Any Trouble
Band members Related acts
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line up 1 (1975) - Clive Gregson -- vocals, guitar, keyboards - Tom Jackson -- vocals, guitar - Chris Parks -- lead guitar
line up 2 (1975-80) - Phil Barnes -- bass, vocals - Clive Gregson -- vocals, guitar, keyboards - Mel Harley -- drums - Chris Parks -- lead guitar
supporting musicians: - Diana Robinson -- backing vocals - Allison Tulloch -- backing vocals
line up 3 (1980-82) - Phil Barnes -- bass, vocals - Clive Gregson -- vocals, guitar, keyboards - Martin Hughes -- drums (replaced Mel Harley) - Chris Parks -- lead guitar
line up 4 (1982-84) - Phil Barnes -- bass, vocals - Andy Ebsworth -- drums (replaced Martin Hughes) - Clive Gregson -- vocals, guitar, keyboards - Steve Gurl -- keyboards
line up 5 (2007-) - Clive Gregson -- vocals, guitar, keyboards - Mark Griffiths -- bass - Martin Hughes -- drums - Chris Parks -- lead guitar
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- Clive Gregson (solo efforts) - Gregson and Collister (Clive Gregson) - Gregson, Hewerdine, Reader (Clive Gregson) - Plainsong (Clive Gregson) - Oatcake Brothers (Clive Gregson) - Ryder (Andy Ebsworth)
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Genre: pop Rating: 4 stars **** Title: Here Are All the Nice Girls Company: Stiff America Catalog:
USE
6 Country/State: Crewe, UK Grade (cover/record): VG/VG+ Comments: promo copy; tear on cover sleeve; no poster Available: 1 Catalog ID: 357 Price: $15.00
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I have to admit I'd forgotten what a great band Any Trouble were and when this album came out it was a regular visitor to my turntable As a geeky college kid, I remember taking a certain comfort in knowing that a guy like Clive Gregson (balding, bespectacled, and awkward - image a young Chevy Chase deciding to pursue life as an accountant), could front a band; let alone attract the attention of females.
Formed in 1975, the original Any Trouble featured singer/guitarists Clive Gregson, Tom Jackson, and Chris Parks. Initially a folk-oriented trio, they quickly decided that wasn't they road to success. Losing Jackson, by 1976 Any Trouble had morphed into a four piece consisting of Gregson, bassist Phil Barnes (who'd been working as a classical records buyer for the British HMV music chain), drummer Mel Harley, and Parks on lead guitar. Playing local dances and clubs, Any Trouble was an odd musical entity. Their jittery aura and skinny ties were very new wave-ish, but their clear affection for catchy pop melodies put them in the pub-rocker category. As exemplified by their self-financed debut single, that dichotomy also made them extremely interesting:
- 1979's 'Yesterday's Love' b/w '(Where Are All the) Nice Girls (Pennine catalog number PSS 7165 A/B)
The single brought the band to the attention of the late John Peel who used his influence to bolster their standing, eventually leading to a bidding war that saw Dave Robinson and Andrew Jakeman's Stiff Records add them to its growing recording roster. As was Stiff's typical marketing approach, the debut single was quickly reissued, followed by an EP and a couple of additional singles:
- 1980's 'Yesterday's Love' b/w 'Nice Girls (Stiff catalog number BUY 74) - 1980's 'Second Choice', 'Name of the Game' "Bible Built' (Stiff EP catalog number BUY 79) - 1980's 'Girls Are Always Right' b/w ' No Idea' (Stiff catalog number BUY 94)
The decision to pair the band with producer John Wood, (best known for his work with folk-rockers like Fairport Convention), was certainly interesting. The resulting "Where Are All the Nice Girls" showcased a mixture of earlier releases and new studio material. A largely original collection of Gregson-penned ballads and pop songs, one of the big draws was Gregson's nifty voice. I'll admit that part of his early appeal for me was he sounded a lot like Elvis Costello, but avoided the latter's affection for very British subject matter in favor of more pedestrian tales of love lost and young heartbreak. Gregson's delivery also avoided the snarling anger that Costello frequently imbued. Exemplified by tracks like 'Second Choice', 'Playing Bogart', and 'Nice Girls', Any Trouble were technically as good as any of their Stiff cohorts and certainly more mainstream and commercial than anyone, other than perhaps Costello, Nick Lowe, and Squeeze. You also had to love their willingness to take on the occasional oddball cover - in this case an amazing remake of Springsteen's 'Growing Up' and an equally beguiling live cover of ABBA's 'Name of the Game'. There wasn't anything particularly original on the album, but that wasn't meant as a criticism since "Where Are All the Nice Girls" was a genuinely fun record. Seriously, Cliveson may have had a penchant for tales of heartbreak and personal woe, but those songs were cloaked in wonderfully bouncy tunes. Great album for those horrible commutes home.
