The Talking Dog

Part one of a rather amusing "review" of The Distractions' first album from City Fun, once again courtesy of the City Fun Exhibition at the Manchester District Music Archive.  See Dave McCullough's piece in Sounds and Ian Wood's review in the NME for explanation of the talking dog...

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 ONE

"WHERE AM I" - Pip Nicholllls' first attempt at song writing and lead vocals. Accompanied only by her own bass she sings a song of total alienation finding herself without the band alone in the studio at the wrong time.

"DEATH IN ASHTON" - Adrian Wright's first contribution. A somewhat macabre story of a guitarist's family starving to death due to lack of work. A strange one musically with Alec Sidebottom playing drums (which sound as though they are filled with custard) that holds the song together.

Mike Finney's first appearance on the record is with the blood curdling scream which opens "CUSTOM AND EXCISE", an unfortunate song about a man not wishing to return to the Civil Service after glimpsing another world. The first full performance by the band with superb organ by Wright and a guitar break by Perrin which is the nearest I've ever heard to a musical epileptic fit.

"OD EHT GURHS" closes side one and is the only bit of frivolity on the record. It is in fact an old recording of "Do The Shrug" slowed down and played backwards over which Finney does a "dub style" talk over and Sidebottom and Nicholllls play a somewhat unusual guitar duet.