The Undertones
The Undertones
1979
Album Summary
The Undertones is the 1979 debut album by the Undertones. The album was recorded at Eden Studios in Acton, West London in January 1979 and was released on 13 May that year. The original release included just one single release: "Jimmy Jimmy" and an album version of "Here Comes the Summer", which was never released as a single. A re-released version of the album (housed in an alternate sleeve), was issued in October 1979. The re-released album also included The Undertones' first two singles: "Teenage Kicks" and "Get Over You" alongside both "Jimmy Jimmy" and a single version of "Here Comes the Summer", which had been released in July. In addition, the song "Casbah Rock" was included as the final track of the album.
Wikipedia1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die day 18 and boy, its going to be a long ride if I can manage to stick this out. I’m nowhere near triple digits, and this project is both rewarding and intimidating, equally. As a self described “Music Nerd”, I’m starting to realize that I’m more nerd and less knowledgeable. If you asked me to guess how many of these 1001 albums that I would know before buying this damn book, I’d confidently guess at least sixty percent. What a fool I was 18 days ago. Todays selection is the debut and self titled album from a Punk Rock slash Pop group called the Undertones. This is a great album to put on while you have a shower beer or two. It is fast paced, it’s uplifting, and the simple lyrics about girls and doing hood rat shit with your friends is enough to set the mood. Honestly though, Undertones debut album is largely forgettable. I can’t really explain it, I love these songs when they’re playing, but as soon as they’re over, I barely remember them. Bands like The Ramones sound very similar and are from the same era, yet had more lasting impressions with their compositions. I’m sure many bands took note of this band and built their craft on top of The Undertones established foundation in music, like, say, Green Day or maybe even Soundgarden. I appreciate this album, it is fun and youthful, it sounds great, it just didn’t leave a lasting impression on me. I’m sure it left enough of a lasting impression on other artists to follow their lead. Please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and memories!
I was running late for my eldest daughter's parents evening a few years ago and didn't have time to change, so was wearing football shorts. As her geography teacher was talking some shit about how well she was doing, I felt a twinge in my stomach. I knew I was in trouble, but tried to stay composed. I'm sat there like "yeah, yeah, she knows all the capital cities of europe because of her years of child trafficking." We all laughed...but then, just as I was standing up to leave, my explosive diahorrea kicked in and launched a splurge of hearty brown liquid, splashing it all across a map of Africa. We all laughed. The Undertones were on in the car on the way home.
Listening to this album made me imagine my Dad careering around the streets of suburbia in his Vauxhall Viva modified with twin carbs; me in the back seat barely secured to the hot, faux leather vinyl that passed as a bench seat, him with his brown Aviators, 'tash, flared trousers and mop of hair blowing in the wind. Then I remembered he was more into Meat Loaf at the time and the daydream was shattered. Although lyrically, teenage kicks is still relevant today and the album as a whole was not unenjoyable if a little repetitive towards the end, I think this will end up forgotton, like a rusting car with Teenage Kicks as the singular component rescued and remembered in a museum of classics.
Ok, I consider myself a bit of a New Wave/Punk aficionado and I knew NOTHING about this group. Never heard of them. BLOWN. AWAY. This is what I love about this list. This. So obsessed.
upbeat energetic old school punk. nice and melodic. its short enough so as not to get repetitive. really good album
Sometimes the lyrics are a little problematic but overall I really like the album. High energy, I like the backup vocals being quite present, good performance, no lazy band members, singer is decent. Quantity over quality is a little issue, with most of the music being pretty simplistic, but does a great job as punk rock music. Does have a bit of variety but they mostly stick to fast-paced jams. Want to see their later stuff as apparently they change their style up.
One of the earliest pop-punk records, and it goes hard! The hooks are catchy with lots of energy, while still staying true to it's punk roots. Much less far removed than later pop-punk records, but all music evolves in some way. With all the songs on here, some of them don't stand too well, but the general tone of the record supports the lesser songs by keeping things moving.
