Anti-Nowhere League League Style Review by Gary Hill
The punk scene was definitely tied to (or at least heavily influenced by reggae music). The Anti-Nowhere League were apparently big fans of reggae. In fact, they had talked about doing this type of album years ago, but it never happened for a number of reasons. Now, here they manage to do an album that is a tribute to the reggae music that influenced them. I like this quite a bit, but not as much as I did their previous set. This is fun, but that was just incredible. The names in parenthesis are the original artists who did these songs.
They power in with an energized rocking sound. This has a lot of classic rock in the mix. There is a bit of a reggae edge here.
Suzanne, Beware of the Devil (Dandy Livingstone) Speaking of reggae, this is loaded with it. It's a hard rocking, driving stomper, but there is a definite reggae vibe to it. I really dig the guitar soloing on this piece.
Singer Man (The Kingstonland) While there is still some reggae here, overall this is more of a straight hard rocker.
Come in to My Parlour (Said the Spider to the Fly) (The Bleechers)
The bouncing guitar on this brings the reggae, but to some degree, so do the vocals. Still, this is crunchy and punky. It's a strong tune. In fact, it's one of my favorites here. I just think it's one of the more effective pieces here.
Fat Man (Derrick Morgan)
This is very fast paced. Yet, it's also well based on reggae concepts. This is a killer rocker. It's all definitely punk rock, but there is so much reggae here, too. The hard-edged jam that's laced with guitar soloing later is one of the best musical passages of the set. That part takes it out in style.
Love of the Common People (Nicky Thomas)
A bit more of a melodic rock vibe is heard here, but it's tempered with more punk edge. There is plenty of reggae in the mix, too. This is a real standout number. In fact, it might be my favorite tune here. It's just so much fun. The ending fade is a bit abrupt.
Long Shot Kick De Bucket (The Pioneers) Here is another real winner. This merges the punk and reggae in a great way. It's another fun stomper. It's another of my favorite cuts here.
Big Five (Prince Buster) This reggae rocker is another fun one. The lyrics are dirty. The problem here is the copy I've got is edited. The editing is done with a loud noise over the offensive words. That makes it pretty unlistenable as far as I'm concerned. I'm sure it's a good song, and probably a welcome addition on the unedited version.
Black Pearl (Horace Faith) Reggae and punk rock merge quite well on this stomper. It's another fun rocker.
Me and My Life (The Tremeloes) Landing a bit more on the punk rock side of the equation, this is another effective piece. It's not a standout, but that's more about how strong the rest of hte music is instead of anything lacking with this one.
