This is going to be interesting. And fun.
A decade ago, I wrote a piece about my love and appreciation for this album in another publication. The dB’s Repercussion is a part of my musical DNA since its release in 1981 (I picked it up in/around March 1982). One of the most influential works in my personal quests as a musician/songwriter/singer, etc., I rank this as highly as I do Revolver, The Who Sell Out, #1 Record and so on. I consider Repercussion to be in that rare pantheon of perfect albums.
Now, after some 30-plus years of being unavailable domestically, once again, Propeller Sound Recordings have made it possible to discover/re-discover the beauty of this quite beloved collection of songs. First, the backstory, as supplied via the press release (courtesy of the wonderful Wendy Brynford-Jones):
“Just a few months after their debut album’s release, The dB’s re-entered the studio with a strong and unified sense of purpose. The result of those sessions was 1982’s Repercussion.
While the band’s debut (Stands For Decibels) had been recorded in various sessions over a period of months, Repercussion would be a more focused, intentional project. Teaming up with first-time producer Scott Litt (later to find acclaim for his work with R.E.M.), the band recorded in London over a seven-week period in summer 1981. There would be no “sophomore slump” for The dB’s; the group had a surplus of original songs from which to choose. Like the debut record, The dB’s’ second album would feature split songwriting credits: half by Peter Holsapple, half by Chris Stamey.
The two were very different songwriters. Where Peter might find inspiration in an old Bo Diddley tune, Chris could be sparked by the work of modernist classical composer Charles Ives. But the musical cohesion of The dB’s yielded twelve songs that hold together as a distinctive whole. Repercussion would serve up a bouquet of classics: Holsapple’s “Amplifier” and Stamey’s “From A Window To A Screen” are among the record’s standouts, but the quality never flags.
The dB’s filtered their diverse inspirations through their own collective sensibility, creating truly original music in the process. Will Rigby describes his drum groove on “Storm Warning” as a punk rhumba; Holsapple’s “Nothing is Wrong” conjures a feel that recalls Big Star co-founder Chris Bell’s “I Am the Cosmos.” Stamey’s “In Spain” was inspired by both Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath and pioneering New York City band Television.
Live dates had helped sharpen The dB’s into a self-sufficient unit, but that didn’t keep the band from enlisting select musical pals to help out on the album as needed. The Rumour Brass are featured on “Living a Lie”; Be-Bop Deluxe’s Andy Clark plays a “steel drum” keyboard patch on one track. And The Who’s John Entwistle loaned Gene Holder his thunderous eight-string bass for “Neverland” (!)
On its release, Repercussion met a similar fate as its predecessor: Enthusiastic reviews (Trouser Press called it “a great advance over the debut” – and they praised the debut) were coupled with hard-to-find status (UK-only release yet again). But those who heard it, loved it.
Repercussion would be the last release from the original quartet until the bravura Falling Off the Sky some 30 years later.
The Propeller Sound release includes newly assembled reminiscences of the experience of recording Repercussion by members of the band plus Scott Litt, with previously unpublished photos. The LP presents the band’s original track sequence. The CD will include a bonus track, Holsapple’s “pH Factor,” a live-in-the-studio single B-side left off the original release but included on the long out-of-print I.R.S. Records CD reissue in 1989.”
Okay – that was the history. Now – is there a way for me to express what needs to be said about this album without repetition, stumbling or worse – doing it an injustice?
No. Not a chance. Start here – all with facts: a line taken from the Repercussion reissue press release; one of the pull quotes – and a deadly accurate one, at that: “Repercussion is essential listening. It is necessary. It is pure and magnificent. It is a triumph… listen to it and absorb it.” A perfect summary. The listener/writer of that line hits the nail on the head. And yes – the writer was, indeed, me. Without apology or prejudice, I stand by it – then and now. Here’s why – and I’m not going to go track by track or dissect this album in a standard review manner
– I’ll simply present MY TWO FAVORITES (and why they still are) and let you discover the entire package on your own, as there will be eleven others to choose from.
Even after 42 years, I hear “Neverland” and it gives me the same chills as it did upon first listen. Peter Holsapple delivered the quintessential, PERFECT pop song. It’s crisp, buoyant, riff-driven, hooky/catchy/singsong and impossible to get out of your head. It’s one of those musical moments that’s like osmosis – once it goes into you, it’s part of you. Everything about “Neverland” is right – the lead vocals, the background harmonies and counter-vocals/call-and-response – it’s what a song should be. God knows, I’ve been striving since I was 18 to write something even slightly close (which I’ll never achieve – and that’s fine). “Neverland” is one of those once-in-a-lifetime moments, captured for all time.
“From A Window To A Screen” – you may scoff or laugh at the title as being witty wordsmithing, but Chris Stamey’s tour-de-force is one of the most achingly gorgeous things you will ever hear. A painfully cinematic lyrical moment of heartache that I have absolutely felt and heard this song in my mind describing the raw emotions. The gentle arrangement; the wistful (but never corny or cloying) vocals (the harmonies reach Everly Brothers-like lock-in – indescribable magic, really); the details of the unfolding scenario and the ethereal floating effect of the song as it drifts in, tells the story and drifts out again, like a boat on darkened waters. One of the most dynamic pieces of pop songwriting I’ve ever experienced. Sublimely exquisite. And along with “Neverland” it’s the perfect counterbalance.
So I’ve given you my two absolute favorites; the “I will die on that hill” tracks. That should be sufficient and helpful. There are more songs you can be enthralled by – there is no filler in this collection. Be enlightened and on October 18th, make sure you purchase Repercussion (pre-order it now – it will save you time!). I can guarantee that once you hear it – perhaps a few times – and live with it for a little while – you will then say to me “you were right. You were right all along. It’s a perfect album.“
And I will say “yes; yes, it is.”
ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL LISTENING
Repercussion will be available again on CD and vinyl (for the first time as a domestic release) on Friday, October 18th, 2024
The dB’s – Official Site (thedbs.com)