As 1984 progressed and the impact of The Paisley Underground deepened, given the ongoing and important support of The Melody Maker and the Old Grey Whistle Test I became increasingly interested in the bands associated with the scene.,
I bought Green on Red, True West and Rain Parade records during the year. I still play them all almost forty years on. Dream Syndicate's Days of Wine & Roses shortly afterwards. I held back with The Long Ryders who were leading lights of the scene.
I wasn't quite ready for the Ryders and C&W just yet. I wasn't ready for Folk as yet either.Men with long beards with food in them women in shapeless smocks, no thanks. Rude Cliches perhaps but Folk was not a Hip concern in the mid Eighties and I had aspirations at least towards hipness. Buying Fairport records and going to Folk get togethers in chilly back rooms of gloomy pubs was not going to help in this respect.
The allure of urban Noir, Velvets, Television and Patti was far greater. I liked The Byrds but preferred their janglier earlier records to the idea of the ones made after Gram Parsons joined and they changed direction. It would take a while before my taste broadened and I began buying Sweetheart of the Rodeo Almost Blue, Johnny, Waylon, Patsy and Gram records.
I saw The Long Ryders in my first year at university and probably preferred support That Petrol Emotion. I found lead singer Syd Griffin pretty corny. His first words before the band kicked off were 'Hope you're all studying hard.; When the band encored with a cover of Public Image Ltd he sported a pair of Mickey Mouse ears. He was certanily not concerned with projecting conventional Lou Reed shade weating cool allure.
I came to own and like the band's debut album Native Sons, It's a fine and varied record in the Gram and Buffalo Springfield tradition of things. We all mellow and vary our tastes with the passing years if we have any sense. Thank goodness.
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