Lloyd Cole Live At The BBC, Vol. 1 CD

Live at the BBC, Vol. 1 gathers all of the BBC radio sessions recorded by Lloyd Cole & the Commotions around the time of their instant classic debut album Rattlesnakes. (Vol. 2, released at the same time, contains the sessions related to second album Easy Pieces and a full 1986 live set recorded at that year's Glastonbury Festival.) Opening with a pre-LP set on Saturday Live -- signed to a major label almost as soon as they were formed, they were never indie enough to rate a Peel Session -- the first three songs are the sound of a band in its tentative stages. Opening with a cover of Television's "Glory" makes their major influences just a bit too clear, and on both "Patience" and debut single "Perfect Skin," Cole's oddly mannered vocals clash a bit with the band's uncharacteristically ragged sound. By the time of a four-song set on the Richard Skinner set, Cole's vocals are much improved and the band's playing is considerably tighter; only the stripped-down arrangements of songs like "Rattlesnakes" and "Speedboat" differentiate these live tracks from the album. Over the course of these 19 songs, the only song from Rattlesnakes not found here is "Are You Ready to Be Heartbroken?" Six tracks are repeated twice (the superior takes consistently coming from the 1985 set at the Hammersmith Palais) and two of the album's much-vaunted B-sides, "Andy's Babies" and "Sweetness," also make an appearance. This sort of collection is truly only for the trainspotter who'll note that one version of "Four Flights Up" has slightly different lyrics in the second verse, but that subset of Cole's fans will be well pleased. ~ Stewart Mason

First volume of rare BBC Radio recordings of Lloyd Cole & The Commotions, the Scottish '80s Rock/Pop outfit who could have been the next Smiths if only Morrissey and Co. weren't around at the same time! Lloyd's suave, cool and collected vocals and intelligent and personal lyrics plus a great band behind him inevitably brought comparisons to The Smiths, but The Commotions were far from copyists...they were the real deal. This volume covers the band's heavy promotion of their first album Rattlesnakes in 1984 and features classic Pop nuggets like 'Perfect Skin', 'Four Flights Up', 'Forest Fire', 'Rattlesnakes' and many more. Universal. 2007.