I had seen this album floating around for many years before picking up my copy. I had little knowledge of Deaf School though I assumed they were an English New Wave act.
As it turns out they are but only through default. Their music predates New Wave and punk but its uncomerciality gave it some popularity in New Wave circles.
I shall say this at the outset: the band are reasonably well regarded and this album, their third studio (and final) album, is generally regarded as their worst. I cannot say whether that is the case as I have not heard their other albums. So my comments on this are in a vacuum (in relation to the bands body of work), though some references can clearly be made to other bands of the time.
Inserted note by me: in searching for some links to the band – I came across their web site with tracks from their earlier albums … very interesting. Excellent actually. Very Kinks-ian at their most Broadway-esque and cabaret (notice how I made no reference to rock operas which despite assumptions to the contrary are not all that Kinks-ian). Back to the comments …
As it turns out there was much praise heaped on Liverpudlians Deaf School:
According to wikipedia: "The journalist, author and founder of Mojo, Paul Du Noyer, described them thus: "In the whole history of Liverpool music two bands matter most, one is The Beatles and the other is Deaf School. If that seems like a sweeping statement then consider this: after the pop revolution of the 1960s led by The Beatles and other Merseyside groups, it looked as if the city's music scene had dried up forever. But in 1975 there came a motley band of Liverpool art students called Deaf School"".
A big call, though Liverpool's music scene did splutter after the Beatles vacated town.
Deaf School's music has variously been called pub rock, punk, glam rock and art rock. Also there are a number of references to the bands affinity with tin pan alley. I can see all of these in this third album. And it's an interesting mixture but hardly an original one. Bowie had already gone down this glam / art / tin pan alley path as had The Kinks and Roxy Music and the influence of all these acts is heard on this album. There is also a lot of new wave noise – well there are eight band members and it was 1978. By all accounts this album was their most "new wave" and I suppose by 1978 it was swim or sink. Certainly this album has only traces of the cabaret, tin pan alley and prog rock that the band are associated with on their first two albums.
Perhaps the band are closest in sprit to the Sparks or Steve Harley if he was quirkier mixed in with some Television and Richard Hell. Think Elvis Costello doing tin pan alley … wait he eventually did. You can also hear a little Boomtown Rats and the Clash in here.
But , t all sounds too busy for me and though the music is far from uninteresting – there are some good tracks, great ideas and some smarts – it's a little dated (and it would have been one year after it was released) and it smacks a little of a "pub band jumping on a new wave bandwagon" (not that there is anything wrong with that, maybe – think Mi Sex, Split Enz, The Sports, The Romantics, The Knack, The Tubes, Graham Parker, Tenpole Tudor, Squeeze, The Records, Ian Dury and yes Elvis Costello). The trouble here is they have subsumed any originality under the influences.
Maybe I should hear the first two albums … I like my cabaret pure …
I refer to the inserted note above – I most definitely would prefer their earlier stuff.
The band members went on to form other bands, produce and do all sorts of things. Refer to the links.
Tracks (best in italics)
- Working Girls – a more heavy handed Steve Harley.
- Golden Shower – probably one of the best songs about golden showers I have heard *
But it's real
It's only what you feel
Golden Showers
At the end of the day
When I put the day away
And I'm feeling draggy
Then I know it's time to play
Golden Showers
I don't see her face it's only golden showers
- Thunder and Lightning – awful … the pub band trying on punk really comes through on this … as bad as any of those bands coming out of New York in 1978 who were pretending to be new wave who were so clearly just mainstream rock.
- What a Week – Very Clash like without the jagged guitar and spit. I like the song if for no other reason than the Elvis line:
What a week this has been
Elvis gone so he's on TV
- Refugee – the other Elvis (Costello) is channelled here.
- Ronny Zamora – very Kinks from their "Misfits" (1978) and "Low Budget" (1979) period.
- English Boys (With Guns) – a Clash song title if there ever was one – but no new wave here (apart from chanted Clash–like vocals) instead it's an odd mix of 60s jazz beat and English music hall … pleasantly stoopid …
- All Queued Up – another bad new wave cash in … interestingly enough co–vocalist Bette Bright sings on all the "cash in" tracks … don't know what's up there given she didn't write any of the songs?
- I Wanna Be Your Boy – the Clash meets Elvis Costello … the twin male / female vocals recall LA's "X" who didn't release an album till 1980 though they formed and were playing from 1977 … any "meeting of minds" is entirely plausible as Deaf School were in LA and played the Whisky a Go Go in 1977. Who knows?
- Morning After – another "retro" track recalling mid 70s prog rock … again with Bette Bright on vocals … (Bette went on to marry Suggs from "Madness")
- Fire – just bad …
- O Blow – more Clash influences …
And …
Not atrocious but not for me. I'll tape a couple of tracks and sell. (of course I will probably find their first two albums, love them, then regret selling this).
Sounds
What a Week
attached
English Boys (With Guns)
attached
attached
Other:
Deaf School Live
Bio
Website
well, blow me down … I just looked at their myspace site and they (Deaf School – whoever they may be) list their influences as … Roxy Music, The Kinks, Sparks, Stackridge, Cole Porter, the Manhattan Transfer, Kilburn & the High Roads, Sailor.
(originally posted: 09/05/2010)
