Search - The Professionals :: Professionals

The better album

Brewzerr | On the fault line, CA | 10/17/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Just as the last reviewer stated, this was never officially released as the first album, but better late than never. I agree that these recordings are superior to those on "I Didn't See It Coming"... which is a fine album itself. The Professionals' career lasted about the same amount of time as the Sex Pistols, but was far less chronicled or heralded. It's a shame too... because the music stands right up there with that of the Pistols and is a great continuation of that "big" sound. It's undeniable that Jones and Cook had chemistry. Steve Jones' guitars sound huge, yet raw enough (on this album) to retain that magic they had on "Bollocks"... and Paul Cook has perfected his style of meat-and-potatoes drumming on these recordings. The result is a perfect example of big, raw, anthemic mid-tempo Punk rock at it's finest. The "alternate" versions of the songs that appeared on "I Didn't See It Coming" get a more proper treatment here, with more spirited execution and a more appropriate raw production.



If you've never heard the Professionals before then I would recommend starting with this album first."

Timing is Everything with all Professionals

Mr. Richard D. Coreno | Berea, Ohio USA | 04/06/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The back story to this album from guitarist Steve Jones and drummer Paul Cook was a music industry nightmare as they attempted to leave the drama and implosion of the Sex Pistols behind.



Slated for release in 1980 - a record company promotional "sampler" album actually showed this cover in anticipation of it soon reaching the marketplace - it was shoved back into the vault due to a dispute with bassist Andy Allen.



The band's debut - I Didn't See It Coming - was issued in 1981, but The Professionals gathered dust until 1990, when it was released on a small label and in this "official" form in 1997. Both have different track listings than what was slated for the original album.



With punk rock still flowing through the arrangements, Jones plays fast and hard on Little Boys in Blue; 1-2-3; Mods, Skins, Punks and Kick Down the Doors. Paul Myers (b) and Ray McVeigh (g) appear on Join the Professionals and Has Anyone Got an Alibi.



Timing is everything and the delay found The Professionals in a post-punk landscape where performance art shoved aside the pounding three-chord electric guitar. A debut in 1980 would have given Jones and Cook a fighting chance for the band, which ultimately disbanded in 1982.



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