Red Lorry Yellow Lorry

The first album by the West Yorkshire sort-of-goths has long been regarded among the finest outpourings of the early-'80s post-punk crowd, a collection of tightly coiled dark pop numbers that might have shared some musical links to the Sisters of Mercy and others of that ilk, but was also far out enough on its own peculiar limb that either you loved the Lorries or you were bored rigid by them. Fortunately, enough people fell into the former category that today, so many years later, Talk About the Weather still induces awe-stricken gasps from neophytes. All eight of the original album's tracks are here, together with no less than 11 bonus tracks, ranging from the 45 rpm and 12" versions of "Happy" and "Hollow Eyes" (by far the band's best-known numbers), through to the clutch of recordings issued before work began on the album. All builds up into a flawless portrait of Red Lorry Yellow Lorry's first two years together, and a reminder of just how far flung the original "goth" bracket was. ~ Dave Thompson, All Music Guide