Song Of the Day: September 17, 2005
Absolute lack of chart success notwithstanding, there is an absurd tendency to regard the Only Ones as a one-hit wonder. And while "Another Girl, Another Planet" is without doubt one of the supreme cultural acheivements of Western Civilization and the band's greatest song, it is hardly the only Little Hit by a band who made three consistently excellent LPs. The band had more chops than most (especially ex-Spooky Tooth guitarist John Perry, who does amazing things with regularity) and one of the great songwriters of the era, Peter Perret, who deserves the kind of hosannas regularly (and rightly) flung at guys like Robyn Hitchcock. This was in fact, one of the greatest bands of the late 70s, and everyone who is not already familiar should not hesitate to pick up Why Don't You Kill Yourself: The CBS Recordings, which contains the 3 LPs as well as some B-sides and things. It was difficult indeed to pick just one great track, but Perret's vocal on this stunner from the 2nd LP just kills us.
8 Comments:
Great choice, Jon. Just as an FYI, it was Only Ones drummer Mike Kellie, not guitarist John Perry, who was a former member of Spooky Tooth.
Have you ever heard Perrett's solo version of Abba's "Does Your Mother Know"? It was supposed to come out on an Abba tribute album which never was released, and Perrett claimed it was the best thing he had ever done. Of course, Perrett also thought that using heroin was a good idea, so perhaps his judgment isn't absolutely reliable. :)
Mike-
Whoops...my bad...again. I really should quit relying on memory to do this, what with the wealth of info available online. But I probably won't.
I haven't heard the Abba trib track. Wasn't there a Perret solo LP in the 90s? I haven't heard that either, although I've been told it's quite good.
Jon
thanks for the post. Agreed, "Another Girl, Another Planet'' one of the best songs in American history.
I was always partial to the Peel Sessions LP (as was the band, reportedly). Googling for a copy brought me to the very interesting Hux Records, who released the complete Only Ones BBC Sessions on two CDs, among other notable things. That loud sucking sound is my money leaving my wallet.
Cody
Jon,
Perrett had a solo album in the mid-90s called Woke Up Sticky. His voice is in fine form, but the work is definitely inferior to his Only Ones output. There's some really good stuff, like a fine cover of the Kinks' "I'm Not Like Everybody Else." Some of the stuff is just plain weird, like the title track, which seems to be about either alien abduction or "nocturnal emissions" (or maybe both!).
I'd be happy to burn you a copy if you'd like.
I'd love to hear that version of
"Does Your Mother Know"! Where can I find it?
I'd love to hear that version of "Does Your Mother Know"! Where can I find it?
A previous Anonymous claimed that "Another Girl..." is "one of the best songs in American history".
Sorry?
!!
Steve
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