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Manchester's first wave of punk action, almost entirely based around people who'd seen the Pistols appear at the Free Trade Hall, rapidly expanded the range of the genre beyond mere three-chord thrash. While the more cerebral edge of original Buzzcock's singer, Howard Devoto, led to new wave prog and Ian Curtis and Bernard Sumner's Joy Division expored Ballardian dystopianism, Pete Shelley, Steve Diggle and co. were to redefine the love song.
While Love Bites - following the excellent Another Music In A Different Kitchen - seemed a little dour and tentative at the time, at the heart lies an urge to finally throw off their past associations and forge something totally their own. The compressed twin guitars, sparse riffs and rumbling toms here reach their apogee. Already Shelley was talking of the past, as if trying to worry at the edges of love's mysteries to explain the inexplicable (Sixteen Again, Nostalgia). Being gay also lent his romanticism a fatalism that made his pleading voice even more affecting. He rejects hedonism (Just Lust) while resolving to remain grounded in realism (Real World), yet he still has room for the absolute power of love (Love You More - not originally on the album but added here). Of course Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)? remains their greatest achievement. The thundering motorik drums of John Maher drive Shelley's missive of faltering affection into all but the hardest of hearts.
The truth was that the band's subsequent success following their biggest hit would be their undoing. After Love Bites the label of 'pop band' began to erode any loftier ambitions (subsequent gigs in larger venues actually saw the band facing screaming girls). A listen to the krautrock-ish rumble of Late For The Train, or the mantra of E.S.P demonstrates how there was far more to the band than just three-minute love songs.
Bolstered by not only contemporaneous singles, radio sessions and demos, but also a whole gig, in its remastered and value-added form, Love Bites now sounds like a far more complete album than it did at the time. Despite some oddly inaccuracy-riddled sleeve noted by Jon Savage, it's an essential purchase for anyone remotely interested in punk's history. --Chris Jones
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
"Love Bites" probably falls into that "difficult second album" category of releases that have sent many bands on a one-way trip to oblivion. It's an easy forgotten album, being sandwiched between the pure energy of "Another Music" and the self-imploding, ecstasy adrenalin-rush of their final album "A Different Kind Of Tension". That's odd as the album contains their most successful single, "Ever Fallen in Love", which has deservedly moved into Classic Single Mansion.
The first thing you'll notice is the cover and lack of any design element. It's very, er...white. There's none of Malcolm Garretts' usual design flare seen on the bands singles and one album up to that point. If you're new to the band, have a search on the Internet for their sleeves and you'll see that their beautiful pieces of artwork in themselves, from the cut-and-paste ideal of their controversial debut "Orgasm Addict", right through to their swansong "Are Everything".
It's remarkable to think that this album was released barely six months after their debut. In a time where you'll get an album every four years (if you're lucky) from your heroes, this is quite a feat. Still, everyone was doing it back in them there days. From pop-punk to pop in 24 weeks; brilliant!
"Real World" kicks the whole shebang off with Pete again wishing somebody would love him; "I'm in love with somebody/I wish somebody loved me too", a recurring theme we'd seen many times, "What Do I Get?", for example. The whole sound is, I hesitate to use the word `polished', less rough (?) maybe. Next-up is the aforementioned classic "Ever Fallen in Love". The rest of Side One (I'm old fashioned like that) is made up of the rather odd "Operators Manual" and "Just Lust", the b-side to the hit. There are two absolute crackers though in "Nostalgia" where Pete is telling us how he's surfing on a wave of nostalgia for an age yet to come and "Sixteen Again" which includes some of their best backing vocals ever; you just listen to the boys singing `and then'. Wonderful.
The rest of Love Bites (side two!) starts off with a great little instrumental written by Steve Garvey called walking distance. The other Steve had obviously had a bang on the head around this time as he contributed "Love Is Lies", an acoustic singer/songwriter type tune, which is so un-Diggle like to be untrue. That's not to say it's not a good track, it certainly is, just well, just not Steve Diggle. Pete then treats us to "Nothing Left" and "ESP", two tracks which really show us the direction he'd take on "A Different Kind Of Tension" a year later. The albums closure is a band-written tour-de-force instrumental called "Late For the Train", it's no Trans Europe Express, but it's a really interesting piece, that would have baffled their contemporaries, I could never imagine The Clash or Gen X doing something similar. This is why, for me, the `Cocks are head and shoulders above the other bands around at the time.
