Jon The Postman singing

Here's the second half of the mirth-inducing review of The Distractions' first album, "The Talking Dog Ate My Recording Contract". This scan is again thanks to Manchester District Music Archive and their fantastic City Fun Exhibition.

Otis B. Driftwood reviews the Distractions first album

"THE TALKING DOG ATE MY RECORDING CONTRACT"

This first album from the Distractions may come as a surprise to many as, rather than recording their live set they have chosen to do all new untested material apart from "Still It Doesn't Ring" which appears in radically different form than it does on stage.

Here then is a track by track preview:-

SIDE TWO

"I DON'T WANT TO KISS AND MAKE UP" is a strong opener featuring the bitchiest set of lyrics Steve Perrin has ever written (this is saying a great deal) spat out with barely suppressed delight by Finney over a backing track which sounds like four recently escaped lunatics playing "Doesn't Bother Me".

"SLINGS AND ARROWS" follows. An unusual track written by the entire band about the difficulties of finding a suitably record company. The strange sound in the middle is not a synthesiser but Alec ripping up old contracts.

"STILL IT DOESN'T RING" is performed here by a Jazz trio - (piano, drums and string bass, could be Wright, Sidebottom and Nicholllls) - submerged under the sound of voices, clinking glasses and a muffled dialogue between two drunks (almost certainly Finney and Perrin) not all of which is audible, "Who did this originally?" "The Distractions I think". "Did you ever see them?" "No".

Definite night club atmosphere which brings us to the title track.

"THE TALKING DOG ATE MY CONTRACT" is the strangest track on a strange album. Starting with a low saxophone note played by Perrin it builds up first with eerie percussion noises by Sidebottom, then a monk-like vocal chant is taken up by Alec and Adrian over which Finney sings a song about the difficulties of the music business while in a dead pan voice Perrin reads old press clippings. Suddenly Perrin's voice is replaced by somebody crying, Wright starts to brutally beat the piano, somebody turns on a radio which gets louder and louder until the sound of Jon The Postman singing "Louie Louie" drowns out everything. The radio is turned off and it's all over.

This has been a political review.

Otis B Driftwood

Otis B. Driftwood