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Rating: The Only Ones? Who, those too punk for the hippies and too hippie for the punks? The ones from «Another Girl, Another Planet»? You guessed it, exactly them.
Clichés heard and reheard so many times that they induce numbness, but still insidious as an excuse to dismiss in two words one of the most deserving bands hailing from the late '70s English scene.
And since clichés exist only to be disproven, I won't back down.
The Only Ones sound too punk for the hippies and too hippie for the punks. It's said that a band advising to end it all («Why Don’t You Kill Yourself») or arming a maiden's hand, and that ungrateful girl instead of flowers shoots you with bullets that lay you out («Baby's Got A Gun»), can't possibly appeal to the hippie who still dreams of California and wanders lost in search of flower-filled pipes. Nor can such a band appeal to the punk who never kicks off with one-two-three-four, can play major and minor chords beyond the usual power chords, and isn’t ashamed to flaunt solos in their tracks. But all this only proves the existence of hippies and punks who have sent their brains to be pulped in a past generation, just like those who contest Dylan's electric turn or «London Calling».
The Only Ones wrote just one great song. Incidentally, the song in question is «Another Girl, Another Planet» and it alone is enough to put 90% of the indie-alt-whatever bands on the scene for the past twenty years to shame. However, «Another Girl, Another Planet» is not just an innocuous-sounding track with undeniable commercial potential; it's much more, a bit like «Love Will Tear Us Apart» yet different at the same time: like «Love Will Tear Us Apart», as a track that anticipates and embodies wave aesthetics in the best possible way; different from «Love Will Tear Us Apart» because those who discovered Joy Division through that iconic track later fell in love with «Decades», «Heart And Soul», «Disorder»… whereas the Only Ones seem to exist solely for «Another Girl, Another Planet», akin to any one-hit group.
But there's no greater wrong for those like Peter Perrett (vocals and guitar), John Perry (guitar), Alan Mair (bass), and Mike Kellie (drums), who have written an abundance of great songs, as testified by three very fine studio albums released between 1978 and 1980 - the self-titled debut, «Even Serpents Shine», and «Baby's Got A Gun» - and this live album, which serves as a compendium of a short but intense history, as well as an ideal starting point for venturing into the universe of the Only Ones.
There was a time when releasing a live album was a tribute to a career, a parade of classics animated and invigorated by the contact with the public, outside of the still cold context of the recording studio. Something difficult to comprehend today, where any idiot can churn out live records at the pace of a factory line and the live album has degenerated into the emblem of the vacuity of the dying music industry.
«Live» by the Only Ones is a precious testimony of the good old days, a potent spirit distilled artesianally drop by drop, just a few of which are enough to intoxicate from the first sip. And after the binge, you wake with regret that the good vibes didn't linger a while longer; and what a shame this album isn’t a double.
From «Trouble In The World» to «Me & My Shadow», passing through the splendid «Lovers Of Today», «Miles From Nowhere», and «City Of Fun», the Only Ones have never been so close to punk, with two distorted guitars soaked in acid, a dry rhythmic section, concise and martial, and Perrett's drawling voice trudging throughout the record amidst jagged new wave edges, only rarely easing into illusory oases of serenity reminiscent of the best (power) pop tradition.
What follows is the chronicle of the journey, one stop after another, for those wishing to undertake it.
Side A: Trouble In The World / Programme / The Beast / Lovers Of Today / Why Don’t You Kill Yourself / No Peace For The Wicked / As My Wife Says
Side B: Miles From Nowhere / The Big Sleep / Another Girl, Another Planet / City Of Fun / Me & My Shadow
Those who have been wounded by these twelve shards already understand that the Only Ones went well beyond «Another Girl, Another Planet»; what's left is just to debunk the myth that they play too punk for the hippies and too hippie for the punks (for clarity, the punks should be on stage, the hippies below the stage).
Tracklist and Lyrics
03 The Beast (00:00)
Run from the beast
There's danger in his eyes
He's been looking for you
For a long time
You might think this is funny
But I'm not laughing
I know it couldn't happen to me.
No one doubts the wisdom of this move
You're getting older and you know you got something to prove
Out in the streets
The modern vampire prowls
He's been spreading disease
All around
There's an epidemic
If you don't believe me
You ought to take a look at the eyes of your friends
When someone tempts you, you can't refuse
It's getting colder and you know you got nothing to lose
You need it
Know you got nothing to lose
You need it
(guitar solo)
Run from the beast
There's darkness in his mind
He's been looking for you
For a long time
You might think this is funny
But I'm not laughing
I know that it couldn't happen to me
I don't care about it happening to me
I've tried to show you your whole life in print
You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink
Think about it
All you gotta do is think
About it
There's no cure.
(guitar solo)
06 No Peace For The Wicked (00:00)
Why do I go through these deep emotional traumas
Why can’t I be like I always wanted to be, carefree
Why can’t I be happy like everybody else?
There’s no peace for the wicked
They say no peace for the wicked
Loud and clear, no peace for the wicked
The angels tell me
No peace for the wicked
Sitting at home, trying to forget the world outside
You’re on the phone telling me there’s no love inside me
What have I done to deserve this hostility?
There’s no peace for the wicked
They say no peace for the wicked
Loud and clear, no peace for the wicked
The angels tell me
No peace for the wicked
(guitar solo)
I’m in love with extreme mental torture
I’m in love with the way you hold ya head and cry
I’m in love with all these affairs of the heart
There’s no peace for the wicked
They say no peace for the wicked
Loud and clear, no peace for the wicked
The angels tell me
No peace for the wicked
(guitar solo)
10 Another Girl, Another Planet (00:00)
I always flirt with death
I look ill but I don't care about it
I can face your threats and
Stand up straight and tall and shout about it
I think I'm on another world with you
With you
I'm on another planet with you
With you
You get under my skin
I don't find it irritating
You always play to win...
But I won’t need rehabilitating oh no
I think I'm on another world with you
With you
I'm on another planet with you
With you
Another girl, another planet
Another girl, another planet
(guitar solo)
Space travel's in my blood
There ain't nothing I can do about it
Long journeys wear me out but...
I know I can't live without it oh no
I think I'm on another world with you
With you
I’m on another planet with you
With you
Another girl, who's loving you now
Another planet, who's holding you down
Another planet.
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