The Only Ones is the debut studio album by English power pop band the Only Ones, released in April 1978 by Columbia Records. It was produced by the Only Ones themselves, with the assistance of Robert Ash and was mixed at Basing St., Escape and CBS.
| The Only Ones | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 1978 (UK) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 33:49 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer |
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| The Only Ones chronology | ||||
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Steve Lillywhite who had started his career the year before the album was released, was credited for various engineering on the album. Lillywhite would later go on to become a Grammy Award-winning producer. Also Mick Gallagher known for his work with Ian Dury and the Blockheads provided keyboards on the album.
The album was re-released in Europe in 2009 on Sony Music Entertainment, featuring bonus content. The reissue was a CD which comprises 13-tracks. It includes the original album digitally remastered from the original 1/2" mix tapes; alongside three bonus tracks.
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [2] |
| The Irish Times |  [3] |
| Mojo | [4] |
| Record Collector | [5] |
| Sounds | [6] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 10/10[7] |
Trouser Press called it "the best of the three original albums" in which "Perrett's languid vocals and songs provide the character and focus, while the band's skills carry it off handsomely".[8] The album is still widely admired by British critics. In 1994, The Encyclopedia of Popular Music named The Only Ones one of the 50 best punk albums of all-time. The compilers claimed that the Only Ones were "the closest thing the UK had to Johnny Thunders' Heartbreakers, a laconic, shamble of a band who were, at moments, touched by a creative greatness that made you get out of the glare".[9]
Since the end of the 1990s, the album has also appeared on several all-time greatest albums lists.[10][11][12] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (2006).[13]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Peter Perrett
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Whole of the Law" | 2:38 |
| 2. | "Another Girl, Another Planet" | 3:02 |
| 3. | "Breaking Down" | 4:52 |
| 4. | "City of Fun" | 3:32 |
| 5. | "The Beast" | 5:47 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Creature of Doom" | 2:35 |
| 7. | "It's the Truth" | 2:07 |
| 8. | "Language Problem" | 2:28 |
| 9. | "No Peace for the Wicked" | 2:51 |
| 10. | "The Immortal Story" | 3:57 |
| Total length: | 33:49 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Lovers of Today" | 3:12 |
| 12. | "Peter and the Pets" | 3:04 |
| 13. | "As My Wife Says" | 1:53 |
Personnel
editThe Only Ones
- Peter Perrett – lead and background vocals, guitars, keyboards
- John Perry – guitars, keyboards
- Alan Mair – bass guitars
- Mike Kellie – drums
Session musicians
- Mick Gallagher – keyboards
- Gordon Edwards – keyboards
- Raphael & Friends – horns
- Koulla Kakoulli – backing vocals
Production team
- Robert Ash – production, engineering
- The Only Ones – production
- Ed Hollis – various engineering
- Steve Lillywhite – various engineering
- John Burns – various engineering
- Ian Maidman – various engineering
- John Dent – mastering
- Peter "Kodick" Gravelle – cover photography
Charts
edit| Chart (1978) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums (OCC)[14] | 56 |
References
edit- ^ Deming, Mark. "The Only Ones – The Only Ones". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Only Ones". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-85712-595-8.
- ^ Clayton-Lea, Tony (13 February 2009). "The Only Ones: The Only Ones / Even Serpents Shine / Baby's Got a Gun (Sony Music)". The Irish Times. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
- ^ "The Only Ones: The Only Ones". Mojo. p. 120.
Perrett's tremulous, wounded vocal fitted intoxicatingly throughout with Perry's delicious soloing and dark, mesmerising melodies.
- ^ Rigby, Paul (October 2007). "The Only Ones – The Only Ones". Record Collector. No. 341. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
- ^ Dadomo, Giovanni (13 May 1978). "The Only Ones: The Only Ones (CBS 82830)". Sounds. Retrieved 24 October 2020 – via Rock's Backpages.
- ^ Walsh, Jim (1995). "Only Ones". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 280–81. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
- ^ Robbins, Ira; Schinder, Scott. "Only Ones". Trouser Press. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (1994). All Time Top 1000 Albums. Enfield: Guinness Publishing. p. 246. ISBN 0-85112-786-X.
- ^ Du Noyer, Paul (1998). Encyclopedia of Albums: 1,000 Best-Ever Albums. Bristol: Dempsey Parr. p. 163. ISBN 1-84084-031-5.
This is their most satisfying, most focused collection, unsullied by the drugs and disillusionment that characterised their demise
- ^ Dimery, Robert, ed. (2005). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. London: Cassell. p. 401.
Preferring flawed romance to fiery nihilism, Perrett peppered this 1978 debut with offerings of paranoid beauty
- ^ "1000 albums to hear before you die – Artists beginning with O". The Guardian. 21 November 2007. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
Frontman Peter Perrett was living the Pete Doherty lifestyle long before the Libertine, but found time to add his trademark narcotic drawl to John Perry's skyscraping fretwork in songs as stratospheric as Another Girl, Another Planet. If Babyshambles sounded like this, they'd fill stadiums.
- ^ Dimery, Robert, ed. (2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (revised and updated ed.). Universe Publishing. ISBN 0-7893-1371-5.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
External links
edit- The Only Ones at Discogs (list of releases)