Ian Hunter

On this 1981 album, Ian Hunter gives his sound a new wave makeover. This is achieved through the efforts of producer Mick Jones, one of the leading creative forces in the Clash and a longtime disciple of Hunter's work. The end result, Short Back 'n' Sides, occasionally catches fire but fails to work just as often. Jones' production style emulates the dense, cluttered production style of the Clash's then-current album, Sandinista: "Noises" is a gimmicky spoken word number drenched in synthesizer effects and "Theatre of the Absurd" has a spacy reggae sound reminiscent of the Clash's "Junco Partner." This avant-garde approach is hit and miss when applied to Hunter's traditional style of songwriting: "Lisa Likes Rock 'N' Roll" works nicely because the gimmicky sound effects fall into line to support the song's retro-rock melody but the synthesizer effects that dominate "Noises" bury its spoken dialogue instead of enhancing it. Also, some of the songs come off surprisingly under-produced despite the thick soundscapes: For example, "Rain" fails to bring the song's episodic lyric to life because of a dull and repetitive production built on a single acoustic guitar riff and one synthesizer hook. However, some strong songs shine through the erratic production: "Gun Control" is a witty send-up of firearm enthusiasts that contrasts fast-paced reggae verses with a fist-pumping hard rock chorus and "Old Records Never Die" combines a lovely ballad-tempo melody with a touching lyric about the permanence of music to create one of Hunter's best and most moving solo tunes. The 1995 reissue of Short Back 'n' Sides also throws in a bonus disc of rarities from the sessions entitled Long Odds and Outtakes. Most of these tracks are merely different mixes of tracks that made it to the album, but it does include some interesting outtakes like "Na Na Na," a rousing, piano-pounding roots rock tune done in the Little Richard style. All in all, Short Back 'n' Sides is a mixed effort that probably won't interest the casual listener but it offers enough memorable songs to please the hardcore Ian Hunter enthusiast. ~ Donald A. Guarisco, All Music Guide