Music Review: Brothers of the Head: Music from the Motion Picture - Page 2

Consciously or otherwise, much of the album draws its vibe from some of the stars of the time. The influence of Man Who Sold the World-phase David Bowie is there, as is that of Marc Bolan's T. Rex, Iggy and the Stooges, and Slade. Admittedly, the Howes didn't write a lot of their material - in fact, Barry's "Sink Or Swim" is the only tune credited to the twins on the album. Most of the material was written for them, in keeping with Bederick's original bubble gum vision.

The Bang Bang, however, took those songs, turned them inside out and transformed them into something restless, something dangerous - in short, something that was the essence of punk. "Two-Way Romeo" was originally envisioned to be a sort of theme song for the Bang Bang, along the lines of the Monkees. The band's delivery was something decidedly different - it's uptempo theme was infused with a mockery of the period's sexual mores. Similarly, "Sitting in a Car" was intended as a musical sightseeing tour of London. The Howes saw the tour through jaded eyes, and the resultant cut was awash in the blase attitude that would become the benchmark of BritPop in the eighties. But it was their blistering "Doola and Daula" that was destined to become their trademark tune, and is widely regarded as the single tune to chart the course for bands like the Sex Pistols and the Buzzcocks.

Obviously, the Bang Bang did not lay the foundation for punk - underground bands in New York and Detroit had already set those wheels in motion. What they did accomplish was formidable nonetheless, particularly considering their career spanned a mere ten months in 1975. We can only speculate what they might have done had the Howe brothers lives not been cut so short.

Brothers of the Head: Music from the Motion Picture offers at least a glimpse of what might have been. Besides the nine tracks from the proposed LP, the disc includes nine bonus tracks. Mostly alternative versions and demo outtakes, the bonus cuts provide insights into the twins' creative process. Taken together, the eighteen tracks on this disc represent the complete known body of the Bang Bang recordings.

The alternate reality of the Bang Bang, and the music scene that might have been, will be discussed and debated in critical circles for years to come. With this album, we can finally draw our own conclusions. Coupled with the documentary film Brothers of the Head, the long-lost Bang Bang album is an essential piece of rock history. One thing is certain. The Howe Brothers and their band will no longer be a footnote.

Article Author: Ray Ellis

Ray Ellis is a freelance writer who has been dissecting pop culture and its effect on how we view ourselves for over twenty years, ruffling feathers and dragging unsuspecting pedestrians along for the ride whenever possible.

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