In 1982, the world must not have known what to make of Robert Lloyd. The frontman of Birmingham band The Nightingales sometimes uneasily mixed a Beefheart-like approach to post-punk with the energy of Strummer. The resulting music was abrasive, sure, but it also roared like little else. The group's full-length debut, Pigs on Purpose, has just been reissued by Call of the Void via Fire Records, and, brimming with bonus cuts, it remains a staggering document.
Five years prior to the release of this one, Lloyd had been on tour with The Prefects on bills with The Clash. He'd retain the energy from that era for this set, even if the material within the sides was decidedly more complicated than that from the Class of '77. Heard now, Pigs on Purpose seems a lost classic still. "Start From Scratch" places this alongside Subway Sect, while "The Crunch" and other numbers here seem cut from the same cloth that formed Gang of Four. Lloyd and co. are more interesting in ideas, than rhythms, though the hooks here are oddly and cerebrally funky. At their best on this, their debut, The Nightingales admirably stand alongside bands like The Fall thanks to numbers like "Use Your Loaf", a real classic.
This reissue of Pigs on Purpose is more than the baker's dozen of numbers that make up the album proper. Loaded with another 16 tracks, this edition is now the seminal version of this release. The live cuts are as fiery as the album versions, and when most people talk of this record they refer to it as a document of the group's set. And the demos here, like "To Dachau" throb with just as much purpose. Still, there's evidence of progression here, with later sessions yielding numbers like "Paraffin Brain", a winning bit of business.
The liner notes by Stuart Moxham (Young Marble Giants) to this iteration of Pigs on Purpose place this all in context within the DIY era of Brit indie, but the material works so well that it almost needs little history around it. What's here is all anchored by Robert Lloyd's restless intellect, and his furtive nervousness as a frontman. This is vital stuff, and sure to please fans of any of the bands I've referenced above. Kudos to the folks at Fire Records for making it clear that the world needed a definitive edition of this record.
Pigs on Purpose is out now via Call of the Void and Fire Records.