Various Artists - The Big Stiff Box Set (2007)

UK Import

This was an impulse buy a couple of weeks ago and I can't stop listening to it. As I told a friend, "This thing is scratchin’ me right where I itch." 98 songs across 4 CDs and I haven't even made a dent in the 68 page booklet. I won't bother going into detail about the Stiff label - if you're interested, just read their wikipedia page or their official website. Or you could check out this BBC documentary. I'm digging the whole irreverent D.I.Y. vibe here.

I've been introduced to a world of new music and artists (well, new to me, anyway). After a few listens, I've fallen in love with Rachel Sweet and Kirsty MacColl, two ladies with whom I was only marginally familiar previously. There's a wide variety of music here, from punk to ska to pop to New Wave to pub rock to reggae to novelty to mod to R&B. The variety makes for a more interesting top-to-bottom listen, for sure. Also, the Stiff roster has hosted some of the best band names, including Plummet Airlines, Roogalator, The Realists, Dirty Looks, Theatre of Hate, The Prisoners, The Enemy, The Deviants, The Tranzmitors, and my personal favorite, Eskimo Disco. A lot of these groups probably only had one good song in them, so a compilation like this is the best way to go.

Overall, a great box set. Recommended. I don't have the similar 1992 Rhino compilation, The Stiff Records Box Set, but if you've got it and want to discuss the differences, please leave a comment below. Would I have listened to most of this music in the late '70s? Probably not, but that doesn't really matter now. I'm not particularly digging all the newer 2007 stuff at the end of disc 4, but that's a small price to pay for the other 90+ retro tracks.

What I'll do for this box set is list each track (with a link if the track has previously appeared on the blog), let you know if I was previously familiar with the artist (yes, no, or kinda), and whether I like the track (✔) or not (✘). We go:

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DISC ONE
25 tracks, 77 minutes 21 seconds
1976-78

Artist	Title	Familiar?	Like?
Nick Lowe	Heart Of The City	Y	✔
The Pink Fairies	Between The Lines	N	✔
Roogalator	All Aboard	N	✔
Tyla Gang	Styrofoam	N	✔
Lew Lewis & His Band	Boogie On The Street	N	✔
The Damned	New Rose	K	✘
Plummet Airlines	Silver Shirt	N	✘
Motörhead	White Line Fever	Y	✘
The Damned	Neat Neat Neat	K	✔
Elvis Costello	Less Than Zero	Y	✔
Devo	(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction	Y	✔
Max Wall	England's Glory	N	✘
The Adverts	One Chord Wonders	N	✘
Nick Lowe	Marie Provost	Y	✔
Wreckless Eric	Whole Wide World	K	✔
Ian Dury	Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll	K	✔
The Damned	Problem Child	K	✘
The Yachts	Suffice To Say	N	✔
Larry Wallis	Police Car	N	✔
Mick Farren & The Deviants	Let's Loot The Supermarket Again Like We Did Last Summer	N	✘
Ian Dury & The Blockheads	Sweet Gene Vincent	K	✘
The Damned	One Way Love	K	✔
Wreckless Eric	Reconnez Cherie	K	✘
Jane Aire & The Belvederes	Yankee Wheels	N	✔
Ernie Graham	Romeo & The Lonely Girl	N	✔

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DISC TWO
26 tracks, 77 minutes 18 seconds
1978-80

