Rockpile - Seconds of Pleasure

I had no idea what rockabilly or roots rock was back in 1980. That's not necessarily accurate, as I really liked Dave Edmunds' classic "I Hear You Knocking" from his 1972 album, coincidentally titled Rockpile. Nick Lowe had some success with his '79 album Labour of Lust. Both of those guys would mine old time rock and roll and put a little twist on things.

With Rockpile, Nick and Dave were joined by Billy Bremner and drummer Terry Williams (who would later sit behind the kit with Dire Straits), and the band would release one album, Seconds of Pleasure, that yielded a minor hit, "Teacher Teacher," that felt fresh and classic at the same time. There was a buzz about the album and I remember my buddy Gord, who knew such things, said this was a killer album. I never bought it, and never heard more than the one single, and then the album drifted into the abyss and would be one of those things I knew about but nothing about at the same time.

Here I am sitting and grooving to the album and the record has aged like a fine whisky. I suppose my younger self would have liked this, but it would have been quickly shelved as I moved on to the next loud thing in my collection.

The album mines the classic rock formula and blends rockabilly with new wave, and the results throughout are really quite good. The songs are crisp and there's a confident swing and swagger to the songs that gives them a timeless feel.

The band featured three lead vocalists, and while it's Dave and Nick who handle the majority of the duties, the two songs fronted by Billy were really solid. The guys really complemented each other, and frankly any one of them could have handled all of the vocals, but each guy brought something to the table and the little differences and nuances were suited to the songs they sang.

It was a fun trip and while I'm not sure how often this will see the light of day, I'll give props to "Teacher Teacher" as a song that should have been bigger as it really did capture that magical intersection between classic power pop and new wave.

I played the album several times, and frankly got more than the seconds of pleasure that were advertised.

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