Stiff Little Fingers "Now Then..." (1982)

l-r: Jake Burns, 'Dolphin' Taylor,
Henry Cluney, Ali McMordie

Now Then...
release date: Sep. 24, 1982
format: vinyl / cd (2000 reissue)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,48]
producer: Nick Tauber
label: Chrysalis / Captain Oi! - nationality: Northern Ireland, UK

Track highlights: 2. "Won't Be Told" - 3. "Love of the Common People" - 4. "The Price of Admission" - 6. "Stands to Reason" - 10. "Talkback" - *12. "Good for Nothing" - *16. "Two Guitars Clash"
*Bonus track on cd reissue

4th and for a time the final studio album by Stiff Little Fingers originally released on Chrysalis is made with producer Nick Tauber, who had previously produced for Thin Lizzy and Toyah. Shortly after releasing Go for It (Apr. 1981) drummer Jim Reilly left the band and was subsequently replaced by (Brian) 'Dolphin' Taylor (former Tom Robinson Band). The band's usual cover song is here "Love of the Common People", which works quite nicely in this punk rock version.
With this, it's clear that the band has embraced a lighter and more mainstream sound building on bolder traditional pop / rock melodic traditions with less focus on the punk rock roots.
The album failed to attract fans and was met by luke-warm reviews, and as a consequence, Jake Burns single-handedly decided to shelve the band as he found this was an artistic peak they wouldn't be able to pass anyway.
The best tracks are the most energetic ones and the cd reissue with an additional five bonus tracks does make it a better bargain as it also contains the fine non-album composition "Two Guitars Clash", but the overall impression is that Now Then.. is the band's least favourable studio release. At the time, the split seemed inevitable unless they could come up with a new direction after leaving punk rock behind. Soon after the split, the fine double All the Best compilation was released.
Jake Burns began working with former The Jam bassist Bruce Foxton - a collaboration project that ended in '86 after which Burn found together with some of the former band mates and Stiff Little Fingers then reformed in '87 - initially only for a reunion tour, but as it proved quite a successful decision they decided to revive the band, and it has been active ever since and adding another six studio albums to their discography.

Stiff Little Fingers "Go for It" (1981)

Go for It
release date: Apr. 17, 1981
format: vinyl (CHR 1339) / cd (2004 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,06]
producer: Doug Bennett
label: Chrysalis Records - Northern Ireland, UK

Track highlights: A) 1. "Roots, Radicals, Rockers and Reggae" (5 / 5) (live) - 2. "Just Fade Away" - 3. "Go for It" - 4. "The Only One" - 5. "Hits and Misses" - - B) 1. "Kicking Up a Racket" (4 / 5) - 2. "Safe as Houses" (4 / 5) - 3. "Gate 49" (4 / 5) - 4. "Silver Lining" - *11. "Mr. Fire Coal Man" - *12. "Doesn't Make It All Right" (Bonus track) - *13. "Back to Front" (Bonus track)
*Bonus track on 2004 cd reissue

3rd studio album by Stiff Little Fingers originally released on Chrysalis is the bands last album with producer Doug Bennett, who produced all their previous albums. The first two albums document the simple and raw energy of punk rock with the second album as a more complex and well-produced release, this then shows the band on the border to punk rock. "Roots, Radicals, Rockers and Reggae" is a fantastic song. It's a cover-version of a track originally written and performed by Bunny Wailer (original song titled "Roots, Raddics", from the album Dubd'sco Vol. 1, 1978) but in SLF's completely altered version it comes alive in a new form. Many punk rock bands were highly influenced by reggae, because both genres were for and about the people, the working class, and the lyrical subjects were often the same, however, most punk rock artists incorporating reggae in their music, played rocksteady, ska revival or reggae - this version is a perfect clone of two very different outputs, rarely heard this energetic. The second track, "Just Fade Away" shows SLF in a new shape mixing many styles: pop / rock, new wave and with some punk rock. "The title track is an instrumental, which quickly became the band's theme song - a song that would be played just before the start of any concert. "The Only One" is another fine example of a blend of punk rock and reggae, which comes through on several tracks on this album. "Gate 49" is a different mix using more traditional 1950s American rock & roll.
The cd version includes the great "Mr. Fire Coal Man" another reggae cover of Wailing Souls as well as a fine cover of "Doesn't make It All Right" by The Specials, (also album version on Nobody's Heroes) and it ends with a more than 25 mins. interview with Jake Burns.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Stiff Little Fingers "Hanx!" (1980) (live)

