5 GREAT ALBUM TRACKS FOR FRIDAY (Part 16)

It really is only the fact that so many of you leave comments behind saying you enjoy this particular series that keeps it going. It really is a weekly task that is proving bad for my state of mind.

Every week I end up going for a singer or band for whom it is almost impossible to come up with a definitive five LP tracks that weren't released as singles. So far, I've had a go at, with varying degrees of success:-

1. The Jam
2. Joy Division
3. Lloyd Cole & The Commotions
4. Talking Heads (courtesy of Johnny East/West)
5. Magazine
6. The Police
7. Orange Juice
8. Frightened Rabbit
9. Blur
10. Martin Stephenson & The Daintees
11. Friends Again
12. Sons & Daughters
13. Malcolm Middleton
14. Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy
15. The Clash

This week I'm trying to get my head around a best 5 for The The.

At least this week, some of the very best songs they've recorded have been released as 45s - so I don't have to agonise over classics such as This Is The Day, Uncertain Smile, Heartland, Armageddon Days Are Here (Again) and Love Is Stronger Than Death etc etc etc...

And even although there are only six The The studio LPs to choose from (of which was a misguided and rather awful record which consisted of Hank Williams covers), this was still a task that bounced around agonisingly in my head for a bit.


mp3 : The The - I've Been Waiting For Tomorrow (All Of My Life)
mp3 : The The - Angels Of Deception
mp3 : The The - This Is The Night
mp3 : The The - Helpline Operator
mp3 : The The - Soul Catcher

I don't think that this week will stimulate much debate - not that I believe I've identified THE best 5 - but more because very few, other than hardcore fans, will be familiar with many songs other than the singles and also because the record label did insist on releasing so many LP tracks as 45s.

There was a Matt Johnson solo LP released in 1981, but the first official The The LP appeared in 1983. Of the eight tracks on Soul Mining, three were issued as singles. The remaining five were all candidates for the list, but in the end it is opener I've Been Waiting For Tomorrow (All Of My Life) that makes the cut. As with the inclusion of Janie Jones on the list for The Clash, this makes it on account of the memory of the opening sounds - the countdown and then the frenetic drumming of Zeke Manyika - reminding just how often I played this album back in the day and how much I looked forward to its repeated playings.

Moving on to 1986 and the release of Infected which saw probably the four strongest of the eight tracks released as singles. An epic piece of work in every way, thanks to over 50 musicians making a contribution as well as every track having an expensive promo video made to accompany it, Infected is one of the most important LPs of the era as it detailed, often in graphic language and imagery within the promos, much of what was wrong in a Western world dominated by right-wing warmongering governments who believed in the mantra 'greed is good'. It's an LP that should have spawned massive hit singles but most radio stations shied away from the controversial nature of the lyrics and denied The The the audience they deserved. Angels of Deception features in the list as an outstanding song albeit
not an easy one to listen to with its constantly changing tempo.

For the next LP, Mind Bomb (released in 1989), Matt Johnson did something nobody expected and put together a genuine band. With Johnny Marr on board, the songs on both this and Dusk (released in 1993) were completely different sounding to the earlier LPs. Many of the subject matters remained in place - particularly politics and religion - but a more sedate and softer side also came through. Four of the eight tracks on Mind Bomb came out as singles - and being by far the best tracks on the LP, I'm afraid that none of the others make this list.

Just three of the ten tracks on Dusk were singles which gives more choice than all previous albums, and as such two songs make the list. This Is The Night is not, despite the title, an alternative version of an early single but is a wonderful song in its own right with a piano opening that makes me think of saloon bars in the Wild West, while Helpline Operator wouldn't have sounded out of place on the earlier albums.

The next release was the ill-judged Hanky Panky in 1995, and then after leaving Epic Records, a totally different line-up released Nakedself on Interscope Records in 2000. It's an album that isn't anywhere near as commercial or immediate as earlier records but it is one that gets better with repeated listens. Soul Catcher is a throwback to very early Matt Johnson recording and a long long way from the bombastic productions of the 80s and 90s.

Listening again to the various albums over the past few days, it is quite clear that for the most part the very best The The songs were made available as singles, but I hope that some of you at least will enjoy and appreciate what I've put together today.

Happy (?!!?) Listening.