The Only Ones

I got excited when the opening track started... ooh this band's pretty solid, nice production, ooh tasty chord changes. THEN the dude started singing. Jesus H. Christ. I'd bet ya the members of his band thought he was total shite too, just learned to enjoy playing together and TRIED to turn his mic down bit by bit by bit by bit.

Holy shit… that was awesome. This is exactly what I was looking for on 1001, bangers that were never on my radar. This album had a bit of Telivision, Roxy Music, Bowie, Violent Femmes and Of Montreal. First song was a good reforestation of the rest of the album, genre mashup, sounded like Roy Orbison mixed with Television. This album has everything I want, Proto punk, good breakdowns, solid recording and fidelity. What an impressive big sound and on top of that Horns and Keys, and in that way predicts and transcends punk and post punk. Loved it. Saved it. 5.

Half of it sounded like credit music for a forgotten 90's sitcom, and the other half felt like a promising demo that was never worked on afterword. It felt like it was almost good a lot of times, but then just fell kind of flat.

I guess I’m of the opinion that rock music is the everyman’s music; that you don’t have to be a perfect singer, or the greatest instrumentalist, or have ultra slick production in order to make a great record. Rock music should be raw and real, not belabored over and tweaked in some kind of attempt to manufacture perfection. The Only Ones debut record is unique, interesting, well played and engaging. If you want something “perfect” that checks off some weird list of requirements of what a great record “should be”, you should look elsewhere.

I was in at the opening track. I was out when the singer opened his mouth. I was back in with "Another Girl Another Planet." Learned something today about the origin of this song. Then they slowly lost me in mediocrity again.

First saw this band on 3rd September 1977 supporting the Stranglers at the Cambridge Corn Exchange on the first date of the 'No More Heroes' Tour. Was impressed then, and grew to love this band.. What a great devut album, although their masterpiece in my opinion is 'Even Serpents Shine'.

This was a great listen - like the Velvets after taking some happy pills. Excellent.

Regular ass 70s music lmao idk what to tell you. Songs to play in the background for sound that won't distract you too much if you're doing work but you want lyrics.

At start it seemed quite generic, but the later songs were interesting 3.5

Despite Another Girl, Another Planet being one of my top three songs of all time, I’ve never taken a deep dive into the rest of The Only Ones’ discography. And boy am I glad that I had the opportunity. This is very Punk based, but it’s also great and eclectic in a way I wasn’t quite expecting. It’s slow and heavy when it needs to be, but also frenetic and upbeat, and sometime pretty Jazzy, but always presented with this ramshackle drawl and charismatic sleaze that really sells the oddness of the storytelling. It’s also just a fun, easy little listen, and as such, I’m really glad that I did, and excited to properly dive into the rest of The Only Ones work

Very surprised I've never listened to this before. Reminds me of the Undertones, Buzzcocks, a little Television. Never knew The Whole of the Law was not a Yo La Tengo original (and I like the YLT version better).

There have been some great oblique paeans to heroin over the years (Golden Brown and There She Goes spring immediately to mind) but Another Girl, Another Planet is maybe the absolute best. I saw Peter Perrett live for the very first time only a few years ago and it gave me a warm glow to see that he'd not only survived his addictions but was also producing decent music in his bus pass years. Meanwhile, back in 1978, Perrett's New York nasal drawl belied his Camberwell roots and the Only Ones' blistering rockers aligned them with punk and new wave even though this is a real melting pot of an album with do-woopy and jazz-tinged flourishes and plenty of genuinely involving moments which sometimes bring Graham Parker and the Rumour to mind. I've never actually heard any of their other albums which is odd really because this one is enormously rewarding.

Went in with no expectations (or context) but this album put me in a great mood. I think I’ve heard Another Girl Another Planet before but this was otherwise completely new to me. This album is really tight and fun, with a playful energy, though maybe lacking in real stand out hits. I am generally a fan of the sort of louche, jagger-esque singing style on display here, and I think it works here. I usually think punk is a little too artless for me, but these guys can really play. This feels like an early influence on definitely the replacements and maybe the strokes (a top ten band for me)? Anyway this is probably a 4 but I feel a little guilty calling the beastie boys inane pedophile music yesterday so I’m gonna be more generous than usual.

