Forming in Los Angeles in the late '70s, The Knack (Doug Fieger, vocals/guitar; Berton Averre, lead guitar; Prescott Niles, bass; and Bruce Gary, drums) were neither punk nor rock, but pure simple pop, standing out among the musical dross that littered the Sunset Strip. Signing with Capitol after a feeding frenzy of label offers, The Knack released their debut, 'Get the Knack', in 1979. With its leadoff single, "My Sharona," The Knack climbed both the album and singles charts (eventually selling millions of copies around the globe), gained wide commercial acceptance, and regenerated the power pop scene that had laid dormant for half a decade.
The Knack's image, or lack thereof, was often unfavorably compared to The Beatles, but their music relied on the rough punchiness of The Kinks and The Who rather than the Fab Four. Their refusal to do interviews turned critics against them, and by the time they released their second album, '...But the Little Girls Understand', less than a year after the debut, the backlash had already begun ("Knuke the Knack").
The Knack then began a quick spiral downward that they were never to recover from. Their third album, 'Round Trip', was adventurous and daring and received favorable reviews, but the band decided to split up soon after the album was released. Due to their continuing underground popularity, The Knack resurfaced almost a decade later (minus Bruce Gary) and recorded the abysmal 'Serious Fun' before hiding out once again to lick their wounds. The appearance of "My Sharona" on soundtracks and compilations caused The Knack to be thrown in the midst of a revival of sorts, reuniting and playing the occasional show in L.A. Bruce Gary temporarily returned to the fold, but by the time The Knack released their second "reunion" album, 'Zoom', during the summer of 1998, the drum stool had been filled by Terry Bozzio (formerly of Missing Persons and Frank Zappa's band). Still, the bandmembers hoped that a whole new generation of music fans would get The Knack with the release of 2001's 'Normal as the Next Guy', an album that found the group at its best when discarding old formulas. Fieger, however, died in 2010 after battling lung and heart cancer. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
What can you say about a scuzzy bunch of troublemakers, who used rock and roll as means of venting their seemingly endless frustration, boredom, and hatred upon an unsuspecting public? How about, "Cool, did they make any records?" The Electric Eels might well have been the biggest bunch of low-lifes to come out of the late pre-punk scene in Cleveland, which is saying something for a scene that contributed antisocial snotballs like The Pagans and substance-fueled art-punks like Rocket From the Tombs. They played a total of six gigs (all of which ended in violence and/or arrest) and recorded a handful of crudely played (and mostly bass-less) garage-punk that predicted the angry, fuzzed-out and revved-up sound of The Dead Boys and Rubber City Rebels. So it is safe to call the Electric Eels an influential band, but in a warped, disturbing kind of way.
They formed in 1972 after hulking John Morton and suburban Cleveland friends Dave E and Brian MacMahon saw a terrible band, with a recording contract no less, open for Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band. Convinced that they could suck as much as said opening act, the Electric Eels became a reality. The problem was that Morton and pals were prone to violence (generally among themselves), and this became a part of their approach to recording and, more notoriously, performing. The Electric Eels never employed a full-time bass player, and as a result their sound was fuzzy and grungy, but trebly and, at extreme volumes, capable of being quite irritating. So too was Morton's voice, which was more of a yelp and bark than anything that could be described as tuneful. Their gigs (all six of them) generally disintegrated into shouting matches and fights, especially when Morton would punctuate the songs by hammering a hunk of sheet metal, or start a lawn mower onstage. By late 1975, the Electric Eels' reputation for fighting and unstable (not to mention potentially dangerous) performances led to their being banned from virtually every club in Cleveland, signaling that the end was nigh. Loud, proud, obnoxious, and unapologetically incompetent, the Electric Eels were a great part of the great rock & roll tradition of expressing pure antisocial attitude. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Best known for his tenure fronting the Scottish pop revivalists Orange Juice as well as his international solo hit "A Girl Like You," singer/songwriter/guitarist/producer Edwyn Collins was born in Edinburgh in 1959. He spent his youth absorbing the pop music of the day and learning how to play guitar. In 1976, he formed The Nu-Sonics with guitarist James Kirk, bassist David McClymont, and drummer Steven Daly and began working on creating a sound that blended The Byrds, The Velvet Underground, and Chic with the energy, if not the snarling attitude, of punk. After the quartet renamed themselves Orange Juice in 1979, Collins and his friend Alan Horne formed the Postcard label to release the band's debut single. "Falling and Laughing," recorded for less than 100 pounds, was issued in 1980 to massive critical acclaim, and subsequent releases like "Blueboy," "Simply Thrilled Honey," and "Poor Old Soul" further established the group as a major new talent. Sessions began for a full-length album, but in the midst of recording, Orange Juice left Postcard to sign to Polydor. That label funded the completion of 'You Can't Hide Your Love Forever', which hit record store shelves in 1982. Also released that year, the group's second album, 'Rip It Up', was a more ambitious affair than its predecessor, veering from the buoyant Motown tribute "I Can't Help Myself" to the energetic pop of the title track, which reached the Top Ten of the U.K. singles charts. Another LP followed, 1984's self-titled affair, but the multiple lineup changes and lack of chart action led the group to disband.
