If the Sex Pistols
were the most incendiary punk band, and the Clash were the most important, the Buzzcocks were
simply the best. Pete Shelley's angry whine and Steve Diggle's chainsaw guitar would
wrap around pithy pop hooks and shake you to your core in two minutes flat. Their
first American release, Singles Go Steady, compiled A- and B-sides of
their first seven singles and stands as one of the most important albums ever -
punk or
otherwise. "Orgasm Addict" gets things off to a raw start, but by "Harmony
In My Head" the 'Cocks are making music as sophisticated as it is loud.
The band cut an early e.p. with Howard Devoto, Spiral
Scratch, that included "Boredom"; it
used to be extremely rare, but it was reissued recently
along with Time's Up, a disc of early demos.
Inexplicably, the CDs are sold separately (their combined
running time is about half an hour), but they comprise
the complete Devoto-era recordings. The Buzzcocks'
original three full-length discs, Love Bites, Another
Music In A Different Kitchen, and A Different
Kind Of Tension are all excellent; the last record
is their best, most cohesive work and contains "I
Believe," their epic existential masterpiece.
There have been many Buzzcock compilations in addition
to Singles Go Steady, but none have surpassed
IRS' 25-song sampler, Operator's Manual: Buzzcocks
Best (1991). Pete
Shelley's solo debut, Homosapien, is well
worth picking up, too.
After a long breakup, the band reunited in the early
90's, producing several studio albums (Trade Test
Transmissions, All Set, and Modern) and
a bevy of live ones. Inevitably, the records seemed
tepid when compared to Singles Go Steady.
But, the 'Cocks kept after it, and their 2003 self-titled
effort on Merge Records finally recaptured the magic
- angry, melodic pop played too fast and too loud,
and damn proud of it!