flash-hammer's Full Review: Tighten up '88 by Big Audio Dynamite
Believed by many to be the runt of the pack when it comes to albums by the original incarnation of Big Audio Dynamite, Tighten Up Vol. 88 is by far and away the hardest album by the original line-up to track down, perhaps an indication of it’s quality, that Sony hasn’t chosen to keep it in print.
As it turns out, when I finally tracked down the album, first on vinyl and then on CD, I discovered that the album is anything but the group’s weakest album, and it may actually be my favourite LP from their 4 album repertoire.
At this point in time, BAD consisted of singer/guitarist and lead songwriter Mick Jones, effects man and sometime vocalist Don Letts, drummer Greg Roberts, bassist Leo Williams and Dan Donovan on the keyboard, and was this version of the band’s penultimate release, and proved rather unsuccessful financially.
The thing I find most bizarre about this fact is that Jones actual set out to make the album more commercially accessible, crafting tighter songs in a more pop-styled vein as opposed to the effects and sample heavy work that preceded, and followed, it. Personally I think he succeeded in this, and of the album’s 12 tracks I find almost all of them an infectious and marvellously written tune that still holds up well over a decade onwards. Perhaps it’s the album’s timeless sound that actually caused it problems at the time. BAD were always a very 80s-centric sounding act, and perhaps this change was jarring for a lot of fans.
Indeed, the album only had 2 singles taken from it, album closer and most obvious single Just Play Music! and the fantastic anti-conformity anthem Other 99, but almost all of it could quite easily have been issued as a single and would have deserved success.
While Jones was aiming for a more mainstream sound, that isn’t to say that Tighten Up eschews the type of variety of sound that their other albums had used so well, it simply takes these different styles and implements them in a catchier than usual means. What this really means is that Letts’ effects aren’t utilised anywhere near as much, and it’s easier to see these songs performed live, as they all revolve around Jones pop-sensible yet still rock-cool guitar riffs and/or Donovan’s keyboard riffs. The samples the band became famous for are now sparse, usually only heard at the beginning or end of a song.
For example, the album opens with the heavily Reggae influenced Rock Non Stop (All Night Long) a song simple in terms of lyrical content, focusing simply on having a good time, the laid-back feel, and party-time lyrics a good starting place for the album, and it closes with the pure-pop Just Play Music!, which is similar in mood, simply stressing the beauty of music, and how it should be all that is important to a band (“I don’t need to see your face/I don’t need no autographs/I can’t play your interviews/can’t hear your photographs“) but far more up-tempo, powered by some lovely horns. Inbetween them we have a bass and drumbeat heavy dancey jab at Imelda Marcos in 2000 Shoes and a reworking of both The Battle of New Orleans and Duelling Banjos relocated to London in the anthemic The Battle Of All Saints Road.
Both of these tracks display a lyrical prowess and intent not seen on the feel-good opening and closing tracks, and a good few other songs also have lyrical depth to some degree, as I mentioned, I find single Other 99 to be a classic, and while it’s lyrics at first appear to be a fairly standard tale of love went wrong (“Won’t say that I am the best, that you’ve ever had“) but when they are looked at further, they display a lot more depth, with Jones stating a refusal to join the in crowd, instead opting to side with the underdog, in the chorus (“I ain’t with the 100 crowd/I’m with the 99“) as well as a somewhat realistic look at life (“everything’s not always great/sometimes it’s just fine/no one gets 10 out of 10/lucky if it’s 9“) Funny Names may be the most sedate paced track on the album, and it’s anti-racism message may be the most heavy-handed, but at the same times, it’s chorus has a certain addictiveness, mainly brought about through Jones trademark somewhat vulnerable vocals.
The title track renews the Reggae sound instigated by the opener (Tighten Up is a somewhat legendary series of Reggae compilations) and in fact charts reggae’s entry in the UK. It may not be the best track on the record, but it certainly holds the attention and gets the head nodding, however I think it’s the album’s 3-song core that really makes it stand out for me, a consistent stream of classic tracks.
Applecart may well be lyrically just another melancholy tale of love that should be, but isn’t, but the fact it’s music seems to generate as much emotion, if not more than the lyrics, and Jones ability to inject a great deal of emotion into what on paper seem quite throwaway lyrics make this song a real keeper for me. It’s more based on Donovan’s keyboards than Jones’ guitar (though underestimating it’s importance would be silly) and it’s sing-a-long, anthemic chorus make for one of my favourite BAD tracks from any line-up. How this didn’t get a single release is beyond me.
The fact it’s followed in quick succession by Esquerita, the album’s most high-tempo and guitar orientated track, charting the adventures of legendary piano player SQ Reader (everybody knew him as Esquerita) a tribute of sorts seeing as he had passed away 2 years prior, it’s another song feel-good in musical sound if not lyrics, with Letts’ constant “yeah yeah yeah yeah”s, Donovan’s wonderful keyboards and group-sung parts combining with Jones guitar and vocals for a wonderful song that begs to be turned up, it sounds like the band are having fun with this one, and it’s hard for the listener not to join in.
Rounding off this spine is Champagne, a lyrically silly, yet at the same time ridiculously endearing, tale of a girlfriend of Jones’ who suffers an addiction of that most glamorous of beverages. “she won’t touch one drop of Scotch/She loves champagne/Brandy Wine, Lager & Lime?/NOPE it’s champagne/put that gin in the bin/she wants champagne/vodka juice ain’t no use/CHAMPAGNE“ he proclaims, before going on to chart the pair’s further adventures, ending with her proposing. It’s a light-hearted and fantastically addictive little song that I often find myself humming long after the album has been turned off.
Later on, Hip, Neck & Thigh recalls the quality of these songs, while remaining less lyrically interesting, with Jones simply trying to woo a girl “I rock, you roll/baby I don’t care/you rock, I roll/stay let’s make a pair“ he says. What makes it good is a simply infectious poppy tune, based around Donovan’s playful keyboard work and almost handclap-like drums, as well as the group-sung chorus, which served the band well on this album.
If the album does have a weak link, it’s Mr. Walker Said. Not a bad track as such, it just lacks the killer hooks that the others all boast, it’s still a workable piece of New Wave that I’ve never felt the urge to skip, I’ve just also never felt the urge to actively set out to listen to it.
Perhaps it being the first album new to me that I purchased on vinyl, forcing me to actually sit and listen to all the songs in full, but I just have a certain appreciation for every track on Tighten Up that I can’t say I have for any other BAD album, from any incarnation. I genuinely believe that with the exception of Mr. Walker Saidm any song on here could have been a single, they are all so hook-laden and enjoyable on the ear. It’s with this said that I show no second thoughts in issuing the album full marks. It’s a rarity these days I find an album I can listen to from start to finish and thoroughly enjoy as much as I have this one, and I would say it’s well worth the extra effort to track down.
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