release date: Mar. 7, 1980
format: vinyl / cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,94]
producer: Doug Bennett
label: Chrysalis Records - nationality: Northern Ireland, UK
Track highlights: 1. "Gotta Gettaway" (4,5 / 5) (live at Rockpalast) - 2. "Wait and See" (5 / 5) - 3. "Fly the Flag" (4 / 5) - 4. "At the Edge" - 5. "Nobody's Hero" (5 / 5) - 7. "Doesn't Make It All Right" - 10. "Tin Soldiers" (4 / 5)
2nd studio album by Stiff Little Fingers is like the debut produced by Bennett but now the band has moved on to a major label, Chrysalis. The line-up has changed since the debut, which had been noticed in London, and the band decided to move to the capital - only drummer Brian Faloon wouldn't take part of that and he was therefore replaced with Jim Reilly. Stylistically, the band continues in more or less the same style as they showcased on the tight debut - only major difference here is that the songs are composed with stronger variety. On the debut album they included a cover of a Bob Marley song, and here they continue this tradition by including a track by ska revival band The Specials, "Doesn't Make It All Right" - and as they would go on and do on the following two studio albums, they really make an effort in making these covers songs of their own by making completely new arrangements.
The band was one of my absolute favourites as a teenager. SLF had a huge crowd of fans but basically failed to satisfy the critics. The biggest reason is of course that they started playing punk rock as it already had been declared dead. It's not that SLF copied the most well-known punk rock bands - they had their own characteristic style somewhere between hardcore punk and melodic hard rock, maybe as a clone somewhere between Ramones, The Jam and The Undertones (also from Northern Ireland) - as all bands in their initial punk rock tone were rich on melody as well as fierce energy. As SLF already played hard rock when the punk rock movement kicked in - and as contrary to most of other punk bands - they were able to add hints of old school hard rock like Thin Lizzy, and Deep Purple and then they simply weren't interested in playing post-punk like everyone else at the time. Nevertheless, SLF was my favourite British punk rock band all thanks to their first four albums (including one great live album) from 1979-82. Critics may point to their out-of-time style but they weren't just hitting off with 3-chords and simple compositions. Comparing their music to that of the initial punk rock wave (Ramones, The Damned, Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Saints, Television) it's striking how good instrumentalists SLF were. In this regard they're more like The Stranglers, who had also changed from old-school rock styles to punk rock. I remember watching the German Rockpalast live concert transmitted on TV, in Nov. 1980 playing the same night as The Jam. I was 15 and that transmission was literally the highlight of the year.
Nobody's Heroes is the defining album for SLF. Back then it was also my preferred album, when forced to pick one - in retrospect however, Go for It (1981) is their best, I think.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]
