Originally re-issued by Alan McGee’s Rev-Ola label pre-Millennium and now sneaking out again via the tasteful LTM label, this CD features the entirety of JOSEF K’s only official album, "The Only Fun In Town" (released June 1981 by Postcard), coupled with the November 1980 sessions that produced "Sorry For Laughing" which, by right, should have been their debut.
Thing is, with Edinburgh’s JOSEF K, we’re talking youthful idealism, headstrong independence and a foot-shooting desperation not to sell out. Having spent the previous 18 months prior to the "Sorry.." sessions honing a dark, challenging sound that earned them the tag of "Scotland’s TELEVISION" (they covered "Marquee Moon" live for a while) and building an exciting reputation with the (still classic) singles "Radio Drill Time" and "It’s Kinda Funny" their time had surely come.
Signed to McGee prototype Alan Horne’s Postcard label (like ORANGE JUICE and AZTEC CAMERA) it was logical JOSEF K should cut their debut LP with previous engineer Calum Malcolm at Edinburgh’s Castle Sound Studio, which they did in November 1980 – only to scrap its’ release on the verge of a far larger commercial future.
With the benefit of our old friend Hindsight, this now seems a crucial error, as the 11 tracks making up "Sorry For Laughing" (8/10) encapsulate everything that made JOSEF K potentially "the Sound of young Scotland". Indeed, nowadays the album comes on like a heavenly mutation between JOY DIVISION’s dark, propulsive post-punk and CHIC’s tight funk rhythms.
Yeah, that good, honest; the funk element taut and frenzied, not only through Malcolm Ross and Paul Haig’s spiky guitar outpourings, but also through the ever-probing basslines from Davey Weddell and Ronnie Torrance’s crisp, disco-aping drum patterns.
Also, the crystalline production only enhances when they slow it down a bit: witness "Variation Of Scene"; a superb spy theme with footsteps, lonely piano, what appears to be mellotron and Ross’s John Barry-style guitar. No less impressive are tracks like "Fun’n’Frenzy", "Terry’s Show Lies" (with its’ spindly, distorto guitar) and "Endless Soul" (the band’s theme song?) with Haig’s sardonic voice to the fore. Not to mention the amusing canned laughter ‘tween songs, nicely taking the piss out of those who wrote the band off as po-faced ‘raincoat’ depressives.
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In reality, nothing could have been further from the truth, though JOSEF K took their debut album very seriously and scrapped "Sorry For Laughing" because they felt it was too polished! Gah!!
When their debut LP proper "The Only Fun In Town" (6/10) was released in June 1981, sadly it felt (and still does) like an anti-climax. After recording a further classic single ("Sorry For Laughing" itself) with Marc Francois in Brussels, for Les Disques du Crepuscule, the band returned to capture their "live sound" (rather an obsession) for their album.
Knowing their capabilities, you’re always desperate for "The Only Fun In Town" to attain glory, but it never quite cuts it. The saddest victim is Haig’s wry, laconic voice, often mixed out of the equation at his own insistence (a move he now regrets).Also, the production is often amateurish and sloppy, particularly diminishing the true power of Weddell and Torrance. Inexcusable, as are the wooden re-recordings of both "It’s Kinds Funny" and "Sorry For Laughing."
Which isn’t to say "The Only Fun In Town" doesn’t have its’ moments. Indeed, "Revelation" contains a whiplash funk fury, "Fun ‘n’ Frenzy" is the equal of the Castle Sound version and the loose mania of "16 Years" suits the seat-of-the-pants recording. Overall, though, "The Only Fun…" flounders
desperately when you need it to soar.
For the complete picture of JOSEF K’s brief, bright career, you also need Marina’s "Endless Soul" and LTM’s two other re-issues "Young And Stupid" and "Crazy To Exist", to mop up the additional singles, live gear etc, but this 2 on 1 CD remains the major port of call on the definitive trail.
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