Dirty Looks

Being one of the most idiosyncratically British record companies ever, it's no great surprise that the folks at Stiff Records had curious taste in Americans, but the Yankee acts signed to the label were generally pretty good (among them Rachel Sweet, Joe "King" Carrasco, the Feelies and Devo), and one of the best U.S. acts to record for Stiff were Dirty Looks. A tight, nervy and admirably hooky trio from Staten Island, Dirty Looks recorded two albums for Stiff, and both LPs (along with a fistful of bonus tracks) are featured in full on this two-disc set. 1980s self-titled debut is a firecracker set of rock & roll that hits just a shade too hard to be called power pop; the songs are great, the band is on fire throughout, and in a better world, "Let Go" and "They Got Me Covered" would have been Top Ten singles. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the band's second and final album, Turn It Up. Nick Garvey of the Motors was the producer, but the energy and razor-edged guitar sound of the previous disc are curiously absent, and the result is an album that's lighter and more approachable, but not nearly as fun or exciting as their first go-round, though the band still play with no small skill. The whole of disc two in this set is devoted to Turn It Up, while the first CD not only features the superior Dirty Looks, but some fine bonus numbers -- three non-LP single sides, and four live cuts from the 1980 Son of Stiff package tour, including a fiery cover of Richard Hell's "Blank Generation." This set brings together everything Dirty Looks released during their lifetime, and while you might not pull disc two out of the case all that often, the first half of this package is mighty music that merits the deluxe treatment it has been given on this two-fer. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide