Bishops:
obscured by clods
Sounds,
1977
THE
COUNT BISHOPS: 'The Count Bishops' (Chiswick Wik1)
ONE WORD I haven't seen on t-shirts or arm-bands recently and that's integrity.
A big one, I know, and I must confess it's not one of my favourites, carrying
as it does all kinds of 'moral' and 'self righteous' connotations more
appropriate to vicars and monastries than the hot sweaty ambience of rock
'n' roll. All the same you have to respect anyone with the balls to stick
to what they believe in , come hell or high water. Take the Count Bishops,
they've been around a couple of years and were among the first bands to
get lumbered with that all but meaningless 'punk saddle'. But although
there's always been an abundance of talent and dexterity in the band,
so much so that they could probably pull off any generic aberration (play
whatever's the current definition of 'punk' in other words) of rock 'n'
roll as well if not better than anyone else in the ring, they've never
taken advantage of what's hip, preferring to go on playing the music they've
always played. Someone recently compared the band to the Flamin' Groovies
and thats a worthy analogy. All the same I'd hate to see the Bishops go
on being some poor cousins until some far off 'Bargain Bin' or similar
of the future when they belatedly get their dues as 'neglected greats'
or whatever. And tempting as it might be to side with the underdogs simply
because they're underdogs I feel need to stress that it just ain't the
case with me and this band. Because I happen to have this stubborn faith
that if something's good enough it'll speak for itself and, provided enough
people get the chance to hear it, it'll win through. See, I'm as convinced
now as I ever was that the Bishops 'Train Train' / 'Takin' It Easy' was
one of the finest 45's of last year and that, if it had only received
half the radio exposure it so obviously merrited it would've been a huge
hit. Maybe - just maybe - it'll do a 'Roadrunner' and flourish in some
more sympathetic future. Meanwhile there's few things that have depressed
me more recently than seeing this frequently excellent band playing their
hearts out to a dozen or so tourists, as happened at the Rock Garden a
couple of weeks back. It's just so unfair. Still, maybe now that J.Rotten's
come out and confessed that he's as human as the next man and enjoys a
wide variety of music , things'll start to change and a more open minded
attitude will prevail when it comes to listening to 'new' bands like the
Bishops, Roogalator, Tyla Gang and a dozen or so others I could name who
are making good music as opposed to simply regurgitating the first Ramones
album mixed with the odd Stooges or Velvets song. Had
'The Count Bishops' just been shipped in from New York or Boston or dug
up as a cut-out, I'm pretty certain people would be falling over themselves
to claim their discovery. So what. This here's a very solid little album
anyway, one that's well worth keeping an ear open for. And yes, you're
absolutely right, it does make 90% of 'Live at the Roxy' sound pathetic
by comparison. Let's hear it for these little guys. I mean, like I've
said elsewhere, no harm in liking what's hip but it's even better when
what's hip and what's good are one and the same. Like here, for example.
- Giovanni
Dadomo.
