Here's a review of our second album, 'Why Should I Stand Up?' that appeared in Britain's Q magazine, a hip glossy that offers lots of reviews, interviews and feature articles, and a had/has somewhat higher journalistic standards than some other publications. They had some very good writers; Charles Shaar Murray was especially excellent. I think this reviewer got the album pretty well, better than many. And yes, we livened up many a wedding. (Though I don't think anything could have induced any of us to don straw-boaters for any reason. He's wrong there.)
One of the things I enjoyed about our brief spell near the limelight was seeing us grouped with other artists alphabetically, in print or in record stores. In record shops our bin would often appear next to Elvis Costello or Edwin Collins, at least once we'd graduated from the "Miscellaneous C Artists.". In this Q Magazine review, we were placed on the same page as Can, a long-time favorite of mine, and Company, a free-jazz outfit that I also admired a lot. It was a juxtaposition that I privately enjoyed very much, and probably the closest I'll ever get to either group. I always imagined some fan of Can glancing across the page after reading their review and thinking, "Hmmm. Maybe I should check these lads out..."
And speaking of record bins, they offered their own sort of endorsement. The fact that your group had its own space and your name was placed next to some artist like Elvis Costello lent a bit of credibility. ("Jeeze, these guys must be pretty good; they've got their own bin, AND it's right in front of Elvis Costello's!") One of my sister's friends was completely unimpressed that her big brother was in a band until the friend saw that we had a generously-filled bin at the Washington DC Tower Records (RIP). That proved we were somebody to reckon with, at least for her.
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