Do the Pop!

I've been listening to this double compilation album for weeks now, ever since I went up to Bristol to see Stiff Little Fingers. My mate Gary lent me an album by The Saints a few years ago and I was bowled over by them. Here was that late seventies punk vitality but with a sound that's very distinctive to my ears. In short, I began to rave about The Saints and everyone thought I was going on about All Saints who are prettier, have sweeter voices but lack the power of guitar and drum.

Amazon suggested Do the Pop! to me using previous purchases as a guide. I added it to me wish list and eventually I succumbed. I didn't listen to it until Gary and I undertook the long haul from Plymouth to Bristol. And the more we listened to it the more we liked it. And with 50 tracks there's an awful lot of it to like.

I like contemporary high octane stuff but Do the Pop! features two and a half hours of authentic Ozzie surf rock and garage punk. It's from that musical period that I am so pleased to have experienced at first hand yet it's all new.

The only bands on Do the Pop! that I'd heard of were The Saints, Radio Birdman and The Hoodoo Gurus. Only one song was familiar. Everything else was a fresh treat to my discerning ears.

It was a long time before any favourites developed. I love it when the whole album hangs together in one long bout of listening pleasure. It doesn't happen very often but it worked with these 50 tracks. And sooner or later some particular favourites emerge. I start to look forward to them and skip racks. It's inevitable I suppose but it took ages for the novelty of these old tracks to wear off.

An unfamiliar track - Simple Love - by The Saints still stands out but so does Last Night by The Scientists, Leilani and Be my Guru both by The Hoodoo Gurus, Igloo by The Screaming Tribesmen and Burning Red by The Exploding White Mice have all withstood my harsh listening regime in which I play possible favourites three times over in succession.

Do the Pop! If you like The Clash, SLF and The Buzzcocks I know you won't be disappointed.