The music we now call "pub rock" was the cultural antecedent of English punk rock and new wave. The movement was loosely organized around a shared love of country and rhythm & blues and a disdain for the pretenses that ruled current British rock (cf. Yes, ELP) - and played predominantly in working class pubs (ergo, the name). Many prominent pub rockers (Ian Dury, Elvis Costello, Joe Strummer, Graham Parker) went onto great things as punks and new wavers, but the members of Brinsley Schwarz (named for their guitarist - and record store clerks thought Jethro Tull was confusing...) blazed a trail for future power poppers. Most notably, the band included Nick Lowe, who as a soloist, member of Rockpile, and producer would help define the genre. Keyboardist Bob Andrews and Schwarz himself would join Graham Parker's Rumour, and drummer Billy Rankin would later play with Dave Edmunds, Frankie Miller, Tyla Gang, Ducks Deluxe, and others. Brinsley-come-lately Ian Gomm went on to wax several good records for Stiff and other indie labels.

All that said, the first couple of Brinsley Schwarz records, Brinsley Schwarz and Despite It All (both released in 1970), sound very much like country music and sometimes even venture into Crosby, Stills, and Nash or Grateful Dead territory (or, if we're being kind, the funky Americana of The Band). Written and sung almost entirely by Nick Lowe, these records are nothing like what power pop would ultimately become - quite the opposite, in fact. On the cusp of their first album, Brinsley Schwarz was also the subject of an infamous fiasco wherein they were painted as the "next big thing," flown to America, and showcased for the UK rock press. The junket was a disaster and the band flopped, and they were subsequently skewered by a planeload of resentful writers.

In retrospect, Brinsley Schwarz and Despite It All (note the irony in that title) are both good records, but they sound almost quaint. Certainly, Brinsley Schwarz certainly didn't (yet) warrant that sort of hype - a fact that Lowe himself later admitted. But, some tracks ("Country Girl") catch fire and others ("Rock & Roll Women") show signs of the wry humor that would mark Lowe's future work. Regardless, the painfully public failure virtually assured the band's eventual demise - if only by leaving them deeply in debt to the management company and record label that engineered the whole sleazy venture.

Thankfully, the next album, Silver Pistol (1971) - the first to feature additional songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist Ian Gomm - was a step in the right direction, with taut, pithy songs like "Unknown Number" and "Dry Land." Influenced by inventive American artists like Eggs Over Easy and Jim Ford (both obscure to American audiences, then and now), Brinsley Schwarz had clearly begun to sharpen their focus. But, it was their final two studio efforts, Nervous On The Road (1972) and, especially, The New Favourites Of Brinsley Schwarz (1974) that showed how great the band could be - tight, melodic, raucous, and funny - and these were the albums that would ultimately cement their posthumous reputation as prescient poppers. In between, Please Don't Ever Change (1973), an album of studio leftovers, non-LP singles, and odd bits, was dumped on the market to no effect whatsoever, but it's quite good all the same - in some ways, their strongest record. Ultimately, Brinsley Schwarz fared only slightly better in England than they had overseas, and the group called it quits after a handful of non-LP singles in early 1975.

All the above albums are available on compact disc. Of particular interest is a series of nicely packaged and remastered two-fers by BGO Records: Brinsley Schwarz/Despite It All (1994), Nervous On The Road/New Favourites (1995), and Silver Pistol/Please Don't Ever Change (2004), plus a 2000 CD that combined two LP anthologies, Original Golden Greats (1974) and Fifteen Thoughts Of Brinsley Schwarz (1978), both of which include tracks not found elsewhere. Back in 1978, Capitol Records had already released Brinsley Schwarz and Despite It All in tandem as a double-LP simply titled Brinsley Schwarz. The label hoped, no doubt, to exploit the band members' then-newfound celebrity. For the few of us who sought it out, though, it was a perplexing window into the past. What did this low key, hippie twang have to do with Nick Lowe or Ian Gomm's pithy pop - let alone Graham Parker's hard-charging rock? Time would tell.

Also of interest: What IS So Funny About Peace Love & Understanding? (2002) and Cruel To Be Kind (2004), both collections of BBC sessions; Surrender to the Rhythm (2004), an excellent best-of CD; and Hens' Teeth (1998), a fascinating rarities disc. Hens' Teeth traces the band's growth from 1967, in their first incarnation as wannabe prog rockers Kippington Lodge, to 1975, when the by-then-consummate (and defunct) pop group released their final single, "There's A Cloud In My Heart," simply as The Brinsleys.

Brinsley Schwarz never charted a record in England or America, and today few people have heard of them. But, throughout their repertoire you'll hear songs that Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds (who produced New Favourites), Rockpile, Ian Gomm, Elvis Costello and others rode to greater success on later records. "Play That Fast Thing (One More Time)" (Rockpile), "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace Love And Understanding" (Elvis Costello), "It's Been So Long" (Dave Edmunds), "Mess Around With Love" (The Rumour), and "I Like You, I Don't Love You" and "Hooked On Love" (Ian Gomm) all first saw light of day on Brinsley vinyl. The band's final studio album - recorded in late 1974 and finally released in 2017 as It's All Over Now - even included an early version of "Cruel To Be Kind," which became Nick Lowe's greatest hit in 1979.

Having said all that, if you're a card-carrying power pop maniac, the Brinsleys' music won't blow you away. I love the stuff, but be prepared to be underwhelmed: It's just too rootsy and laid back to impress fans weaned on the Raspberries, Jellyfish, or Matthew Sweet. But, hearing Brinsley Schwarz will show you, in part, from whence modern power pop evolved - and that's a lesson worth hearing. [top of page]