The most enjoyable experience when listening to music is discovering an album you know nothing about and being blown away. Like a diamond in the rough. That is very much the way I feel about this album. I’ve never even heard of this band before. And that’s disappointing. Because they deserve some serious recognition. It’s really remarkable how much more enjoyable listening to music can be when it’s genuinely creative. It was made immediately apparent to me that this was something special when the album labeled as new wave and power pop started with a song like The Whole of the Law. The saxophone caught me way off guard, and was absolutely the last thing I was expecting. And what impressed me the most was that each after that continued to be engaging and unique, and try cool ideas. I kept saying to myself “This can’t get any cooler”, but it just kept getting cooler. The fusions of pop with punk, new wave, and possibly even jazz is executed perfectly. I think the real driving force of this is the lead vocalist Peter Perrett. His achy and meek style of singing creates the image in my head of a frail young man sitting in the corner of a room and singing. But the lyrics are actually quite sad. It’s a mix of drugs, depression, and a longing for love. This is so much more sophisticated and impressive than I imagined a late 70’s power pop album could be. I wish I had heard of this earlier, but that’s really the beauty of this list. Rating: 9/10

"Another Girl, Another Planet" is one of those songs you've heard everywhere but always attributed to someone else (probably The Buzzcocks). It's a great tune and the rest of the album ain't bad either; I like its soporific, heroin-tinged take on punk rock.

Really great, interesting, mix of punk, power pop and psychedelia.

It's more than just the garage-rock I was anticipating. Power pop, jangle rock, punk, new wave and doo wop all included. It's a rare breed of punk-pop that sounds simple but is difficult to get right. There's a couple of throwaways, such as 'Language Problem' and 'The Immortal Story', but even those have a ragged charm. Feels like a cult classic.

Absolutely thrilled this album made it onto the list. Another Girl, Another Planet is easily my favourite rock song and the album holds up terrifically. 5+

One of the charms of this endeavor is to have never heard of an artist or record and to find something new to love. More often than not, out of 1001 albums, the discoveries tend to be of new things to hate. This is not one of those days.

Thoroughly enjoyed this - really refreshing. Would argue you can hear Steve Lillywhite's influence. Quite surprised I hadn't heard of them before. I added The Whole of the Law, Another Girl, Another Planet, The Beast, It's The Truth, No Peace for the Wicked, and Lovers Today to my rotation. Quite a nice combo between New Wave, and a bit of Punk.

Soft jazz for cowboys.

The Only Ones I didn’t think I had heard of The Only Ones, from a cursory look at the wikipedia page they seemed to be in that post punk power pop world I really like. Listening to the first song it had more sax and island vibes than I was expecting, but I thought the singer sounded like the guy from that Another Girl song. And of course he is because Another Girl, Another Planet is the second track. It's a 6 Music staple, but I never knew who sang it, and it is an excellent post-punk power pop song, the best song on the album. While nothing is quite as good as that there are some very good songs, City of Fun’s high paced shuffle is great, the riff/hook on The Beast is excellent and I love how it builds to the climax with horns and guitars, and The Immortal Story has some great organ and more excellent climactic horns. There’s quite a bit of Television and Velvet Underground to them, and some Howard Devoto, and I like the looseness of the playing, particularly the drums, and there are some lovely guitar runs and riffs with some little psychedelic touches. It’s on the edge of 3 and 4, it’s an enjoyable, loose 30 minutes of power pop with one excellent song and a couple of very good ones. I’m quite likely to come back to it, so it just slips into a 4 🪐🪐🪐🪐 Playlist submission: Another Girl, Another Planet

Singing in tune might help the cause.