A solo career seemed like the obvious next step, but Collins struggled to find a label willing to release his records. Only after a pair of sold-out London performances did Creation's Alan McGee sign him to the label's Elevation off-shoot in 1986. The singles "Don't Shilly Shally" and "My Beloved Girl" followed, but the label proved to be a short-lived venture, and when McGee decided not to shift Collins over to Creation, the singer was again left without a contract.
Some months later, Collins accepted the opportunity to record at a small German studio run by a group of devoted Orange Juice fans. Cut with the aid of old friends Dennis Bovell and Aztec Camera's Roddy Frame, the resulting LP, 'Hope and Despair' -a brooding, ambitious collection spotlighting Collins' smooth, soulful baritone- was eventually picked up by the Demon label and issued in 1989. The album proved quite successful on the independent charts, and soon Collins returned to the studio to record 1990's 'Hellbent on Compromise'; when the LP failed to repeat its predecessor's good fortune, Demon dropped him from their ranks, and another long sabbatical followed.
Collins spent much of the decade's first half in the producer's seat, overseeing sessions from artists including longtime pal Paul Quinn, The Rockingbirds, A House, and The Frank and Walters. He finally earned another shot as a performer when he signed with the U.K. indie Setanta, which released the album 'Gorgeous George' -a scathing, shimmering set of retro-pop highlighted by the single "A Girl Like You"- in 1994. Slowly, the song became a massive hit throughout Europe as well as the U.S. and returned Collins to the charts for the first time since the 1983 Orange Juice smash "Rip It Up," finally establishing the longstanding cult hero as something of a household name. The success of "A Girl Like You" also gave Collins the financial means needed to build his own studio, which he did in West Hampstead with the help of engineer Seb Lewsley. The duo recorded many artists at West Heath Studio, including Robert Forster, The Cribs, and The Proclaimers. Collins also used the studio to record his solo records. 1997's 'I'm Not Following' was the first; it featured the single "Magic Piper (of Love)," which reached the Top 40 of the U.K. singles charts and was also on the soundtrack for the film "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery". The album was recorded with his core band of drummer Paul Cook of Sex Pistols fame, bassist Clare Kenny, and keyboardist Sean Read, along with the inimitable vocals of Mark E. Smith on one track.
Collins turned mostly to producing other artists for the next few years, working on records by Vic Godard, Astrid, Terrorvision, and Space. When he did get back behind the mic, it was to work on the album 'Doctor Syntax'. Released in 2002, the record was built around samples culled by Seb Lewsley with almost all the instruments played by Collins. After its release, Collins moved back to the producer's chair. Albums by Little Barrie, HAL, and Dave Couse were recorded at West Heath between 2002 and 2005. He also began working on a more acoustic and introspective solo album, but the sessions were cut short when Collins suffered two severe cerebral hemorrhages that left him unable to walk, move his right arm, or remember words. His stubborn nature and the undying support of his wife (and manager), Grace Maxwell, kept him on the road to recovery as he learned to walk, then talk, and finally sing again. After a brief attempt to return to the studio to mix the album he had recorded, Collins took extended time off to recover. During that period, he worked on drawing, quickly becoming a master of depicting birds and woodland creatures. Eventually, he and Lewsley went back to West Heath (which had been used by Collins' friend Bernard Butler while he convalesced) and finished mixing what became 'Home Again'. The album, which showcased Collins' introspective side and soulful croon, was released on Heavenly Recordings in September 2007.
