My Kind Of Blues (Another Kind Of Blues - UK Subs)

Member Name: I Like Blue

Product:	Another Kind Of Blues - UK Subs
Date:	04/08/04 (651 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It's Blue!

Disadvantages: Someone stole my blue vinyl!

At last! I've finally reached my 50th review!

As it's a landmark I have been thinking of reviews to mark the event. I did have another review planned for it but that one is only two-thirds completed and I still wasn't sure if that was the review I wanted to post next.

Fate intervened though, and the answer to my question was, naturally, right in front of me!

A review about the UK Subs, music, the colour blue and 50th review; see all the signs were already there!

Right, let's crack on.

Charlie Harper had a dream, a big dream. Before the UK Subs he had already fronted a number of other bands but in the UK Subs he found his place. Again though this is another band from the punk era that was fronted by a not-so-spring chicken; Harper was 32 when he formed the UK Subs! The band's line-up has changed many times over the years but in this era it probably had it's strongest line-up which included Charlie Harper (of course), Nicky Garratt on guitar, Paul Slack on bass guitar and Pete Davies on drums. Harper had to fund this new venture somehow though and did so by opening a Hairdressing Salon in London.

Part of Charlie's dream was to record 26 studio albums, one for each letter of the alphabet, and of course 'Another Kind Of Blues' was the first which was released in September 1978.

Originally 'Another Kind Of Blues' was pressed in blue vinyl and I was the proud owner of such a copy but alas someone stole it when I stupidly took it to a party. To stop me taking my precious vinyl albums to parties I bought cassette tapes and I replaced my vinyl version of this album with the cassette, and I'm glad to say I still have the cassette today and have had it for about 24 years now and it still plays brilliantly! Well, recently it has started to show signs of wear and tear but that is partly down to the fact that my 15 year old son often borrows it.

Since the start of the CD era I've always meant to replace (and preserve) my cassette version but it wasn't until about 6 weeks ago that I finally bought the CD album. I found it at a record fair I went to in Canterbury, it was the stall holders only copy and at £9.99 I couldn't resist and I knew if I did, hoping to find it cheaper elsewhere, I might end up kicking myself.

Okay, here comes the main part of the album review.

Similarly to The Strangler's debut album 'Rattus Norvegicus' the UK Subs' debut album 'Another Kind Of Blues' was a collection of songs already up to 2 and a half years old with the exception of 'Blues', 'TV Blues' and 'Young Criminals' which were written for the album.

Now, I'm not going to review the album track by track because there are so many! On the original vinyl and cassette versions there are 17 tracks and they are:

1 - C.I.D.
2 - I Couldn't Be You
3 - I Live In A Car
4 - Tomorrows Girls
5 - Killer
6 - World War
7 - Rockers
8 - I.O.D
9 - TV Blues
10 - Blues
11 - Lady Esquire
12 - All I Want To Know
13 - Crash Course
14 - Young Criminals
15 - B.1.C
16 - Disease
17 - Stranglehold

On the CD version I have under the Captain Oi! Label, there are another 9 tracks which include:

18 - C.I.D (Single Version)
19 - I Live In A Car (Single Version)
20 - B.1.C (Single Version)
21 - Stranglehold (Single Version)
22 - World War (Single Version)
23 - Rockers (Single Version)
24 - Tomorrows Girls (Single Version)
25 - Scum Of The Earth
26 - Telephone Numbers

The original album, even at 17 tracks long, is just over 30 minutes long and even on the CD version, as I've mentioned above, with the bonus tracks it's just under 50 minutes long!

This partly tells you the style of the UK Subs. Short, sharp, shock treatment. Except it's not shock at all, just short and sharp. Rather than drag songs out for the sake of it, UK Subs were in and out in no time. Charlie said what he had to, the band played along and the song was done; move on to the next song and so on and so on.

It was a formula that proved effective and successful for the UK Subs and very few bands could match their style. Is it Rock? Is it Punk? It's both.

'Another Kind Of Blues' covers many topics in life from drugs to sex to unemployment to war to social issues to life in general.

