To cite one of the band’s songs, this really is a “…natural kind of joy…”, such is its songwriting brilliance. They display an effortless swagger, with buttery guitar riffs and a rhythm section that at its foundation are as solid as the pyramids. A band that it was said were “Too late for Punk, too early for Grunge.”, yet it should be remembered that they could still write melodic tunes which bore a political statement at their core. Derry band That Petrol Emotion came out of the demise of John Peel favorites Undertones, their name inspired by a song from fellow Derry band Bam Bam & The Calling. Inspiration wasn’t the only thing they took from this band, as principal songwriter John O’Neill joined forces with his friend and fellow songwriter from Bam Bam, Raymond Gorman. This collection comprises 121 tracks over 7 CDs, combining the band’s 5 studio albums, with 1 Live album, along with B-sides, non-album singles, rarities, remixes and further live recordings, basically everything Petrol fans could wish for, short of the reformation of the band.
We start off with the band’s debut, their 1985 album Manic Pop Thrill. This begins with ‘Fleshprint’, a number which, from the outset, shows the band’s intent. Fast-paced, with a solid back line and guitars which sing of a time when hairspray and baggy couture were as important as the audio coming from the stage. Their sound might have comprised influences from those having played the scene, the likes of Echo and the Bunnymen and Gene Loves Jezebel. Of the 11 tracks that were on this album, only 2 became singles – the first of these was ‘It’s A Good Thing’, which, with its vocal reminiscent of Buzzcocks’ Pete Shelley and Steve Diggle guitar, the more solid back line in ‘Fleshprint‘ is the only element that might separate the two numbers. I guess I may not have been the only critic who had heard the comparison, as writer for the NME, Sean O’Hagan had written in 1986 that “Their music is in a constant, latently violent, state of flux, sometimes overloaded, sometimes taut and splintered: a different kind of tension.…” a reference to that band’s 1979 album. After its twelve tracks, Manic Pop Thrill continues with another 7 bonus numbers which include the band’s first two singles ‘Keen’ and ‘V2’, along with those which might suggest the earlier mentioned comment made of them, that they were “Too late for Punk, too early for Grunge”. I can certainly hear an interesting kick drum going on in my left ear when this is played through my headphones, that might even draw a comparison to The Wedding Present, another band active around the same time. This first disc of the seven shows a good face and might suggest at what’s to come.
So without further ado, we embark on their 1987 release Babble. At this point, the band had signed with major label Polydor and I remember quite vividly the bouncing first single ‘Big Decision’. What I found disappointing, was not just that this epic single floundered in the charts at number 43, but that the radio-friendly version was the first to be included on my CD version of the album, which fades just off 3 minutes, proving something of an anticlimax. What is termed the full version is included later on, but here this injustice is put right, as among the bonus content comes the ‘Jet Fuel Mix‘, which at 6 minutes and 42 seconds allows me to bathe in the track’s splendour. Where I would disagree with the “Too late for Punk, too early for Grunge” comparison is that, actually, with their dance/rock ethos, That Petrol Emotion struck the zeitgeist at just the right time, with the likes of Happy Mondays and Pop Will Eat Itself snapping at their heels. ‘Dance Your Ass Off’, as well as its double A-side, ‘Swamp’ , show off these pretenses to the fullest. This second album contained a far looser attitude than the jangly element present on the first and pointed the future direction for the band and far more was to come.
End Of The Millennium Psychosis Blues was to be released in late 1988 and I can’t say that this album struck any particular chord with me at the time. Maybe it was, indeed, as was said of the album, that it was “…too disjointed and diverse to break into the mainstream…” Or perhaps it was that the songwriting team was splintering around them. Founder member John O’Neill announced his imminent departure on the eve of the recording sessions. There are a number of very good moments that were available on this album, these came in the form of ‘Every Little Bit’, with its urgency packing a punch, and as always the dancier numbers ’Groove Check’ with its Jan Hammer/Miami Vice feel and ‘Tension’, another bass-heavy number which looks ahead to their next album more easily.
That next album was Chemicrazy, which, with its even brighter artwork and superb lead track ‘Hey Venus’, did ever so slightly better than the number 73 placing of its first single, ‘Abandon’ , causing a ruck when it came to media presence. I always felt that ‘Hey Venus’ was released with the intent of waking a sleeping public and media alike, such was its lively presence. This Scott Litt produced album has a bright and now familiar tone, following his more recent work on R.E.M.s albums from Green to New Adventures in Hi-Fi. Other than the massive ‘Hey Venus’ another track that caught my ear on this album was ‘Scum Surfin’, which with its urgent tonality, sang to me. And the cheeky 3rd single ’Tingle’, which as the lyric goes, contains “…such a radiant spark…”. There is so much to discover on this album that will make your ears ring. Here it also includes 3 bonus tracks which comprise the bass-heavy ‘Boys Own Mix’ of the album track ‘Abandon’, guitar shredding and gratefully received. What’s next is Chemicrazy (Part 2 1990-91) which commences with ‘Chemicrazy (Revitalized)’ a track that first appears on the End Of The Millennium Psychosis Blues. Another facet of this collection is the choice of cover versions that have been included, Pere Ubu, Iggy Pop and Leonard Cohen among these. I can’t find anything better represented than the live recording of Neil Young’s ‘Cinnamon Girl’.
The Mad Thatcher Disease Mix of Hey Venus mixes politics and current affairs, with hard beats. At just over 6 minutes this adds to a packed dinner plate, that mixes hip-hop beats, repeated samples, with a melody that strikes the right note, on a song that lives favourably in my memory. Later on, who can’t appreciate The Beatles ‘Hey Bulldog’, a live version of which is included, followed swiftly by Chemicrazy’s ‘Headstaggered’, from Live At The Whiskey, LA performance? As you would expect, this is a far more open version, where the line “…breathe in breathe out…” comes across with far more urgency than on the studio version.
1993 and 2 years had passed before the band were to record their follow-up album Fireproof. Having been dropped by Polydor, they also parted company with bassist John Marchini, replacing him with Belfast-born Brendan Kelly. Setting up their own label Koogat, Kelly’s playing directed the band toward a heavier and more riff-laden album. Gone was the dance element and That Petrol Emotion was becoming a fully-fledged rock band. Like a moth to a flame, American-born vocalist Steve Mack slipped on this new pair of strides like the professional he was, adapting to this new sound and making it his own. Of this new material, I think it is ‘7th Wave’ that I feel most comfortable with, but joining the 10 tracks available from the original album, this new version adds a further 8 tracks, including a far more That Petrol Emotion take of ‘Detonate My Dreams’, in the form of an ‘Alternative Version’. This also comes with the Franz Treichler Remix of ’Blue to Black’, which reignites the dance-funk in this version and taking them back to Babble.
Disc-Seven features the band’s Final Flame (Fire, Detonation & Sublime Chaos) album. It contained a series of live recordings from the band’s farewell concerts in 1994 and was released posthumously in 2000. As a snapshot of the band, this final album is the most interesting, as it could be said it is a one-stop-shop of the band’s material and has been recorded and compiled extremely well. One of the best live recordings I have had the pleasure of listening to and before now not realised its worth, especially when a band member commented after performing ‘Sensitize’, that it should be made “the new Irish national anthem”. In fact, this company of 17-tunes merits the score on its own, but as a set of recordings is a very worthwhile collection. Since their split, band members Gorman, McLaughlin, Kelly and Damian O’Neill have continued making Krautrock-influenced music with The Everlasting Yeah, although they have yet to release a fully formed album. Former vocalist Steve Mack has moved back to Seattle, where he has concentrated on a more worthwhile occupation, those of parental duties.
