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Post by rotefront on Sept 29, 2008 17:50:47 GMT -5
I'll probably get laughed at but...fuck it, any fans of the first two TRB LP's out there?
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Post by Bazza on Sept 29, 2008 18:09:07 GMT -5
Never really checked the TRB out apart from a few singles. But I did once have an audition for a band whose line up included an ex-member of Tom Robinson's first band Cafe Society. I didn't get the job.
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Post by rotefront on Sept 29, 2008 19:27:58 GMT -5
The first LP is good rabble rousing rock with pre-SLF Dolphin Taylor on drums. Second LP is pretty much more of the same. After that TR's stuff got pretty pedestrian
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Post by rotefront on Sept 29, 2008 19:28:57 GMT -5
...seems like his heart is/was in the right place, though.
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scotto
Reds Strike The Blues
Posts: 90
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Post by scotto on Oct 1, 2008 10:16:49 GMT -5
I love Power in the Darkness and TRB2, but they are, alas, primarily private pleasures (like Dexys Too-Rye-Aye)--it takes a rare mix of people at a party for me to confidently spin "Bully for you" or "2-4-6-Motorway." Those are great records though, and I think "Up Against the Wall" has a broad appeal to any fan of agit-prop or power-pop.
Incidentally, Power in the Darkness was re-released with a new version of the title track, and the TRB website has a few rarities for download including a great song called "Elgin Avenue."
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Post by rotefront on Oct 2, 2008 9:42:35 GMT -5
Well said Scotto. I shall check out the new version of PITD as I only have a rather scratched vinyl copy that I got in a bargain bin.
I think even some usually progressive folks get a little nervous around the "gay" angle of early TRB but they should look past it.
Sad that his records seem to be as relevant now as they were thirty years ago.
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scotto
Reds Strike The Blues
Posts: 90
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Post by scotto on Oct 2, 2008 11:42:05 GMT -5
You can hear the re-release and more here: www.tomrobinson.com/trb/songs.htmIncidentally, in the UK was Power in the Darkness a double record? Here in the states it's always been double with a live disc.
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mx
Unionize!
Posts: 10
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Post by mx on Oct 22, 2008 16:29:14 GMT -5
I think even some usually progressive folks get a little nervous around the "gay" angle of early TRB but they should look past it. I only saw TRB a couple of times, but the whole point of Glad to be Gay was that everyone, gay or straight, sang along to it. It sounds a bit naive and idealistic now, but in those days it was part of the same ethos that saw RAR/ANL unite black and white kids. Music back then, for me and my mates at least, really was a force for change and a force for good. Even if all it did was stop a bunch of 17 year old lads like us from telling "queer" jokes, then (and I'm sure TR would agree), Glad to be Gay did its job.
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Post by rotefront on Oct 23, 2008 5:45:47 GMT -5
Nicely put MX. Sometimes I feel like I/we overlook the small things and forget that a small ripple can do it's job.
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mx
Unionize!
Posts: 10
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Post by mx on Oct 24, 2008 16:53:11 GMT -5
Scotto - No, Power in the Darkness was a one-disc LP. You lucky feckers getting a live disc too!
Tom Robinson is a DJ on BBC Radio 6 Music over here these days. He's certainly mellowed out a bit, but plays some interesting stuff.
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scotto
Reds Strike The Blues
Posts: 90
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Post by scotto on Oct 27, 2008 15:26:30 GMT -5
Yeah, I think the live disc is all the singles from that period (are those singles all live? Glad to be gay, Motorway, etc.?). It's a weird thing about US releases of UK records in the 70s and 80s; they all typically replace some tracks with singles because the US was less of a singles market: so my 1st GenX lp has Gimme some truth (but not Invisible Man) and my first Clash record starts off with Clash City Rockers (but doesn't have Protext Blue).
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