Buzzcocks: Time’s Up

Buzzcocks: Time’s Up
Label: Mute
Release Date: 1999
Recording Date: 1977
Review Date: 2000

Time’s Up was originally a bootleg of studio outakes from the Spiral Scratch sessions. Spiral Scratch was not only the band’s first self released ep, it was arguablly the first DIY effort from any punk band. Spiral Scatch has been re-released on vinyl and cd, and should really have been included on the Enigma boxed set entitled Product. Time’s Up has appeared in various vinyl releases ans well as in CD bootlegs. This new Time’s Up release is an officially sanctioned release with new cover art and a fat booklet containing pictures and lyrics. There’s a great shot of Shelley looking like a cop on a bad tv show as well as Devoto looking like he escaped from the Rocky Horror Show. That’s right, Devoto. Devoto was the intangible ingredient that made the early Buzcocks seem like they were an “explosion of limitless potential,” to borrow a phrase from Steve Albini, as he talked about Naked Raygun, another band that was heavily influenced by the Buzzcocks. Devoto is bizarro. He has been seen cavorting on stage with his band Magazine, claiming to have invented oxygen. Time’s Up captures the Buzcocks at their most interesting. Devoto irony and sarcasm are almost unparalelled. Devoto’s influence continued after he left the band. Shelley took over on vocals and old songs were re-released as singles and/or reworked into new Buzzcocks songs as with Fast Cars. Magazine’s “Shot By Both Sides” should also sound familiar to any Buzzcocks fan. Some great songs never made into the the new Buzcocks line up, but are still excellent. To quote the lyrics would not do them justice as they must be experienced within the raw framework of the music that surrounds them. (Fuck, why am I talking like this?) Time’s Up is a must have for anyone interested in hearing a near perfect aural snapshot of English punk rock at it’s genesis. The recordings were made with minimal overdubs. They are raw, and they are rough. They are outtakes that weren’t meant for public consumption, and so they are far from perfect, yet perfect at the same time.

Time’s Up has 11 tracks –

1 You Tear Me Up
2 Breakdown
3 Friends of Mine
4 Orgasm Addict
5 Boredom
6 Time’s Up
7 Lester Sands
8 Love Battery
9 I Can’t Control Myself
10 I Love You You Big Dummy
11 Don’t Mess Around

Online action: buzzcocks.com