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Rip It Up, Issue 41, 1 December 1980, Page 21

Adam and the Ants, 'Dog Eat Dog' (CBS) When Malcolm McLaren ran off with the original Ants to form Bow Wow Wow, general feeling was that Adam Ant wouJd fade into obscurity. Adam, though, had other plans. Out now overseas is an album from his new band, called Kings Of The Wild Frontier, and this single comes from it. I can’t say enough about ‘Dog Eat Dog’. It rises higher and higher to a marvellous catch line, and has a chant-along worthy of Gary Glitter. It deserves to be number one, but you can guarantee never to hear it on day-time radio. The flip, ‘Physical (You're So)', is a slice of Iggy Pop stylisation that the Androidss should add to their list. The Beatles, 'Back In The USSR'/'Twist And Shout' (EMI) Nobody really needs to be told what this sounds like. Released in a nice picture bag with a colour shot of the fab four on the front, For my money ‘Twist And Shout’ is the most, exciting, but then how can you fault brilliance? Stray Cats, 'Runaway Boys' (Arista) Now this is a strange one. Nice slap bass leads into a slice of eighties electro-rockabilly. The lyrics are a bit old hat, but the riff is superb, and with the right airplay it could be a huge hit. The other side is more traditional, a Dorsey Burnette song called ‘My One Desire'. Although they are originally from the States, the Stray Cats are getting a lot of hype in Britain, and on the strength of this it’s all justified. The Clash, 'The Call Up' (CBS) Where the Clash would go after ’Bank Robber’was anybody’s guess. I’m pleased to say that 'The Call Up’ is a definate return to form. Medium tempo, with some nice jangling keyboards, the song is an anti-draft piece. ‘Stop The World’ on the B Side isn’t such a good tune, but it too is political with a demand for nuclear disarmament. The Jukes/The Motivators, 'Top Of The Class' (Result) Both these bands hail from Australia. The Jukes are a standard pop band of ‘older’ musicians, including Kiwi expatriot Colin Bayley. '(Thought I’d) Let You Know’ and 'We All Know By Now’ are both trite and instantly forgettable. The Motivators fare slightly better. ‘So Scared' is a reasonable attempt on the singles market, but their second song is a cover of Lou Reed’s ‘Kicks’, and the less said about it the better. International Exiles, 'Let's Be Sophisticated' (Missing Link) A bit of fun. More Aussies, this time with a female vocalist. There’s a nice hook running all the way through, coupled with rather silly lyrics. It could start a new dance craze. The

other side is 'Note To Roger’. I just hope he’s listening. The Reels, 'After The News' (Mercury) The Reels provided one of the better Australian singles of this year with ‘Pre-fab Hearts'. ‘After the News’ employs the same toytown keyboards, but somehow lacks the impact. ‘Media Themes’ on the B Side is an expedition into the world of muzak. tno does it better. Split Enz, 'One Step Ahead' (Polydor) Here's someone you've all head of. Another Neil Finn composition with Beatle overtones. Maybe not as instantly memorable as ‘I Got You’, but definitely a Class A song. It slowly builds through some lovely playing from Eddie Rayner. It should withstand the radio thrashing it is in for. On the back is one from Tim, ‘ln The Wars’. Again the playing is superb, with some nice crossover electronics. Take a bow Mr Rayner. Techtones, 'That Girl' (Propeller) If you haven’t already heard this on your local radio station, write and complain. The Techtones are something that this country has been lacking, a good no-nonsense pop band. 'That Girl’ is their debut single, and it thoroughly deserves to be a huge hit. It has a nice melody, good harmonies and is guaranteed totally inoffensive. Turn it over for 'The Silencer’, an instrumental with, dare I say, Shadows influences. Pop Mechanix, The Ritz (RCA) The second single from this Christchurch outfit now based in Auckland. Once again it is an old song dating back to Splash Alley days. The hook is blatantly obvious, lodging itself in your brain so you go home humming it on the bus. The production lacks a bit, and the lyrics aren’t always the best, but nonetheless a good single. The B Side is 'Brains’ and 'Talking' the former a full-on rager, the latter slightly more tricky and very intriguing. Coup D'Etat, 'Doctor I Like Your Medicine' (Vertigo) Another second single for a local band. Coup D’Etat’s first effort, 'On My Radio’, had the worst mix I have ever heard, and fortunately there is a vast improvement this time. The song, written and sung by Harry Lyon, has a reggae feel, but its bounce is rather marred by an extremely lightweight organ sound. It does, however, have excellent chart potential. ‘Heart Attack’ on the flip, has Jan Preston singing, and although rather ordinary, it’s still better than the first single. Features, ' The Perfect Features Exposed E. P.' (Propeller) Taking out all prizes for presentation, this twelve-inch EP has four songs contained in a wondrous sleeve. Side One is totally occupied by ‘Victim’. Slightly messy (a Features trademark) it comes across as a good idea inadequately finished. It’s on the other side that the Features show the promise they possessed. ‘Party’ is short and frantic. Its lyrics sum up Auckland to a tee. 'Here We Come' twists and turns a lot and comes close to loosing itself. Somehow it just makes it. ‘Mirror’ is by far the most accessible track and would make a fine single in its own right. It's a pity the Features split when they did, as this E.P. shows there was more to them than their live performances suggested. As it is, this is a fine posthumous release. Gordons, ‘Future Shock' (Gordons) Great as it is to see so many bands (especially those south of Auckland) doing selfreleased singles, I can't help thinking that some of them are wasting their time. ‘Future Shock’ sounds terribly dated. It locks into one solitary, boring riff, throws in some inaudible lyrics, then finishes. On the other side is ‘Machine Song’. It is slightly better, and shows the Gordons do have a direction. The third song, 'Adults And Children’ should have been the A Side. It is the best on the record and gives hope for the band’s future. Reel To Real, 'Time To Leave' (Ripper) Debut single from this Auckland-based Wellington unit. Packaged in a very trendy bag, 'Time To Leave’ is plodding, loose, and all in all, boring. The flip is 'Can You Ever Be Right’, a piece of mid-weight metal that would go down great in Tauranga, but for anywhere else, forget it. Mark Phillips