Friday, June 25, 2010

Folk-Punk: New Model Army - BBC Radio 1 Concert


Some people consider much of punk rock just cruder, less-developed heavy metal but to me a lot of the best punk sounds like amped-up, sped-up, riled-up folk music.

True, New Model Army did not begin as skiffle-revivalists or Irish-pub rockers, especially with that dominating post-punk bass sound and their almost Gothic image. However, with their rooted-in-history name (not to mention their lyrics) and their rustic melodies and Justin Sullivan's hard-strum acoustic guitar style, NMA have always been able to take shelter under the big, albeit ratty, folk-punk tent.



Justin Sullivan, sort of an intense, sinister cross between Lemmy and Bono, has led NMA and it's frenzied following for thirty years now. Over that time the band has unleashed a bewildering array of releases - live albums, rarities collections, radio sessions, demo versions, double-re-issues, abandoned tracks compilations not to mention singles comps and best-of's. So now MRML would like to make available this live BBC concert from 1990 (which unlike most of their catalog has fallen out-of-print) which shows the band near the pinnacle of their power.



BBC Radio 1 Concert link is in the comments.

Speaking of comments, leave us one with your view on New Model Army.

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13 comments:

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    http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?tjymyxzyzjh

    ReplyDelete
  2. thanks for this post. ever since i heard thunder & consolation by NMA in 89? 90? i had it on a cassette tape and would listen to it constantly. now, love most of their albums, but none quite as much as that first one i heard. brilliant band.

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  3. CallPastorJerkfaceJune 25, 2010 at 10:18 AM

    "51st State" kicked my ass so hard I took off "Neurotica" and cranked up TV Smith's best of. Yeah, I know it's not NMA but I'm pretty sure they're at least on the same block if not next door neighbors.

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  4. Quite simply one of the greatest bands in the world. Unconditional love here. First saw them around 85 and many times since. They never disappoint live and rarely if at all on vinyl/cd.

    The best place to head for the odd NMA live bootleg or 60 is over at

    http://symphonyofghosts.blogspot.com/search?q=new+model+army

    You might need a new hard-drive first though.

    Cheers Jeff

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  5. a high school boyfriend turned me on to "vengeance" and "no rest for the wicked" on cassette.

    "thunder and consolation" came out when i was in college, and the tour for that album was the first time i saw them--at foufounes electriques in montreal--an amazing show. the bass player opened up a huge hold in his head climbing up to the dressing room from the stage.

    i wore that record out and thought about bringing it home with me for the winter holiday break, which i dismissed as absurd. alas, i found i couldn't live without it for three weeks and bought another copy while i was home. the one i got in montreal was an import and the second copy domestic, so at least they were a little different. i never regretted it--it's one of my favorite albums of all time.

    i asked justin what "225" meant, and he told me it was the bpm of the song.

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  6. Great post, cannot wait to download...I believe it's the only official release I do not have. Seen NMA many times. First time, 1990 at the Brixton Academy. Near religious experience.

    No longer a leech?

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  7. Justin
    T & C is my fave too even though it was the fourth one I heard.

    CPB
    Glad to sell you on another mad Englishman.

    Longy
    Awesome link, thanks. So if I kinda gave up on NMA after T & C what would be the bets album to dig into?

    pw
    Good stories (we saw them on the same tour evidently) though I wonder who opened for them amongst the great Mtl. bands of the time...

    Brian
    Brian thanks for not leeching (Maybe it's just a purely semantic thing but I never call my readers "leeches", though when I am angry I do accuse them of 'leeching'. I know I've leeched before and I'd be okay being called on it but not in being labeled a 'leech' that just sounds a lot stronger to me.

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  8. NMA - picked up Thunder and Consolation on a whim back in '91 and never looked back. My only tattoo is from the cover of that album.

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  9. thanks for this,grew up with nma as most of gigs audenance has

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  10. Thanks to you my good Jeffen I've got my copy of NMA's singles comp. Fantastic stuff! You never steer me wrong.

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  11. Anon
    Nice choice it's interesting how their artwork is such an integral part of the band.

    Anon
    True

    CPB
    Glad to add to your fearsome knowledge of music strange and unworldly.

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  12. I used to have this on tape as a wee kid! Glad to of found it here. I always remember the "only stupid bast*rds use heroin" t-shirt on top of the pops. T&C is a great album you don't skip a single track.
    Thanks
    Gappy

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  13. Gappy
    Love T & C like crazy

    Thanks for all your comments!

    ReplyDelete

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