This beloved album highly regarded as a highlight of the first wave of UK punk doesn't much sound like punk at all to my ears but if you study the landscape of the time The Only Ones fit right in with its smart lyrics and their Johnny Thunders-esq mouth full of marbles (or something) unaffected vocals. Think of The Only Ones as punks weird Uncle who had seen some shit and was into obscure garage punk singles & Philip Dick novels when everyone else was into Yes double albums and Magaret Atwood novels. No doubt Kurt Cobain loved this band or would have if he got to hear them. The influence on Nirvana is absolutely obvious if not direct which is to say if they were not influenced by The Only Ones, they very much were influenced by bands that were. At about half an hour The Only Ones sing about kick out the jams with more passion than a big chunk of bands managed in hours and hours of bloated discographies that would have benefited if they hadn't pressed record on at least 50% of their studio time or at least had the decency to not release it. Had Motley Crue broken up after Dr. Feelgood they would be regarded today with the same kind of esteem that The New York Dolls and The Velvet Underground are. Today's lesson? Fuck off before you become total cunts.

Another planet seems like the blueprint of so many great bands styles. I agree that this is the perfect 1001 album, something you are probably familiar with but contains music that has clearly influenced what came after, one of those bands that appears on musicians influence bands and I scratch my head thinking who the fuck are they!

This is #day265 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... as it often happens with the lower-rated albums on the list (especially from the late 70s-early 80s), I find them very much in my wheelhouse. Today's no exception. I'd heard the title "Another Girl, Another Planet" before, but I'm not sure I'd ever actually listened to it, let alone the full album. It's clearly a standout song (possibly their best one), but there's more fun here than just that. As for Peter Perrett's vocals and delivery, my first (and only) strong association was with Lou Reed, which, turns out, is a common comparison. I also hear a lot of Television here, which couldn't make me happier. This record is another great find. I'm giving it a 5 out of 5. Looking forward to #day266.

Cousins of Buzzcocks, strung out neighbors of Elvis Costello, and the uncles of The Libertines. I found this album to be instantly engaging. Great pop songs and shambolic performances.

Another one I've never even heard of! Fun. Right out the gate it doesn't sound like anything I expected at all. While associated with the punk scene the power pop and psychedelia elements are definitely much more prevalent so far. I'm pretty into this. I wonder if Gordon Gano was a fan of these guys. The vocals on "Breaking Down" definitely remind me of Violent Femmes. "City of Fun" too - which also feels the most punk anything has sounded thus far on the album as well. Oh yeah, the bit of freakout at the end of "City of Fun" also reminds me of the Femmes. These guys must be an influence. "I love my mother but I wouldn't wanna have sex with her!" = gold. The more I hear the more I'm convinced the Femmes are deeply influenced by these guys. Alright, I know I'll be listening to this one a bunch more - it's jumping up on the want-to-buy list now. This is fuggin' awesome!

Of course “Another Girl, Another Planet” is familiar to me, but I can’t remember ever hearing of The Other Ones. Might be their anonymous name, might be that they’re medium-glamorous, no individual element standout distinctive, classy but not revolutionary, despite the guitarist throwing in a few psychedelic rave-ups, the daubs of sax and synth, and Perrett’s proto-Suede Camberwell drawl. Yet after a couple of playthroughs I realised this is the tightest set of straight-ahead power pop I’ve heard in a while, sharp and cool.

I read that The Replacements were big fans and even covered one of these songs. And that makes sense. But for me, it seems like the Violent Femmes couldn't possibly exist without this band. Also, 1998 by Rancid seems to have a lot of overlap with Language Problem here. But who knows, probably just a coincidence! Anyway, this is actually really good.

Wow that was ace! I would of been 12 when this came out and an avid TOTP watcher but this lot completely passed me by, which is a shame cos this is really good stuff. I can hear Buzzcocks, Magazine, 80s pop and some Cars all in here it’s excellent. As for the singers voice, I actually really like it so there!

Really good band, okay songs, but very off-putting vocals, unfortunately.

