The Only Ones

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 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.

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).

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.

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

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

Soft jazz for cowboys.

"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.

I liked it, should definitely listen again

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

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.

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.

Um album Ok, um pouco genérico.

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...♫"

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.

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.

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

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!

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.

Very Great Album

I sort of enjoyed it.

Must listen punk, excellent songs front to back

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

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

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!

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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!

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

Meh.

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

Pretty good

Okay, this was way more fun than I was expecting.

This album really won me over! At first I was like, oh great another BritPop band. And in many ways it is, but it's a really nice blend of punk, power pop, new wave, psychedelia, and more. Some great songs and some awesome guitar playing. My only complaint is the lead singer's voice. Maybe it will grow on me with further listens, but it's not super appealing. Overall though, good stuff! 4 stars.

Alt Punk in beiden Sinnen des Wortes Alt Geil!

good power pop sound good songs and what’s with the jazzy breakdown on breaking down?

Solid jazzy at times rock

I like this but (compared to other punk bands) this isn’t quite as good 4/5 though still brilliant!

Never heard of this band before. Seemed pretty good after on listen. I didn’t realize that “The Whole of the Law” was their song; only familiar with Yo La Tengo’s version.

Enjoyed. Too peppy for work though

This is about as grunge as the 1970’s would get, from what I’ve heard. Honestly a solid listen.

Very cool precursor to things that I have liked for a while.

Today we have another band I hadn’t heard of. It’s exciting to expand my horizons and hear music which is apparently essential listening that has just never popped up on my radar. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Another Girl Another Planet It surprises me that this album was released in the 70’s as it sounds much more modern. It sounds a lot like music from the UK indie scene (such as The Kooks, The Automatic, etc.) so it shows just how ahead is their time The Only Ones were. If you’re a fan of UK indie music, give this a listen and tell me what you think.

Love this album. I see this band get lumped in frequently with punk, but The Only Ones were really on their own track in a lot of ways. Some songs are raucous and energetic like the best English punk. But the band is also surprisingly nuanced as well, with strong melodies and alternating jagged-to-jangling guitars. They also played around with more complex uses of keyboards and horns than you might expect in this type of band. Peter Perrett's splendidly insouciant vocals make him sound a bit like an English Lou Reed, but it's a style that also probably influenced numerous post-punk era singers. Fave Songs: Another Girl, Another Planet; The Whole of the Law; No Peace for the Wicked; City of Fun; The Immortal Story

This is the sort of thing I would have probably loved if I'd heard it nearer the time - though maybe it would have been too old by then!

Wasn't too sure about this with the first few songs, but it really went off in the right direction imo. Interesting mix of punk, psychedelia and other things I'm not quite educated to name. Good stuff. Saved songs: Breaking Down, Creature Of Doom, It's The Truth, As My Wife Says

New wave. Me ha gustado. Un 4.

Some really great songs, particularly of course Another Girl Another Planet

Smooth garage rock like this is a treasure

Started off a bit rubbish, then "another girl another planet" is an all time great, then some really good and interesting tunes throughout 3.8

First punk rock I listened to, very enjoyed. Nice continuity between pieces.

Pretty amazing album from a little known group who should be better known, this sounds like it could be 90s/00s BritPop, so ahead of its time does it sound. There’s some great songwriting and terrific production here. A gem.

This is fun! I'd call it proto-punk, proto-Brit pop from the late 70s. The lead singer has a very distinctive, almost drawling voice which I think you either love or hate (I like it). The opening track is great. It has some Velvet Underground vibes for me. I would definitely listen again.

never heard this before and really enjoyed it.

I’d never heard of this band, another hole in my U.S.-centric knowledge of pop music culture. I liked this a lot, though the vocal delivery bordered on a territory of affectation I dislike, and struck me as the weakest component of the music. I’d like to spend more time with this band and get to know the lyrics, which I wasn’t giving much concentration.

Oh wow! Who turned up the drama to eleven?! That first track is terrible with those operetta voice and lovesick lyrics. Fortunately the balance of the album doesn't follow that first one "The Whole of the Law". I love the diversity of instruments used on the record, and the raw guitar with short breakouts like the one that opens City of Fun. However, please save us the 'my voice is awesome lemme show you my vibrao skills' crap. I don't care about any of that and I can't imagine any of your fans do either. I'm kind of a sucker for this era of intelligent lo-fi polished punk from the late 70s. I'd never heard of The Only Ones and happy to have been turned on to them.

