This expanded re-release coincides with ‘King Rocker’, the brilliant 'anti-rockumentary' directed by Michael Cumming, written by comedian and super fan Stewart Lee.
Available for the first time on vinyl since 1983, disc 1 is the 13-track LP originally released by Cherry Red Records while disc 2 comprises demos, non-album singles and live tracks from this period. It has been re-mastered by Stuart Moxham and is the first in series of expanded reissues and new work.
Singer and lyricist Robert Lloyd has praised 'Pigs On Purpose' producer Richard Strange for not trying to make the band something it wasn't and letting the group 'do its thing'.
'Doing their own thing'; that really sums up his and the band's philosophy. Theirs has never been a quest for chart-bound glory or mainstream acclaim. The Nightingales are happy to be labelled as "forever ripe for rediscovery." A song such as Well Done Underdog' is like an a cappella hymn in celebration of defiant outsiders everywhere.
After the break up of The Prefects, the band launched their unique career just as the first wave of punk was fading. Their off kilter style also meant that they were not officially classified as post-punk. Mark E, Smith and The Fall, who Lloyd and his band are often compared to, are comprehensively reviewed by Simon Reynolds in 'Rip It Up And Start Again' but, significantly, The Nightingales are not mentioned at all.
The lack of commercial breakthrough is partly down to Robert Lloyd's idiosyncratic lyrics and this is coupled with his studied disinterest in seeking mainstream success. Even the PR scribes concede defeat when trying to classify the band and can only observe that "The Nightingales evolution and development are difficult to fathom,".
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The nod to the British folk tradition in Stewart Lee's recent rendition of Use Your Loaf makes perfect sense but, equally, Lloyd is on record as stating that he has always drawn more inspiration from Faust and Captain Beefheart than The Clash or The Sex Pistols. Krautrock trumps Punk so twin guitar psychotic riffs take precedence over three chord blasts.
On this collection, it's good to revisit the 7" singles - Idiot Strength , Inside Out and Paraffin Brain . The B-side are also included in this package which happily means there is a place for the marvelous Elvis, The Last Ten Days .
The first set of demos include To Dachau and Hark My Love and capture the energy and spontaneity the band at that time. Less essential are the fuzzy recordings of four live tracks and these could have been shelved to allow space for early 80s songs such as 'Urban Ospreys' and 'Blood For Dirt'.
What comes out of 'King Rocker' is that being un-pigeon hole-able has become a badge of honor for Robert Lloyd. The permanent cult status has allowed him a freedom to chart his own trajectory under the radar for over four decades. Just like the King Kong statue that briefly graced Birmingham's Bull Ring shopping centre, he and his band have survived against all the odds and their story is far from over yet.
The Nightingales' website
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