If It Ain't Stiff

I recently acquired a USB turntable. It's an inexpensive one. I found it refurbished on woot.com for sixty dollars whereas I've seen it for over a hundred retail. Despite it not being direct drive, (I'm spoiled, I know) I couldn't help myself. It's been set up for awhile but due to some frustrating software issues I've only recently started really playing with it again. It's got me digging through old LPs and 45s that I haven't messed with in awhile, recording them to mp3 and dragging the tracks with me via iPod on my daily train commute.


I've been making empty promises to friends and other music geeks that I'd start putting together a decent mix compilation once I got the thing working. I'm starting on that but in the interim I've been copying most of my Stiff collection to mp3. On trying to make good on a request, I recently copied over my Live Stiffs comp and have been listening to it pretty frequently for the last few days. It's got me back into the swing of the power pop and re-established my girlish crush on the Stiff Foundation Of Goofy Looking Motherfuckers. It's like a homecoming and I missed these boys an awful lot.

Although my record, Live Stiffs is actually the reissue of Stiffs Live, the original concert of all Stiff artists took place in 1977, a year after the Stiff label was created. The artists on this early tour consisted of Larry Wallis, Elvis Costello, Ian Dury (& The Blockheads), Wreckless Eric and some other guy named Nick Lowe. Although each song is credited to the individual artist, most of the show consisted of all artists playing with the others. (i.e. Ian Dury played the drums for Wreckless Eric whereas Nick Lowe played bass for Larry Wallis' performance) The result is a delicious tasting brew of the beginnings of England's New Wave scene.

Although the entire compilation is these early Stiff boys at their finest, my absolute favorite is Wreckless Eric's Semaphore Signals. (I've posted a youtube video with Eric's Live BBC 1980 recording of this song. If you're short on time, hop ahead to 6:58.)



This litle gem (God I love the internet) is from the tour itself and features the video of the comp recording of Eric performing Reconnez Cherie as well as a young Nick Lowe talking about his impending fame.



All this said, the best part of this comp is the last track featuring the whole group singing Sex & Drugs & Rock and Roll. You're going to have to pick the record up yourself up to hear it though.

You know, or I could put it on a mix cd.