Between 1977 and 1981 a myriad of influences, fashions and styles collided to make a heady musical brew that hasn’t been equaled since. In the wake of Punk's brief flare-up there emerged a dazzling band of diverse talents who came to be known under the umbrella term New Wave. 'Going Underground' is a 66-track, 3CD set that sets out to tell the story of those exciting, experimental days.
From the UK, explosive newcomers like The Jam, Elvis Costello and Siouxsie & The Banshees took on our domestic singles charts and won, with hit after landmark hit. From the USA, The Ramones, Patti Smith, Blondie and The Pretenders gave them all a run for their money. Meanwhile burgeoning future legends like The Cure, Ian Dury and Bob Geldof's Boomtown Rats rubbed shoulders with crazily inventive one-offs like The Flying Lizards, Lene Lovich, Jilted John and Belgium’s Plastic Bertrand.
The musical styles embraced by the New Wave might have ranged from ska (The Specials, The Selecter) to R&B (Dexy’s Midnight Runners, Dr Feelgood) to electronica (Joy Divison, The Human League) to thrashy garage rock (The Skids, The Buzzcocks) but one thread connected them all: this was about as perfect as pop music gets. Strangely, every single one of these 66 smashes sounds as fresh today as the day it was recorded. Viva Le New Wave!
Review
Disc One
1. Going Underground - The Jam
2. Hong Kong Garden - Siouxsie And The Banshees
3. Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)? - Buzzcocks
4. Pump It Up - Elvis Costello & The Attractions
5. Geno - Dexys Midnight Runners
6. Turning Japanese - The Vapors
7. My Best Friend's Girl - The Cars
8. Ca Plane Pour Moi - Plastic Bertrand
9. Dog Eat Dog - Adam & The Ants
10. Lucky Number - Lene Lovich
11. Airport - Motors
12. Because The Night - Patti Smith Group
13. Rat Trap - The Boomtown Rats
14. No More Heroes - The Stranglers
15. Another Girl Another Planet - The Only Ones
16. Do Anything You Wanna Do - Eddie & The Hot Rods
17. Making Plans For Nigel - XTC
18. Money - The Flying Lizards
19. Jilted John - Jilted John
20. Jimmy Jimmy - The Undertones
21. Banana Splits - The Dickies
22. If The Kids Are United - Sham 69
Disc Two
1. Hanging On The Telephone - Blondie
2. My Sharona - The Knack
3. Is She Really Going Out With Him? - Joe Jackson
4. Up The Junction - Squeeze
5. Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll - Ian Dury & The Blockheads
6. Back Of My Hand - Jags
7. I Got You - Split Enz
8. Rock Lobster - The B-52's
9. Video Killed The Radio Star - The Buggles
10. Stop Your Sobbing - The Pretenders
11. 2-4-6-8 Motorway - Tom Robinson Band
12. Into The Valley - The Skids
13. The Sound Of The Suburbs - The Members
14. Sheena Is A Punk Rocker - Ramones
15. Milk And Alcohol - Dr. Feelgood
16. King Rocker - Generation X
17. Prime Time - The Tubes
18. Whip It - Devo
19. Top Of The Pops - The Rezillos
20. Babylon's Burning - The Ruts
21. Public Image - Public Image Ltd.
22. I Am The Fly - Wire
Disc Three
1. Boys Don't Cry - The Cure
2. Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division
3. Pretty In Pink - The Psychedelic Furs
4. Kids In America - Kim Wilde
5. They Don't Know - Kirsty MacColl
6. Reward - The Teardrop Explodes
7. Swords Of A Thousand Men - Tenpole Tudor
8. Eighth Day - Hazel O'Connor
9. I Heard It Through The Grapevine - The Slits
10. Egyptian Reggae - Jonathan Richman And The Modern Lovers
11. Gangsters - The Special AKA
12. On My Radio - The Selecter
13. Private Life - Grace Jones
14. Genius Of Love - Tom Tom Club
15. Broken English - Marianne Faithfull
16. Germfree Adolescents - X-Ray Spex
17. I'm In Love With A German Film Star - The Passions
18. No.1 Song In Heaven - Sparks
19. Being Boiled - The Human League
20. Life In Tokyo (Part 1) - Japan
21. We Got The Beat - The Go-Go's
22. C30 C60 C90 Go - Bow Wow Wow
Artist: VA|Title Of Album: Going Underground|Date Released: 30 May 2011