It’s July 1977 and we’ve been eating up furious singles by the Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Jam, The Adverts yadda yadda…when along comes this bespectacled, puny lookin’ fella with an album packed full o’ great, great songs, ballads even. It’s not Punk Rock, maybe we can call it New Wave but bloody hell, whatever it is, it’s good.

Elvis Costello (or Declan MacManus) had been writing, making demo’s and playing in pubs since the early 70’s. During 1976 radio DJ Charlie Gillett played songs from one of EC’s demos on his show which caught the attention of record companies and he eventually made an agreement with Stiff Records. “My Aim Is True” was recorded during six four hour sessions produced by former Brinsley Schwarz frontman Nick Lowe. The studio was an 8-track facility that Costello likened to being the size of a telephone box. As Costello did not have a band the musicians used were Clover, an American country rock band who went uncredited (trivia time, Clover would later add singer Huey Louis and both singer and band would eventually change their names to become Huey Lewis & The News).

At its heart “My Aim Is True” is a pub rock record, more in line with the Brinsley’s, Eddie & The Hot Rods and Dire Straits than the Punk Rock of the time. But the album and singer had a look about it that appealed to those of us looking for something new to call our own. And it was on Stiff Records where The Damned and The Adverts had started out so it must be ours, right ?

There are 3 keys songs on “My Aim Is True”, firstly “Alison” from where the album gets its title so I guess that expresses something of its importance. It’s a stunning ballad about watching the object of your desire (your ex ?) from afar while quietly professing your undying devotion, it’s gorgeous. EC said of it in 2015

"I've always told people that I wrote the song 'Alison' after seeing a beautiful checkout girl at the local supermarket. She had a face for which a ship might have once been named. Scoundrels might once have fought mist-swathed duels to defend her honour … All that were left would soon be squandered to a ruffian who told her convenient lies and trapped her still further"

Over on side 2 we kick off with the first thing I ever heard of Elvis’s. “(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes” is a Byrdsian marvel, all tumbling, jingley guitar riffs allegedly written in 10 minutes on a train journey ! And finally his first single for Stiff was “Less Than Zero” a rant at Poundshop fascist Oswald Moseley. 

EC in tandem with the Attractions would go onto make better records than “My Aim Is True” and he become one of the worlds great songwriters, but if you’ve got to look back on your first step you’d be bloody chuffed with this. 

(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes - https://youtu.be/pS8oaMFsBEk

The Teardrops (we’ll get to them presently) had split up amongst drug fuelled Jeep racing, shotgun chases around the Monmouthshire countryside and a disastrous final tour in 1983. By 1984 Julian Cope had put together his debut solo album “World Shut Your Mouth”. For those that perhaps only know Cope from the single of the same name I’ll get this out of the way up front, the single “World Shut Your Mouth” is not on the album “World Shut Your Mouth”, it’s actually on the album “St Julian” from 3 years after the album “World Shut Your Mouth”, hope that’s clear.

Following the Teardrops breakup Cope retreated back to his childhood home near Tamworth in Staffordshire where he wrote songs, expanded his toy collection and recovered from the bands split plus (some say) his prodigious LSD intake. A couple of the songs here were originally intended for the Teardrop Explodes (versions of "Metranil Vavin" and "Pussyface" later appeared on their “lost” 3rd album “Everyone Wants To Shag The Teardrop Explodes”). 

While retaining his former bands pop touches “World Shut Your Mouth” reveals more of Cope’s influences from 60’s psychedelia and pastoral pop music, Syd Barrett and Roky Erikson haunt the dimly lit corners hereabouts. It was VERY out of step with the prevailing sound of 1984 which was predominantly synth and drum machine driven. This was a natural sounding record with guitars and real drums (played by Teardrops drummer Gary Dwyer) and instruments like Oboe and Sitar thrown in to the mix. The pop sense is still there it’s just been twisted.

