The most impressive, but also the most overlooked of all the bands that lurched around the mutant extremes that trail through
Gang of Four
,
the Mekons
, and, ultimately,
the Pop Group
the Glaxo Babies
' debut album was actually cut following the collapse of the original band -- both vocalist/songwriter
Rob Chapman
and drummer
Geoff Alsopp
had departed, with saxophonist
Tony Wrafter
explaining the reason for the rift. "Rob was into songs and we weren't." Too true! Under
Chapman
's aegis,
Glaxo Babies
stormed to attention via the astonishing
"Christine Keeler"
45, and the
This Is Your Life
EP. Without him -- well, the band is still interesting, still enjoyable, still a lot better than almost anybody else trying to make these kind of points at the tail-end of the '70s. But there's a startled-insect fussiness to too much of the album. Still, when it's good, it's exhilarating. The metronome pulse that powers
"Promised Land"
conjures images of
Neu!
, if Rome was burning behind them, while the thunderous funk of
"Maximum Sexual Joy"
retained such a place in the band's heart that, when pressure from the "real" Glaxo (a pharmaceutical company) forced them to change their name, they simply abbreviated the song's title.
"This Is Your Vendetta,"
meanwhile, is a sub-seismic rumble that makes the walls vibrate before you actually hear any sounds, and it all leads up to
"Shake,"
which could be
Chic
, it's so infectiously brittle. Still, you can't help feeling that
Nine Months to the Disco
was a lost opportunity -- half a genuinely great LP, and half a bunch of art students trying to sound clever (with some success, one might add). So approach with caution, and prepare for the occasional disappointment. But only the occasional one.
remains an astonishing slab of vinyl. ~ Dave Thompson