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.

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.

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.

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

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

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 to perfection like 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.

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'.

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).

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

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.

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.

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

"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.

Soft jazz for cowboys.

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

I liked it, should definitely listen again

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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!

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.

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.

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.

Whole of the Law is such a sweet opener. Another Girl is a classic and easily my second favorite song about heroin. After that one-two punch, the album definitely settles down into more generic Brit pop-punk. They do better when they slow down a bit like with No Peace for the Wicked. The rest is serviceable but the first 2 tracks get this to an easy 4.

Never heard of this band. Not sure they made it across the Atlantic. Too bad because this is a good power pop album that has a touch of punk in it. Really good guitar parts. In one song, the organ part reminded me of Kitty's Back a little bit.

I'd never heard of this band before but this was good stuff! Punk energy but with melodies that would make me want to listen again. Reminds me of Television. The harmonic double guitar solo in "No Peace for the Wicked" really spoke to me.

I should come back

I liked this! Never heard of this band, but enjoyed the mix of sounds and lyrics

Very fun album, somehow the singer’s voice worked with the beach guitar and funky bass lines. Glad it’s on this list.

Pretty good but once again not much else to say. Reminds me of a sort of mix between Coma Cinema vocals/lyricism and Hoodoo Gurus instrumental.

3.75

The album The Only Ones, by the band of the same name, is an intriguing musical experience that, despite the vocal limitations of the vocalist, manages to captivate the listener. The voice may be considered peculiar and far from traditional standards of beauty, but this does not prevent the engaging melodies and deep lyrics from standing out, creating a unique atmosphere. The energetic guitars and well-crafted production support the album, allowing even voice critics to find pleasure in the nuances and emotional honesty present in the tracks. Thus, The Only Ones establishes itself as a work that deserves to be appreciated, regardless of its vocal imperfections.

What's wrong with some people-this was made in 1978 at the cusp between Punk and New Wave. It has that fresh vibe and energy and knocks the spots off other bands that came after.

I think I like these guys

I've listened to "Another Girl Another Planet" a bunch before this but never checked them out (a song that sounds like if 'Already Gone' by the Eagles flew to Manchester in 1975 and did heroin for 5 years). Uneven song quality but I like their sound...a mix of Lou Reed, The Knack, Peter Frampton. Tight band and I like the production.

I really like it!! His voice is a little toooo languid but I still really liked it

Underrated album from an underapprecited band of the late 70s pop-punk movement in UK. Reminds of bands like The Undertones and The Buzzcocks. More than a pop-punk band as they incorporate doowoop and jazz influences. All the songs are little melodic gems, that stay with you. Another Girl Another Planet is the "hit" but the deeper cuts are just as satisfying and well written. It does bog down a little towards the end but remains a satisfying listen. 4.5 stars

very interesting 70's sound. Would like to listen some more!

I like this one! At least the alvum contains songs that make sense. Vocalist is so so; his voice is ok for some tracks but others would benefit from a change, he is not the most solid and has limited range of expression. Like the guitar riffs and general sound. All in all a pretty good album.

This was a really up and down album for me. I very much enjoyed the overall tempo and energy of the songs and I feel like the instrumentals could have fit in very well in modern Indie Rock. When the vocals kicked in on the first track, I groaned right away. Another whiny 80s new wave voice, great. Luckily my view changed over time, in some tracks his voice worked very well and I found myself getting over that initial reaction though there were a couple moments later in the album i found his voice grating to me. Lyrics were ok, a bit downer for me but when it's high tempo and fun guitar riffs I don't mind as much, and they played around with rhyming structures a fair bit. Overall a pleasant surprise, I feel like this is a band that gets better the more you listen, and was way ahead of their time.

I'd never heard of The Only Ones before. Really enjoyed this. Feels a bit like the Violent Femmes, although it predates them. Will listen again.

Yeah, this was good. Better than expected. A good listen, but could get a bit repetitive. It’s original and unique and I enjoyed it. 4/5

Didn’t really care for his vocals but this was pretty cool. Kind of like Squeeze.

This album was a strange listening experience. I'd never heard any of the songs before but have definitely heard their influence across dozens of others. Especially Another Girl, Another Planet -- I kept thinking I knew the song only to be completely wrong! Breaking Down had great instrumentals. Veered towards punk near the end of the album, starting with Language Problem. Had me thinking about how all of the albums on this list are good, even if I don't like them.

I liked this one! In general I really liked the guitars and backing music, with their upbeat musical jams. Lots of tracks on here are a total bop. I'd never heard of these guys before (outside of one track), so it was a nice surprise.

really enjoyed this completely eclectic mix

Favourite tracks: another girl another plant; the beast

I liked this album, probably more than I should have.

3.8

I have never heard this before. It was a fun listen. I see these guys have influenced many bands that I like. I will listen to this again.

