Bad Manners – Forging Ahead
welcome back to the Skaject folks! this week we’re taking a look at the next Bad Manners record, Forging Ahead, initially released in 1982!
Salad Bar opens this record, and it’s a fun lil track. big fan of what this one does. Tonight Is Your Night has real fun energy, but feels a little monotonous to me. i go back and forth but currently just find it okay. Samson and Delilah is a groovier, reggae-y track. p neat one. i had completely forgotten that Exodus was a cover of a movie song. i dig it, very fun instrumental track. Got No Brains has a fun little hook over the chorus but the rest of the track’s just aight. i respect what Rose of Italy is doing but it aint really for me. the cover of My Girl Lollipop was the big single off this record, and i get it. v good cover of the track, even if i could do without that long bridge. not hugely interested in Falling Out of Love. Seventh Heaven, however, has some really fun grooves. the horns on this track really sell it. Educating Marmalade is fine. i forgot how much i disliked the outro on this track though. top track of the record for me is What’s Up Crazy Pup, a track originally by Van Morrison and the Caledonia Soul Express. it’s a breakneck swingy track that’s a load of fun. Your is fine. last time i reviewed this i included two tracks from the re-release, and man this is a much better closing track than what actually ends the rerelease versions of the record. a lot stronger to just cut it off here.
faves – Salad Bar, Exodus, My Girl Lollipop, Seventh Heaven, What’s Up Crazy Pup
dislikes –
i had a kind of middling opinion of this record when i originally was introduced to it, and that’s about where i’m at with it now. it’s weird because i remember having less of a good time with Bad Manners on my last listen through, and in my notes i had a comment about how i felt this had been an improvement. very strange, since now i think the last few records from them were really good, and while i’m definitely not running into any issues with the band yet this record had fewer hits in my book and the overall package was just fine.
Forging Ahead – 6/10
next time, we’re getting back to the Skatalites, with Return of the Big Guns
previous: The Rise & Fall | next: Return of the Big Guns
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