Revisiting Another Music In A Different Kitchen - Buzzcocks (1978)

Today we turn our attention toward what I think is one of the best Punk/New Wave Albums of All Time! That's a rather large boast I know especially when you consider classic albums like Damned Damned Damned - The Damned, The Clash self-titled Debut Album, The Pistols Never Mind the..., but I honestly do think that Another Music In A Different Kitchen sits kindly among those albums and should be spoken of in the same breath.

What set Buzzcocks apart from the likes of The Clash, The Damned and The Sex Pistols was there was a real edge of Pop Sensibility and on 'Another Music...' you can hear that right from the opening bass line of 'Fast Cars' to the crashing drums of 'Moving Away From The Pulsebeat'. They also managed to maintain a punky edge with the likes of 'No Reply', 'You Tear Me Up', 'Love Battery' and 'I Need'.

What was striking first off about the album was that neither of the first two singles for United Artists (Orgasm Addict and What Do I Get?) featured on it (though they and their B-Sides were added to the 1996 CD Reissue and the 2001 Remastered Special Edition - along with their Debut Peel Session, Demos and an 9 track set from the Electric Circus in Manchester from October 1977). None of the songs from Spiral Scratch featured except a snippet of Boredom at the very start of the album before it launches into Fast Cars.

Early copies of the album came in a special Buzzcocks Carrier Bag (pictured above) declaring what was inside was Product. Some of these copies actually go for handsome sums of cash if you ever felt the need to part with yours!

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Another Music In A Different Kitchen - Buzzcocks

United Artists

Produced by Martin Rushent

Released 10th March 1978

UK Chart #15

Side 1

Side 2

Personnel
Pete Shelley – lead guitar, lead vocals
Steve Diggle – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Steve Garvey – bass guitar
John Maher – drums, percussion

The album has been reissued a number of times over the years with a Blue Vinyl version released in 1987 on French Label Fan Club and in Spain it was released on Transluscent Grey 180 gram Vinyl by ViNiLiSSiMO in 2011. A Translucent Orange 180 gram Vinyl version was released on Parlophone/Rhino in 2015 for Black Friday Record Store Day with a Limited Edition Run of 6,200 copies.

It was first issued on CD by Fame/EMI in 1988, this was just the standard album with no bonus tracks. The 1996 reissue on CD did contain both the A and B-Sides of their first two United Artists singles. 

 (Front Cover of Remastered Special Edition 2008 on CD)

(Back Cover Remastered Special Edition 2008 on CD)

As mentioned above there was a Remastered Special Edition in 2008 on EMI that was also reissued in 2013 (not quite sure why as there was nothing new added to it).

Singles On Another Music In A Different Kitchen

A-Side

I Don't Mind

B-Side

Autonomy

Released April 1978

UK Chart #55

This one was an Australian Release. I remember picking it up on Import from HMV in Oxford Street.

Not sure how Limited these were on Colour Vinyl. I never even knew that there was a Blue one as I'd only ever seen the Clear Vinyl.

(Clear Vinyl)

 (Blue Vinyl)

Also on plain Black Vinyl

A-Side: What Do I Get / Fast Cars

B-Side: Moving Away From The Pulsebeat / The End

Listen Here

Wizard (Australia)

Released in May 1978

With the line up finally settled, this was the third line up of the band after departures of original vocalist Howard Devoto (who left shortly after Spiral Scratch was released) and the sacking of Bassist Garth Davies (he had lasted one single and one Peel Session) into what has become the Classic Line Up of Shelley, Diggle, Garvey and Maher, recording of the album begun in ernest in December 1977 and was completed by January 1978.

Fast Cars is credited to Shelley/Devoto but actually pretty much most of the song was penned by Steve Diggle.

A live version of Love Battery turned up on Live At The Roxy London WC2 album that was released in the summer of 1977. 

Only one single was released from the album and surprisingly it never even made it into the Top 50! I Don't Mind is one of those classic songs penned by Pete Shelley (Penetration recorded a version of it during their Pledge Campaign in 2015 which was pretty cool as their drummer for the Resolution Sessions was none other than John Maher). The B-side, Autonomy, is one of Steve Diggle's finest tunes I reckon. The Offspring did a cover version of the song.

There's so many brilliant songs on it that I hardly dare to pick one absolute favourite though I still marvel at the sheer beauty of Fiction Romance, that brings that double guitar attack of Shelley and Diggle together wonderfully and Moving Away From The Pulsebeat  (the link is for the 1989 Reunion Tour Live Version) with that fantastic drum beat that John Maher pulls off with such aplomb.  David Quantick (who used to write for the NME) did a great review of it back in 2010 for the BBC Music Website, he said,  "Everything about it – from its silver, orange-lettered sleeve to Martin Rushent’s aluminium-sheen production – is right. The songs are all brilliant pop tunes in the classic style, but with lyrics whose doomed romanticism would put John Lennon to shame, and the kind of riffs that only a Stooges and T.Rex fan could write...It’s my favourite album ever; buy it and find out why." I know exactly what he feels!