The Scottish Rock/Pop music
scene has always been ripe with talent. In fact, there have been so many great
Scottish artists/bands, it would be impossible to list them all. From Pilot, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, and Bay City Rollers to BMX
Bandits, Belle & Sebastian,
and The Orchids, the Rock, Pop and
Indie Charts have been filled with acts that understood the mechanics of Pop
music and how to create art from inspiration. In the late ‘70s and early ‘80s,
Scotland gave birth to many great bands that didn’t bother the U.S. charts all
that much but are highly regarded today: The
Bluebells, Aztec Camera, Lloyd Cole & The Commotions, Endgames, Altered
Images, and Orange Juice. One
band that certainly deserves to be added to that list is Friends Again.
Friends Again was a quintet
featuring vocalist/guitarist Chris
Thomson, keyboardist Paul McGeechan,
guitarist James Grant, bassist Neil Cunningham, and drummer Stuart Kerr. With Thomson’s scratchy
vocals up front, the band played an engaging mix of Pop, Soul, Folk, Funk, and
Rock. On the surface, Friends Again may have appeared to be a slick Pop band
but it was obvious there was something darker churning under the surface.
Thompson’s delivery was electric, often inserting intelligent,
thought-provoking word-play into the band’s seemingly innocent Pop symphonies. With
a few 1983 EPs in their back pocket, the band released their debut album, TRAPPED
AND UNWRAPPED, in 1984. Unfortunately, the band had already split up by
the time the album was released, which understandably killed its chances for
commercial success. Without a band to support the release of the album, TRAPPED
AND UNWRAPPED wasn’t even released in the U.S.
Thirty-five years after the
album’s original release, TRAPPED AND UNWRAPPED has finally
been given the Deluxe Edition treatment it truly deserves thanks to Cherry Red Records. Not only does it
contain the album, it also features the early single versions, B-sides, 12”
remixes, and demos of previously unreleased songs. In short, nearly everything
the band recorded. While the album had been reissued on CD before, this edition
more than doubles the material previously available digitally. And it is all magnificent.
Friends Again was a perfect blend
of the Soul-influenced latter-period Orange
Juice, the melodic smarts of The
Bluebells, the dour intelligence of Lloyd
Cole & The Commotions, and
the sophistication of Aztec Camera.
They were more than an average Pop band. In turn, that makes TRAPPED
AND UNWRAPPED more than just your average Pop album. It is sweet,
soulful, melodic, and dangerous. With shimmering keyboards, chiming guitars,
and angelic hooks, the album plays it safe but always feels like it is about to
go off the rails… in the best way possible. This is a Pop platter with the
heart of Post-Punk attitude. With production by Bob Sargeant, Bobby Henry, Jon Turner, Tom Verlaine
(yes, THE Tom Verlaine), and the band members themselves, this is an album that
was commercial but doesn’t drown the band’s personality in a sea of gloss and
glitter. “State Of Art” is one of the ‘80s finest singles and still sounds
fresh over three decades later. Songs like “Sunkissed”, “Lucky Star” and “Lullaby
No. 2” may be Pop gems but they certainly don’t hide their Funk/Soul
influences. “Vaguely Yours”, “Swallows In The Rain”, “Honey At The Core”, and “South
Of Love” are delicious examples of the band’s unique approach to Pure Pop. “Bird
Of Paradise” is a proud Country/Folk influenced stomper. The unreleased demos
reveal a band that still had plenty of musical roads to explore before their
sudden split. OK, so this does sound very ‘80s in some parts but Friends Again created
magic and we are lucky that we can experience it all again on this two disc
release.
Epilogue: Thomson would go on
to form The Bathers and Bloomsday while Grant, Kerr and McGeechan
formed Love & Money.
Your pal,
Stephen SPAZ Schnee
FRIENDS AGAIN
TRAPPED AND UNWRAPPED
(Deluxe 2CD Edition)