THE CHORDS' lone studio album "So Far Away" (1980) would have been a contender for our Rock Hunter series anyway, but now that this comprehesnsive 2CD anthology set has been lovingly annotated by drummer Brett 'Buddy' Ascott, this really IS what you want, especially as -since its' release in late 2000 -it's still kicking around in most discerning shops.
For this writer, The Chords were/ are one of the best combos to come out of the whole UK New Wave thing and, depite being forever lumbered with the Mod tag and splitting before their myth could really get going, their slim but essential back catalogue remains a blast of thrilling, righteous noise to this day.
"This Is What They Want" is an ace package and no mistake, comprising 40 tracks over 2CDS, with extensive liner notes, comments from the band and suitably stylish Gered Mankowitz photography completing the picture.
Hailing from various manors in and around South/East London, THE Chords really were the business. Yes, the Mod references are of course there in the sharp look, the target imagery, the powerchording and the Weller/Townshend-esque social comment inherent in Chris Pope's best lyrics.
However, our memories of The Chords oughtn't to be constrained by the Mod ethic. Indeed, Pope's finest songs ("Maybe Tomorrow," "Something's Missing," "The British Way Of Life", "Happy Families"...the list is lengthy) suggest his work is cut from the kind of individual, Britpop cloth that has turned out distinctive talents like Ray Davies and Damon Albarn.
CD1 is virtually all crucial. With Pope's songwriting nous and the band's unerring flair for stinging melody, The Chords had the cracking, 3-minute pop single thang down flat and all seven of their 7" efforts are collated here. I'd forgotten the great "Now It's Gone" debut (September 1979 - here in its' re-recorded form), although the solid gold classic quality of "Maybe Tomorrow" and the broiling "Something's Missing" ought to be stamped indelibly on any great music head's brain. There's great moments in both: notably the slash 'n' burn riffing that opens "Maybe Tomorrow" and the way frontman Billy Hassett yells "What the Fuck!" (at least on the LP version) during "Something's Missing."
Also included are "The British Way Of Life" and "In My Street." "BWOL" wasn't recorded to the band's satisfaction originally and is featured here in its' earlier 'muddy' incarnation and its' 2000 re-recording form. The earlier one is spunky and energetic, though the latter is the definitive: Pope on vocals and contributions from The Buzzcocks' Tony Barber and the Kick Horns. Both this and "In My Street" tap into the grand British suburban ennui and the way Hassett sings "we're all potential suicides" during the latter jars tellingly against the song's crunching, positive melody and ex-Ruts desk man Mick Glossop's impressive production.
The "So Far Away" album features a further clutch of excellent numbers. Fizzing with energy and catchier than your nuts in a mangle, the likes of "Happy Families," "I'm Not Sure" and "It's No Use" find Hassett and Pope railing against the daily grind, while "So Far Away" itself is another belter and should have been an official single. There is an edited version included on CD2, however.
Musically, The Chords were both ultra-tight and capable of piledriving power. Tunes like "Its No Use" begin as fairly standard r'n'b/ r'n'r, but soon boil over with the twin guitar frenzy, while in Martin Mason and Brett Ascott, THE CHORDS had maybe the finest UK rhythm section of all time. Mason probes and pushes, setting metre and melody, while - with the exception of Topper Headon - I'd rate Ascott the best UK drummer of the past 25 years, such is/ was the controlled power of his attack.
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CD2 has plus points aplenty, too, not least in the B-sides and unreleased tracks department. Here, with the likes of the snotty "I Don't Wanna Know" and "The Way It's Gotta Be", both Mason and Hassett proved they could also pen neat tunes; while - at least in terms of crushing sonic overload - "Don't Go Back" puts most of the Punk pretenders to shame.
Two recent Chris Pope-led sessions bring proceedings to a close. A frail, acoustic rendition of "Now It's Gone" brings us full circle, but before this we get Pope's paean to dismal seaside holidays in "Two Weeks In Heaven": which rings sardonically true. Along with he Hassett-fronted "Empty Dreams," such material demonstrates that The Chords could also effectively tackle semi-acoustic reflection.
The main criticism I'd voice would be that they were mediocre at cover versions, as the rather wooden and perfunctory stabs at usual suspects by The Beatles, Small Faces and Soul/Motown numbers shows. About the best of their re-interpretations is a sparky take of The Action's "I'll Keep On Holding On", although on balance Mick Glossop was probably right to relegate this to the B-side of "In My Street."
Rightly, "This Is What They Want" also includes the two final post-Hassett singles, "One More Minute" and "Turn Away Again," featuring ex-VIBRATOR 'Kip' Herring on lead vocals. The quality control certainly remains and Herring is convincing. Indeed, the urgent, Herring-fronted "Who's Killing Who?" (the flip to "One More Minute") is something of a lost gem in its own right.
There's more, of course, not least the one-riff wonder and legendary B-side that is "This Is What They Want" itself, but...well, we've not got until Christmas here. Suffice it to say The Chords were one of the best-ever UK bands who sadly disappeared before they really began. It's fitting that tributes from the likes of Steve Diggle (Buzzcocks), Damien O'Neill (Undertones) and The Wonder Stuff's Miles Hunt are included, as The Chords had as much in common with these distinctive outfits as the more obvious Jam/ Who axis any day of the week.
"This Is What They Want"? Absolutely. Remove the question mark and get searching.
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