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Lora Logic: Pedigree Charm 12” (2024 Record Store Day version, Hiss and Shake Records)
The Record Store Day release I was most excited about this year didn’t arrive at Sorry State until the week after RSD. Wrapped up in the business of RSD, I had forgotten about the deluxe reissue of Lora Logic’s 1982 album Pedigree Charm, which was a UK RSD release with only a limited number of copies available in the US. We ordered copies for Sorry State, but I didn’t realize until a few days after RSD that we didn’t receive any. I quickly checked Discogs and found several UK sellers still had the release in stock, but while I was weighing my options and coming to terms with the spendy proposition of having one of these things shipped over from the UK, I got a shipping notification from our distributor showing we’d have a few copies arriving later in the week. I’m glad I wasn’t too quick to pull the trigger on ordering a copy from the UK. (It’s still in stock as of this writing, BTW.)
My staff picks over the past few years have touched many times on my love for Pedigree Charm. I first wrote about it in March 2021, shortly after discovering the record, and as I grew more obsessed, I explored adjacent records by Essential Logic (Lora Logic’s previous project, formed shortly after she left X-Ray Spex) and Red Krayola (whose members contributed to Pedigree Charm). The main draw for this deluxe RSD edition was a six-song bonus 12” featuring, among other tracks, a 3-song John Peel session I didn’t know about, recorded shortly before Pedigree Charm as they were working out the album’s final arrangements. Already well familiar with the main album on disc one, when I got this record home I jumped straight to disc 2.
Side 3 of this deluxe reissue is essentially the 12” single of the standout track “Wonderful Offer,” beginning with the two b-sides “Stereo” and “Rather than Repeat” before the extended 12” mix of “Wonderful Offer.” None of these tracks are new to me as I have the original 12” single of “Wonderful Offer,” and they’ve also appeared on previous reissues. (“Stereo” was on the double disc CD compilation Fanfare in the Garden, and both tracks appeared on Aerosol Burns & Other Misdemeanours (1978-1983), a collection of Lora Logic / Essential Logic non-album tracks that was only available as part of 2022’s Logically Yours box set.) Still, I’m happy for the opportunity to revisit these songs. “Stereo” features some beautiful examples of Lora’s baroque sense of melody on both saxophone and vocals, its wistful vibe evoking the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East. “Rather than Repeat” is more upbeat, starting with a free-sounding saxophone part before a funky bass line fades in. It’s dense and funky art-punk that sounds like something that could have been on the first Magazine album, but curiously there is very little percussion on the track even though the instruments lock into the rhythm as if it had a strong, danceable drumbeat. It’s almost like they did a Can-esque funky art jam and then deleted the drum track from the mix, leaving the other instruments floating unsupported in this ghostly way. It’s really interesting. As for the 12” mix of “Wonderful Offer,” it basically just adds a handful of extra bars to the track, making room for some extra slapping and popping on the bass. I prefer the album mix, but I’m happy for the opportunity to soak up more of this album’s fabulous bass playing.
Now onto side B and the three-song Peel session, which finds a pared-down three-piece lineup running through “Martian Man,” “Pedigree Charm,” and “Rat Allé” from the album. While my favorites on Pedigree Charm are the more danceable tracks like “Brute Fury,” “Wonderful Offer,” and “Hiss and Shake,” the three tracks they played at this session represent the album’s artier side, which is just as well since Pedigree Charm’s cracking rhythm section wasn’t present for the session. On first listen, I was taken aback by how different these versions sound from the album. I haven’t A/B’d them closely enough to tell, but it seems like some parts of the songs are still in flux, and the mixes are radically different from the album, putting the spotlight on instruments and melodic lines that took a back seat on the album mixes. The ukulele-esque guitar on “Martian Man,” for instance, is more present in the mix here, which along with the dense percussion emphasizes the song’s tropical feel, though filtered through the rickety sound of UKDIY squatter post-punk. The title track, “Pedigree Charm,” here reminds me of the Specials’ lounge-influenced second album More Specials, something I’d never considered before. Super-fans of the album like me will find these session tracks vital and fascinating, but it’s hard to say what you’d get from this if you haven’t yet fully digested Pedigree Charm.
If you’re new to Pedigree Charm, though, thankfully the album appears in its entirety as disc 1. As I noted, I’m a super-fan, and this is the third vinyl copy of Pedigree Charm in my collection, joining my original 1982 pressing and the copy included in the Logically Yours box set. If you don’t own the album, this deluxe reissue is a great opportunity to pick it up, though unfortunately being a double-disc UK RSD import, it’s not as cheap as I would like. However, it’s the only time they’ve reissued Pedigree Charm apart from the Essential Logic discography, and it’s nice to have the LP in the spotlight rather than buried within an intimidatingly long track listing. If you’re not familiar with the record at all, I’d start with the dance-y songs I mentioned above: “Brute Fury,” “Wonderful Offer,” and “Hiss and Shake.” To me, these songs sound like they’re drawing influence from the black American music of the time, particularly electro with its high-energy rhythms and funky, catchy bass lines full of slapping and popping. If you’re a fan of ESG and the Tom Tom Club, you’ll really like these tracks, as the sound is similar and the playing and the songwriting are just as strong.