Out of thirteen ‘demo’ cassettes, five 7″ singles, and seven LP’s I have here, this is actually my favourite release. Hence the slight scratches on the record!
The third ‘demo’ cassette and the first and second 7″ singles come dead close.
The artwork is top notch, plenty to read inside the release (about two hours worth, at my speed of reading, political thought as well as a very concise biography of the band mentioning hundreds of people and places that The Apostles have crossed paths with). Dave Fanning and Andy Martin proving, at last, on this release that they are, and always had been, very capable musicians. Please check out Dave’s bass ‘licks’ esp in The Hunt part 2. The drummer, Rat from Statement, had the drums turned down in the mix on purpose, to make the melodies from the tracks a little more free-flowing.
A few friends of mine do not like the LP’s as much as the earlier stuff on 7″ and cassette (Hi Spike!), but never fear, the first ‘demo’ from 1981 will be up soon enough. If you have noticed an absence of 7″ singles by The Apostles on this site, it is deliberate as they may be released on CD soon enough in 2008 (Hi Spike!). So you will have to buy the CD when released rather than getting the tracks from this site. Details will be put up nearer the time of release.
Please check out post 86 downloads elsewhere on the site from time to time, for some extra Apostles LPs and some of the later cassettes, quite a few were recorded and released in 1987 and 1988 so you will not find them on this download section.
As a special treat I have included the Tony McPhee and Jo-Anne Kelly original track from 1969 entitled ‘Oh Death’ (first track on this Apostles LP) here – it is well worth a listen.
Released on the Liberty Record label ‘I Asked For Water, She Gave Me Gasoline’ or the compilation ‘ Son Of Gutbucket’ both from 1969, if you can find them in rare vinyl record shops!
Nic
December 24, 2007 at 11:05 amI think that people criticised the band for their ‘musicianship’ for a couple of reasons: partly because their budgets meant they never really had a great production to the songs, partly because they didn’t conform to a monochrome 3 chord thrash, and partly because of Andy’s vocals which are somewhat ‘mannered’ and got on many people’s nerves (not mine, I hasten to add)…
I always enjoyed the albums as well as the demos and the singles…
I had drifted off from the band through 1984, so was quite excited when this LP first came out, particularly as it featured a few older songs, and upon listening was chuffed about the Groundhogs influence (living out in the country, I’d always hung around with hippies who had turned me on to the Groundhogs in the early 80’s, along with other great bands like Pink Fairies, Deviants, Edgar Broughton…our group played with the Groundhogs in 1985 – rather a strange combination!)…
There’s some great ‘solo’ McPhee on the ‘Me and the Devil’ LP as well…
This LP has some great stuff on it (along with some nice versions of older pieces under new titles):
‘Thalidomide’ – a real thumper, with great firey guitars, and a palpable sense of anger…
‘The Patient’ – one of those post punk discordant pieces that they were so good at..
‘Breaking Barriers’ – classic trademark Apostles blues soloing!
‘New Face in N16′ – always been a favourite of mine in all its forms, and I really like the sharpness of the main guitar on this version…Great half-barreing and sharp lead lines towards the end of the cut…
’62 Brougham Road’ – more Groundhogs fetishism (inspired by ‘3744 James Road’ on the ‘Hogwash’ album perhaps? 🙂 )…Great lead lines, and generally fantastic guitar playing – pastoral melancholy, building up as the piece goes on…
Will you be putting up more of the LP’s, penguin?
I think most of them are OOP, so it wouldn’t be cheating the band…
(My vinyl has been ‘well loved’ – as the saying goes 🙂 )
JIM VALLANCE
December 27, 2007 at 4:36 amThese songs have followed , echoed and enriched our lives. Providing thought for discussion and love…..The DIY ethic offered was an alternative to banks/lawyers/banks/central government/banks/butchers/banks/etc…not a platform for a career in the corporate music industry…..lots of love to all the Apostles.
Chris
December 29, 2007 at 4:06 ami think i’m really going to have to give this lp another listen in its entirety. ‘daze of the weak’ is an absolutely brilliant track but i don’t think i ever listened to the other songs more than once. I think i should.
Nuzz
December 29, 2007 at 10:26 amPersonally I think The Apostles were more important than Crass in the whole ‘anarcho scene’ were Crass opened the door The Apostles kicked it in. I will expand on this later, but for the moment I just wanted to say that.
Jim V
May 20, 2008 at 9:43 pmstill seems relevant…
Jim V
May 20, 2008 at 9:54 pmsorry computer failure….I have had a recent email from Dave Fanning….he is planning to upload some of his music and make it available online…lookin fwd…jim…still lovin this site.
seitan
January 20, 2009 at 9:03 amthe low drums had nothing to do with me! that was all andys doing!
what an experience it was. the drums in the studio were ok, except for the important one, the snare.
it was hammered. the skin had dents all over it. fuck knows how it didnt just rip completely.
Pete
March 27, 2009 at 6:54 amGreat LP. Brings back memories. One being sat in my car with Andy & Andrew, on the weekend of one of the Time To Think recording sessions, outside a laundrette in rainy Hackney.
I had the LP on a really rough tape – one of those that came in soft plastic packets of three with no case nor cover. I don’t recall from where I got a case, but I made the cover myself. Heh, I probably still have it somewhere. Anyway, it was one of the tapes I had in the car and suggested to Andy to pop it on. He hadn’t heard it in ages, so he agreed…
D.F.
March 29, 2009 at 8:44 amWhat’s the word on the Apostles re-issues, the CD of the 7″s and the triple LP of the experimental material? – eagerly awaiting that!
chris
March 29, 2009 at 3:41 pmthe re-mastering has finally been completed of all the single and unreleased studio tracks from those sessions. really just awaiting cover artwork finalising and confirmation of distribution now.
the guy who’s putting out the double/triple LP is, i imagine, still wading through the 36 C90 cassettes of unreleased stuff I sent him before making final choices of the tracks he wishes to include.
will keep this site informed of all further progress.