The Nips

Billed to Nips 'n' Nipple Erectors, this is an important piece of secondary punk history. It almost fully documents the first band Shane MacGowan recorded with, collecting both sides of the first three singles by the Nipple Erectors/Nips, as well as adding four outtakes: "So Pissed Off" and "Stavordale Rd, N5" (first issued on LP in 1987), and "Venus in Bother Boots" and "Fuss & Bother" (which make their debut on this compilation). Granted, it still doesn't quite add up to 25 minutes, but everything's here save the 1981 single "Happy Song"/"Nobody to Love." It's admirably insouciant but kind of middle-of-the-pack late-'70s U.K. punk, distinguished from some other such sounds of the time by a heavier rockabilly beat and MacGowan's sneering vocals, moving a little sideways into Elvis Costello-like territory on the 1979 single "Gabrielle." As for the two new outtakes, "Venus in Bother Boots" has a slight Ramones feel, while "Fuss & Bother" is, like its title, blather about nothing particularly important. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide