When it comes to glam rock, they don’t make it like they used to. If you want proof, you could do worse than this retrospective collection of cult London glam-punk rock ‘n’ rollers, The Ghosts of Lovers. Active in the late 80s and early ‘90s, they mined a seam of sleazy rock influenced by Johnny Thunders, Hanoi Rocks and Lords of the New Church and the spirit of Altamont. The album’s 11 studio cuts represents the entirety of their recorded work, and there are four live tracks for good measure. Revelling in all of the classic lyrical clichés, the songs are brimming with energy and swagger.
‘Tonight’ is an old-school rock’n’roll stomper, complete with lively piano action and sets the tone. ‘Don’t Be Afraid’ comes on like Bowie fronting Slade and there’s a nagging familiarity about ‘So Lonely’. But there are worse things a band can go than lean on the riff from ‘Brown Sugar’, especially when singer Kevin MacDonald brings in a Lydonesque sneer, and it’s the band’s punk edge which comes through in the tracks from the second session in April 1991.
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‘Another Time’ sounds like The Anti Nowhere league covering ‘Cum On Feel the Noize’. They go all out for bigness, with bombastic choruses and a layered sound, the thick reverby snare drum to the fore. The audio quality is more that of a highly polished demo than big budget, but this in no way diminishes the album’s value or the limit the enjoyment of the songs.
It’s not subtle, and it doesn’t need to be: what The Ghosts of Lovers represent are good raucous fun.
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