45s

Rip It Up, Issue 53, 1 December 1981, Page 17

45s

Mark Phillips

Blam Blam Blam Marsha (Propeller) Another , hot one from the pen of Mr McGlashen. 'Don't Fight It, Marsha, It's Bigger Than Both Of Us' is probably the finest recording to come out] of Harlequin yet. | Great chorus and B faultless g production, it must surely be | the best local single of, the year. Side Two lets it down, with a sloppy version of 'Dr Who' and . the j dittyish" instrumental 'Cachunga Cachunga'. Haircut 100 Favourite Shirts (Arista) A three-piece from southern England who hardly ever play live. On 'Favourite Shirts', heaps of funky brass and sustained riffing give the impression they're a 10-piece. Still,"Bit'sga. dynamite dance number and. deserves hours of airplay. I've gonly played it about 350 times and it's lost ■none [of. its urgency, could end up my single of the year. Danse Macabre Between The Lines 12" EP (Reaction) A wistful instrumental gives way i to early-days' crowd pleaser, Torch'. Then there's a rearranged Conditioner’, my personal favourite. On Side Two is the exceptionally strong title i track foil owed Bby the funk rdfiveni'EGG'. This is a remarkably good recording and one that will win the Macabres many new admirers. U2 Gloria (Island* This single from the October album follows the disappointing Fire’. The Edge is in top rm with another classic guitar line and Bono's vocals are superb. Will this I be , the second ! Irish hit single titled Gloria The flip is a great live version of I Will Follow', not on the album, making this single a very good buy. Screami Meemees Sunday Boys At At (Propeller) Ks Now hold on a second, didn't 1 just hear this? Michael t plays a very familiar guitar line and Tony starts waa-ohhing. From there it builds into what is a better single than See Me Go’, but arguably not the best song to follow it. 'At At' is a rampant piece of Meemeeism, more [original or maybe just less derivative, but a great little song. The Creatures Wild Things By (Polydor) A five-song, two seven-inch package from Siouxsie and Budgie Banshee tTißjggest surprise is the most warped version of 'Wild Thing' you are ever likely to hear. Apart from 'Thumb', the rest is stripped down Banshees. The sleeve is excellent and includes. the lyrics. A big pat on the back for. Polygram for having the foresight to release this.

Spandau Ballet Chant; Noll] (Chrysalis) What must be seen as a progression for] the] Spandaus has them , moving further into the funk-disco side of things. Rather catchy, but not so much as the Haircuts.. B-side is a rework of the same thing. NZ Pop Holidays (XSF) With the departure of Andrew ( Snoid to the Swingers, this will be their last recording with his vocals. I've , always been a big fan of 'Holidays', and this version does it proud. On the [other, side isaThelßitz'-fl a vast improvement on their first version, but it still retains that horrible heavy metal guitar solo. D-D. Smash Repetition (Mushroom) ■ Dave D. didn’t like the deals offered to him locally, so he sent his tapes to ■ Australia. This Mushroom single is quite different to the live vers It doesn't live up to its title so much. That's a good sign. Not really radio orientated, but a good single. Flip is instrumental'Arabia By Foot’. Steroids Shadows (btraight)n|fH||| Bass heavy,- dense and very morbid, -'Shadows' is the best thing yet by the Steroids. The synthesiser adds body, and there's some fine production from Peter Blake. Flip; is 'Sign Of The Times'. It's nearly as poor as the cover. Rhythm Method (Beacon) Three songs from this nowdefunct Auckland unit. 'Creating Criminals' and 'Got A Month' are ■ both semireggae, with the former featuring some sparkling Reelstype keyboards by Gill. Best of , the lot jis 'High Street', a lowkey jazz-funk piece with cocktail piano.

BlindlDateaSWßU Local Dance (WEA) It's quite possible that Blind I Date have a superb album in them. The thing! is, they just "don't I seem able Ito cut it [with"] singles? 'Local Dance',] isn't a bad song, it's just not memorable. 'ln My Dreams' is better, but S over-dependent on standard rock playing. I haven't given up yet. Graham Brazier No Mystery (Polydor) A strong cut . from his . solo alburn Peter Ur lich| produced l this mid-pace rocker, proving j Graham still has what it takes. The B-side, 'Olio', stars all of Hello Sailor. Maybe it's an old j HS track. The Birthday Party Nick The Stripper (Propeller) ' One thing about Birthday Party singles, you're never likely to hear them on daytime ] radio. This cis 1 probably the strongest cut from Prayers. On Fire, half rhythmic dementism, coupled with gangster horns and Nick Cave's irresistible vocals. Flip is 'Blundertown'. [Madhessß4BwHH Shut Up (Stiff) jMH Another commercial single [from the Nutty, Boys. Great] sleeve, excellent video, formula song. Though they do break some new ground on 7, this is a very safe single. The flip, 'A Town With No Name', is a not-very-good spaghetti ,western ripoff. Adam Ant did it better.