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.

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.

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'.

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.

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.

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+

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

Singing in tune might help the cause.

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

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!

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.

Good. It sounds ahead of its time while also being very much of its time

Excellent pop punk!

Vocals aside, it's some good late 70's new wave. 3.5 bumped up to 4.

I’m at a 4. There’s an old phrase: “a chain is only as strong as its weakest link”. It takes about 30 seconds for this album to reveal its weakest link, and that is lead vocalist, Peter Perrett. Everything surrounding him screams success; the band can fucking rip a good instrumental break, the guitars sound awesome, the percussion has a good power to it, the bass feels deep, and overall, everything surrounding him has a sort of natural charisma / personality to it. There’s nothing technically wrong about this album. Peter Perrett’s voice is… I mean, it’s not even that bad, really. It just sticks out like a sore thumb. He’s not doing anything wrong, he just doesn’t fit on most of these tracks. He somehow sounds like both lead characters in Smiling Friends combined, occasionally feeling disinterested in his delivery. He’s trying, and there are moments where his voice does work decently well, and occasionally harmonize well to disguise his pitfalls. It’s just too noticeable as the weak link of the album, and while I’m not saying singers grow on trees, it does feel like they could have found someone else out there, you know? All of that said, even if he’s the weakest link, this is still a very strong chain, and one that’s strong enough to give it a 4. Some of these tracks fucking rip, especially “The Beast” & “The Immortal Story”, & instrumentally, this is as good as any late 70s power pop I can remember. The vocal structures for the verses are still good, even if the vocals themselves are shaky at best and outright bored at worst, and the lyricism is generally alright. The energy emanating off of this album still makes for a fun time, and I did slowly accept that his voice was just kinda like that. I do think the opening track is a mediocre tonesetter, but everything afterward (save for “It’s The Truth”, which is just kinda boring) is honestly pretty good, or at least, acceptably fun. If the biggest sin here is a mediocre vocalist who sounds like what would really happen if a band needed to train a short-term replacement off the street in a Disney movie, while the rest of the band sounds fucking great, then it’s not that bad of an album. The floor here is definitely a 3; maybe a 2 if you’re extremely annoyed by his voice. I’m at a 4, and I think it earns it.

Terrific album I’d never heard of - except for the single that I’d heard and loved without knowing who it was by

A fun rock album

3.9/5 good songs another girl another planet great song. if they were faster cld b a 4 but the slow english drawl give emotion

Good album--not quite new wave or punk or anything in particular--the musicians are good and the songs catch your attention. I especially liked the Zombie overtones in "Breaking Down" (shades of "She's Not There") and the instrument solos throughout.

Good. Chad drummer

This isn't the most unique album on the list, but I'm fine with that. "Another Girl, Another Planet" won me over despite my initial skepticism, and the rest was just good, solid rock music.

Another girl, another planet es un trallazo inmortal. Parece mentira que sean ingleses porque el referente es claramente noeyorkino, bien Lou Reed, bien Tom Verlaine (basta escuchar No Peace For The Wicked). Suenan muy bien, al nivel de los inicios de Tom Petty, Dwight Twilley o The Beat. No produce, pero sí que está presente Steve Lillywhite, que luego se convertiría en reputado productor (sobre todo con XTC grupo de similares influencias a The Only Ones). City of fun o Language problem, aceleradas son power pop marca de la casa, Breaking down, con esos teclados más sesenteros, The Beast nueva olero y perfecto... pero es It's The Truth la que se lleva la palma, suena a lo que durante los 90 estuvieron buscando infinidad de bandas, un tema excelso. Cierran con The Immortal Story, un tema que da cuenta de su bien nivel como instrumentistas y la influencia psicodélica. Su resurreción con el excelente How the west was one, cuando nadie le esperaba es otra de las incógnitas de la música.

I’m not sure if I liked this more because it was the first album in a week that wasn’t synth pop bullcrap, or because it was actually good. But I really enjoyed it nonetheless. Good straight up punk/rock.

revelation

Ok, I was really vibing with the first two tracks. Breaking Down kinda lost me a bit. I see that this album was self produced and I think as another review noted, it really sounds like a demo and could have benefited from a bit more fine tuning. Most of the tracks I was a bit on the fence about won me over by the end with their high energy instrumentals. Overall this is one I’m happy to have experienced. For that I’ll give it 4/5

Shit vilken pigg skiva. Trodde jag inte när jag såg den. Misstänkte en meh-skiva. Men det fan hög nivå rakt igenom. Kul!

