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- Date Released: January 1, 1979
- Genre: Rock/Pop
- Style: Power Pop, New Wave
- Label: Epic
- Copyright: 1978, 1979 Sony Music Entertainment (United Kingdom) Limited
Classic prepunk rock and roll — a blueprint for the Strokes
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We Say...
Few British rock bands of the late '70s bestrode the dividing line between pre-punk and punk as effortlessly as the Only Ones. They could pass for punk (or, more readily, new wave) because they played hard and jagged, mostly kept the songs short, sounded anxiously sardonic and were led by Peter Perrett, who sang like a British Jonathan Richman. Songs such as "City of Fun" and "Lovers of Today" were as charged as anything else from the time. But listening to Special View — a 1979 compilation for American Epic that condenses two LPs and a single into 11 songs — it's easier than ever to hear the wider Brit-rock that held the nation until the Pistols and Clash arrived. Even the zooming "Another Girl, Another Planet," now well known to be a coded ode to Perrett's heroin habit, features a synth and guitar solo that play like a less aggressively jagged early Roxy Music. Perrett's sidelong lyrics have clearly learned some lessons from the Kinks' Ray Davies, and the lengthy guitar climax, joined by horns, of the near-six-minute "Beast" could have been decorated a live-at-the-Fillmore album. All of it sounds quintessential today — not to mention that "Lovers of Today" and "The Whole of the Law" sound like direct templates for the Strokes.
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They Say...
Though a compilation of albums for America rather than a proper release, Special View could almost be a greatest hits of sorts, capturing the unexpected and underrated talents of Perrett and his bandmates for a late-'70s audience well enough and still holding up in later years. It doesn't hurt that the band's deathless anthem "Another Girl, Another Planet" -- as perfect a crystallization of power pop shot through with fractured melancholia instead of macho strut as could be imagined -- leads everything off. Perrett's wounded but right voice -- Pete Shelley and Richard Hell in perfect sync -- and the sharp, inspired melody and arrangement were reason enough for the band to exist, but Special View provides a fair amount of others. The Velvet Underground's influence (and, to an extent, the Modern Lovers') on the group could easily be heard on "Lovers of Today," the defiantly simple scrabble of those bands informed with the seasoned semi-pub/glam roots of the performers to result in an enjoyable tension. Perrett's gift at turning the seen-it-all stance of Lou Reed into a suddenly romantic, almost naïvely sweet vision definitely calls Jonathan Richman to mind, but he's less winsome and a touch more haunted and on edge, a careful balance that often is the most remarkable thing about the band in general. The strong enough but generally unremarkable R&B rave-ups on songs like "City of Fun" wouldn't have been so listenable without his wounded drawl. Meanwhile, moments like the conclusion of "The Beast," with its semi-epic guitar solo, and the synth on "Someone Who Cares" show examples of true inspiration. Secret highlight: "The Whole of the Law," a bit of a '50s tearjerker with the addition of the sax.
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| 01. |  |
Another Girl, Another Planet |
3:01 |
|
| 02. | |
Lovers Of Today |
3:12 |
|
| 03. | |
Peter And The Pets |
3:05 |
|
| 04. | |
The Beast |
5:46 |
|
| 05. | |
City Of Fun |
3:30 |
|
| 06. | |
The Whole Of The Law |
2:36 |
|
| 07. | |
Out There In The Night |
3:01 |
|
| 08. | |
Someone Who Cares |
3:10 |
|
| 09. | |
You've Got To Pay |
2:47 |
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| 10. | |
Flaming Torch |
2:20 |
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| 11. | |
Curtains For You |
4:18 |
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| 12. | |
From Here To Eternity |
3:05 |
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12 Total Tracks, 39:51 Total Length
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Credits
- The Only Ones - Producer // The Only Ones - Main Performer // Rabbit - Keyboards // Robert Ash - Producer // John "Rabbit" Bundrick - Keyboards // John "Rabbit" Bundrick - Keyboards // Koulla Kakoulli - Vocals (Background) // Andy Lyden - Assistant Engineer // Alan Mair - Bass // Alan Mair - Producer // Adam Maitland - Keyboards // Adam Maitland - Saxophone // Peter Perrett - Guitar // Peter Perrett - Vocals // Peter Perrett - Producer // John Perry - Guitar // Mike Kelly - Drums // Kevin Dalimore - Assistant Engineer // Janet Perr - Cover Art // Mike Kellie - Drums
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