The seven John Peel Sessions recordings are excellent, with the band live in the studio playing songs from the album. But it is the live Free Trade Hall material (all of it previously unreleased) that should get Buzzcocks fans most excited. There was something about playing in front of an audience that got this group fired up. They certainly were at a peak that night, and the crowd definitely got their money’s worth.
In hindsight, Love Bites is the most underrated album in the Buzzcocks' canon. It stands as a truly brilliant record. And there was more to come. Another classic would follow, just a few months later, called A Different Kind Of Tension.
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Article comments
1 - Glen Boyd
All those punk and new wave bands used to crank their shit out at breakneck pace back in '78.
If memory serves, the Ramones released Leave Home, Rocket To Russia, and Road To Ruin in something just short of a year. Elvis Costello did the same thing with My Aim Is True, This Years Model and Armed Forces.
Like you I kinda dismissed Love Bites as the lesser of the Buzzcocks albums, but based on this review I should probably give it another listen...
-Glen
2 - Greg Barbrick
Thanks Glen-
Good point about the Ramones and Elvis C, you are absolutely right. That was such a great era, you didn't dare blink, things were happening so fast.
-Greg