This is a new band for me. Although not usually my style, The Undertones have produced a fairly decent album. It is an upbeat, simple and enjoyable album. With so many songs on the album, however, towards the end, they become a bit muddled and you kind of forget that they are separate songs. A good album but sadly I feel a forgettable one too.
16 tracks? I don’t want the deluxe version, I thought. But wait! This is the original version! This will take ages to listen to. But wait again! The album clocks in at a concise 35 minutes! Now that’s an album that breaks down the door, pushes you about for a bit and then gets the hell out of there! Punky, prickly, full of teenage hormones (Teenage Kicks a perfect pop song?), high energy, a really enjoyable album.
Feargal Sharkey has such a great voice, and a great name for a rock star. The lyrics make you ask "Wow how young are these guys?" The songs are kind of throw-away, yet more complex and melodic that the 2-minute ditties we've received by American hardcore bans, with a few hit worthy like Teenage Kicks and Jimmy Jimmy.
So-called pop punk was a necessary tweak to keep punk going. You can only make angry, face spitting music for so long. The mid 70s recession had gone and by 1979 Thatcher was Prime Minister and the weary Sex Pistols fans stopped hitting the streets to burn shit and started to pop pills instead. The time was right for pop punk! This sub-genre of punk is probably the one I know best. A lot of my favourite bands like The Police, The Jam, The Pretenders, Joe Jackson were part of this and were getting traction in 1979. The Clash had been around for the angry years but they were getting more traction than ever as they embraced pop punk. I like the Undertones and the genre but the bands I note above will get the 4s and 5s. The Undertones are a few floors below.
Such a distinct yet immediately recognizable guitar sound. That vocally warble is great. Love this
I Gotta Getta – perfect bass drum. Rhythmically offset lyrics – first song is a gem. For 1979 wow.
Очень бодрый альбом и современно звучит! Легко могу представить его в саундтреке Тони Хоука, хотя он, вероятно, там уже есть. Очень классные песни, сразу хочется и танцевать и подпевать. И тут есть тинейдж кикс!!!
Never heard of this band before. Catchy… really fun! Favorite track: Get Over You. But I enjoyed the whole album. This sounds more modern to me than 1979. Lots of little musical surprises scattered throughout. Love the lead singer’s vocals. Definitely adding this to my library!
Classic, crisp and snappy punk tunes with witty lyrics. A perfect example of intelligent melodic punk
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/hodges/images/4/44/3281150-teenage_knix.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20190810144317
Initial thought: how many songs?! Good job The Undertones are ace... and many of them are short anyhow. Great fun rattling through this lot, it flew by. I love it.
Honestly one of the best discoveries I’ve had going through these albums. This is absolutely my shit.
What a great album. This is what rock and roll is all about. Young talented kids playing with an energy and joy that is absolutely infectious. 5 🌟
This is one of the reasons I come to this site! An amazing band I’ve never heard of, becoming something I want to listen to repeatedly
Let's go baby. The drums on Family Entertainment is the big hook. A collection of grooving, uptempo old school Brit punk.
But of a wild album. Sounds like if the Dead Kennedy's made an album in the style of Rocky Horror Picture Show. And I've got absolutely no complaints. Big thumbs up from this guy.
Oh, every different flavour of yes! So this is a brilliant album. Northern Irish. Equally angry as joyful. An almost perfect rock album. The only criticism I could level at it is that it doesn't include "It's going to happen".
I've only been doing this for a few days and this is the first album I've heard that made me say, "Holy shit, how did I not know about this band?" "Teenage Kicks" is a great song but this album is full of catchy hooks and fun, upbeat pop punk that will make you thing of The Clash, The Ramones, and Dead Kennedys. I love it, and I will definitely be adding The Undertones to my library.