I liked it, should definitely listen again

There were some genuinely great moments on this album. For another one of these relatively niche British bands that I hadn’t heard of, this group was properly dynamic at points. The Whole of the Law makes for a nice opening track, and the higher energy, punk-sounding songs, like Another Girl, Another Planet shine as well. Unfortunately, the vocals start to drag as the album progresses and robs certain songs in particular of any emotional significance. It sounds like they were going for a drawling, British version of Lou Reed, and it just got annoying. With all that said, though, this album did enough well to make me curious to see how this band progressed if they were putting this out today.

Decent tunes, but not particularly remarkable. I suspect I will forget about this one fairly quickly, but didn't hate this listen.

Peter Perret's voice is an acquired taste, but not one I have managed to come by. Aside from on the mega-banger, it gets under my skin and I do find it irritating. Sounds like the guitarist is pretty good, but the majority of the songs are a bit pedestrian and nothing stuck with me.

Rått simpelt, lite opolerat och bitvis lite fritidsgårdsfeeling. Det är ju inte ett mästerverk rent musikaliskt eller sångmässigt, men tycker ändå att det finns ett driv och en melodiösitet (är det ett ord?) som gjorde det till en rätt trevlig upplevelse. Hade velat ha några låtar som stack ut lite mer för ett högre betyg, men en stark trea förtjänar den i alla fall.

Some good, some bad here. Guitar work took me by surprise in places. Overall enjoyable and always nice to hear someone who makes me believe I could still be a singer!!

I actually enjoyed this a lot more than I expected but still not my thing.

It's got some spunk.

Nr. 111/1001 The Whole Of The Law 2/5 Another Girl, Another Planet 3/5 Breaking Down 3/5 City Of Fun 3/5 The Beast 3/5 Creature Of Doom 3/5 It's The Truth 3/5 Language Problems 2/5 No Peace For The Wicked 3/5 The Immortal Story 2/5 Lovers Of Today 3/5 Peter And The Pets 3/5 As My Wife Says 3/5 Average: 2,77 Didn't really like the vocals of the lead singer. Songwriting was pretty good.

Je pense que ce groupe a fabriqué cet album en visant le 3 étoiles sur le générateur et qu'il a plutôt réussi son pari. On peut citer dans ce sens le refrain du morceau "Another girl, another planet.": "♫ Nous tout ce qu'on veut c'est pas grand chose, qu'on nous donne la note de trois sur le générateur, on n'a pas tellement plus d'ambition, na-na-na-na-na-na, Hey Jude...♫"

Um album Ok, um pouco genérico.

Not a bad album, just wasn’t my cup of tea. I still may have to give some of their other albums a listen.

Best Song: Another Girl, Another Planet. I could see this serving as a fine background song for a montage scene in a mediocre movie. Worst Song: No Peace For The Wicked. Never has the phrase "no peace for the wicked" seemed less cool. Nothing about this singer feels the slightest bit wicked. Overall: Again with the British mediocrity. The irony of them being called "The Only Ones" when they sound exactly like dozens of other groups on this list alone is not lost on me.

I liked the band and the music on this album a lot! But the lead singer ruins the songs. Like total annihilation.

Here we go again, guys from England that were popular only over there and only for a couple years. I signed up for albums I must hear before I die, not this shit. 50 years later and I've never heard of or heard a song by them but they should be included in this list that celebrates greatness?! First, the man cannot sing, not even a lick. Tone deaf. He'd get booed at a karaoke bar, he's an embarrassment to lead singers everywhere. I wanted to stab myself in the ear with a pencil!! The music was garageband-average at best. I am stunned this album was remastered in 2008... for who? It's forgotten in the UK, and it never-was in the US. The one 'hit' song, "Another Girl, Another Planet" (30M listens) had a moment but it wasn't quite rock and not quite new wave. Again, never ever heard it and I'm a music junkie. The rest of the album is unknown to planet earth. You get a solid F for including this crap, nothing sets this apart. I would like a 2 page, double spaced, written report on why this should even make the Top 2002. I couldn't even finish it. 1 star, it was not enjoyable, not memorable, no hits, no innovation, no influence, no nuthin'.

