 Various Artists Just what the world needs, another CD of cheesy 70s music, right? Har, har. Disco is funny. Haw, haw. Leisure suits are funny. Baw haw haw, gas shortages are funny. Well, shut your cynical mouth and let this one take you away – at last, a really cool 70s compilation you can be proud of. Unsurprisingly, this is not an American disc, but a gift from the UK, where an appreciation for pop culture does not necessitate endless rehashing of the same tired songs and graphical clichés. Almost every track on here comes from '73 or '74, with a few dating between '70 and '72, and the Brit skew gives it a much glammier focus than you normally get out of this sort of affair. Bubblegum and glam mix with some soul and super sick pop for an instant party that won't please any crowd expecting "The Hustle." The closest thing here is "The Bump" by Kenny, and who don't love to bump is no bumpin' friend of mine. The glitter cascades through the air, helped along by Gary Glitter ("Do You Wanna Touch Me," later covered by Joan Jett) and The Glitter Band ("Let's Get Together Again"). Many songs start off with the same bom-bom-BOM-bom, bom-bom-BOM-bom tom thump that was the standard tool of any self-respecting glam drummer. It's fabulous. A bit of Suzi Quatro (Americans are allowed to laugh, but only briefly, reminiscing about Leather Tuscadero) on "Devil Gate Drive," the Bay City Rollers give us "Shang A Lang," and First Class (featuring studio phantasm Tony Burrows) is represented by the nostalgic Beach Boys knockoff "Beach Baby." For the more self-serious rockers you've got T. Rex doing "Children of the Revolution" and 10cc doing "Rubber Bullets," but pop fools like myself appreciate the simpler, more candy-like pleasures of Wizzard's girl-group throwback "Angel Fingers (A Teen Ballad)" and the supreme "Magic" by Pilot ("Oh-oh-oh, it's magic, you know") … great songs that you ought ahear more than you do, but thank god they don't get overplayed. The most well-traveled songs included are Freda Payne's indestructible lament on wedding-night impotence, "Band of Gold," and Tony Orlando's eternal "Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Old Oak Tree," and if you don't like that one, just what kind of monster are you, anyway? Mungo Jerry's "In the Summertime" sticks out like a sore ass, but similarly like an ass, I myself am a sucker for that one, sadly enough. Any rock band doing faux-jug-band malarkey is bound to have my attention. Thanks for warping my taste, John Sebastian! Not every song's a killer ("Sky High" by Jigsaw springs to mind, that is, except for the melody or any of the words) but this CD is like getting a mix tape via time travel from a really edgy 12-year old in 1973 Britain. That's damn cool, of course. Unhomogenized, unpasteurized, do-not-pass-go, do-not-make-corny-"Three's Company"-reference, grade-A 70s schlock rock and hot pop. It's as subtle as its underachieving title, and perfect for anyone who is looking to add a cool 70s disc to their collection but wants to avoid the usual. "Yeah … OH YEAH … oh yeahhhhhh!"
Review by Emanuelle in Bangkok |