Throw the Ramones, Sex Pistols, and Clash into a blender, add a dash of Bryan Ferry's vibrato, then blend away, and I'm pretty sure the resulting concoction will be the Undertones. I don't know how this is the first time I've run across them, as this album is fantastic. This is top-notch old school punk*, and the last time I was this excited about a new (to me) band was when Roxy Music's debut album popped up a few weeks ago. I found a 26-track version of the album on YouTube, and there's a lot to love here. It starts off strong with "Family Entertainment," and while "The Girls Don't Like It," I sure do. "Teenage Kicks," "Get Over You," "Listening in," "Emergency Cases" ... So many good tracks. And a special shout-out to "Mars Bars," which is quite funny. Honestly, 26 tracks and I had no desire to skip any of them. That's the dream right there. *Except for "True Confessions," which starts with the line "Don't look so surprised," which amused me because it *was* a surprise, and came out of left field with a Devo-like new wave flavor that caught me completely off guard.
Last 3 tracks easily the best. Boss lyrics for days. Not my usual thing but enjoyable enough to listen to again. 7/10
I like a few of the songs they feel very soundtrack walking to the pub lol but some of them are annoying
More brit rock, hell yeah. Enjoyed the stranglers more, but these guys are clearly Alt. Rock of my youth, just transported to the early 80s
Mucho rock y de repente, parece que todo suena igual, pero hay una que otra que me parecen muy buenas. Mucha energía y sirve también para trabajar si te concentras con música así. Me gustaron "Here Comes the Summer", "True Confessions (Keyboard Version)", "One Way Love" y "Top Twenty". No sé decirlo bien, pero de repente el sonido es "adolescente", más bien en el sentido de que muchas de las banditas rockeras posteriores parecen sonar parecido o lo que se usa para soundtracks. 8/10
I'm torn, because the highlights are simply great, but there's a fair bit of material that just churns away. When it works well, Sharkey's odd, bleating voice and the frequent use of repetition is electrifying - 'Here Comes The Summer' being the prime example - but songs fall flat when it misses. Also - I'm not a teenager in the late 1970s, to whom this no doubt sounded fresh and exciting, a marriage of punk spikiness and pop sweetness, but here in 2021 it doesn't quite pack the wallop. Still, there's considerable craft and some nimble songwriting on display here, so a solid four stars from me.
Hey ! Hey ! Hey ! Power-röhrender Sound eines Ford Mustang, dazu diese verzweifelt flirrend-brechende Stimme und „Teenage Kicks“ sollte verdammt nochmal jeder einmal im Leben aufs mixtape bekommen, alright!? Yeah 3.7
Lo repetiré, no hacía falta tantos discos de punk en esta lista, pero bueno... Estuvo chido, pero nada memorable. aunque tiene más variedad que otros de punk que hemos escuchado aquí. Me gustaron Get over you y One Way Love.
Enjoyed this- "over you" being my favourite. The Vaccines doing a good job of keeping this sound relevant today
Enjoyed this a lot more than I thought! I usually don’t dig the original punk bands so much, this was a great album!
This is a good one to bring up the mood from work too. The recording quality doesn't seem quite as good as Ash - 1977, but it is also two decades older. Probably still going to give this a 4.
The precursor to my beloved pop punk! I’m a sucker for this sort of thing and found this to be an incredibly enjoyable listen that I had on repeat all day.
-Nice, solid classic rock-esque album -I liked it, although nothing stood out -probably go back and relisten to most tracks
It's funny. I wasn't too excited about the other album from The Undertones but this album was a good solid rocker from start to finish. I can imagine that these guys were a real hit live.
Gotta say I liked their second album better. This one is still fun and energetic, and they know how to hook you to start an album (Family Entertainment is a great/catchy opening track and Girls Don't Like it is similar at #2). But it was a bit more uneven and didn't always keep ahold of me. I know their style and this whole genre is often juvenile, but some songs I thought "really, you wrote about that?" (case in point, Mars Bars...and I love Mars bars). The main guitar riff in Teenage Kicks sounds oh so familiar - like they ripped off Anarchy in the UK or God Save the Queen. Or maybe some song after them that I know ripped them off? Still a good tune, but left me wondering. Might be rating them a bit high because of how much I liked their sophomore release.
