Released October 1990, The LA’s one and only album initially crept under my radar.
The Liverpool band, signed to the Go! Discs in 1987, had released two unsuccessful singles and recorded with a number of producers before Steve Lillywhite and Mark Wallis picked up the reins to complete the album with re-mixes and re-recordings.
The band and in particular Lee Mavers hated the finished recording yet it went on to be highly acclaimed getting excellent reviews and decent sales.
By the time I caught up with the them Lillywhite’s remix of their second single “There She Goes” had finally broken into the UK charts. A terrific song with a wonderful hook of a chorus that was very reminiscent for me of The Move and the heady, hippy days of the late Sixties.
Lee Mavers reputation for perfection was legend with a story that he turned down using an authentic Sixties mixing desk because of the lack of any Sixties dust on the consule.
Despite his and the bands reservations about the album it’s quite rightly regarded as a classic and to my mind, one of my favourite debut albums ever.
Opening with “Son Of A Gun” a perfect opener if ever there was one. Jangly acoustic guitars and Maver’s distinctive almost growling vocals topped of with some really neat backing vocals, a feature of most of the album.
Any song on this album could be a single most evident in the songs “I Can’t Sleep”, the folksy “Doledrum” and “Way Out” it’s a perfect album of songs, most of whom rarely reach the 3 minute mark and a tribute to the band’s obvious pop sensibilities.
Elements of The Doors, XTC, and a host of Sixties bands could be used to liken the band to, but in my mind they’re quite unique and this, their debut, a must- have album for anyone’s collection.
Luckily enough to catch them live at the Cardiff Students Union, they proved to be a powerful unit and just as good live. Confident and with a bit of a swagger they were excellent.
It does seem a shame that their moment in the limelight was a short one, but the beauty is, a truly remarkable album in many ways.
Tony Woolway