Thought this album sounded way ahead of its time. Reminded me of Cage the Elephant, The Libertines or Pixies. Artsy, noisy, alternative indie vibes. Really enjoyed the vocal layers too. I feel like this should be considered one of the original "indie" albums.

This band should be bigger than they are. I had only ever heard “Another Girl, Another Planet” and I don’t know how but this is right up my alley. You can hear the influences of tons of punk/indie/twee from the 80s. Great listen! Favorite tracks- “Another Girl, Another Planet,” “Breaking Down” “Creature of Doom”

Enjoyed this. The vocals are a bit of an adjustment but give it a sort of Pet Shop Boys feel layered onto some pretty enjoyable pop. Definitely a decent first studio album and landing when it did just before the 80s, it would have fitted in well to the decade to come. I found myself quite happily listening to more songs from them after which is usually a good sign.

The Only Ones’ is a compelling listening experience, primarily defined by its effortlessly chilled demeanor and strong musical ambition. The immediate highlight is undoubtedly the great musical epics scattered throughout the songs. Intricate arrangements that suddenly soar into unexpected, brilliant instrumental passages. This blend of raw energy and complexity elevates the album beyond the standard fare. Further rounding out this distinctive sound are the vocals. Taken together, the melodic peaks and that odd vocal delivery make this an interesting cool album experience. Almost pop like at times. E.g. "Creature of Doom" Music moments that take you unaware and give you something to feel and think about. Imperfect music to discover. - THIS #1001 I was won over by "The Beast" to pip a 4.

Crisp, well-executed, fully credible and well ahead of its time. The languor (e.g., "The Beast") sounds like much of the best '80s rock. Vocals are an acquired taste, to be sure, the sneering a seeming artifact of/tribute to J. Rotten's style. But there's much that sounds pre-punk (e.g., the Santana-like expansiveness of "Breaking Down") and beyond-punk considering that these guys know how to play their instruments. Rounding up because heroin addiction is hard and these guys probably deserved a touch more love than they got. And honestly it's not hard to see how, with a little luck, and perhaps slightly more adventurous guitar playing, they mighta achieved a trajectory more like The Smiths ("No Peace for the Wicked" is certainly Morissey-esque) or The Clash or the Buzzcocks. Agree with others who say the "discovery" of such a band as this is what makes the 1001 project worthwhile and rewarding. Warning: do not enter "The Other Ones" by accident when searching in streaming services, unless you like bad dance music of an adjacent era.

This was a very interesting listen. At first, like in the first few seconds of the first track, I found the lead vocals to be super annoying and contrived and I wasn't thinking I was going to enjoy the album. But as it went on, I found that the music -- and even the singer -- won me over. About halfway through, I had to check on wikipedia if The Only Ones shared any members with The Clash because some of these tracks sounded _very_ Clash-like. Overall I really enjoyed this and listened to it twice, but the tone and timbre of the vocals were the slightest bit annoying. Four stars.

Dug this. But I’m also a sucker for whiny white boy music. 4/5

Ok, here's one I never heard of before but really enjoyed. A little stylistically uneven, but I liked pretty much all the tracks, so no big deal. I didn't know what to expect and was surprised when it opened with the mellow Roxy Music-ish "The Whole of the Law" and then we're on the pop-punk track "Another Girl, Another Planet." The album continues to shift gears throughout, but never goes wrong (although I found the 1st side more engaging than the 2nd). Would definitely revisit. Favorite tracks: Breaking Down, City of Fun (rocking track!), The Beast, The Immortal Story (good closer).

Really good, melodic, almost glam sounding punk/pop with a lot of variety. 4.0/5.0: Great

this album had a few really great songs. the rest ranged from fine to good. realistically its a 3 but another girl, another planet gets it an extra star

This is the type of experience I was looking forward to on this journey. A band I'd never heard of, an album I'd never heard of, and none of the songs are familiar. And it was a good listen. A lot of great lyricism about the highs and lows of love and the ways it makes us crazy. All lead by the sleazy crooning from the lead singer. Sometimes the songs have a sort of sci-fi fantasy element to them. Kind of Bowie meets Velvet Underground. I dig it.

Dreamy, melancholic, and slightly haunting New Wave. Good enough for background music, but sometimes something catchy draws you in, making you want to listen closely—only to turn back to the conversation almost immediately.