Crossing the Red Sea is inarguably a landmark punk album. The LP marked a major milestone on the path towards the codification of punk as a sound - a musical genre - separate and apart from the attitude, fashion, and politics so interwoven with its genesis. Early on, punk rock meant more than the driving riffs of the Ramones or the Sex Pistols; rather, it encompassed everything from the synthetic pop of Lene Lovich to the boozy, cheery choruses of Wreckless Eric. Soon - thanks in no small part to the Adverts - punk became narrowly defined as fast, loud, guitar-based music, eventually devolving into hardcore. But, Crossing the Red Sea is an impressive, inventive listen from start to finish - no small achievement regardless of genre.

For their part, the Adverts switched directions altogether after Crossing the Red Sea, sparking great consternation among the faithful. Beginning with "Television's Dead," a late-1978 single, T.V. Smith began to slow down his tempos, embrace new sounds, and pursue markedly less obvious targets within his lyrics. Songs like "My Place" (released six months later) sound more like early David Bowie than anything remotely post-modern, and their very last song, "I Will Walk You Home" is practically funereal. So, relative to their debut, Cast Of Thousands (late 1979), sounds lackluster - dispirited, even. In retrospect, the album is more misunderstood than mediocre, yielding several outstanding tracks including the disquieting "Love Songs." Cast Of Thousands, like its predecessor, is available from Fire Records as an Ultimate Edition (2005).

According to Smith, the Adverts had been falling apart almost as long as they'd been together. Predictably, given the disdain and disinterest that greeted Cast Of Thousands, the band splintered just as their sophomore album hit the streets - their promise unfulfilled. Not surprisingly, T.V. Smith has since conducted a career chock with surprising twists (see website). As for the Adverts' abbreviated catalog, both albums - especially the first - have been reissued many times. As of this writing, the aforementioned Fire Records reissues are the best of the lot. The Punk Singles Collection (1997) is a very good introduction, featuring the A- and B-sides of the Adverts' seven 45-rpm singles, while serious fans should track down The Wonders Don't Care, a compilation of the band's radio sessions.

My highest recommendation, though, is reserved for Anthology (2004), a two-disc set compiling one version of every song the band recorded, plus a scorching, lo-fi 1978 live set. Personally compiled and scrupulously annotated by Smith - including his own witty, revealing track notes - Anthology alternates between single versions, album tracks, and BBC radio sessions, chronologically tracing the development of the Adverts from their spectacular inception to their ignominious ending. Anthology isn't perfect - I would have preferred the hit single version of "Gary Gilmore's Eyes" rather than the original, unreleased Stiff version - but it stands as the definitive account of this wrongly-but-nearly forgotten band. [top of page]