LOONY ON THE BUS

What a great self-irony Roy had with this album name and it's cover!! It came from some reviewer, who has referred him as 'Loony on the Bus'. But instead shaming himself he made a song of that title and even named this compilation of it! There is wrong information about this album in Wikipedia. It says album includes tracks from 'Commercial Break' that EMI refused to release in 1978. As a matter fact there are only six tracks from that album, also one of them is re-recorded and re-named in 1982. Anyway these all tracks are released first time in this compilation. Roy released 'Commercial Breaks' as a whole in his own 'Science Friction'-label in 1994.

This compilation really is a mix of maybe the most aggressive pieces and also very typical, calm pieces of Roy. First 'No Change (Ten Years Ago), recorded in 1980, opens the album in a very strong way and is both musically & lyrically very in it's recording time. Next 'Playing Prison' is very opposite reminding great pieces of 'Stormcock'. It's recorded year before as the first one. But 'punk' direction continues in 'I Wanna Be Part Of the News'. Song has really catchy chorus and in the lyrics Roy is possibly critisizing EMI about how they're waiting him to act in publicity. 'Burn the World (part 1)' really connects Roy's acoustic style and aggression. Roy seems to be fully in this text in a fundamental person world, on the other hand this could be also statement against nuclear power. 'Casuality' from 1982 reminds a lot Talking Heads of the same year.

'Cora' starts the B-side, it's from the abandoned album of 1977 and again really catchy! Then come very black humor title piece, it's quite acoustic, but has also aggression. Roy really empathizes 'loony's' world! 'Come Up and See Me' & 'The Flycatcher' are both very beautiful pieces from that abandoned album, but specially the latter one really would have a hit potential! The first time I heard I thought I have heard it before, but then I noticed it has lots in common for much later came Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds pieces 'I Let Love In' & 'Where the Wild Roses Grow'. Also in chorus there is something same as 'Do You Believe the Day' in Jethro's Thick as a Brick. Roy re-recorded 'The Flycatcher' in his 'The Unknown Soldier'-album, but some reason EMI didn't release it as single. 'Square Boxes' ends this great compilation in a very 'loony' way asking 'more tea vicar?'.

I don't quite understand why there were difficulties in the relations of Roy and EMI from the beginning (it seems EMI didn't want to support Roy's great album 'Stormcock' at all when it came, although his earlier album sold quite well). I believe Roy could have got punk/new wave fans into his 'Commercial Break' album in 1978. Really all the old artists weren't unfamiliar that time (not for example David Bowie, Lou Reed & Iggy Pop, this Roy's album really seems to fit in that group). But maybe EMI just had then bad attitudes towards all kind of punk/new wave music, as far as I know they didn't sign many punk/new wave artists that time.

Although Roy wasn't on the everybody's lips in the eghties, he has never been truly 'loony on the bus'. Not even he didn't ever made the international breakthrough as for example Bob Dylan or Leonard Cohen. There has been plenty of musicians respected him and influenced by him, for example Ian Anderson, Jimmy Page & Dave Gilmour. Also he has always got small, but loyal fanbase. Although this compilation is not a masterpiece, it's very essential & great album!