Shane’s Music Challenge: THE ANGELS – 1983 – Watch the Red

Shane | 20 March 2014 | Reply

Shane’s Music Challenge: THE ANGELS – 1983 – Watch the Red
8/10

Watch The Red wasn’t so much a left turn for The Angels as a widening of their sound palette… the left turn would come a couple of albums later with the addition of guitarist Bob Spencer.

After Dark Room and Night Attack, original bassist Chris Bailey departed the band, and American Jim Hilburn signed up, only to surprise the band as much as the fans when he proved to be a very capable sax player.

After first single Stand Up, which Hilburn wrote in a very ‘Angels’ style, further hits were had with the sax-punctuated Eat City, and the uncharacteristically swinging groove of Live Lady Live. Easy Prey and Bow Wow were also experimental in an arty kind of way – almost at odds with their reputation as bogan pub warriors. But then, in the manic, dinner-suited, Irish-born, French-speaking Doc Neeson, they always had a more intellectual edge than other pub rockers – even if only visually and lyrically.

Consequently Watch The Red is a fascinating album, a collision of intellectual observational lyricism, a manic confrontational mix of personalities in the band, and a need to evolve slightly beyond the straight pub rock they had made a name for themselves playing for the previous ten years. Add to the mix that they had been on the cusp of breaking through in America and Europe for several years, and although that never happened, they did make some inroads there, which undoubtedly influenced their sound here.

Apart from the singles, No Sleep In Hell (sung by John Brewster) is the kind of pub rocker they always did so well, Is That You is pure punk energy, the title track samples a woman who fleeced guitarist Rick Brewster whilst betting on a ‘which cup is the ball under’ sting, and Shoot It Up and Easy Prey are great examples of what the band could do if they let themselves not be restricted by their fans’ expectations.

This being the Liberation Blue reissue from 2000, there are several outtakes and b-sides included, as well as a bonus disc with a near-half-hour ‘Blow’, an almost uninterrupted jam by the band which yielded three almost complete songs for the final album. I’m not normally into that immersive an experience, hearing how songs evolved, but this is a legitimately interesting listen to see what they did to them before they became finished products.