This expanded release gives us an astonishing 34 extra tracks. These range from associated singles and b-sides from the period, the beautiful "Love You More", "Promises" and a raft of Peel sessions and demos, which are always interesting to hear.
I bought this album on release in 1978, I was 13 at the time, and no other record since has had the same impact, it's not my favourite album of all time or anything, but it does have a special place. I've bought this album a few times now at different times and have no hesitation of buying it again. I once read that Paul McCartney bought all his kids copies of "Pet Sounds" to show them how beautiful music can be, he should've given them a copy of this too.
Love bites, you know.
The first thing you'll notice is the cover and lack of any design element. It's very, er...white. There's none of Malcolm Garretts' usual design flare seen on the bands singles and one album up to that point. If you're new to the band, have a search on the Internet for their sleeves and you'll see that their beautiful pieces of artwork in themselves, from the cut-and-paste ideal of their controversial debut "Orgasm Addict", right through to their swansong "Are Everything".
It's remarkable to think that this album was released barely six months after their debut. In a time where you'll get an album every four years (if you're lucky) from your heroes, this is quite a feat. Still, everyone was doing it back in them there days. From pop-punk to pop in 24 weeks; brilliant!
"Real World" kicks the whole shebang off with Pete again wishing somebody would love him; "I'm in love with somebody/I wish somebody loved me too", a recurring theme we'd seen many times, "What Do I Get?", for example. The whole sound is, I hesitate to use the word `polished', less rough (?) maybe. Next-up is the aforementioned classic "Ever Fallen in Love". The rest of Side One (I'm old fashioned like that) is made up of the rather odd "Operators Manual" and "Just Lust", the b-side to the hit. There are two absolute crackers though in "Nostalgia" where Pete is telling us how he's surfing on a wave of nostalgia for an age yet to come and "Sixteen Again" which includes some of their best backing vocals ever; you just listen to the boys singing `and then'. Wonderful.
The rest of Love Bites (side two!) starts off with a great little instrumental written by Steve Garvey called walking distance. The other Steve had obviously had a bang on the head around this time as he contributed "Love Is Lies", an acoustic singer/songwriter type tune, which is so un-Diggle like to be untrue. That's not to say it's not a good track, it certainly is, just well, just not Steve Diggle. Pete then treats us to "Nothing Left" and "ESP", two tracks which really show us the direction he'd take on "A Different Kind Of Tension" a year later. The albums closure is a band-written tour-de-force instrumental called "Late For the Train", it's no Trans Europe Express, but it's a really interesting piece, that would have baffled their contemporaries, I could never imagine The Clash or Gen X doing something similar. This is why, for me, the `Cocks are head and shoulders above the other bands around at the time.
This expanded release gives us an astonishing 34 extra tracks. These range from associated singles and b-sides from the period, the beautiful "Love You More", "Promises" and a raft of Peel sessions and demos, which are always interesting to hear.
I bought this album on release in 1978, I was 13 at the time, and no other record since has had the same impact, it's not my favourite album of all time or anything, but it does have a special place. I've bought this album a few times now at different times and have no hesitation of buying it again. I once read that Paul McCartney bought all his kids copies of "Pet Sounds" to show them how beautiful music can be, he should've given them a copy of this too.
Love bites, you know.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
The music is fast and energetic with great guitar work, and there are some real gems here. Unlike the punk of its time, Buzzcocks embraced the love song with gusto, as on the classic Ever Fallen In Love. Just Lust is quite a tour de force, and Sixteen Again is a catchy little number with intelligent lyrics. I love Walking Distance’s chiming guitars, while Love Is Lies with its prominent acoustic guitar is an engaging bittersweet love song. Late For The Train with its strong guitar onslaught sees tham going heavy for a rousing instrumental conclusion. This a brilliant album of melodic powerpop that impresses also with its literate and poetic lyrics.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
2 reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
...has aged so well
8 Mar 2010
Format:Audio CD
Following up the superb debut "Another Music In A Different Kitchen" and their slew of excellent singles, the Buzzcocks had their work cut out for them on their sophomore platter, "Love Bites." You can hear them working a little bit harder at the songwriting, it's not quite as natural and effortless as on their debut, and from all reports some tensions were forming in the band as well, and lots of drugs -- especially acid -- were being consumed. That makes for an erratic work environment to put it mildly, but by and large the band pulls it off with their reputation for razor-sharp pop intact. In fact, "Love Bites" contains a couple classic tracks, not just as Buzzcocks songs, but as perfect or near-perfect pop songs. For example, "Ever Fallen In Love," which was a pretty big hit back home in England. Along with other well-known songs like "Just Lust," this album contains some great fare like "Real World," the acoustic-driven "Love Is Lies," the storming instrumental "Walking Distance" (which the Descendents certainly learned from) and the krautrock-y "Late For The Train."