That one dude kinda looks like young Prince William. WOW, this dude has the annoying voice that today's 'indie geniuses' have. Damn, he really was out there in '78 being the 'manipulator misunderstood white guy' before it was cool. It sounds decent until he opens his mouth, honestly. No; just no, no, no, no. I can't listen to this; I can barely finish this whole album. I tried giving it a 2, but I just cannot do such an egregious act. The instrumentals are fine. Maybe I would've given the album a 3 if it had another singer; but as it sounds now, please, I just don't want to hear this again. Please God, please. Language Problem is horrible btw. Almost everything about this is terrible. If I wanted to hear guys moan I'd open Twitter not Spotify.

I'm giving this a one. The singers voice destroys it

The first song starts with a very pretty guitar/sax melody. Then the singer comes in and completely ruins the whole thing. This guy has one of the most annoying voices I've ever heard. I genuinely can not stand his whiny, barely in tune moaning. It's a shame because I really like backing music.

This album is so underrated, everyone knows 'Another Girl Another Planet' and some may know 'Lovers of Today', but the other tracks shine, too such as'The Beast', which is a beast. Fantastic musicianship, using more than the 3 Punk chords and the languid vocals. At this point they had transcended Punk, as the bell was alread ringing out for the death of that genre and thank goodness.

BUenísimo. Fuerza juvenil, lleno de colores y muchos muchos solos ricos bro. Eran tipos relativamente grandes cuando soltaron este disco y comieron bro

This album is really fucking good. The singer has an odd voice, but it doesn't really detract from the actual songs. It has a nice charm to it. "Another Girl, Another Planet" is seriously outerworldly

Another great discovery! I’d never heard of this band, but I thoroughly enjoyed this album! Solid early punk rock with some jazzy breakdowns and if this list has taught me anything, it’s that I’m a sucker for proto-punk and jazz, so I guess I’ll keep handing out 5s like they’re candy.

Wow. Another instant 5 stars for a new-to-me album. I'd heard effusive praise for Another Girl, Another Planet, but the whole album is fire.

I guess this is another 4.5 that will take a 5 because I'm feeling generous today. Reminds me of the first time I listened to Television, but not quite as life-changing

TIL that blink-182’s “Another Girl, Another Planet” is a cover. “The Whole of Law” is a drag and almost turned me off from listening to the whole album but I’m glad I stuck around because it really picks up after that.

tou me a cagar lol tou a ouvir velocity design comfort e tou a adorar

An absolute banger album by a band I haven't heard of before.

This is just superb. Rocking from the start with Sunday Bloody Sunday, and New Years Day the standouts.

Заебись

Great album and great band. I like it a lot. Reminds me of the violent femmes.

Excellent. Listened twice

Miles said, "it takes a long time to figure out what you sound like." And generally that's true. So it's amazing to find acts that, while steeped in the conventions of their time, sounded unique right out of the gate. Beautifully recorded; cohesive band; unique sound; great songs. Yes, please!

This was a huge influence on me. Tough to listen to now. But perfect

Quite a fascinating album, alternating between slower and up tempo tracks, with decent left field songwriting and a band that plays really well together (the musicianship is superb). You could argue the singing is the weak link, but I think his voice has charm and personality, sounding a bit like a combination of Lou Reed and Al Stewart. It's not an out and out 5 star record but it is different. And like say the Stranglers or Velvet Underground, it's the sort of oddball music that appeals to me.

Opinión totally biased. I loved this album. It’s the feel, its mystique, and what it represents. The production, the voice and guitars… all is perfect. 4.5/5

How have I never heard of this band? That was awesome!

Extremely fun punk album. I don't know how much I would like this album if I didn't already love a cover of Another Girl Another Planet, but I do, so I do.

