Oh look, its the album my brother bought me for xmas 1979!....what a classic, and one of the few albums i know all the words to. Very rarely have i had the opportunity for a sing-a-long with anyone using this material. I managed a Residents sing-a-long one time, with future members of Volcano The Bear, and a great acappela version of 'Frankie Teardrop' with some acquaintences in a pub; but no-one has ever been up for an Essential Logic medley!?
Someone has described this band as Van Der Graaf on heat in the comments section of the Punilux 'Laughing Academy' post, and that ain't far off. Maybe on Helium mixed with Nitrous Oxide and 'crack' is more appropriate?
William Bennett of Whitehouse (no links to whitehouse stuff,because he asked me to remove all the posts!...but if you ask.....?) was in this band,incredibly! And he is the uncredited bass player on seven of the nine tracks on this album...which, incidentally, he claims he co-wrote.....and i kinda believe him.After this album they definitely became very watered down.(I blame Laura Logic's Buddhism trip,that got even worse by the time of her 'solo' album a couple of years later).
Its another example of the prog influence in post punk, and a very welcome influence it is too.
Tracklist:
Quality Crayon Wax OK
The Order Form
Shabby Abbott
World Friction
Wake Up
Albert
Alkaline Loaf In The Area
Collecting Dust
Popcorn Boy (Waddle Ya Do?)