Animal Now is sorta/kinda/markedly different from Owen era Ruts but
it's a pretty solid album albeit quite morose ...lyrically.  I mean the
guy OD'd on the band right when they were on the verge of greatness
...so... the album reflects a band in flux and transition and
reflection and mourning.  Those guys -the core musicians of the band-
were no slacker punks, they were all well educated and fairly well
seasoned session players long before they formed the band w/frontman
Malcolm.  Animal Now has the punk undercurrents of The Crack and the
ska-dub overtones of pre and post Animal Now era but it's ...well, I
dunno, it's pretty well layered to my ears.  Suggs the bassist and Paul
Fox their most excellent guitarist both sing and do a pretty good job
at it ...neither are of Mssr Owen's calibre but they're okay.  Animal
Now wasn't as overtly ska-ish as they became on subsequent releases
under the same handle either ... a bit 80s dated sounding along the
lines of P-Furs/Echo/Chameleons/Lucy Show (Dave Ruffy Ruts' drummer
later drummed for live Lucy Show)/et-al but still extremely listenable,
to these ears anyway ...another album what should most definitely be
digitally redone.

UK Subs ...haven't listened to em in a dog's age but I'd start at the
beginning ...start w/the first album I guess ...Another Kind Of Blues
... another band w/a lot more goin' ahn than just yr dime a dozen/jack
booted/mohawk wearin' punk thing ...I really dug em a lot back around
80ish but I haven't listened to em all that much over the past twenty
or so years, saw em when they opened for The Police at The Palladium in
NYC in Nov/79  ...I think Capt' Oi reissued most all their stuff w/most
all relevent singles/b-sides attached to each as xtra trax ...and they
released some CORKERS o'singles.  So they're easily available.

Mark 


Message-ID: 
<2228a40d0510171823g2d0f3b26h469ceb4872b8ac8d@mail.gmail.com>

On 10/17/05, MarkP  wrote:

> --Ruts DC - Animal Now

How does this compare/differ to the Malcolm Owen Ruts?

----

And, where would I start listening to the UK Subs.
All I have the the kickarse C.I.D. Ep




		
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