Singles

Rip It Up, Issue 25, 1 August 1979, Page 15

Singles

The Only Ones feature tops again, this time with their classic blitz, "Another Girl, Another Planet", with another great track, “Creature of Doom", from their first album. Keeping with the clasics is Joe Jackson’s fit thoroughbred "Is She Really Going Out With Him?", surefire slow verse pacing with crashing chorus. Never misses. Mind you neither does Ron Wood who sounds more Dylan than Dylan on Zim’s "Seven Days”, jagged and tough from Wood’s new Gimme Some Neck album. Nearer home, and re-arranged Dragon sound a little flat on the admittedly catchy “Love’s Not Enough”, while Mi-Sex rock out proud with the impressive rush of "But You Don't Care." New band The Tourists headed by female Scots vocalist Anne Lennox use forceful jangling Byrd's style guitar and airy vocals on their first single "Blind Among the Flowers." Promising indeed, as is Bon Marche’s resurection of early Move dynamics on an excellent Phil Judd

song "So This Is Love”, and The Skids, Dunfermline’s claim to fame, make it with the hard-stomping "Masquerade.” Remember glitter and built-up shoes, then you won’t forget Slade, a name now synonomous with passe, but a band that gaves a batch of lively singles in their hey-day. Their new one, "Ginny, Ginny", contains all their trademarks edgy guitar intro, dead simple chorus, good but naturally enough not quite up to their best. Kansas rock very politely on the very forgettable "People of the South Wind", and the Amazing Rhythm Aces, who were once touted for great things, play safe with their brand of predictable laidback on Al Green’s "Love and Happiness.” Esoteric disco as the Sparks’ brothers, Ron and Russell Mael write and produce Virgin newcomer Noel’s "Dancing is Dangerous", and it sounds like Lene Lovich meets Giorgio Moroder. Eurosound. Shades of India in disco format as Tasha Thomas keeps an eight

minute “Midnight Rendezvous” and Hot Chocolate sound uncomfortably autobiographical on "Mindless Boogie", they can do better as shown on the flip "Don’t Turn It Off”. A Taste of Honey can't hit their previous heights with "Do It Good” but its an easy-movin’ classy dancer, as is the Brothers Johnson’s "Ain’t We Funkin’ Now". Eruption, however, lower standards with their Boney M sound-a-like "One Way Ticket”, commercial up-tempo reggae, and Dennis Parker can do a little better with his echoed vocals and lavishly orchestrated debut-on-the-music-scene, “Like An Eagle” Finally a plug for a bunch of up-and-coming Aussies, the Sports, who were given the Graham Parker seal of approval last year. Their new single, "Don’t Throw Stones”, edited from their new album, is as tight and sharply focused as singles can be. Trim and punchy, Parker himself, I'm sure, would love to have written it. GEORGE KAY