Skip to content
The Only Ones: The Only Ones LP (1978, CBS Records)
There’s nothing like striking something from your want list by finding it in the wild. I’ve had the Only Ones’ first self-titled album on my want list for years, watching copies pop up infrequently, usually overseas, and always for inflated prices. After stalking the record for years I knew what I was looking at when I found a copy, and when the momentcame, I knew what was happening and ripped Excalibur from the stone… carpe’d motherfucking diem, if you know what I mean. Ridiculous analogies, I know, but I was pretty darn excited when I found this record.
I love the Only Ones. I think I first heard “Another Girl, Another Planet” on the Rhino compilation No Thanks! The ‘70s Punk Rebellion. That compilation is perhaps the best survey of 70s punk you’ll find, and over the years I’ve bought the album or single for just about every one of the 100 tracks on it. However, even among such heavy company, “Another Girl, Another Planet” stood out. It’s one of the best power-pop songs ever. If you don’t agree, then it’s clear we have radically different ideas of what comprises a great pop tune. My love for the Only Ones deepened when I picked up a copy of their second album, Even Serpents Shine, at Vinyl Conflict many moons ago. That album knocked me out, and it’s one of those rare records that I first heard in my late 30s, but I listened to enough to learn every nook and cranny of it. If you ever come across a copy of that one pick it up, as it’s usually cheap.
Neither Even Serpents Shine nor this first, self-titled Only Ones albums ever got released in the States during the band’s heyday… instead, we got Special View, one of those mongrel collections of British bands’ material repackaged for the American market. Compiling songs from the first two Only Ones albums, I suppose there’s nothing wrong with Special View, but it never clicked with me… I could just tell this wasn’t how we were supposed to be listening to these songs, and just like when you hear the original UK track listing of the Clash’s first album, everything makes a lot more sense when you hear these songs in their original context, including the bits that some suit or another decided weren’t good enough for American ears.
Reading up on this self-titled album to prepare for writing this staff pick, I didn’t see too many kind words for it. People’s criticisms fall into two camps. There are the folks who dismiss the album because none of the other songs are as good as “Another Girl, Another Planet.” Fair enough, I suppose, as I’m sure an album full of pop bangers of that caliber would have been something to behold. But taking the album on its own terms, I like how it starts with its two most accessible songs, “The Whole of the Law” and “Another Girl, Another Planet,” then writhes around in this druggy, dream-like space for the rest of its running time. It seems appropriate given the lyrical subjects. The other criticism I see of this album is that it’s not punk, to which I reply… “so what?” Did the Only Ones ever present themselves as punks? “Another Girl, Another Planet” appeals to a lot of punks, but beyond that, I’m not sure where that expectation arises, other than from the time and place in which the Only Ones were making music. Only Ones drummer Mike Kellie was in Spooky Tooth, for chrissakes, so I don’t think they’re too concerned with their stash of punk points. (This is, of course, putting aside the fact that Spooky Tooth’s album Ceremony: An Electronic Mass (one of the many albums Dominic has turned me on to over the years) is, by my arbitrary metric, pretty punk, dude.)
Anyway, back to this Only Ones album. Is it a great album? Perhaps not. It’s certainly not as great as Even Serpents Shine, though I can’t shake the feeling that it doesn’t aspire to greatness. It’s a murky, dingy album, the jacket’s muted, earthy, and unassuming layout doing a good job of capturing its overall approach and vibe. It certainly pulls me into its world, and all the way in at that. The album, particularly its second side, evokes what I imagine withdrawals must feel like, time moving slower than it seems like it should, the minutes grinding past like sandpaper against your skin. Not that it’s a difficult listen, just that it distorts your sense of time and makes you listen on its own terms. It’s an album to smoke a joint to and lose yourself in, not to throw on while you’re washing the dishes.
Right now I’m still basking in the glow of acquisition, so who knows where this album will land with me in the long term? Will it stick to my turntable like Even Serpents Shine, or will it live on the shelf, doing little more than making my Only Ones section feel complete? Either way, I’ve already gotten several enjoyable spins out of it, and I’m nowhere near ready to file it away.