Can’t dismiss The Undertones as just another punk rock group. I gave it a good listen and heard influences from the styles of the 50’s through the 70’s and yet their sound is original. I especially liked the guitar on Teenage Kicks. They push so hard on Jump Boys that the drummer can’t keep up with the fills! Solid album.
So much of this sounds like Delay. I hear a little Against Me! in here at times as well. I like this a lot. Very melodic punk. Proto pop punk even.
It's a great album! Fun to listen to and catchy tunes... Loved the guitar and harmonies!
A band I had never heard of with a really solid album. If you had told me it came out 3 years ago, I'd have believed you. Definitely didn't sound like it came out in 1979.
High energy with some rock-a-billy undertones. Hah, undertones... that wasn't intended but it fits. Digging this album.
Listened before? N This is my first known exposure to The Undertones. This was a nice surprise. I thoroughly enjoyed it! Pros: Rocking, Peppy, Punk-ish. Referred to as pop-punk by Wikipedia, I pretty much agree. It's not modern-style pop-punk, but it is pop-punk nonetheless. You can hear the influence of The Ramones all over this record. Anyway, all of this is good news for me. I really liked this album. Cons: Repetitive lyrics (it's old-school punk, so this is expected), a couple of songs just didn't do it for me. Added to Library? Y Songs added to playlist: Teenage Kicks, Get Over You
After all these years, the tones on that album sound super fresh, a fun album from start to finish!
Unexpected but enjoyable. Raw, fresh, naive, 50s pop combined with new wave. Sound like a bunch of lads who have just got their instruments and having a blast. Simple direct songs. No over production going on here. Cover art 1/5
Wow!! Great candy pop punk!! Reminds me of the Ramones but more joyfull and "Beatlesque". Will indefinitely stay in my playlist!
Of course I know the hits but first time listening to an album. I love punk but generally not the classic stuff. This is better than average though and reminds me of The Dead Kennedys.
So many short and fun songs. It is hard to choose my favourite songs out of so many songs. But it’s a great album, fun to listen to with the strange and funny lyrics. Favourite songs: - Teenage kicks - Get over you - Here comes the summer
We already had one Undertones album, two is probably unnecessary. But Teenage Kicks and Jimmy Jimmy are undeniably perfect. Enjoyed this way more than expected. Fergal Sharkey's voice is a bit marmite and I'm on the wrong side of that divide, but there's no denying the infectious energy. Interestingly and unusually for rock music, I think almost every song is in 2/4 time. In any event, all the same beat, and all the song lyrics are variations on either "it's not fair, he's got more than me" or "it's not fair, she doesn't love me" but nevertheless I still loved it. Avoided this sort of stuff like the plague in the 70s (along with all punk/new wave) but happy to discover I was wrong.
Pretty good album, never heard it before but enjoyed a lot of the songs, Teenage Kicks being the standout track.
I'm now 166 albums in to the 1001 journey, and one thing I've learned so far is that my liking for punk is much stronger than I'd expected. This is partly because songs like the fourteen on The Undertones' debut lend themselves to a "one-album-a-day" listening experience. Every song on "The Undertones" is bright, snappy, short and on the nose. They wear everything on their sleeves and don't need repeated listens to realise any hidden meanings or memorise subtle melodies. The whole album is done in less than half an hour in a sugar-rush of adolescent adrenaline. So it's easy to dismiss The Undertones' efforts here as throwaway, but there's great songcraft at work here. The guitar riffs in "I Gotta Getta" and "Family Entertainment" haven't dated at all in the forty-five subsequent years of alt-guitar rock, "Here Comes the Summer" and "Jimmy Jimmy" bounce by with such irrepressible energy, "Girls Don't Like It" and "I Know a Girl" boast instantly familiar melodies. Even "Casbah Rock", in 47 seconds, lodges itself in the listener's head and leaves a lasting impression as a closer. It's unmistakeably Ramones-esque in delivery and pace, but no complaints from me. Sometimes three chords are all you need, and The Undertones even have a bit of an edge with Feargal Sharkey's supple vocals, reaching towards a tenor range in the likes of "Billy's Third." Lighthearted, sure. Disposable, if you insist. But it's hard to argue with an album where nothing can be seen to outstay its welcome and every track gets the pulse racing.
