This was an album owned by one of my university friends, but I only recall Next, a cover of a Jacques Brel song also covered by Scott Walker about a young recruit’s soul-less encounters in an army-sponsored brothel. I think this version is better, not least because Harvey’s Glaswegian accent renders it as a “mobile army hoo-er-house”. The song, however, is not especially indicative of the rest of the album.
Which falls under the umbrella of “glam rock”, partly because the SAHB were given to dressing up on stage, guitarist Zal Cleminson for example in full mime/Pierrot face paint in a yellow and green jumpsuit. The music is largely excellent and infectious rock, opening with the pounding blues-inflected Swampsnake and following on with down-and-dirty Gang Bang (and for those more used to USA and not UK slang, that’s a term for group sex, not somebody that runs with street gangs). Giddy Up A-Ding-Dong (great name) is a cover of an old Fifties track, and one thing that glam often did is to bring in elements of classic rock and roll – this one sounds the most like groups such as Slade or The Sweet. Vambo Marble Eye, meanwhile, which opens with some great guitar from Cleminson, sounds more like T. Rex.
And this is kind of where SAHB lie in terms of glam. Groups like T Rex and earlier Slade tend to take themselves seriously as artists, whereas later glam tended to really ramp up the theatricality and camp (especially an artist we can no longer mention thanks to his predilection for underage boys; we shall refer to him as "Barry Shitter"). SAHB are clearly having fun with the music, and come across as the kind of band that would give you a really good live show. Harvey’s singing sometimes tends towards the over-emphasised that suggests that he’s making fun of the music, but I don’t think this is the case. When the song needs power and grit, he gives that in spades too.
There are a couple of longer tracks – The Faith Healer and Last Of The Teenage Idols where the music gets a bit more structured, building from a slow opening to a great climax, and throughout the musicianship is really tight. An under-rated gem, I’d say.
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