Originally scheduled for release in 1975, It’s All Over Now was supposed to be Pub Rock legends Brinsley Schwarz’s commercial breakthrough………….Rescuing their career after the infamous “Brinsley Schwarz Hype” PR disaster, the band had retreated to London’s pubs where they built a solid reputation as one of the best live bands on the circuit playing a mix of good time, self-effacing Rock & Roll, Soul and Country Rock, releasing a handful of well received but commercially disastrous LPs. Despite strong reviews and a dedicated fan base, the Brinsleys never managed to escape cult status, yet they influenced a legion of other artists, creating an underground, back-to-basics movement that laid the foundation for Punk Rock. By 1975, there was a seismic change in the air………….the Pub Rock bands were soon to be swept away by Punk bands and there is sense that Brinsley Schwarz knew a change was coming. The band split up not long after the recording sessions and before the record was due for release, seeing the album binned by United Artists (the album almost made the shops in the 80s but was withdrawn just before release) and it has remained officially unreleased ever since. The archive diggers at Mega Dodo have rescued this gem of a record, given it a good dusting down and will be releasing the album on vinyl as originally intended with copies also available on CD and, for that proper retro vibe, on cassette.
For fans of the band, It’s All Over Now is an essential purchase……………….the record was recorded with Brinsley Schwarz cohort Dave Edmunds in the producer’s chair and a eye on the American market. The album contains several strong Nick Lowe/Ian Gomm penned songs (including the original version of ‘Cruel To Be Kind’ which was to be a massive hit for Lowe a few years later), a studio version of the live favourite William Bell's ‘Private Number, a groovy instrumental Soul stomper ‘Do The Cod’ and a Reggae version of the Bobby Womack song/Stones big hit ‘It’s All Over Now’………hey, it was 1975 and everybody was doing at least one Reggae influenced cut on their records. The album is effectively Pub Rock’s last stand and harks back to a time in the 70s when rootsy Americana, cod Reggae and blue eyed Soul side to side on the same record was not deemed strange…………………Dr Feelgood had made such a impact on the scene and as Nick Lowe said about the era “When the Pub Rock scene started going downhill, largely due to Dr Feelgood, who were so great they spawned many duff copyists, it was time to move on”. It’s All Over Now is a record of it’s time, how it would have fared if it had been released back in 1975 is anyone guess………………being a Brinsley’s record it would have no doubt died on it’s arse……but it has aged well for being near 40 years old. One to check out for fans of Graham Parker, Elvis Costello and the ton of bands Brinsley Schwarz’s classy blend of no nonsense Rock, Roots and Soul have influenced.
Due for release on 28/04/2017, the album will be available in limited edition orange vinyl (150 copies), black vinyl (350 copies), cassette (50 copies) and CD and should be available from all good record stores……………………check the Mega Dodo website and the usual clued up online stores for info about pre-release orders.
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