July 2022

Previously, I reviewed two compilation albums devoted to small, independent labels: Ork Records and Bomp! Records. But both these labels were domestic (American) labels, so it’s interesting to see what was happening (music-wise) in the mother country.

As far as modern music was concerned, the U.K., much like the U.S. was divided. After the breakup of The Beatles, there was a split between those who wanted to take pop and rock to the next level (progressive rock) and those who thought that writing pop songs between 2 and 4 minutes long was an art to be emulated (power pop). In the meantime, pub rock bands were threatening to become the next big thing; groups like Brinsley Schwarz, Roogalator, and Ducks Deluxe were all the rage. It took a few years to deflate the ambitions of these bands, leaving Dr. Feelgood as the only group to become popular.

Dr. Feelgood would soon become instrumental in the launch of Stiff Records. Dave Robinson and Jake Riviera were well-known London music business characters. Robinson had worked for Jimi Hendrix in the 1960s and has also managed Brinsley Schwarz. Riviera managed Dr. Feelgood, which was starting to become popular. The label was started with a loan of £400 from Lee Brilleaux of Dr. Feelgood.

The first single issued on Stiff was “So It Goes” b/w “Heart of the City” by Nick Lowe, the bassist/vocalist from Brinsley Schwartz, which had just broken up. Lowe now became the in-house producer for the label, and produced many of Stiff’s early singles, including “New Rose” by The Damned, in what is commonly regarded as the first punk rock single in the U.K.

In 1977, Stiff Records signed Wreckless Eric, Elvis Costello, Ian Dury, and The Adverts. After a series of disagreements with Robinson, Riviera left the label in early 1978, taking Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe and Yachts with him as a settlement package. He joined CBS Records, where he set up the short-lived Radar Records as a subsidiary label.

Deprived of some of their best talent, Stiff struggled on. In the meantime, Ian Dury’s debut LP, “New Boots and Panties!!” raced up the charts, keeping the label solvent the next few months. The next few years were Stiff Records’ salad days. Lene Lovich had several hits, including a cover of “I Think We’re Alone Now” and “Lucky Number”. Ian Dury released “Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick”, Stiff’s first #1 hit. Devo did not sign with Stiff (they signed with Warner Brothers), but released their first single on the label, and they released “The Akron Compilation”, which consisted of Akron-based artists. After an initial single, Jane Aire and the Belvederes ultimately signed with Virgin Records, but she wasn’t going to make it, anyway, and Madness signed with them in 1979.

The labels success proved, however, to be short-lived. Stiff Records was dependent on hits from a handful of established artists such as Madness and Tracey Ullman. Towards the end of 1983, Robinson cut a deal with Island Records in which Island would buy 50 percent of Stiff Records, and Robinson would end up running both labels. Island was essentially broke, and Robinson had to lend them money to fund the purchase of Stiff. The deal went badly, as Robinson essentially neglected Stiff. Dave Robinson regained control of Stiff Records in 1985, but the damage was done. Hits by the Pogues and Furniture helped Stiff to survive for another twenty months, but the underlying causes of the failure of the Island deal finally became too burdensome for Stiff. Ironically, Stiff signed Dr. Feelgood in 1986. Dr. Feelgood had been dropped by United Artists in the early 1980s; they had been bouncing between independent labels and by 1986, were unsigned. They released two albums on Stiff: Brilleaux (1986) and Classic (1987). Stiff was acquired by ZTT in 1987, and they deactivated the label in 1988.

Four years later, Stiff released “The Stiff Records Box Set”. It’s by no means an exhaustive chronicle of the Stiff era, but it samples from the entire Stiff era (1976-87). There are multiple tracks from Nick Lowe, Ian Dury, Elvis Costello, Rachel Sweet, Wreckless Eric, Madness, Tenpole Tudor and other artists. There are also single tracks from notable artists like Dave Edmunds (who had a contract with Swan Song, but contributed to compilation albums), Richard Hell, Larry Wallis, Jane Aire and the Belvederes, Devo, and others.

I acquired this box set from a digital download. Having spent $7.68 for this set (thank you, Russian mp3 site), which is currently out of print and would cost $187.89 for new and $59.75 used, per Amazon, my expectations were immediately fulfilled. Those who acquired the box set in physical form, however, might have been a bit disappointed in the liner notes, as apparently there was very little real information about the label. I have not seen the liner notes, though. I would be somewhat disappointed as well; $187 pays for a lot of mp3s.

But for the casual fan, or someone who didn’t live through the era and wants to see what the fuss was about, “The Stiff Records Box Set” will likely be more than adequate. Completionists should seek out various compilation albums = those which did not get a CD release may be ripped from vinyl. [For the ones that have not been ripped to a digital format, there’s always thrift shops.] Also, there’s The Stiff Singles, which have been released in several volumes on Amazon. “The Stiff Records Box Set” may not be the final word on this label’s prodigious output, but it’s a good start.

