Buzzcocks - Spiral Scratch

Brilliant

Jeez, I really love the Buzzcocks' later material but listening to this makes me wish there were a parallel universe where Howard Devoto never left the band and they went on to record all of their other albums. He definitely sounds more punky and less poppy than Pete Shelley.

Anyway, this is classic old school punk at its best. April 22, 2008

Seminal Scratch

Back-and-white sleeve, black-and-white disk, black-and-white world, or at least that's how I remember it. One listen and you're straight back there - Before you even play it, it's clear that few records are as immediately evocative of time and place as this one. That said, when Spiral Scratch appeared (along with The Sex Pistols on the front page of The Daily Mirror) it really did seem like anything was possible, even the lurch from monochrome to colour.
In these days of digital recording, mp3s and myspace it's important to remember just what an accomplishment 'Spiral Scratch' was. (No-one put their own records out, ever) Its very existence is enough to secure Buzzcocks' place in the history books, let alone the sounds contained therein. And what sounds! Combining humour and angst in equal amount, Howard Devoto set the lyrical bar about as high as it could go in the confines of a 3 minute pop tune. That contemporaneous Mancunian wordsmiths Mark E. Smith, John Cooper-Clarke and Ian Curtis were able to rise to the challenge is testament to the extraordinary explosion of talent that existed in Manchester in 1976. The music doesn't disappoint either - Pete Shelley's pop sensibilities, which were to come to the fore following Devoto's departure, were enough in evidence to ensure that the 4 tracks here were strong enough to remain in the listener's subconscious (and in Buzzcocks' live set) for the next 30 years. The production dates it, of course, but even that brings a warm glow of nostalgia for simpler times, a time when you could count both the number of takes and the number of guitar overdubs on the fingers of one hand.
March 6, 2008

The best of the Buzzcocks - in about 10 minutes

First of all, considering that this album came out in 1977, the sound quality is amazing. I put it in my CD player expecting it to be a little rough sounding, but the bass sounded awesome!!! Everything sounds great. So my first buzzcocks CD was operator's manual, which I thought was alright. This album... couldn't call myself a buzzcocks fan without it. December 13, 2007

Not old enough or cool enough to remember it when it came out...

...but I do remember the musical desert of FM radio in the 80s and it's hard to believe things could have backslid so far after such a great burst of jagged, forward-thinking noise.

Sure it's only ten minutes long, but it packs the whallop of an album. Absolutely worth every penny.

Ba-dum ba-dum. February 7, 2006

can't beat it

This ep contains the best ten minutes pure punk explosion you will find anywhere. This is much more relevant and potent than what the Buzzcocks did after Howard Devoto left (or what he did in Magazine for that matter). I like the Buzzcocks and Magazine quite a bit, but this is the best release to ever come out of this camp of artists. It's incredible that this was released before Never Mind the Bullocks, the Clash, or Damned Damned Damned. British punk begins here, and even though this is only ten minutes long, it is better than any of those full lengths. (I can't believe I just said that Spiral Scratch is better than the first Clash album, but it really is.) March 25, 2005

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