Nearly peerless in its influence on post punk bedroom heroes. It is not without it's flaws but damn me if Teenage Kicks isn't one of the best pop songs of all time. This album makes me want to crush up a couple of dexies and wash them down with the cheapest vodka I can find.
De estas ondas que nos han tocado de punk/alterno/pop es de lo que más me ha gustado. Conocía Teenage Kicks en cover, y ahora me gusta la original.
An upbeat, apolitical take on UK punk with unmistakable vocals and endless hooks. When an album contains John Peels favourite track, you know it's a good one!
Very fun, high energy, danceable punk, it seems to be giving roots to pop-punk here. However, it gets a bit too samey on start-to-finish for me to want to sit down with this record too often.
Kind of surprised there are two albums by this band on the list, but it's fun, catchy stuff.
This is the kind of album I was expecting to find out here a little more, something that seems like I should know it, has a sound that kind of resonates with me and yet I am completely unaware of.
I've never heard of the Undertones until now and I regret the gaping hole that was unknowingly part of my late 70s punk experience. This album is right in the pocket for me.
Much like The Buzzcocks, The Undertones are masters of playful punk. Fun listen as my day got started.
This is fun. I love punk but this is a band I never really took the time to get into. They predate the Descendents, but its easy to see their influence on the pop punk scene; pop punk like The Queers, Screeching Weasel, etc not the dreck that is All Time Low and what have you. Anyway: this is really good and goes down smooth in a fairly brief play time. I'll be going back to this and their other albums in the future.
i found this really fun! there’s an earnestness to it that’s been missing from a lot of the punk from the same era i’ve gotten before. i think part of it could be that it’s a belfast band playing during the troubles, which lends a real authenticity to everything. it can’t be a 5 because it’s musically too simple, but it’s a solid 4.
Definitely one of the better punkish albums we’ve had. Not too self serious. Short, which is important. And well produced. Better than neutral, but not a 5 for me
Enjoyable and catchy album, reminded me a lot of a mixture of Pop-Punk and Celtic-Folk-Punk
What a great rock and punk album! You can hear the 70s punk influence, but the melodies are very similar to Buddy Holly and the harmonies at times like the Beach Boys, with cool guitar riffs and fun all throughout. I would have made the album 10 minutes shorter to just make it a tad more effective as a whole.
Fun, catchy album. Probably won't save cuz the songs are all quite short, but will probably add some more singles to my 70s playlist.
Second song is as simp as it comes. whole album is simp city 2000 shout out jimmy jimmy good album. 3.75/5
This album was 25 2 minute songs. They were better than i expected but it got repetitive
Sounds like if the Bay City Rollers made a punk album. Which is another way of saying it's right in my wheelhouse.
I've thoroughly enjoyed this. It may have been somewhat influenced by punk, but is really an excellent power pop / rock n roll by, and about, teenage boys and their preoccupation with girls. The singing by Feargal Sharkey mostly sets it apart from shouty punk and the musical ability and sheer catchiness of the melodies and riffs is very much like 60s and early 70s power pop. I've been looking forward to The Undertones and am not disappointed! Excellent.
A really fun, fast paced race through some of their songs, this Undertones album reminded me of Titus andronicus and the likes. A feel of early 2000s garage bands that focus mostly on thrashy, punk rock, I really enjoyed this album and what it brought to the table. Plus, everyone is Irish, so that rules
More my kind of thing. Nice to hear something other than Teenage Kicks, but can see why that became the big hit. That had a full lyric. The rest of the album was eight lines spread across 16 tracks.
