Cockney Rebel, led by Steve Harley and Jean-Paul Crocker on the violin, were around at the time Bowie and a few others were turning androgynous glam into an art form. This, their brilliant debut album will (probably) at first, second...tenth listen annoy you. The problem with it is that Steve Harley's vocal style takes a lot of getting used too and his distorting of words to get them to rhyme can be annoying and make it difficult to work out the lyrics. Trying to fathom the lyrics was one of the challenges and until the CD, including lyrics was released. The other problem was that the Steve Harley image put a lot of people off. A glam rock poseur, pronouncing himself as the greatest is not going to endear himself to many listeners. But then it's the music that counts in the long run and this is an amazing album that has stood the test of time. Human Menagerie is a good title as each song creates a weird character and proceeds to describe them with colourful lyrics. The use of the violin primarily as the lead instead of guitar makes the sound quite distinct.

Cockney Rebel only produced two albums, the next Psychomodo almost matching the first.

Quote: Paul, Milton and John all left at the end of the 1974 tour. They became fed up with (amongst other things) Steve's attitude, his attempts to transform Cockney Rebel into his backing band, his overworked voice and his tired songwriting input leading up to the third album. Lack of recognition for their creative musical input was also a big factor (Steve had earlier negotiated a publishing deal without their knowledge). Steve and Trevor Beeton (the manager), failed to address the issues and Paul, Milton and John all left to look for the real world. Stuart had felt the same during the tour but he backed down at the last minute because of family pressures. After pursuing a case for payment of accrued royalties, it transpired that the money had all been lost and they were forced to seek a petition for the winding up of the management company.

Album Tracks

Hideaway

Not bad, but probably the weakest track of the lot and may have put off a lot of potential buyers. Would have been a good B side rather than an opener

What Ruthy Said

A fairly standard rock song with three verses and no chorus and a great vocal ad lib as the fade out (compare the vocal fade outs, they're all different)

Loretta's Tale

A clever song about a prostitute. Sparse production, great bass, vocals and clever use of keyboards and mandolin.

Crazy Raver

Fast violin driven rocker with great lyrics that defy the norm by having up to 6 lines with same rhyme and it works. The sax solo is great.

Sebastian

The band released this as the single in several versions, without success. It's too long, powerful, monumental to appeal on the radio. It's got full orchestra, chorus, sparse mix with a fragile violin playing in amongst it. The lyrics are cryptic, painting Sebastian as a strange being not quite of this world. Brilliant, but give it time.

Mirror Freak

The glam glitter boy who can't stop looking at himself. Maybe Harley having a go at the image he created on the cover. Great mix with booming bass, frail violin, superb drumming and keyboards holding it all together. A great song with a subtle fade out. Listen carefully and many times.

My only Vice

Acoustic rock with violin. Good bass and drums. Weird lyric about the price he'd charge for being eaten alive. Give it time.

Murial the Actor

An incredible vocal effort over a bouncy beat with a good melody that eventually becomes infectious.

Chameleon

less than a minute to build and fade.

Death Trip

Brilliant monumental finish. About 9 minutes in about 3 parts. Great use of violin/keyboards, clever use of orchestra to build to the finish.

On the CD version I've got there are 2 bonus tracks "Judy Teen" (a single not on the next album) and "Rock & Roll Parade" (the B side I assume) Listen once and then don't play them with the album. This is an album that works best listened too from start (yes even the first track) to finish in a dark room with the headphones on.

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Other Albums

The next album Psychomodo was a good follow up, but doesn't work as well as an album. Cavaliers is boring after a few listens and some of the others lack the what the first album had. However the song Ritz is better than anything on the first album and it is worth buying this album for this track alone. A wall of 12 string guitar, cymbals, a lyric/vocal that takes you to another world and brilliant use of the violin make this track unforgettable. The title track is a superb song also with really weird lyrics. Tumbling Down and Bed in the Corner are as good as anything on the first as well.

The Best Years Of Our Lives After the first two albums the band had had enough (see above). Steve Harley went commercial and never regained the magic of the first two albums. Make Me Smile was a big hit single (number 1) and the rest of the album is ok, but lacks the staying power of the first two.

Timeless Flight is a more interesting, experimental album that takes longer to get into.

Love's A Prima Donna, This is the next best, nothing like the first two but is very good, being an original, diverse, innovative and amusing album.

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