The remastered version includes the usual riches of this reissue series: the singles "Love You More," "Noise Annoys," "Promises," and "Lipstick" -- four of their most concise and blistering tunes; a slew of demos; several Peel Session tracks from '78-'79; and a live set from Manchester's Lesser Free Trade Hall from July 21, 1978.
"Love Bites" has taken a lot of guff over the years for being "less essential" than "Another Music In A Different Kitchen" or "Singles Going Steady." That smacks of damning with faint praise. Granted, it may have been a slight letdown when it first came out, but that's because the band had been hitting such consistent highs that anything less than perfection seemed a grave departure. We have the luxury of hindsight now, and "Love Bites" stands up pretty damn well on it's own. Apples to apples, the first three albums and "Singles Going Steady" are all pretty essential. If you like what you're hearing on any one of those releases, you're in for more of a good thing. The Buzzcocks had a unique talent for making all their albums sound like singles collections.
The remastered version includes the usual riches of this reissue series: the singles "Love You More," "Noise Annoys," "Promises," and "Lipstick" -- four of their most concise and blistering tunes; a slew of demos; several Peel Session tracks from '78-'79; and a live set from Manchester's Lesser Free Trade Hall from July 21, 1978.
"Love Bites" has taken a lot of guff over the years for being "less essential" than "Another Music In A Different Kitchen" or "Singles Going Steady." That smacks of damning with faint praise. Granted, it may have been a slight letdown when it first came out, but that's because the band had been hitting such consistent highs that anything less than perfection seemed a grave departure. We have the luxury of hindsight now, and "Love Bites" stands up pretty damn well on it's own. Apples to apples, the first three albums and "Singles Going Steady" are all pretty essential. If you like what you're hearing on any one of those releases, you're in for more of a good thing. The Buzzcocks had a unique talent for making all their albums sound like singles collections.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Songs In The Key Of Love
29 May 2009
Format:Audio CD
"Love Bites" probably falls into that "difficult second album" category of releases that have sent many bands on a one-way trip to oblivion. It's an easily forgotten album, being sandwiched between the pure energy of "Another Music" and the self-imploding, ecstasy adrenalin-rush of their final album "A Different Kind Of Tension". That's odd as the album contains their most successful single, "Ever Fallen in Love", which has deservedly moved into Classic Single Mansion.
The first thing you'll notice is the cover and lack of any design element. It's very, er...white. There's none of Malcolm Garretts' usual design flair seen on the bands singles and one album up to that point. If you're new to the band, have a search on the Internet for their sleeves and you'll see that they're beautiful pieces of artwork in themselves, from the cut-and-paste ideal of their controversial debut "Orgasm Addict", right through to their swansong "Are Everything".
It's remarkable to think that this album was released barely six months after their debut. In a time where you'll get an album every four years (if you're lucky) from your heroes, this is quite a feat. Still, everyone was doing it back in them there days. From pop-punk to pop in 24 weeks; brilliant!
"Real World" kicks the whole shebang off with Pete again wishing somebody would love him; "I'm in love with somebody/I wish somebody loved me too", a recurring theme we'd seen many times, "What Do I Get?", for example. The whole sound is, I hesitate to use the word `polished', less rough (?) maybe. Next-up is the aforementioned classic "Ever Fallen in Love". The rest of Side One (I'm old fashioned like that) is made up of the rather odd "Operators Manual" and "Just Lust", the b-side to the hit. Then we are treated to two absolute crackers in "Nostalgia" where Pete is telling us how he's surfing on a wave of nostalgia for an age yet to come and "Sixteen Again" which includes some of their best backing vocals ever; you just listen to the boys singing `and then'. Wonderful.
