelved when the band left Citadel, notably a potential single, the Who- ish ‘Power Of Love’, plus five alternative demo versions and a video clip. Phil Suggitt


TOM VERLAINE Dreamtime Words From The Front Both Collectors Choice CDs www.ccmusic.com


Even after a quarter of century has passed, Tom Verlaine’s guitar lines seem to come from another place entirely. His amazing, angular solos are gloriously


powerful, intensely melodic but somehow angry and dangerous. Verlaine always seemed possessed of an alien (or divine?) inspiration that other guitarists would kill for. His vocals are as unique and instantly recognisable as his guitar playing. 1981’s Dreamtime was Verlaine’s


second solo LP. Richard Lloyd is no longer present to exchange solos, and all the lead work is by Verlaine. In most other respects the songs sound and feel like Television. The songs, such as ‘There’s A Reason’ and ‘Always’ are really strong, and there is (almost) a pop song in ‘Marie Marie’. In ’82 critics were less enthusiastic


about Days From The Front, recorded with session guitarist Jimmy Rip and Mink de Ville’s rhythm section. With hindsight it is also a fine album and contains one of Verlaine’s finest and most melodic tunes, ‘Postcard From Waterloo’; anyone who likes Dreamtime should get this as well. Phil Suggitt


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