Friday, August 31, 2012

The Chords: No One Is Listening Anymore (1980)



Hey, we were just talking about explosive mod-punk band who were lost in the shadow of The Jam (and The Who) - see HERE - which has to be our cue to finally discuss The Chords.





This out-of-print album, No One Is Listening Anymore, was recorded at The Rainbow in 1980 but not released until 1986, when the title had become unjustly accurate. The Chords had indeed stopped playing due to a lack of listening, which was a shame. The much-maligned Mod Revival did incite a lot of sound-alike bands (and we here at MRML love almost everyone of them) but The Chords were not mere trend-chasers. Like the members of The Jam they attempted to squeeze the sounds of London '66 though the filter of London '77. While The Chords could not match Paul Weller song-for song (who could?), they could craft supple, melodic songs like "Maybe Tomorrow", "The British Way of Life" and "Tumbling Down" and then play the hell out of them (just check out Buddy Ascot's lunatic drumming!)





While the band was drastically undervalued, critically and commercially, in its time, time has been a bit fairer. The band now have at least two compilations in print and are still playing live. Of course, it's still a damn shame that they never got to make a second album...





Tracklist
1         Something's Missing        
2         Happy Families        
3         It's No Use        
4         Now It's Gone        
5         I'm Not Sure        
6         The British Way Of Life        
7         So Far Away        
8         I'll Keep Holding On        
9         Tumbling Down        
10        Maybe Tomorrow        
11        Breaks My Heart / This Is What They Want


foreshadowing?

Did The Chords get a raw deal?
Let us know in the COMMENTS section!



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17 comments:

  1. Hey Chords-fans, moddists and the curious alike - now is the time for COMMENTS!
    https://rapidshare.com/files/858618456/Chds%20L_tR%2080.rar

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  2. Thanks! I hadn't heard of these guys before!

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  3. I love the Chords. Thanks for this- as always.

    Nick

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  4. Hey Jeffen

    A quick overview on the mod revival on wikipedia.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mod_revival

    Most of the bands released one or two albums.Many great albums!

    It was a shock when The Jam released 'All Mod Cons'.It was a dramatic jump in quality from their first two albums.

    The albums by the likes of The Chords,The Merton Parkas,The Lambrettas,The Piranhas,Secret Affair,Purple Hearts etc are amongst my favourites of that era.

    And ... The Jam and The Beatles are my favourite bands!

    Doug

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  5. Superb stuff. The Chords were a great band and were never received any where near the success or credit they were due.

    Detour records have a live CD from 2001 plus the BBC sessions available and well worth a listen.

    Cheers

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  6. special guest of the Vapors, one of the best bands in the world!
    I have to hear this! Thank you!

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  7. Thanks a billion!!! The Chords were one of my fave bands of the mod revival. It was just unfortunate (for them) that The Jam came along at the same time. If you got anymore stuff from the mod revival (Secret Affair, Lambrettas, Purplr Hearts...etc etc) Could you post them? Thanks again!!!!

    Nick (Another Nick)

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  8. Jeffy! Another great one. Aces, good sir.

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  9. very enjoyable . . . thanks.

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  10. great upload , I uploaded all the album to you tube (you used my British way of Life on this post) very underated band.The dvd is out now "What Became Of The people We Used To Be" tells the whole story of what happened to the chords,the jam, mod, billy hassett being sacked etc. Search the title in Amazon it;s a RockBook films dvd release.Saw them 3 times, brilliant band.

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  11. Great band and one of the best live albums ever (in sence of wanting to the there it's up with Sam Cookes Harlem Square Club and Four Tops 1966 LIVE). Played my vinyl very loud yesterday. Thanks for a great blog!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the good words for us and The Chords!

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  12. Thanks for the outpouring of Chords Comments - I only wish I had more to share but this is the only out-of-print thing they have!

    Further to:
    Doug
    Love all that stuff myself, though the Merton Parkas are probably in the 'like' category.

    Anohter Nick
    More Mod momentarily.

    Stan
    thanks for doing that (hopefully we got you a few more 'views!). I'll have to search out What Became Of The people We Used To Be"

    Anon
    Too bad that Detour CD is so short!



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  13. Any chance of reposting please? The link doesn't work.

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