In 2010, Collins released 'Losing Sleep', his first new collection of songs since his illness. The album featured guest appearances from a wide range of collaborators -including members of The Cribs, The Drums, Franz Ferdinand, and Little Barrie- and showed that Collins was well along the road to recovery. As Collins continued to get stronger, he and James Endeacott, a former A&R man at Rough Trade, formed a new record label, Analogue Enhanced Digital, to release further records by Edwyn, new artists, and old chums like Roddy Frame. He also maintained a regular schedule of playing live shows, and in March of 2013 he released a new album for AED titled 'Understated'. The LP was made with the core band of multi-instrumentalists Carwyn Ellis and Sean Read, Rails' guitarist James Walbourne, and long-time drummer Paul Cook. At the same time, he and Maxwell were working with filmmakers James Hall and Edward Lovelace on a documentary that charted Collins' comeback. Titled "The Possibilities Are Endless", a phrase that Collins repeated over and over while in his hospital bed, it was released in 2014. A soundtrack album featuring old songs and newly recorded instrumentals was issued at the same time.
Around this time, Collins and Maxwell decided to leave London and West Heath behind and move to the Scottish Highlands, where they built a new studio complete with breathtaking views of the Moray Firth. Once constructed, it was used to record albums by bands like Hooton Tennis Club, Tracyanne & Danny, Spinning Coin, and many others. Collins himself also worked there, and with Ellis and Read assisting him again, he recorded his third post-stroke album, 'Badbea'. It was released in March 2019 by AED, after which Collins undertook some live shows to promote it. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Bob Mould began his career as one of the angry upstarts of the hardcore punk scene, and over several decades he's matured into one of the elder statesmen of alternative rock without giving up his integrity, his intelligence, or the fierce passion of his best music. In the early '80s, Mould emerged as one of the founding members of Hüsker Dü, a Minneapolis-based punk band who blended furiously fast tempos with melodic pop structures on influential, groundbreaking albums like 1984's 'Zen Arcade' and 1985's 'New Day Rising'. After the breakup of Hüsker Dü, Mould launched a solo career with 1989's introspective, largely acoustic 'Workbook', but soon returned to a hard, angry sound on 1990's 'Black Sheets of Rain'. In 1992, Mould formed another band, Sugar, who picked up where the pop-oriented sound of Hüsker Dü left off on albums like 1992's 'Copper Blue' and 1994's 'File Under: Easy Listening'. After Sugar split up in 1995, Mould returned to solo work, dividing his time between guitar-oriented efforts like 1998's 'The Last Dog and Pony Show' and projects like 2002's 'Modulate' that reflected his growing interest in electronic music. Mould walked a middle ground between the two styles on 2008's 'District Line', but with 2012's 'Silver Age', he recommitted himself to fluid but aggressive rock. It was the first in a series of albums that reaffirmed his status as one of indie rock's strongest talents, and 2019's 'Sunshine Rock' and 2020's 'Blue Hearts' were celebrated as some of the best music of his life.
Bob Mould was born in Malone, New York, on October 16, 1960. He cut his teeth musically listening to singles his father bought used from a jukebox distributor, and in his early teens he picked up the guitar. Mould got a copy of the Ramones' first album for his 16th birthday, and he soon immersed himself in punk rock. He moved to Minnesota to attend Macalester University in the St. Paul-Minnesota area, and there he met a fellow music fan named Grant Hart. Mould and Hart formed Hüsker Dü in 1979, and they released their first album, a loud and frantic live effort titled 'Land Speed Record', in 1981. After they signed to SST Records, Hüsker Dü became more musically ambitious, and musically and lyrically, 1984's 'Zen Arcade' was a major critical breakthrough that opened the band to an audience outside the hardcore underground. In 1986, Hüsker Dü became one of the first bands who came up from hardcore to sign to a major label when they inked with Warner Bros. for the album 'Candy Apple Grey'. 1987's 'Warehouse: Songs and Stories' helped expand their audience, but personal difficulties and strife within the group had taken a serious toll, and by the end of that year, Hüsker Dü fell apart.
After the band split up, Mould signed a solo contract with Virgin Records in 1988. The following year, he released his first solo album, 'Workbook', which represented a major shift in sonic direction. 'Workbook' was an introspective collection, featuring keyboards, acoustic guitars, and even strings. The record received excellent reviews and spent 14 weeks on the charts, peaking at 127; "See a Little Light" became a Top Ten modern rock hit. Mould returned to loud, guitar-driven rock on his second solo album, 1990's 'Black Sheets of Rain'. Featuring the Top Ten modern rock hit "It's Too Late," 'Black Sheets of Rain' received mixed reviews.
