Search - Billy Bremner :: Bash

An obscure treat for Rockpile fans

treblephone | Mesquite, TX United States | 07/04/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After the acrimonious breakup of Rockpile, the fate of Nick Lowe and Dave Edmunds wasn't in question; Guitar wizard Billy Bremner was more of a wildcard. He delivered in spades on BASH! [criminally, never seeing a US release until now]. Produced and mostly co-written by Will Birch from UK powerpop denizens The Records, BASH! is a delight for Rockpile fans from start to finish. Featuring a sublime classic in Elvis Costello's donated original, "Shatterproof", and a country-hit-just-waiting-to-be- covered in "When These Shoes Were New" [as well as the Stiff single "Loud Music In Cars"], this album is a MUST for anyone who ever loved "Tracks on Wax 4" or "Labour of Lust" by his rockin' compatriots. For those who bought the vinyl LP in the 80s, bonus B-sides from the Stiff 45s are also included. Billy's more recent album, also on Gadfly Records ["A Good Week's Work"] is also VERY worthy of your attention."

Yes Please!

Christopher Bushman | Portland, OR USA | 03/22/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I did not buy this on Vinyl at the time and I was only vaguely aware of Rockpile at the time of their breakup (I remember Little Sister with Robert Plant on vocals from the Concert for the People of Kampuchea video being in heavy rotation on MTV). However, in the last few years I have come to appreciate the careers of Nick Lowe and Dave Edmunds and through my explorations of their solo music and the Seconds Of Pleasure album, I have been fortunate enough to come to learn about Billy Bremner.



This guy has been a stealthy secret weapon in many a band. Q. Who did Chrissie Hynde call on when she needed a guitar player for Back On The Chain Gang in the wake of JHS's death? A. BB!



Bash is a lot of fun, just a great pop-rockin' / roots rock blowout. Some of my favorite songs are the bonus tracks on this re-issue especially Yes Please!



Minus one star because as the other reviewer noted, this disc was mastered from vinyl and not cleaned up particularly well. No big deal, it still is a blast to listen to.

"

A great lost pop-rock gem!

NeeNee | 07/10/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was really happy to see this finally re-released on CD, cause it had been too long since I'd been able to listen to this gem of a record. Contrary to the slagging this disc takes in a previous comment on this page, the production, songs, and performances on this record are top notch. A must for any Rockpile fan. I think he had the best voice in that band and his guitar playing is always great. There are some great and rare bonus tracks here too, that had previously only been on long out-of-print and very hard to find singles. These are also very good. Check out this disc!"