album // Heaven & Hell | buy
this album
Have you ever had it where you've seen the name
of a band in a magazine and made an automatic assumption over what
their music would be like? Well, that's what has happened to me
with Mekons. It's 14 years since I first saw their trilogy
of Blast First releases - Rock 'n' Roll, F.U.N.
90 and The Curse Of The Mekons - listed in the Documentary
Evidence pamphlet I found inside the sleeve of the 12" single
of my copy of Erasure's 'Chorus', and it's only now that
I've had a chance to actually hear them. And they're nothing like
I expected them to be. For some reason, I had them down as some
sort of shambolic, disorganised leftfield rock troupe (for the record,
I originally had the same impression of all of Paul Smith's
roster of artists, sorry Paul). So, ahem, wrong again.
Anyone wishing to get into the Mekons sound would
be advised to listen to Heaven & Hell, a two-disc, 32
track, career-spanning collection released on Cooking
Vinyl. [A big thanks to Joolz Bosson for sending me this
promo copy]. The collection goes right back to their first single
on Fast Product in 1978, right through their Blast First period
and beyond. As with their loose contemporaries, Wire, Mekons have
been through periods of silence and activity, each phase somewhat
different in sound and seemingly characterised by a change of record
label home.
The sleeve heaps considerable praise on Mekons from
luminaries such as Tony Wilson ('[Mekons] make the Sex Pistols look
like Paper Lace') and Lester Bangs ('The most revolutionary group
in the history of rock n' roll'). High praise indeed. Mekons formed
in the shadow of fellow Leeds band Gang Of Four and went on to outlast
pretty much all of their contemporaries, latterly garnering a cult
following in the States.
I'm not sure whether the album title suggests that
the two discs each represent a different side of Mekons, but disc
two does seem a bit more 'experimental'. Then again, to suggest
that this band have just two facets would be doing them a considerable
disservice. Their sound encompasses beautifully melancholy tunes
('Ghosts Of American Astronauts', 'Prince Of Darkness') through
to raw punk ('Never Been In A Riot', their debut single which edgily
refrenced The Clash's own 'White Riot', 'Where Were You' and the
opener 'Hard To Be Human'). They've also toyed with accapella protests
('The Building'), schlocky spoken word ('Dancing In The Head'),
dub and reggae ('Horse In Dub', 'Johnny Miner'). All are delivered
with a precision and accuracy so very far removed from my original
view of them.
There is a distinct country feel on certain tracks
- 'Neglect' and 'My Song At Night' being two - pointing toward Jon
Langford's future work as Waco's. Elsewhere, the influence appears
to be folk ('Last Dance', 'Oblivion'), but there's also room for
harsh electronic experimentation such as the mad '(A Dancing Master
Such As) Mr. Confess' with its mad Irish spoken word outro, or 'Snow's
digital ska groove, or the Mark Stewart-esque 'Dancing In The Head'.
Two tracks in particular stand out for me - the
joyous, harmonic pop of 'Insignificance' (from 1993's Retreat
From Memphis) and the tongue-in-cheek pop of 'Curse' (from 1989's
The Curse Of The Mekons). Overall, Cooking Vinyl have provided
an excellent, comprehensive and essential best of here, suiting
long-term fans and newbies alike.
CD1:
1. Hard To Be Human
2. Ghosts Of American Astronauts
3. Where Were You
4. Hello Cruel World
5. Millionaire
6. Chivalry
7. Memphis Egypt
8. Oblivion
9. Work All Week
10. The Olde Trip To Jerusalem
11. (Sometimes I Feel Like) Fletcher Christian
12. Hate Is The New Love
13. Neglect
14. Last Dance
15. My Song At Night
16. Empire Of The Senseless
CD1 also includes the promo video for 'Ghosts Of
American Astronauts' directed by Viv Albertine of The Slits
CD2:
1. Curse
2. Big Zombie
3. He Beat Up His Boyfriend
4. One Horse Dub
5. Snow
6. Brutal
7. The Building
8. Prince Of Darkness
9. (A Dancing Master Such As) Mr. Confess
10. Poxy Lips
11. Out In The Night
12. Dancing In The Head
13. Johnny Miner
14. Insignificance
15. This Sporting Life
16. Never Been In A Riot
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