Frustrated with the business operations of major record labels, Mould left Virgin after the release of 'Black Sheets of Rain'; they would later release a compilation drawn from the two albums, 'Poison Years'. Mould then formed an independent record company, SOL (Singles Only Label), which released 45s from new, developing acts as well as cult bands. In 1992, he formed a new trio, Sugar, with bassist David Barbe and drummer Malcolm Travis; the band signed with Rykodisc in the U.S. and Creation in the U.K. Sugar's first album, 'Copper Blue', was released in the fall of 1992 to enthusiastic reviews and became Mould's most successful project to date. 'Copper Blue' nearly went gold and spawned several alternative radio and MTV hits, including "Helpless" and "If I Can't Change Your Mind." In the spring of 1993, Sugar released the mini-LP 'Beaster', a more abrasive collection than 'Copper Blue' that was recorded at the same sessions.
Mould wrote the material for the second Sugar LP during 1993. The band began recording in the spring of 1994, but the sessions ground to a halt and the tapes were erased. Mould decided to give the album one more try, and it was recorded quickly late that spring. The album, 'File Under: Easy Listening', appeared in the fall of 1994. Although it received good reviews and was moderately successful commercially, it didn't match the performance of 'Copper Blue'. In the spring of 1995, it was announced that Sugar were on hiatus. Besides, a collection of rarities and B-sides, was released that summer. By the fall, Mould had broken up the band and begun work on a third album entirely by himself.
He played all of the instruments on his self-titled third album, which was released in the spring of 1996. 'The Last Dog and Pony Show' followed in 1998, and Mould announced that after the supporting tour, he was giving up playing guitar-based rock music. In 2002, after a long period of musical inactivity, Mould returned with the electronics-heavy 'Modulate', followed by the more conventional 'Body of Song' in 2005. After Blowoff, a dance project with Richard Morel that grew from a DJ night they regularly hosted, Mould returned to his guitar roots and paired up with Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty to record 'District Line' in 2008.
Mould inched back to alt-rock on 2009's 'Life and Times', then devoted himself to writing his autobiography with the assistance of Michael Azerrad. "See a Little Light: The Trail of Rage and Melody" was published in the summer of 2011. The following year, Mould returned to the sound of Sugar, playing the band's 1992 debut in its entirety while on tour, reissuing the band's catalog in deluxe editions, and, finally, reviving its sound on 'Silver Age', his first album for Merge Records. Recorded with Superchunk drummer Jon Wurster and Split Single bassist Jason Narducy, 'Silver Age' was greeted with strong reviews, as was its 2014 successor, 'Beauty & Ruin', which also appeared on Merge and featured Wurster and Narducy in Mould's favored power trio format. 'Beauty & Ruin' debuted at 38, Mould's highest chart placement to date. He once again worked with Wurster and Narducy for 2016's 'Patch the Sky', and for 2019's 'Sunshine Rock', the trio delivered an especially energetic, upbeat set that strongly recalled Sugar's most celebrated work. While 'Sunshine Rock' depicted Mould in a positive frame of mind, 'Blue Hearts', released in September 2020, was a raw, raging, politically charged set, with Mould speaking out against the rise of the right wing and the COVID-19 pandemic. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Dr. Feelgood was the ultimate working band. From their formation in 1971 to lead vocalist Lee Brilleaux's untimely death in 1994, the group never left the road, playing hundreds of gigs every year. Throughout their entire career, Dr. Feelgood never left simple, hard-driving rock & roll behind, and their devotion to the blues and R&B earned them a devoted fan base. That following first emerged in the mid-'70s when Dr. Feelgood became the leader of the second wave of pub rockers. Unlike Brinsley Schwarz, the laid-back leaders of the pub rock scene, Dr. Feelgood were devoted to edgy, Stonesy rock & roll, and their sweaty live shows -powered by Brilleaux's intense singing and guitarist Wilko Johnson's muscular leads- became legendary. While the group's stripped-down, energetic sound paved the way for English punk rock in the late '70s, their back-to-basics style was overshadowed by the dominance of punk and new wave, and the group had retreated into cult status by the early '80s.
Brilleaux (vocals, harmonica), Johnson (guitar), and John B. Sparks (bass) had all played in several blues-based bar bands around Canvey Island, England before forming Dr. Feelgood in 1971. Taking their name from a Johnny Kidd & the Pirates song, the group was dedicated to playing old-fashioned R&B and rock & roll, including both covers and originals by Johnson. John Martin (drums), a former member of Finian's Rainbow, was added to the lineup, and the group began playing the pub rock circuit. By the end of 1973, Dr. Feelgood's dynamic live act had made them the most popular group on the pub rock circuit, and several labels were interested in signing them. They settled for United Artists and released their debut, 'Down by the Jetty', in 1974.