In 1974, The Flamin’ Groovies, a garage rock band based in San Francisco, returned to the U.S. after some time in the U.K. They had recorded a set of Dave Edmund-produced tracks, including “Shake Some Action”. Founding member Ray Loney departed the band, and with Cyril Jordan as lead vocalist and guitarist, The Flamin’ Groovies moved away from the R&B of their early years and more in the direction of British power pop. They had no record deal in the U.S., and were shopping the recorded tracks to different labels, and, amazingly enough, there were no takers.
Enter the late Greg Shaw, who with his wife Suzi Shaw started Bomp Magazine, a fanzine promoting underground music, in 1970. Shaw liked the band’s recordings, and decided to release the record, which was included with the magazine. The magazine sold enough copies to make the record break even. Through his contacts at FM radio stations, Shaw generated enough airplay, even though the band was unsigned. This was enough to get Sire Records to sign the band, and enough to convince Shaw to continue releasing records.
Over the years, the label has featured punk, pop, power pop, old-school rock, neo-psychedelia, and other genres. Its impressive roster has included The Flamin’ Groovies, Iggy Pop, The Romantics, 20/20, Zeros, The Jook, Shoes, Stiv Bators, Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers, The Plimsouls, and The Brian Jonestown Massacre. Shaw died in 2004, but Bomp Records lives on, and is still releasing music, though more sporadically than before. [The last release was a B-Girls compilation from August 2017, and although it was almost five years ago, I hesitate to say that Bomp Records has closed up shop.]
Which brings us to the compilation album of the day: Destination Bomp (1994). To be sure, it makes a case for justifying the existence of Bomp Records, and it does include many songs from the label’s illustrious catalog. Overall, it makes for a thoroughly listenable experience.
What is unclear, however, is the selection of material. Clearly, the compilation evenly samples music from the two decades for which Bomp Records was in existence – hence, although there is music from the punk era (The Poppees, Dmz, and Iggy Pop), there is also new wave (Shoes, 20/20, The Romantics), some post-punk, pre-grunge music (The Green Pajamas), and some new-ish garage rock (The Brian Jonestown Massacre).
But that leaves some notable omissions. There’s no Venus and the Razorblades, who released “Punk-a-Rama” on the label in 1977. There’s nothing by The Jook, who released an EP in 1978. And nothing by The Modern Lovers, who released an early album on Bomp in 1981. And, I might add, nothing from “American Youth Report”, a compilation of L.A. punk rock which includes T.S.O.L. and Red Kross. Part of the problem is the vast catalog of Bomp Records. Unlike Ork Records, whose compilation I reviewed last week, Bomp released LPs, and is still active today, albeit with less frequency. Since the output of Ork Records was sporadic and consisted of singles and EPs and in any case was defunct by the end of the 1970s, there wasn’t much material and most of it was put on the 2-CD compilation. With Bomp, however, there was a lot more material to sift through, and unfortunately, much music was omitted.
Anyhow, if you don’t mind what was left out, this makes for a melodious compilation, and I don’t have much of a quarrel with those who selected tracks for this 2-CD retrospective. Just be aware that it could have been so much more.

New York City was an interesting place to be in 1975, at least musically. The punk rock movement was beginning to take hold. In the meantime, Big Star had spectacularly failed to become the Next Big Thing and had broken up. Alex Chilton headed north, as did power pop exponent Chris Stamey. The Feelies, a band from Haledon, New Jersey, were playing at Maxwells, a bar/live music venue in Hoboken, across the river. Mick Farren was active, along with his backup band, The Deviants. One might imagine that it would be a pretty fertile ground for establishing an independent record label.

Enter William Terry Ork, who was a band manager and record producer for the new wave/punk scene in New York City in the mid-1970s. He formed Ork Records, met Billy Fica and Tom Verlaine, and introduced them to Richard Hell. They formed Television, who established a residency at CBGB’s, although Hell left the band and formed his own band, The Voidoids. In February 1975, Ork released their first single, “Little Johnny Jewel”. In 1976, Ork released Richard Hell’s “Blank Generation” EP.

Next came a series of singles and EPs by the Marbles, Alex Chilton, Prix and Mick Farren. Chris Stamey, the bass player for Alex Chilton, had a single, “Summer Sun” b/w “Where the Fun Is”. Ork wasn’t particularly a prolific label, but by the time the label called it a day by the end of the 70s, they left behind a legacy of excellent music.

In September 2015, The Numero Group, an archival record label from Chicago, released “Ork Records: New York, New York” on multiple formats (a 4-LP vinyl set, a 2-CD set, and MP3s), the definitive collection of material originally released on Ork. You’ll find some familiar artists here (Television, The Feelies, Alex Chilton, Chris Stamey, Mick Farren) and some not-so-familiar artists (The Marbles, Prix, The Erasers). Overall, the album is good and consistent – you can detect the common threads running through the music, and the evolution of the genre.

In running Ork Records, Terry Ork faced two obstacles: infighting between groups and shoestring budgets. Fortunately, Numero was able to remaster a lot of these tracks, which allows this collection to be a sonic masterpeice.

This collection is a must-have for the punk fan completionist, and it’s a worthy addition for the casual fan as well. I liked Richard Hell’s cover of Chris Stamey and the dB’s “(I Thought) You Wanted to Know” particularly. And who can argue with Richard Lloyd playing a cover of the Stones’ “Get Off My Cloud”, with Alex Chilton covering the B-side (“The Singer Not The Song”), and Lloyd covering “Connection” from “Between the Buttons”, for good measure? This compilation is highly recommended.