Ein erfrischendes spielfreudiges positives Album, das einfach Spaß macht. Ich bin ganz begeistert. Von wegen Demo- Versionen. So gehört das Album: perfekt mit Ecken und Kanten, die den Spaß noch erhöhen und den eingängigen Melodien nichts anhaben. Eine große Entdeckung.

It's like Violent Femmes before Violent Femmes!

This album actually slaps, and offers a solid mix of sounds.

Meh.

this is beyond amazing in my ears, it’s so light but powerful, i don’t think i could trust someone who says they don’t like this album.

Definitely a precursor to the Violent Femmes, cool to find

Ok this album fucking rocks. I love this dudes voice so much. I feel like it was night and day from the last album which was a similar sound sorta new agey but not nearly as fun as this one. Never even heard of the band before but absolutely loved it. I'd like to give it a 4.5 so ill round up

this needs more recognition, omg i'm so glad to have found this. These are incredible musicians, one-of-a-kind performances, a really tight vision. The sax solos, the climaxes, the pacing, its all a slam dunk

Love this big sprawling guitar rock - one of my favourite genres/styles of all time. Something distinctly late 70s Australian sounding about them too, assume that The Saints et al were influenced by these blokes/this sound.

Great debut album: 5*. The other two Only Ones albums are also 5* but not as good as their first one: nonstop classic guitar songs, several of which covered by other bands over the years. Favourite song: The Beast.

Pretty good

Surprised with the Libertines vibes. I mean these are all bangers. Really good fun

I sort of enjoyed it.

9/10, surprisingly great songs really diverse genres and very fun sounds great execution all around

Must listen punk, excellent songs front to back

Very Great Album

Awesome blend of classic late 70s punk (NY Dolls-ish) and 2nd wave alt (Violent Femmes). Brand new band for me.

I liked this. Didn’t save anything but will be back.

I think I'm on another world with you With you

I had a lot of fun with this. It’s punk music but also lets in a little more complexity and lightheartedness. The big hit, “Another Girl, Another Planet” is definitely a highlight but far from the only one. Some of the guitar work is fantastic — at times feeling like a classic rock throwback and others feeling similar to post-punk licks by the likes of John McGeoch. I’d somehow missed these guys, even though the music is very near my wheelhouse. Based on the debut, I’d be interested in giving their other records a listen.

I could see this being some people's 5 star album, because it obviously influenced so much late 80's and 90's post-punk that came after. I think it is super clever, and the music is varied and interested. The only reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is because it lacks the bite and staying power for me, as something that really touched or affected me in a substantial way. However, I plan to go back to this album in the future, and if I listen to it a few times, I could see it growing on me more.

Recognized the first track from the Yo La Tengo cover and was surprised I never heard this original or anything from this album before. Instantly added this to my library. Really great. Speaking of which, no Yo La Tengo on this list???

Sympa

7/10

Dark, decadent, dreamy, nocturnal tales from the underground, songs of hurt and addiction and glamour

I love saxophone :) saxophone is my frien :) I would be lying if I said I wasn't into this. I guess that means it's four stars but I am conflicted because I usually really hate british 70s rock.

Charming how variable the degree to which tracks have been polished/not polished. A couple of standout tracks and then the rest is 'nice'. If it had been recorded 5-8 years later it would be unremarkable but a pioneer in 1978. This helps the loose and 'DIY vibes' feel honest and engagingly un-cynical,even if they did have access to a proper studio and knew their way around

7/10 Another Girl, Another Planet is a favourite of mine, and the rest is pretty good

This album is fantastic. I already knew Another Girl, Another Planet, and expected more of the same, albeit less iconic. What I got instead was some weird mix of power-pop (expected), noise, Violent Femmes-esque songwriting (I know this predates them, but still) and overall something more challenging and rewarding. Really dug this one.

Straight to the point. Great energy.

Violent Femmes-esque not just the vocalist, who is immediately adjacent in tone and style, but musically as well. A surprise from a bad I never heard of. I’m going to juice the score a bit to encourage additional listens. 4/5