BM is old enough to have bought early compilation Volume Contrast Brilliance Volume 1 when it came out in 1983 and it was one of the best choices that year, not leaving the turntable for months. What a breezy, diverse, subversive and fresh collection of songs it was, and TMS have been playing ever since, bar one or two breaks. They have an annual visit north of the border to Stereo in late November and when BM caught them there two years ago they were in blistering form. Just checked ticket for November 2016 show, no. 4, so BM is 4th most fanatical TMS fan in Glasgow – makes me happy, but also wondering how sad nos 1-3 are…
This compilation takes tracks from ’78 to ’91 which mainly did not make the VCBV1 compilation or were deemed too out there or controversial for 1983.
Listening to excerpts from the album via the Tapete portal (thanks guys btw, the full album was released 25 March so BM is a bit behind the curve) it is striking how new these tracks sound and how much the band seem to relish playing them.
‘Something About You’ is a riff-heavy take on the Monkees via ‘Day Tripper’, a bubbling pastiche rich with possibilities. ‘I Want Your Skin’ is done with relish and aplomb, fizzy with guitars and Bid explaining his desires very matter of factly. ‘White Lightning’ is a masterclass in classic songwriting, heavy on the bass, and sounds as if it blew straight outta Haight-Ashbury in 1967, except most things that did that were just a mess – this is masterful, bright production, confident, they really have never sounded better, whenever this was recorded – pre ’91 anyway!