"Where Are
All the Nice Girls" track listing: 1.) Second Choice (Clive Gregson) - 3:00 So, if you liked early Elvis Costello and early solo Nick Lowe, then 'Second Choice' was going to be right up your aural alley. The song had previously been tapped as a single in the UK and throughout most of Europe. As a tie-in with the debut LP, Stiff also released it as a single in the States. With a pounding bass line, a breezy, exceptionally commercial melody and an insidiously catchy refrain, you had to wonder how American radio managed to miss this one. Fantastic tune. For anyone interested, YouTube has a copy of the MTV promotion video for the tune: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sryujH_qX-4 rating: **** stars 2.) Playing Bogart (Clive Gregson) - 2:43 Wonderful, funny, and quirky pop .... the jumpy refrain was great, as was Chris Parks' guitar solo. Imagine Crowded House if they were British rather than from New Zeeland ... Simply one of the best songs on a great album. (The band also did a stunning, drastically slowed down version.) rating: **** stars 3.) No Idea (Clive Gregson) - 3:03 'No Idea' had one of those chiming melodies that Nick Lowe used to toss off so easily. Not an album highlight, but the title track hook was dangerously catchy and these guys could generate vocal harmonies to make CSN&Y envious. rating: *** stars 4.) Foolish Pride (Clive Gregson) - 3:24 The first mild disappointment, 'Foolish Pride' sounded like it had been cobbled together from a slew of Costello outtakes. Fragments and simply not particularly memorable. rating: ** stars 5.) Nice Girls (Clive Gregson) - 4:07 It took awhile for 'Nice Girls' to kick in, but when it actually did, it revealed a pretty, surprisingly insightful keyboard-powered pop track. Yeah, I think a lot of us geeky guys could identify with the lyrics. rating: **** stars 6.) Turning Up the Heat (Clive Gregson) - 2:58 One of the album's few punk-ish flavored tracks, 'Turning Up the Heat' was a hyper-speed rocker with Gregson turning in what might have been termed a "snarling" vocal. The female backing vocals were hysterical ... Cute tune and ultimately about as threatening as a new kitten, but it did make for a nice break from the more pop-oriented catalog. rating: *** stars
(side
2) I never would have expected a bunch of dorky English guys to come up with one of the best Bruce Springsteen covers ever recorded ... How they did it is a complete mystery to me That said, their version of 'Growing Up' managed to take the original and give it a nice pop sheen. You won't forget the original, but this version was still wonderful. rating: **** stars 2.) Romance (Clive Gregson) - 4:02 Back to iconic pop, 'Romance' was built on a giddy, instantly attractive up-and-down guitar riff. Powered by Gregson's broken hearted vocal and some wonderful jangle rock guitars, this was another one that should have provided the band with a huge American hit. rating: **** stars 3.) The Hurt (Clive Gregson) - 2:55 Showcasing Phil Barnes' bass, 'The Hurt' was kind of a rollicking country-tinged number. Didn't do a lot for me compared to the rest of the album, though Parks used the song as a nice showcase for his talents. rating: ** stars 4.) Girls Are Always Right (Clive Gregson) - 4:16 A catchy, jangle rock ballad, that had previously been released as a UK single. Always loved the accompanying music video - nice to see the big dollar budget that went into this one - their girlfriends appeared as geeky as the band members themselves ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8cz7Tusig0 rating: **** stars 5.) (Get You Off) The Hook (Clive Gregson) - 3:01 Maybe it was Gregson's bubbling keyboards, but the jittery '(Get You Off) The Hook' was another track that bore more than a passing resemblance to early Costello. In that case the comparison was meant as a compliment, since this was one of the album's standout performances. rating: **** stars 6.) Name of the Game (live) (Bjorn Ulvaeus - Benny Andersson - S. Anderson) - 4:10 Know idea if it was meant as a joke, of it they were being sincere in their affections, but the band's live cover of ABBA's 'Name of the Game' was surprisingly good. Gregson and company stuck pretty close to the original melody, speeding it up a touch and putting Barnes' bass front and center. Mean's I'll have to search for the "Live At the Venue" album. rating: ** stars
As mentioned, the album was tapped for a US single:
- 1980's 'Second Choice' b/w 'Turning Up the Heat' (Stiff catalog number OWN 3)
Ironically, the band's growing fortunes were dealt a setback when their debut album got a fawning review in the British Music Maker newspaper.
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