Brian Plummer: No Questions (1980)

"This may be someone's temple
but it sure as Hell ain't mine"
Brian Plummer

Curse the art director on the late Brian Plummer's No Questions for packaging the initial version of his debut as if it was a self-released album by some morose Canadian Christian folkie. Granted, Plummer is Canadian (from Saskatoon, no less) but other than that what you've got is a hooky-but-pissed-off North American New Wave/Rock album. His fellow Canucks like Doug and the Slugs and Phillip Rambow would sympathize as would his American counterparts like John Hiatt and Tonio K and especially those Angry Young Englishman of the late seventies like Graham Parker and Elvis Costello.





Like so many North Americans, who could relate to the general anger but lacked the disdain of pop's status quo, Plummer sometimes aims to the lighter AOR sound (check out that slick guitar solo in "Killing Time" or the sax break on "The Wizards Have Come"). That said, this rarely strays into Eddie Money or Billy Joel territory, though the nods to one Mr. B. Springsteen on tracks like "Full Moon on the Midway" are hard to miss. Both "Money Talks" and "Jacky Boy" were mid-level hits because Plummer had the good luck to be talented and unknown during a time the hopelessly staid Canadian radio industry was desperate for young(ish) musicians willing to play louder and meaner but still accept a lot of the old rules. The result, to these old Canadian ears, is a stinging record that while clearly a product of its times has kept its edge. I swear I've listened to this album twenty times this fall and keep finding little touches that remind me that good things can come in ugly packages.





A1         Money Talks        
A2         No Questions        
A3         Jacky Boy        
A4         The Wizards Have Come        
A5         Roll Away The Stone        
B1         Full Moon On The Midway        
B2         Killing Time        
B3         Hole In The Wall        
B4         Change The World (If You Want)        
B5         Losing Touch


Hey, MRML readers give this album a little chance and let us know what you think in the COMMENTS section!


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