Album 502 of 1001 The Only Ones - The Only Ones Rating : 3.75 / 5 UK Power Pop. Some catchy tunes with some pretty skillful musicians. Don't think they ever really caught on here in the states but the UK thinks pretty highly of them. The Encyclopedia of Popular Music named The Only Ones one of the 50 best punk albums of all-time. The compilers claimed that the Only Ones were "the closest thing the UK had to Johnny Thunders' Heartbreakers, a laconic, shamble of a band who were, at moments, touched by a creative greatness that made you get out of the glare" - Wikipedia

I can see how this fits in alongside other 70s punk like Sex Pistols, but the more elaborate instrumentation and lyrics focused more on love than anger are very interesting and set it apart. Really cool stuff.

Deadpan delivery Melodic approaching wild Uniquely punk rock

I enjoyed this more than I expected I would, just given the general era and the fact I had never heard of them, and they are from the UK... the 1001 has such a big UK bias that many of the UK entries, particularly in the 1990s, are just not very good. That said, this reminds me of The Soft Boys and Robyn Hitchcock and I love those guys so that probably explains why I'm enjoying it.

I liked this one a lot!

The songs were well written but it gets knocked down by the out of tune singing

"Another Girl, Another World" is the top track. The Only Ones remind me of Violent Femmes, the right mix of melancholy but rocking, punk but also sad indie rock. They manage tight songs that sound more melodic and introspective than punk bands but louder than an indie outfit. I enjoyed the entire first seven tracks are great; the rest is worth a listen.

Wow, this album is all over the place. First impression of the first few seconds: Beach Boys? Wait, saxaphone? Billy Joel?! Then it moved into glam/punk territory à la T. Rex and Television, then straight-up rock & roll, complete with soaring guitar solos. Not the hugest fan of the vocals, but this is great stuff.

4.1. Very listenable.

Is The Whole Of The Law an indie version of I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)? Anyway, it's a catchy opener. Another Girl, Another Planet I was familar with and is a great track. A few other standouts along the way so probably need a few more listens as it did start to grow on me more on the second listen.

Hmmm, don't think I've heard of theses folks before, and I wasn't very taken by this on first listen - mainly due to the singers voice I think? Warmed up to them quite a bit on the second listen, though. They remind me of someone I can't quite put my finger on..... Hanoi Rocks maybe? They've got that sleazy punky slightly goth slightly glam vibe... Fave tracks - "Another Girl, Another Planet" which was apparently their big single, though I don't recall hearing it before. Also, "The Beast"....

For the longest time I thought that, from looking at the album cover, The Only Ones were some long-lost New York based punk rock/new wave band, the double vision of the band and the colorful styling of the name hammering that perception home. Consider me surprised when I read that they were, in fact, British and not a one and done project destined for obscurity. The Only Ones does a pretty good job keeping their heads afloat in a rapidly changing atmosphere, merging punk and pop into a steady concoction that doesn't stray off the rails during its runtime. Clearly a band that deserved more than they received and I know I'm not the only one who thinks so. Favorites: The Whole of the Law, Another Girl, Another Planet, Breaking Down, City of Fun, The Beast, No Peace for the Wicked, Peter and the Pets.

Pretty casual listen. Very easy to get through and although no songs particularly remarkable I did like it and would come back.

Better than expected. A lot variety in this one album, skilled musicians. Based on the music video and lead single I was expecting to give a 2 to 3. But they pulled it up as the album went along. Barely a 4

Excellent

Loved the jazzy elements at the start

my favorite of the proto punk albums i’ve listened to. it’s not as loud as Sex Pitols and not and politically in your face as The Clash. It’s a lot of softer, and it reminds me a bit of 90’s emo and indie rock from that time. it’s also got a bit of jazz influence too? i warmed up to it a lot more as a listened. just like with most proto punk you can hear all the influence they’ll have in the future. definitely worth a listen for the history and for the actual music.

Enjoyable punk / ska mix. Never heard of this band before.

Wow, I really dug this, which surprised me. I knew the Yo la Tengo version of The Whole of the Law, which is a very straightforward and pretty tune. Upon hearing The Only Ones version, I thought, "Dear God, I have to put up with a whole album of this dude singing?" But "Another Girl, Another Planet" won me over. And then the next one. And the next one. And by the end, I was wondering why I'd never checked out this fantastic, shambling, adventurous album out before.

I loved the first three tracks here. Then it falls off a bit - 4

3.6 - I think instrumentally they were really great, but I the vocals just grated tbh

Initial impressions were that the vocals suck. Two tracks in, I still don't love them, but they are growing on me -- reminds me of Violent Femmes. Production is very pretty; clean where it needs to be with amazing separation between elements. Loving the balance between punky vibes and beach rock guitar -- this is right up my alley. Jazzy breakdown on Breaking Down is fantastic -- love this song. A lot of this was in the background, but I was jamming along. This is somewhere between a high 3 and a low 4. Erring toward the latter because I think this has high repeated listen potential.

His voice is a bit monotone but overall I can see how an album like this in 1980 heavily influenced 90s alternative.

Pretty good. I have nothing to say today.