Ash - 1977: C/D

out of nowhere I had the desire to listen to 1977 for the first time in ten years or so, find myself enjoying the first minute or so of a lot of the songs but not really feeling the need to listen beyond one verse and one chorus. So my answer to WBS's question of "were they any good in the first place?" is "dunno". It may be the fault of Tim Wheeler's singing, I like a dull limp singer here and there but he's on a special plane all of his own.

i was wayyy into "nu clear sounds", super trashy americanized heavy alt rock.

I like Nu Clear Sounds, too, especially "Burn Out" and Hatherley-sung b-side "Taken Out."

There's some decent songs here but I've never been a fan of the Owen Morris production treatment on this record. The drums sound as though they were recorded in a fucking wind tunnel, for a start.

i love love love the first two songs ('lose control' and 'goldfinger') and will listen to the whole record if I'm in a good mood. it ain't bad but i agree with others who've said that Wheeler can't really sing.

can't sing in comparison to... Rob Zombie?

His voice is just a ...nothing. its totally characterless.

You mean like plain hummus? I don't know if Ash would go well with garlic hummus or sundried tomato hummus.

There's some good stuff on Nu-Clear Sounds, I think. 'Folk Song' and 'I'm Gonna Fall' are two of my favourite ballads Wheeler has ever written. 'Death Trip 21' still does it for me, too!