According to legend, 'Down by the Jetty' was recorded in mono and consisted almost entirely of first takes. While it was in fact recorded in stereo, the rumor added significantly to Dr. Feelgood's purist image, and the album became a cult hit. The following year, the group released 'Malpractice' -also their first U.S. offering- which climbed into the U.K. Top 20 on the strength of the band's live performances and positive reviews. In 1976, the group released the live album 'Stupidity', which became a smash hit in Britain, topping the album charts. Despite its thriving British success, Dr. Feelgood was unable to find an audience in the States. One other American album, 'Sneakin' Suspicion', followed in 1977 before the band gave up on the U.S.
'Sneakin' Suspicion' didn't replicate the success of 'Stupidity', partially because of its slick production, but mainly because the flourishing punk rock movement overshadowed Dr. Feelgood's edgy roots rock. Wilko Johnson left the band at the end of 1977 to form The Solid Senders; he later joined Ian Dury's Blockheads. Henry McCullough played on Feelgood's 1977 tour before John "Gypie" Mayo became the group's full-time lead guitarist. Nick Lowe produced 1978's 'Be Seeing You', Mayo's full-length debut with Dr. Feelgood. The album generated the 1979 Top Ten hit "Milk and Alcohol," as well as the Top 40 hit "As Long as the Price Is Right." Two albums, 'As It Happens' and 'Let It Roll', followed in 1979, and Mayo left the band in 1980. He was replaced by Johnny Guitar in 1980, who debuted on 'A Case of the Shakes', which was produced by Nick Lowe.
During their first decade together, Dr. Feelgood never left the road, which was part of the reason founding members John Martin and John Sparks left the band in 1982. Lee Brilleaux replaced them with Buzz Barwell and Pat McMullen, and continued touring. Throughout the '80s, Brilleaux continued to lead various incarnations of Dr. Feelgood, settling on the rhythm section of bassist Phil Mitchell and drummer Kevin Morris in the mid-'80s. The band occasionally made records -including 'Brilleaux', one of the last albums on Stiff Records, in 1986- but concentrated primarily on live performances. Dr. Feelgood continued to perform to large audiences into the early '90s, when Brilleaux was struck by cancer. He died in April of 1994, three months after he recorded the band's final album, 'Down at the Doctor's'. The remaining members of Dr. Feelgood hired vocalist Pete Gage and continued to tour under the band's name. Former FeelgoodsGypie Mayo, John Sparks, and John Martin formed The Practice in the mid-'80s, and they occasionally performed under the name Dr. Feelgood's Practice. Wilko Johnson was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2013 and was expected to live no more than a year, but he responded well to surgery and returned to music in 2014, continuing to perform and record up until his death on November 21, 2022 at the age of 75. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Taking the same approach to hip-hop that funk maverick George Clinton took to his own projects, Afrika Bambaataa created the Time Zone project in the early '80s as another outlet for his projects. Despite the different name, their singles were essentially just Bambaataa productions, with various collaborators like Bill Laswell and James Brown included on certain tracks. Their first release was "Wild Style," a breakdancing single that employed the futuristic synth lines and tight funk instrumentation that he had pioneered on the massive "Planet Rock" 12". Next came the six-part "Unity" single, in which James Brown delivered verses while Bambaataa, bassist Doug Wimbish, guitarist Skip McDonald, and drummer Keith LeBlanc put together one of the funkiest beats of his career. The last '80s Time Zone project was "World Destruction", a rap/punk crossover that utilized Public Image Ltd.'s 'Album' lineup -producer Bill Laswell, organist Bernie Worrell, guitarist Nicky Skopelitis, and drummer Aiyb Dieng- to deliver Bambaataa's angry duet with singer John Lydon. Although the track was a groundbreaking effort, Bambaataa retired the Time Zone name for almost ten years. In the fall of 1995, a number of Bambaataa's late-'80s/early-'90s singles and several new tracks were put together on 'Warlocks and Witches, Computer Chips, Microchips and You', a compilation credited to a new all-star version of Time Zone. Featuring many members of Bambaataa's Zulu Nation as well as several outside collaborators, it did share the same apocalyptic message and P-Funk-inspired music that made the original Time Zone singles so powerful, but it had a hard time connecting with rap audiences and proved to be the last release to use the Time Zone moniker. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