The more successful singles from the album are 'Tomorrows Girls' and 'Stranglehold' which are also 2 of my favourites. 'Rockers' is definitely the anthem song of the album and the UK Subs generally, and is a huge favourite with fans everywhere, including me. 'Rockers' though is a kind of 'Siamese twin' song as it is always preceded by 'World War', the end of which, amongst some rather good explosive sound effects blends seamlessly into 'Rockers'. Whereas most songs on the album last between a minute and a half to 2 and a half minutes, 'Rockers' is almost an epic by comparison at 3 and a half minutes long!

Even the lyrics are short and to the point. Charlie didn't mince his words or flower them up and disguise the content, he said what he wanted to say and that was it. Charlie also had an issue with the Police and didn't mind singing about it and 2 songs that really stick out to emphasise this point in no uncertain terms are 'C.I.D' and 'Killer'.

The lyrics for 'C.I.D' go like this:

"See that man dressed in black
Pass him by, don't look back
Keep in a line, walk straight ahead
One false move, you could be dead

Take a tip hear what I say
Don't take a trip down Soho way
If you do you better keep in line
One false move, you could be doing time

He's a underground undercover agent for the C.I.D
He's got a loaded 44 he's a walking armoury store."

And an extract from 'Killer':

"The copper is a killer
No matter what you say
Put him in a uniform
He'll put you in a grave"

I could recite more but I think you get the idea, Charlie had issues and he didn't mind sharing them, bluntly. Easy, simple and effective and that's one of the things I really like about this album.

Other favourite tracks on the album include 'Killer', 'Blues', 'Crash Course' and 'Young Criminals'. If I was pushed to make a decision then my favourite track would have to be 'TV Blues'. I think this is the only song I've ever heard that is a protest song solely about the TV Licence!

"TV detector van coming down the street
TV detector man took away our TV
Now my little sisters got the TV blues
They say it's tough on you

My little sisters got the TV blues
Daddy's got them too
If you can't get the money to pay the fine
You know what they're gonna do?

40 days in Brixton
Puts the shit up the family
I guess you wouldn't credit this
For watching your own TV"

Now, I realise that UK Subs might not be everyone's cup of tea but, for me, 'Another Kind Of Blues' is fun to listen to. The songs are short, the lyrics pretty slick, often funny and pretty catchy added with the rest of the band's contribution this is a great album and there isn't a bad song on here, and let's face it the songs aren't ever long enough to grow a dislike for them.

The band might play at quite frenetic speeds throughout the album but they have achieved something in giving each song its own identity. It's fast, it's furious, it's fun and with Charlie Harpers singing added with the UK Subs overall style we have something pretty unique in 'Another Kind Of Blues' which makes it an outstanding debut album.

The only decision you need to make is; Do you pogo? Do you headbang? Or do you do both? If you can't decide on any of them then just sit in a chair and rock, tapping your feet.

Recommended? Without doubt!

You can still get this album in vinyl, but if you want it in blue then you'll have to hunt for it on eBay. It's also still available in cassette form but I'd recommend buying the CD version which is generally on sale between £10 and £14 depending which online music store you visit.

Personally I'd recommend the one produced on the Captain Oi! label as this seems to be the only one that has all the extra tracks and has a decent sized inlay booklet (in the colour blue, of course) with a little bit of history about the band, some photos and lyrics to all the songs on the album, however some of the lyrics haven't been printed correctly as there are a number of errors including some missed lyrics etc.

For the collector though THE version of 'Another Kind Of Blues' to get, in CD format, is the one produced on the Diablo label, which was released in 1998, and is rumoured to be quite rare.

I'll end this review with my favourite lyrics from the album, and they are from 'Tomorrow's Girls':

"She's out there drinking
Ice cold beer
Tomorrows girl
Will piss it in your ear

Tomorrows girl
She ain't no factory girl
And she don't wanna live
In no nine to five world
You're out there slaving
On your factory floor
But tomorrows girl
She wants a lot more"

Not bad for a song about 26 years old eh? If only Charlie Harper knew!

Summary: Short, sharp and slick. Punk (probably) at its best!