Opener “Bandy’s First Jump” would have sat well on a Teardrops record, it’s second song “Metranil Vavin” (originally written for his former band, it’s a about a fictional Russian Dwarf poet named Metro Vavin !) where the psychedelia starts to show. This segues into “Strasbourg” which is quickly followed by the Oboe driven “Elegant Chaos” two of Cope’s very best songs. “Quizmaster” is another Oboe driven pop beast and side 1 plays out with “Kolly Kibber’s Birthday” (Kolley Kibber being a character in Graham Greene’s “Brighton Rock” trivia fans) a driving, harsh drum driven thing with an angelic vocal.

The singles are over on Side 2, ”Sunshine Playroom” and “Greatness And Perfection” are both beauties that the “great” record buying public chose to ignore. “Head Hung Low” brings down the pace with Kate St John’s Oboe up front again and “Pussyface” funks things up some. It all comes to a close with “Lunatic And Fire-Pistol” a gentle lament from a man who died in battle…possibly ?

It didn’t sell and this period, including the follow up album “Fried” (where Cope is pictured on the cover hiding under a giant tortoise shell), is where he picked up his reputation for eccentricity and being something of an acid casualty. It’s a great shame that it didn’t sell as it’s a superb, what came to be known as, Indie pop/rock album, the equal of (actually way better than) anything produced around this time by the likes of The Smiths. 

Strasbourg - https://youtu.be/3h2xmiVsmEY

I love Reggae. Let me qualify that with, when I say reggae I’m talking 70’s, predominantly Jamaican, Roots Reggae. I don’t own a lot but what I do own I play a lot. This album I really do play rather a lot.

Produced by Lee “Scratch” Perry at his Black Ark Studio (where the entrance door was lowered and a picture of Emperor Haile Selassie I was hung above it so everyone who entered the studio had to bow down to His Imperial Majesty) and is regarded as one of Scratch’s greatest productions. The band responsible reads like a who’s who of late 70’s Jamaican reggae Sly Dunbar on drums, Ernest Ranglin in guitar, Boris (“I Wanna Wake Up With You”) Gardiner on bass, Gregory Isaacs sings backing vocals. The Congos themselves were Cedric Myton and Roydel Johnson a duo of Rastafarian’s both of whom had previously performed with the legendary Ras Michael in his groups the Royal Rasses (Myton) and the Sons of Negus (Johnson). They are pictured on the front cover playing, you guessed it, congos and on the reverse with a group of fishermen.

Which brings us to track one side one, “Fisherman”, a beautiful dreamy, laid back groove over which Cedric sings, in a stunning clear falsetto, lyrics that can be taken on face value as being simply about finding enough food to feed your growing family and buying a little collie along the way. But then you hear the line “Row fisherman row, We've got to reach on higher grounds” and you realise the concerns of the singer are somewhat more spiritual. The following “Congoman” is a Rastafarian chant telling how they have come to “To enlighten the world with psalms, an' songs, an' voices”. This is an album concerned with Rastafarian devotion and repatriation set to some of the most incredible reggae music you will hear. The titles tell a story of their own “Open Up The Gate”, “Sodom And Gomorrow”, “The Ark Of Covenant”. The songs are wonderful, “Children Crying” hangs off the most delicious melody, as do “Can’t Come In” and “Solid Foundation”.

The original 1977 Jamaican issue was on Scratch’s Black Art label and was a very limited release, rumoured to be only several hundred copies, and sells these days for huge sums. Fortunately the record struck a chord with many and it has been lovingly re-issued a number of times which allowed it to reach a much wider audience. When Brummies The Beat were given their Go-Feet imprint by Chrysalis one of the first things they did was arrange to re-issue “Heart Of The Congos” on their label. Then in 1996 Mick Hucknall (another reason to show the guy a little more respect) via his Blood & Fire label oversaw a luxurious 2 CD remaster including extra tacks and a 36 page booklet.

“Heart Of The Congos” is a landmark of Roots Reggae and anyone with an inkling of interest in Jamaican music should search out and fall in love with it.

Children Crying - https://youtu.be/6AsbZ-RLfDM