Andrew Duncan
This elegant boxset is worth the hefty price tag if you are looking for original seven-inch cover art and an eclectic showpiece.
Buzzcocks
Complete UA Singles 1977–1980
Domino Records
Links: Domino Records
By the time I got around to becoming a Buzzcocks fan, it was long after the group was considered revolutionary. I remember buying Operations Manual as a collective dive into the group’s pop-fused punk. It was a great way to get my feet wet until I later micro-analyzed their seminal material and how it fit into the culture of the band as well as punk’s origins.
Operations Manual serves its collective purpose; a better choice is their first United States release and essential collection, Singles Going Steady. This conglomerate of A- and B-sides trailed on the heels of the group’s influential punk triage: Another Music in a Different Kitchen, Love Bites, and A Different Kind of Tension.
Singles Going Steady gave fans in the United States a nicely packaged product that properly summarized everything the band was about. It remains to be the ultimate guide to The Buzzcocks . . . until now.
Domino Records have re-examined the ideology behind Singles Going Steady, and in the spirit of their recent Buzzcocks re-release campaign, they have neatly pressed the group’s twelve singles that were originally released for United Artists between 1978–1980. Although a pricey investment, you get the original Malcolm Garrett designed sleeves, music remastered from the original tapes, and a 36-page booklet written by Clinton Heylin.
What we get here verses Singles Going Steady is an exact facsimile of how the music was released at the time. With Singles the A sides dominate while the B sides trail off, the tracklisting failing to pair the two together in any way. This is a novel correction into the history of the band.
7” singles included in the boxset:
Orgasm Addict / Whatever Happened Too…?
What Do I Get / Oh Shit
I Don’t Mind / Autonomy
Love You More / Noise Annoys
Ever Fallen In Love With Someone (You Shouldn’t’ve) / Just Lust
Promises / Lipstick
Everybody’s Happy Nowadays / Why Can’t I Touch It?
Harmony In My Head / Something’s Gone Wrong Again
You Say You Don’t Love Me / Raison D’Etre
Part 1 – Are Everything / Why She’s A Girl From The Chainstore
Part 2 – Strange Thing / Airwaves Dream
Part 3 – Running Free / What Do You Know