Singles

Rip It Up, Issue 20, 1 March 1979, Page 14

Singles

Okie dokie, lan Dury proves once and for all that he's not a rock’n’roll thickie. More nonce than Mike Same he puts cockney disco on the map with his new 45 "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick”. The Blockheads glide smoothly and Dury is in great deadpan form: "Eskimo, Arapaha/Move their bodies to and fro." The flipside "There Ain’t Have Been Some Clever Bastards”, is also a gem; a relaxed music hall shuffle with appropriately lazy sax and Dury making observations like "Einstein can’t be classed as witless.” This bleeder is a tonic, luv. If Pam Ayres was a man and could write rock songs then odds on she’d be John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett, two English song-writers who have been picking up rave reviews for their eccentric and humorous perspective. Fuzz guitar and lop-sided vocals makes their new 45 "Really Free” irresistible. And there’s no way you can turn a deaf ear to lines like "I go walking down to your house/Tell me is it good for me/Your Ma and Pa they just want to kick me.” Opinions differ as to the merits of Blondie’s latest album Parallel Lines, but their second single from it "Hanging On The Telephone” is tight, tough and direct, everything a good 45 should be, and more. Debbie Harry continues with her lovesick girl pining for her boy routine, and it works. It’s a shame the same couldn’t be said forFrankle Miller’s "Darlin’ ” where he sounds like a male Bonnie Tyler, in fact, the song isn’t unlike "It’s A Heartache". Maudlin stuff which won’t help poor ol’ Frankie one bit. Rich ol' Reggie Dwight (Elton John) who has written some of the truly great 45’s of our age (not the least of them being “Ego") has come down with a fairly tacky melody in “Return to Paradise” complete with Tijuana arrangement. Definitely not unpleasant, but not heady enough by far to help Elt’s flagging career. Stilletto are a Wellington band with a new record contract on CBS, and "Go Back”, an old Crabby Appleton song, is their debut effort. Cleanly produced by Simon Morris, the band offer nothing distinctive but it’s early days yet. A good song well played, they should be worth watching. "Hollywood Dreams" is Golden Harvest’s most ambitious single to date. Coming on like 10cc they blend phased guitar lines, Beach Boy harmonies and voice box solo into a tight commercial framework. Everyone a winner. Why do they bother? Chuck Mangione’s "Children of Sanchez" is a single which is not a single, just an advert for an album, and the Barron Knights continue their boring taking-the-mickey out of past hits on "A Taste of Aggro". Keep an eye open for new rock’n’rollers The Members who have their "Sound of the Suburbs" 45 released on Virgin fairly shortly. No sign yet of Bryan Ferry’s "Sign of the Times" or of CBS releasing the past Clash singles. Why not? See your local M.P. GEORGE KAY