Tones on Tail

This LP compiles the first three EPs recorded by Tones on Tail. Most of this material was made by the duo of Daniel Ash and Glenn Campling while Ash was still a member of Bauhaus; two tracks feature Ash working solo and only one is a product of the trio that would subsequently comprise Tones on Tail: Ash, Campling, and Bauhaus drummer Kevin Haskins.

It comes as no surprise, then, that Tones on Tail is a formative release, offering several standout songs and showing a lot of potential, but merely hinting at what the band would achieve with their subsequent album, Pop. Six of Tones on Tail's ten tracks are instrumentals, ranging from quite compelling to overlong to just plain filler. Of the vocal songs, two are among ToT's best: "Burning Skies" is a gloomy, slow-building number that wouldn't have sounded out of place on Bauhaus's Burning From the Inside, while "OK, This Is the Pops" is skittery pop in the mode of ToT's biggest hit, "Go!" "There's Only One" and its remix, "Now We Lustre," utilize a twitchy rhythm that will intrigue some and annoy others. In sum, while Tones on Tail boasts enough good material to make it worthwhile -- especially in light of the band's minimal recorded output -- it is rendered redundant by later CD compilations that repeat most or all of its songs. ~ Bill Cassel, All Music Guide