Compilation Nation: Sharp Cuts
Or, Testing the Hits
Stats
Year: 1980
Country: U.S.
Genre: Rock
Purchase
Most musty old record stores fill their “Rock - Various Artists” crate with the sort of collections I avoid: titles like 12 Mega Hits! or Rock Music Now! that feature sleep-inducing dad rock at great low prices. Yet, with just the right songs at the right price I’ll take a chance on a less-than-ideal rock comp. Sharp Cuts is one of these cheapies that I’ve often seen marked too high, yet for only $5 at Brooklyn Record Exchange I’d gladly pay the price. Sharp Cuts was released by Planet Records, started in 1978 by mega-producer Richard Perry as a personal incubator for new acts. Planet’s success was varied, with The Pointer Sisters as their most popular group, appearing on a majority of the label’s output. Sharp Cuts was Planet’s only compilation, which tested a group of new bands before most of their formal debuts. Some of the artists featured here would go on to have outstanding careers, most not, but at this point in time, they were all fresh and unsigned: an even playing field that truly shows who can cut it.
Music-wise, there’s not much thematic connection across this bunch other than the perceived classification of “rock music.” Or, that’s what the liner notes claim. Critic Ken Barnes writes of the five years leading up to 1980 and a “resurgence of rock & roll fervor unmatched since the mid-sixties.” I don’t think a fifteen-year stretch is long enough for a genre as big as rock to fully diminish and revive, but hey, I wasn’t there. What I can assess is whether the compilation achieves its goal, which “attempts to capture a musical moment in all its diversity and enthusiasm and raw, awkward, irresistible, excitement.” I will agree that Sharp Cuts covers a lot of ground in its 10-song runtime: from shiny radio pop rock to grimy weirdo freak music, but whether this collection of acts is a “musical moment” is not argued well enough. Some of these acts were part of their own cultural pockets, take the dB’s or Suburban Lawns, yet no two of these bands I would mention in the same sentence.
Content
Sharp Cuts opens with a demo from Single Bullet Theory, the finalized version of which would go on to appear on MTV and reach No. 78 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Keep It Tight”’s first appearance here sounds very different, guitar-forward and rough around the edges. It was signing with a subsidiary of CBS Records that led to the slicker sound for SBT, but they soon disbanded once the corp refused to release their second single.
The only group from side A that went on to have a few releases was The Alley Cats, a punk band with clear roots in the L.A. scene. The dark, heavy resonance on “Black Haired Girl” stems from the performance of vocalist/bassist Dianne Chai, who herself had an amazing head of hair. This track would appear on the album Nightmare City, released on the short-lived Time Coast Records.
The rest of side A features artists that only found success outside their bands here. Billy Thermal’s self-titled 1980 album was finally released in 2014. The track here, “I'm Gonna Follow You” might explain this delay, an incohesive jazz-rock slog over-peppered in echo harmonies and creepy overtones. Don’t feel bad for Mr. Thermal (real name Billy Steinberg), as he went on to co-write a slew of #1 hits including “Like A Virgin,” “So Emotional,” “Eternal Flame,” and “True Colors.” The pop princess route was clearly a better outlet for Steinberg than his male angst-driven, landing him a spot in the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2011.
Bates Motel, better known under the name Gleaming Spires, provide “Live Among The Dancers” an Elvis Costello-style track that was never released anywhere else. It’s got one of the strongest hooks on the comp, a heavy veer away from Bates Motel’s typical job as the backing band for the avant-pop group Sparks.
Side B opens with the only track from this album that Planet Records released elsewhere: “I Like Girls” by The Know. I’m not sure if it’s their name or the content of their song that reminds me of The Knack’s “My Sharona,” released the previous year, but it definitely meets the same of level novelty. There’s also The Willys with “She's Illegal,” a song that’s completely absent from the internet, and The Fast with a forgettable dose of glam rock.
At the tail end of Sharp Cuts we come around to some familiar names; ironic that the last two bands featured on this comp would go on to have the biggest legacies. Power pop group The dB’s make their second appearance in this column with “Soul Kiss,” a track with much more going on than typical of them. There’s an almost atonal quality between the melody and instrumentation layered with shakers, organ, heavy drums, and whispers. The psychedelic slant is not present in their other, sweeter work; it’s not bad, it’s just not what I’d choose to feature if I were promoting this band.
The best-for-last award goes to Suburban Lawns for “Unable,” one of the most recognizable tracks in their short discography. Su Tissue’s staccato delivery amongst a wry guitar and sharp tempo changes define the new wave style that would gain further popularity through the early decade. And 1980 was a good year for the Lawns’ public exposure, as along with this feature, their 1979 music video for “Gidget Goes To Hell” played on Saturday Night Live. One year later “Unable” would feature on their self-titled album released by I.R.S. amongst other quick-witted and boundary-pushing tracks.
Further Listening
Suburban Lawns, despite having a long legacy, only made an appearance on one compilation that fulfills the parameters for this column, so I’m using this as an opportunity to dump all my Sub Lawns love onto the public. Of course, there’s “Gidget Goes To Hell,” their first single with a video directed by Jonathan Demme, along with its B-side “My Boyfriend,” neither of which appeared on any subsequent releases. While signed on I.R.S. they also released the EP Baby; tracks from which were featured on the 1983 cassette comp Hearing Aids, which also features The English Beat, R.E.M., and The Bangles, among others. The J-Card which claims to “repair hearing loss in 2 hours” is pretty funny, though I’m not so pleased by the stand-up comedy interludes.
Score
Variety: 4/5
Quality: 1/5
Cohesion: 2/5
Creativity: 3/5
Final Score: 10/20