The Only Ones
Album: Even Serpents Shine
Label: Retroworld
Tracks: 14
Website: http://www.theonlyones.biz/

The Only Ones were always something of an anomaly on the UK punk / new wave scene. Whilst a number of the bands appearing on the Front Row Festival Hope and Anchor compilation had fairly long-standing roots in the rock and pub-rock scene (The Stranglers, Wilkie Johnson, The Tyla Gang), The Only Ones' drummer was ex-Spooky Tooth, their guitarist John Perry was capable of pulling off exquisite (though thankfully brief) solos, and their concerns were with substances of a depressive tendency rather than the speed initially favoured by their compatriots (if not by Johnny Thunders with whom Perry and singer Peter Perrett guested on his solo debut after departing the Heartbreakers). They were also heavily involved in the production of all three of their albums, released in consecutive years 1978-80.

The Only Ones' eponymous debut album created something of a stir critically when released, and contained their best-known track "Another Girl, Another Planet", almost the perfect pop single, three verses, three choruses and a sublime guitar solo. Indicative of future troubles, it is also a love song to heroin. The remaining 9 Perrett-penned tracks were less immediate but were all quality songs, well played, veering from the languorous to the frantic.

Their sophomore release "Even Serpents Shine", now re-released, continued this pattern, with perhaps a shift towards that languorous quality. With keyboards contributed by Adam Maitland and Rabbit Bundrick, further evidence of suspicious links to the previous era are plentiful! The single from the album "You've Got to Pay" taken at a slower pace than "AGAP", a riff lifted from The Stones' "Lady Jane", and a rueful review of a relationship gone bad in "poison and decay". Perry's closing solo on the track has a clarity of tone very unusual at that juncture.

That opening track "From Here to Eternity" deals with a visit paid by Perrett to Rio, having won airline tickets from a dealer in a gambling session, perhaps indicates their distance from the punk-a-day concerns of the late 70s (though of course other notables also visited Rio at that time for even less worthy purposes). "Flaming Torch" also deals with a toxic relationship: "I don't know which is worse; is it the one who lies or the one who hurts?".

"No Solution" is taken more of a run, reminiscent of The Yardbirds' "For Your Love", some tasty sax from Maitland, but with continuing signs of desperation from Perrett ("I can't take it any more"). These songs pack plenty in to their existence, with "No Solutions" coming in at 2:24, but still finding space for plenty of instrumental expression. "In Betweens" is almost Topographical in comparison at 3:56. An atmospheric opening, and back to Perrett's concerns of drugs and women, with some more tasteful soloing from Perry. "Out There in the Night" is so familiar to me, I couldn't believe it was never released as a single in the UK, nor apparently as a track on any compilation. Perhaps it should have been, as it is probably the most chart-friendly track on the album.

"Curtains For You" slows things down again, and closely resembles in mood and sound Crazy Horse, except for Perrett's vocals, which prefigure Goth rather than reflecting Laurel Canyon. The lyrics again reflect a fairly unhappy relationship: "you like to go out every Saturday night; you pale beside the image you hold". Perry really goes to town with the solos towards the end of this track, further heightening the Crazy Horse similarities, and drummer Mike Kellie and bassist Alan Mair demonstrate their ability to solidly underpin the flashiness to good effect.

"Programme" is perhaps the punkiest thing on the album, just over two minutes of staccato complaint which still manages to pack in a multi-tracked (yes!) guitar solo, with the guys obviously enjoying their control of the mixing desk towards the end. "Someone Who Cares" returns to the Crazy Horse mode, with a tender tone, underpinning the insouciance of a junky saying goodbye to their lover: "I hope you find someone who cares". "Miles From Nowhere"'s thumping bass and drum-lines then leads into the closing "Instrumental" which starts out seeming just that, a lazy-sounding one-chorder, with acoustic and electric guitars mixing to good effect, echoing Hendrix's "May This Be Love", before displaying its trick with Perrett declaiming "Hey, kid, you're just instrumental".

This new edition from Floating World Records includes three bonus tracks, the b-sides "Special View", "Oh No" and "This Aint' All (It's Meant to Be)", previously included on releases of the album, which while pleasant enough do tend to show why they were b-sides. The album itself, then, whilst not perhaps as immediate as "The Only Ones" is a strong collection of songs, and a demonstration of the injustice in this world that, after 1980's "Baby's Got A Gun" lp, the band was consigned to the history books until "AGAP" was picked up for a Vodafone commercial. That they played to significant crowds at festivals after reformation in the early years of this millennium does perhaps redress the balance of fate somewhat. Highly recommended, and hopefully it also presages re-release of "Baby's Got A Gun".

Harry Thomson