VA - Keeping Control: Independent Music From Manchester 1977-1981 (2023)

A much shorter sequel to Cherry Red's 2017 seven-CD box Manchester North of England: A Story of Independent Music, Greater Manchester 1977-1993, Keeping Control narrows its scope to just 1977 to 1981, instead of sprawling all the way to the acid house and Britpop movements. This means it mainly focuses on punk and post-punk, and while it's much more cohesive than the previous set, it still covers a considerable amount of ground, from pissed-off, anti-establishment punk ragers to goth-adjacent reflections, avant-funk tracks, and art rock bugouts. Pretty much all of the scene's biggest names of the time period (Joy Division, New Order, the Fall, Buzzcocks, Magazine) are present and accounted for, as well as several early Factory/Haçienda favorites like A Certain Ratio, the Durutti Column (the eternal "Sketch for Summer"), and Section 25. There's also the classic novelty hit "Jilted John" and the cult-favorite minimal-synth oddity "Gerry and the Holograms," in addition to groups whose members would later secure places in music history as part of Simply Red, the Smiths, and 808 State. However, a large portion of the compilation is devoted to acts affiliated with the Manchester Musicians Collective, a D.I.Y. organization founded by electro-acoustic composer/vocalist Trevor Wishart and musicologist Dick Witts (leader of the Passage, represented by a brief track from their 1978 debut EP). "Keeping Control" was the MMC's slogan, possibly predating Joy Division's song "She's Lost Control." The liner notes point out that "Love Will Tear Us Apart" borrowed a melody (and even used the same 12-string guitar) from an instrumental by an MMC band, the Manchester Mekon. Several selections are lifted straight from MMC compilations, including songs by the more power pop-sounding the Still as well as art-punk obscurities like Spurtz and Vibrant Thigh. There's also a bit of a spotlight on TJ Davidson's TJM studios, where nearly all of the scene's bands during the era rehearsed or recorded. A handful of inclusions were originally issued by TJM Records, the best of which is a buzzsaw punk scorcher called "Renegade" by Genocide, who were never heard from again. Most of the straightforward punk bands are at the front of the track list, including Slaughter & the Dogs, the Nosebleeds, and the Panik, with the weirder stuff appearing later, like the Charlie Parkas' twisted version of the music from the video game Space Invaders, and a murky, drum machine-driven instrumental by famed producer Martin Hannett. The electro-noise ranting of John the Postman's Puerile, Eddie Fiction's quirky abduction story "UFO Part 2," and punk parodists like the Notsensibles and Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoia represent the biting sense of humor present in the scene. A few previously unreleased demos surface, including the hypercharged "Recorded or Live" by a punk-funk group with three female vocalists named the Liggers, and an early recording by Blue Orchids, a Rough Trade-signed band who included ex-members of the Fall. The illuminating Keeping Control dives deeper into the formative years of one of the world's most influential music scenes.

Review by Paul Simpson