Hanx! (live)
release date: Sep. 1980
format: vinyl (CHR 1300) / digital
[album rate: 4 / 5]
producer: Doug Bennett
label: Chrysalis Records - nationality: Northern Ireland, UK

Tracklist: 1. "Nobody's Hero" - 2. "Gotta Gettaway" - 3. "Wait and See" - 4. "Barbed Wire Love" - 5. "Fly the Flag" - 6. "Alternative Ulster" - 7. "Johnny Was" - 8. "At the Edge" - 9. "Wasted Life" - 10. "Tin Soldiers" - 11. "Suspect Device"
[ full album playlist ]

3rd album release by Stiff Little Fingers on Chrysalis is their first live album and one of my first acquisitions with the band. It may seem pretty early to release a live album after only two studio albums but SLF was a terrific live band, which this serves to document.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]

[ SLF live at Rockpalast Nov. 30, 1980 ]
[ SLF older and live at The edge, 2004 ]
[ Older men playing punk, 2011 ]
[ Even older men playing punk, 2013 ]

Stiff Little Fingers "Nobody's Heroes" (1980)

Nobody's Heroes
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 ]

Stiff Little Fingers "Inflammable Material" (1979)

Inflammable Material [debut]
release date: Feb. 2, 1979
format: vinyl (ROUGH 1) / digital
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,82]
producer: Geoff Travis, Mayo Thompson, Doug Bennett
label: Rough Trade - nationality: Northern Ireland, UK

Track highlights: A) 1. "Suspect Device" (4 / 5) - 4. "Wasted Life" (4 / 5) - 5. "No More of That" - 6. "Barbed Wire Love" (4 / 5) - - B) 1. "Law and Order" (4 / 5) - 3. "Johnny Was" (4 / 5) - 4. "Alternative Ulster" (5 / 5) - 5. "Closed Groove"

Studio album debut by Northern Irish punk rock band Stiff Little Fingers is also the first full-length album on newly-established record label, Rough Trade (founded by Geoff Travis). SLF was not from the Republic of Ireland but from Belfast, Northern Ireland, a centre of political conflict in the early 80s, which may be heard on many of their songs. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Jake Burns, lead guitarist and backing vocalist Henry Cluney, bassist and backing vocalist Ali McMordie, and drummer Brian Faloon - the same quartet, who had stated a career as Highway Star, a Deep Purple cover band. Inspired by punk rock movement, the quartet changed band name to Stiff Little Fingers, which is a song on British punk rock band The Vibrators' debut album Pure Mania (Jun. 1977).
Inflammable Material is the first by Stiff Little Fingers that I listened to and also the first I purchased with the band. I had been too late (and too young to know) to pay attention when Ramones, The Clash, Sex Pistols, The Damned and everyone else kicked off the punk rock revolution, so it was pretty neat to be there when one of the major bands of the genre kicked off at a later point. Like 'real' punk rock, SLF sang about politics, the generation cleft, and had a strong social dimension - and much like Ramones, they also sang about love, which was perfectly fine, BUT not really part of the punk rock movement, despite the fact that most bands did it, one way or another. "Suspect Device" (their first single, released Feb. '78) switch it on like fire and gasoline. Jake Burns screams his lungs out in his characteristic spitting and rusty manner, punching the message right in your face, and it's clear from first scratch on that these guys play for a mission. Most tracks are only a little more than 2-3 minutes but "Johnny Was" is quite unusual for a punk rock band. It runs 8 mins. and is a heavily altered cover version of a song performed by Bob Marley & The Wailers (written by Rita Marley). This version was nearly always part of the band's set-lest when performing live and it really exemplifies how the band just played on another level than the majority of punk rock bands at the time. "Alternative Ulster" both sets the place and time. Yeah, it may sound outdated today, and I don't listen to it more than once a year, and although, it's not the band's best studio release, it's certified musical history.
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

[ UTube brief history ]