gobs anthology 3

So possibly to my shame I did fork out the megabux (slightly less mega of bux than was originally mooted) on the GoBs Anthology vol 3. Did I do the right thing, or did I do a thing purely because I already have #1 and #2? Now, those two are unquestionably worthwhile and good. They have all the crucial material. What does #3 have?

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

I haven't listened to the three reformation LPs lately: my memory is the first one was so-so, the second was pretty great, the third was excellent - in sound and style. But so far I've only listened to the CDs of 'rarities' (don't know why I put that in inverted commas, because that's definitely what they are) and I am not entranced. It strikes me that this version of the GoBs is not hungry, or seeking to prove anything, or anything like that. It is two men who realised that they're taken more seriously and enjoyed more and (I'm sure this was less of a consideration for them than it would be for many, but still...) could command a higher fee under the old band name, and yet, there's no grand myth making here. This GoBs could never do a 'Twin Layers of Lightning' or an 'Old Way Out', those kinds of songs that just shock everyone (or even really a 'Streets of Your Town' or 'Clouds', much less a 'Cattle and Cane' or 'Your Turn My Turn'). It was different times, for sure. 

Robert and even more so Grant were awkward and provocative songwriters in the early 80s who did the things they did not because they didn't know what they were doing, but because they wanted to provoke and delight. By the early 21st century, Grant in particular was occasionally coming up with great material but more often coming up with lazy silly rhymes and songs like 'Ham off the bone' or whatever it's called that, to be honest, I had to get up and turn off. Perversely this collection gives us the wrong impression of the GoBs dynamic (if we're not paying attention) because Grant is overrepresented - he had a huge output compared to Robert's and of course that would mean that, in the process of recording a new album, he'd choose five out of his 50, and Robert would have five out of his five. Well, here Grant has his fifty and not many of them are honed. 

OK so I am not writing a review, I haven't listened to the whole of this and there must be at least six or seven hours of it, I've probably listened to about 15-20%. Some of it is really good but most of it from my current perspective is a bit legacy-tarnishing. But I think we'll all live whether I like this box or not, ha ha. Indeed this is just my preliminary feel and I am likely to change my attitude at some point.  

logically yours

So the Essential/Lora Logic box set Logically Yours showed up today. It cost a lot and as I might already have whinged here (whingeing about myself, self-whingeing) it was a stupid purchase insofar as I already own everything on it except the new album. But I did it anyway, just I suppose to affirm my support for a group/individual whose work has meant a staggering amount to me for about forty years, ever since I bought a copy of 'Music is a Better Noise' in I can't remember where but possibly Readings in Lygon St back when there was a special Readings record store separate from the bookstore, on the east side of the street. I bought that single entirely on the basis of the sleeve, and with completely no knowledge of what the content would be like: I had never heard of the group, let alone heard anything by them or had any knowledge of Lora Logic's background. My favourite singles are that, 'Eugene' and 'Popcorn Boy', actually I think 'Popcorn Boy' would be one of my two or three favourite songs ever. Because it's madness. 

I have looked at the albums, there are five, the original Beat Rhythm News and the LL solo album Pedigree Charm (which started life, it would seem, as the second Essential Logic album but then the group fell apart); a singles compilation which I think doesn't actually include everything originally recorded by the group; an LP of material recorded by LL under the EL name about twenty years ago in that staggeringly strange line-up including someone who'd been in Bad Manners and a former member of Blondie (I mean where people come from doesn't really matter but still, weird). And then the new album. And I have also read the booklet which comes with the albums, identified at least one bizarre error (there's always going to be at least one bizarre error - it's obligatory - in this case, it's giving the name of the Stranglers album LL played on, to the Raincoats album she played on. The Stranglers album is also correctly identified elsewhere so go figure).* 

They've also done this to Beat Rhythm News which is peculiar. Here's the back cover of the box set version:

Apart from being monochrome rather than blue and black, it's substantially altered from the original:

I mean in one sense, the odd black shape over LL's profile on the original is, yeah, odd, but I can't really see much point in making the change overall. The picture they've put in its place is a bit of a nothing picture (presumably from absolutely the same session, at least, she's got the same hat on, and when I say 'she', it doesn't actually even really look like her, but I guess it must be!) and then there are four different logos on there. 

I suppose I should do something dweeby like play the new pressing and see if it sounds different though these reissues don't discuss any particular remastering, I don't think Giles Martin had a go at it or anything. I may get around to that. Right now I'm still as they say post-covid and getting headaches and forgetting things so I don't think it'd be wise to embark on anything so ambitious. 

* To be entirely clear, I am aware these kinds of things happen and it doesn't matter how. Easy enough to make mistakes of this nature.