In an unpublished interview I conducted with Kirk Brandon some years ago, in advance of the rerecorded release of ‘One-Eyed Jacks @ 35’, the recording of which is either buried on an old hard-drive or otherwise lost now, I seem to recall him telling of the band being locked out of the studio while some label-hired session musicians overdubbed much of the album at the label’s behest. The re-recording then, was about remaking the album as it was intended, and again, ‘World Service @ 35’ was an attempt to create the work it was supposed to be.
Since then, Taylor Swift has made a huge deal of rerecording all of her albums – as much to reclaim copyright ownership as to re-render them according to her initial vision, but officially, it’s about that original essence. On ‘Janus’, Spear of Destiny present rerecordings of breakthrough album ‘Outland’ (1987) and ‘The Price You Pay’ (1988), the former of which yielded the enduring smash ‘Never Take Me Alive’ – the song which first alerted me to SoD at the age of twelve, and which blew me away when I finally got to see them at King Tuts in Glasgow in 2001 or thereabouts.
The CD edition contains six extra tracks, and they’re worth having. The first song is ‘The Jungle’, which appeared on the limited edition 10” of ‘So In Love With You’. It makes a change from having such nuggets tacked on at the end as ‘bonus’ tracks, and reminds us that often, great songs are tucked away on B-Sides, or at least were in the 80s and 90s. Its inclusion here is also integral to Brandon’s vision of the project, namely to release versions of the albums as they were intended, which means including songs which the label didn’t consider to be ‘right’. That the tracks from the two albums are mixed up in the running order is also an indication of how closely they interlink, having been released just 18 months apart.
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‘Land of Shame’ is grainier, guitarier, more rabble-rousing, brimming with the energy of a live performance instead of sounding studio-bound, and it’s no criticism to observe that ‘Never Take Me Alive’ is rougher, and, compared to the polished, bombastically-produced 80s version feels more like a demo. The power of this rerecording lies in its immediacy, and likewise, if ‘Radio Radio’ sounds a little thinner, it also sounds more energetic and rousing.
‘Junkman’ has a looser, more expansive, almost desert-rock feel, and the vocals burst with passion, and anyone who has caught the band live will recognise that this is very much how they play. That Kirk’s voice is still strong, and, indeed, largely unchanged after all these years is not only remarkable, but essential when it comes to doing the songs justice, particularly in this context. ‘Tinsel Town’ notably sounds stronger for having the guitars up and the layers of polish peeled off.
For those who have known and loved the 80s recordings, that appreciation will remain undiminished, but ‘Janus’ casts those songs in a quite different light – and a positive one.
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