Artist	Title	Familiar?	Like?
The Members	Solitary Confinement	N	✘
Humphrey Ocean & The Hardy Animals	Whoops A Daisy	N	✘
The Realists	I've Got A Heart	N	✔
Jona Lewie	The Baby, She's On The Street	N	✔
Lene Lovich	I Think We're Alone Now	Y	✔
Devo	Be Stiff	Y	✔
Wreckless Eric	Take The Cash (K.A.S.H.)	K	✔
Mickey Jupp	Old Rock 'n' Roller	N	✔
Rachel Sweet	B.A.B.Y.	K	✔✔
Lene Lovich	Lucky Number	Y	✔
The Sports	Who Listens To The Radio?	N	✔
The Subs	Gimme Your Heart	N	✔
The Rumour	Frozen Years	N	✔
Rachel Sweet	I Go To Pieces	K	✔
Lene Lovich	Say When	Y	✔
Madness	One Step Beyond	Y	✔
Kirsty MacColl	You Caught Me Out	K	✔
Pointed Sticks	Out Of Luck	N	✔
Dirty Looks	Lie To Me	N	✔
Jona Lewie	You'll Always Find Me In The Kitchen At Parties	N	✘
Any Trouble	Yesterday's Love	K	✔
The Plasmatics	Butcher Baby	Y	✘
The Go-Go's	We Got The Beat	Y	✔
Motor Boys Motor	Drive Friendly	N	✘
Desmond Dekker	Please Don't Bend	Y	✔
Joe "King" Carrasco & The Crowns	Buena	Y	✘

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DISC THREE
23 tracks, 75 minutes 36 seconds
1980-83

Artist	Title	Familiar?	Like?
Any Trouble	Girls Are Always Right	K	✔
The Equators	Baby Come Back	N	✔
Nigel Dixon	Thunderbird	N	✘
Jona Lewie	Stop The Cavalry	N	✔
Dave Stewart & Colin Blunstone	What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted?	K	✘
Tenpole Tudor	Swords Of A Thousand Men	N	✔
Department S	Going Left Right	N	✔
Theatre of Hate	Do You Believe in The Westworld?	N	✘
Tenpole Tudor	Wunderbar	N	✘
Alvin Stardust	Pretend	N	✔
Dave Stewart & Barbara Gaskin	It's My Party	K	✔
Billy Bremner	Loud Music In Cars	K	✔
The Dancing Did	The Lost Platoon	N	✘
Electric Guitars	Language Problems	N	✔
Brigit Novik & M	Danube	K	✘
The Belle Stars	The Clapping Song	Y	✘
Via Vagabond	Who Likes Jazz?	N	✘
The Belle Stars	Sign Of The Times	Y	✔
Tracey Ullman	Breakaway	Y	✔
Yello	I Love You	Y	✔
Eddie 'Tenpole' Tudor	The Hayrick Song	N	✘
Passion Puppets	Like Dust	N	✘
Tracey Ullman	They Don't Know	Y	✔

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DISC FOUR
24 tracks, 79 minutes 30 seconds
1983-2007

Artist	Title	Familiar?	Like?
Kirsty MacColl	Terry	K	✔
The Inspirational Choir Of The Pentecostal First Born Church Of The Living God	Pick Me Up	N	✔
Tracey Ullman	Move Over Darling	Y	✔
The Pogues	Dark Streets Of London	Y	✘
Kirsty MacColl	A New England	K	✔
The Pogues	A Pair Of Brown Eyes	Y	✘
The Untouchables	Free Yourself	Y	✔
Makin' Time	Here Is My Number	N	✔
The Untouchables	I Spy (For The FBI)	Y	✔
The Pogues	Dirty Old Town	Y	✘
Ruefrex	The Wild Colonial Boy	N	✔
Andy White	Religious Persuasion	N	✘
The Mint Juleps	Only Love Can Break Your Heart	N	✔
Furniture	Brilliant Mind	N	✔
Dr. Feelgood	Don't Wait Up	N	✘
Tommy Chase	Killer Joe (Right Cross)	N	✔
The Prisoners	Whenever I'm Gone	N	✔
The Pogues feat. The Dubliners	The Irish Rover	Y	✘
The Enemy	Dancin' All Night	N	✘
Eskimo Disco	What Is Woman?	N	✘
The Producers	Barking Up The Right Tree	Y	✔
The Tranzmitors	Broken Homes	N	✘
Any Trouble	That Sound	K	✔
Ronald Reagan	The Wit & Wisdom Of Ronald Reagan (Extract)	Y	✔

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Blog post #950