With two years, numerous radio sessions, and incessant gigging under their belts since their debut single,
"In Shreds,"
the Chameleons
came to the studio determined to make a great first album with
Script of the Bridge
. To say they succeeded would be like saying
Shakespeare
did pretty well with that one
Hamlet
play of his.
Script
remains a high-water mark of what can generally be called
post-punk
music, an hour's worth of one amazing song after another, practically a greatest-hits record on its own: the
John Lennon
tribute
"Here Today,"
"Monkeyland,"
"Pleasure and Pain,"
"Paper Tigers,"
"As High as You Can Go,"
the breathtaking closer,
"View From a Hill."
Starting with the passionate fire of
"Don't Fall,"
showcases how truly inventive, unique, and distinctly modern
rock & roll
could exist, instead of relentlessly rehashing the past to little effect. The scalpel-sharp interplay between the musicians is a sheer wonder to behold, the
Dave Fielding
/
Reg Smithies
guitar team provoke nothing but superlatives throughout, and
John Lever
and
Mark Burgess
make a perfect rhythm section -- while the crisp production of
Colin Richardson
and the band adds delicate synth lines and shadings, courtesy of early touring keyboardist
Alistair Lewthwaite
, and just the right amount of reverb and effects on the guitars. Add to that the words of
Burgess
, one of the few lyricists out there who can tackle Big Issues while retaining a human, personal touch, and it all just adds up perfectly. The best one-two punch comes from
"Second Skin,"
a complex, beautifully arranged and played reflection on the meaning of music and fandom, and
"Up the Down Escalator,"
an at once harrowing and thrilling antinuclear/mainstream politics slam. [An important note: avoid at all costs the original U.S. vinyl issue on
MCA
, which not only switches the song order but removes a full third of the songs.] ~ Ned Raggett