I've about had my fill of the UK punkish rock foundations. I can recognize this as objectively good (for what it is) though it does suffer from the now tired refrain of monotony of tone.
British Rock. Not completely my taste but definitely uplifting and fun to listen to. Maybe listen again on a road trip.
Pretty good stuff. Wasn't really familiar with them before other than the song Teenage Kicks. Good basic punk rock. 3 stars.
Sounds like pretty standard whiny pop punk rock to me. A couple of interesting sounds here and there, but it's probably more historically important than it is fun to listen to.
Punk rock standard music, had some bangers but nothing out of the ordinary within the genre
tres bon son guitares solides musique trop agressive pour un gars qui veut la paix dans le monde
An easy 3. No weak tracks but no massive standouts either. Teenage Kicks not on the album proper
Ik vond deze plaat van The Undertones een stuk beter te pruimen dan de vorige. Al begint het wel een beetje een 'dichtgenaaide' lijst te worden: in 3 maanden tijd al zo'n beetje alles van Crosby, Stills Nash & Young, Bowie, en nu ook al meerdere albums van the Undertones.
The Offspring's pioneering grandfather. kind of like a 3.5, most of the songs didn't stick with me but it was a pleasant enough time.
Enjoyable enough. Seems to capture certain place and time. Sounds like early The Jam to me.
Solid punk rock album. A lot of it blended together for me, but this genre usually has that effect on me.
So obviously 'Teenage Kicks' is an absolute banger of a song and 'Top Twenty' is pretty great too. I'd never seen a regular studio album with 26 songs on it before so fair play to The Undertones for that I suppose (even thought most are 2 seconds long)! 'Here Comes The Summer' is a pretty good tune as well. Generally, this album is littered with pretty decent little tunes but quantity over quality does ring true here I think. I'm not sure why they felt the need to put 26 tracks on one album but I'm not complaining too much as I think songs like 'Mars Bars' are pretty hilarious. Seems like The Libertines may have taken some influence from these punk rockers too so we can certainly thank The Undertones for that. Decent album. 'One Way Love' gets an honourable mention too as I've got a but of a soft spot for that one.
Quite the energetic set of tracks! Had not heard this band or album before (although I seem to recall the name Feargul Sharkey from something in the 80s, but can't recall what), and it's fun. Very much in that punk-leading-into-new-wave sound, and it's got some catchy tunes here. I enjoyed this one more than I expected to; really feels like pop (in a good way) but it's more raw.
For the kind of punk this is, it's pretty good. But I just can't really subject myself to punk that lacks any sense of grit or danger (I would even consider the Spiral Scratch EP to be more edgy than this and that's on the weaker end of it). Don't get me wrong, there are some bangers like Wrong Way or the opening track. Definitely not boring punk. I just need my punk to be way more abrasive. I find the lyrics to be pretty vacuous. Almost every fucking song is some kind of love song and ya that's just not my thing done in the traditional sense exemplified here. This might have came out in 79 but there are some things here that I associate with 80's corny white dude music. I dunno, I wasn't around when this album came out so I have no frame of reference. It's definitely not bad. Sorry John Peel.
All of the songs have the generic 'late-70s pseudo-punk' sound. Like, all of them. Almost exactly the same.
I can appreciate that this is pop punk done well, but pop punk's not really my thing. There are some great tracks on here, but a whole album of it wears a bit thin. Fave track - "Teenage Kicks" is an absolute tune. Also really liked "Billy's Third" and "True Confessions"
2nd August 2021 Listened on the living room speaker with jen while we both worked at the kitchen table. Love that it reminds me of good vibrations, teenage kicks obviously amazing but the hour does get a bit samey.
Liked it. Lots of short, poppy, punk songs. Not much variety, but the songs are great.
Fun to see some early Irish punk, but not much else stands out or warrants another listen.