This is not just about Another Girl..., though it is mainly as that's like saying A Night at the Opera isn't mainly about Bo Rhap. So five stars for probably the best use of 3:02 in music history. But the opening and closing tracks are really strong. Extra-ordinary singing voice too - like Howard Devoto's another voice you couldn't imagine breaking through at any other time other than post-punk.

Pretty solid classic rock!

Muy buen disco de rock con todos los ingredientes básicos de un grupo del que no conocía nada. Quizás la voz sea lo único que falle un poco. Podría haber sido un disco muy recordado

Previously unfamiliar with both artist and album, I felt this was a very accesable introduction to The Only Ones. The melodies are on point and unlike many punk and new wave bands of their era, the musicianship is top notch. The standout track is 'Another Girl, Another Planet' which is insanely catchy while still carrying a lo-fi garage sound. No wonder it apparently became their signature song. 'City of Fun' is another catchy one, and 'Breaking Down' sees the group going full jazz with groovy 70s keys. The Only Ones might have been long forgotten along with the vast majority of their contemporaries if not for their capabilities behind their instruments. Moments like the tight 'Creature of Doom' and THAT GUITAR on 'Language Problems' make this album a very nice acquaintance indeed.

Pretty great 70s pop punk. Didn't know it but like it.

Cool, a good find. Not all songs were great, but I enjoyed the punk vibes with good musicianship

Suena a todo y a nada. A ratos se escucha muy viejo, punk promedio y luego parece una banda que salió hace 3-4 años. Creo que sin saberlo muchas bandas actuales tienen influencia de otras bandas que fueron insipiradas por The Only Ones. 3.5 que subo a 4 porque en realidad está bueno, aunque ninguna sobresalga.

Really enjoyed this. The beast is a beast of a song

Is it new wave? Is it punk? Is it pop? I don't know and I honestly don't care if the product is as fun as The Only Ones. Peter Perrett is terribly British and half the time it sounds like he's only half invested in recording the songs - but somehow it only adds to the experience. Songs like "Another Girl, Another Planet" and "Language Problem" are especially fun with Perrett really showing off on the latter. On the other hand I'm not quite as interested when they go for a more straight on punk(ish) approach like on "City Of Fun". Huge praise for keeping this at a length of barely more than half an hour. Thight and with absolutely no time for bullshit.

My heart and soul! Everything I love in rock in one album. Riffs, solos, fast tempos, punk, hard rock, and pop in one. Loved it. Great rock songs. Would only knock on the vocals, could have been more passionate.

First listen. Never heard of the band and was pleasantly surprised. Add d the album to my library.

Good power pop from an obscure band. Only so much could be done with the genre at the time, since bands like Jellyfish and the Posies were still several years away.

Me fue difícil, en momentos me pareció promedio, pero en momentos pensaba que para la época el disco es muy bueno. Lo tuve que escuchar varias veces, pero eso mismo fue lo que me orilló a darle 4 estrellas, si no hubiera pensado que valiera la pena no lo hubiera escuchado varias veces.

Good, can see where some of the younger bands get their inspiration

Quite good album. Reminds me of something like T. Rex but with more punk feel. 3.75/5

Good

This is good, from a band iv never heard of. Recognised the song another girl another planet from the blink 182 cover. Good mix of punk and pop can see me coming back to this and having the potential to make my wider rotation.

Good voice It's good Sounds like Magazine Warrants repeat listens It's excellent

I don't have a lot to say about this one, but I thought it was pretty interesting to listen to 4/5

Loved this one, again a nice surprise from 1001.

This surprised me, if only because I was unfamiliar with this group until yesterday. But this is solid punk with a power rock tinge, and I could see this being a solid gap between the Ramones and Cheap Trick back in the day. I don’t think they got a chance in the states, though. B

Nice discoverment

Good album I enjoyed all the tracks. Another discovery from this list. 4.3

I expected little, but was pleasantly surprised.

I'm used to the phenomenon where you can't really perceive any accent in (English-language) singing so it's always feels a little weird when someone sounds super British. Enjoyed the album tho

Solid album, worth vinyl possibly

Grato descubrimiento. Power popnew wavepunk rock. Finales de los 80.

Nice pink vibes. Overall pleasant to listen to but missing an x factor