The rest of Love Bites (side two!) starts off with a great little instrumental written by Steve Garvey called walking distance. The other Steve had obviously had a bang on the head around this time as he contributed "Love Is Lies", an acoustic singer/songwriter type tune, which is so un-Diggle like to be untrue. That's not to say it's not a good track, it certainly is, just well, just not very Steve Diggle. Pete then treats us to "Nothing Left" and "ESP", two tracks which really show us the direction he'd take on "A Different Kind Of Tension" a year later. The albums closure is a band-written tour-de-force instrumental called "Late For the Train", it's no Trans Europe Express, but it's a really interesting piece, that would have baffled their contemporaries, I could never imagine The Clash or Gen X doing something similar. This is why, for me, the `Cocks are head and shoulders above the other bands around at the time.
This expanded release gives us an astonishing 34 extra tracks. These range from associated singles and b-sides from the period, the beautiful "Love You More", "Promises" and a raft of Peel sessions and demos, which are always interesting to hear.
I bought this album on release in 1978, I was 13 at the time, and no other record since has had the same impact, it's not my favourite album of all time or anything, but it does have a special place. I've bought this album a few times over the years in its different guises and have no hesitation of buying it again.
I once read that Paul McCartney bought all his kids copies of "Pet Sounds" to show them how beautiful music can be, he should've given them a copy of this too.
Love bites, you know.
The first thing you'll notice is the cover and lack of any design element. It's very, er...white. There's none of Malcolm Garretts' usual design flair seen on the bands singles and one album up to that point. If you're new to the band, have a search on the Internet for their sleeves and you'll see that they're beautiful pieces of artwork in themselves, from the cut-and-paste ideal of their controversial debut "Orgasm Addict", right through to their swansong "Are Everything".
It's remarkable to think that this album was released barely six months after their debut. In a time where you'll get an album every four years (if you're lucky) from your heroes, this is quite a feat. Still, everyone was doing it back in them there days. From pop-punk to pop in 24 weeks; brilliant!
"Real World" kicks the whole shebang off with Pete again wishing somebody would love him; "I'm in love with somebody/I wish somebody loved me too", a recurring theme we'd seen many times, "What Do I Get?", for example. The whole sound is, I hesitate to use the word `polished', less rough (?) maybe. Next-up is the aforementioned classic "Ever Fallen in Love". The rest of Side One (I'm old fashioned like that) is made up of the rather odd "Operators Manual" and "Just Lust", the b-side to the hit. Then we are treated to two absolute crackers in "Nostalgia" where Pete is telling us how he's surfing on a wave of nostalgia for an age yet to come and "Sixteen Again" which includes some of their best backing vocals ever; you just listen to the boys singing `and then'. Wonderful.
The rest of Love Bites (side two!) starts off with a great little instrumental written by Steve Garvey called walking distance. The other Steve had obviously had a bang on the head around this time as he contributed "Love Is Lies", an acoustic singer/songwriter type tune, which is so un-Diggle like to be untrue. That's not to say it's not a good track, it certainly is, just well, just not very Steve Diggle. Pete then treats us to "Nothing Left" and "ESP", two tracks which really show us the direction he'd take on "A Different Kind Of Tension" a year later. The albums closure is a band-written tour-de-force instrumental called "Late For the Train", it's no Trans Europe Express, but it's a really interesting piece, that would have baffled their contemporaries, I could never imagine The Clash or Gen X doing something similar. This is why, for me, the `Cocks are head and shoulders above the other bands around at the time.
This expanded release gives us an astonishing 34 extra tracks. These range from associated singles and b-sides from the period, the beautiful "Love You More", "Promises" and a raft of Peel sessions and demos, which are always interesting to hear.
I bought this album on release in 1978, I was 13 at the time, and no other record since has had the same impact, it's not my favourite album of all time or anything, but it does have a special place. I've bought this album a few times over the years in its different guises and have no hesitation of buying it again.
I once read that Paul McCartney bought all his kids copies of "Pet Sounds" to show them how beautiful music can be, he should've given them a copy of this too.
Love bites, you know.
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