Dodgy: The Dodgy Album - 1993
Who were Dodgy? I knew some of their songs from the time, but not that it was them who released them, or who they were. I just, as so often with BritPop bands, vaguely knew the songs, largely due to their catchy hooks. Dodgy were from Hounslow, West London were a four piece - vocals, guitar, bass and organ. What were they like? They were lads, I think - "geezers" and they revelled in telling everyone how many drugs they took. This debut album was released in 1993, the year of BritPop's supposed genesis and they suited the genre down to the ground - guitar band, unprepossessing-looking members, sixties influences, punk influences, post punk influences. They ticked the boxes. They could pen a catchy tune or two as well. As BritPop bands went (there were so many of them, weren't there?) they weren't bad at all.
Water Under The Bridge is solid and muscular, with typical jangly guitars and pounding drums. There was a lot of conventional rock meets punk about this. Several voices join in on vocals, particularly the chorus. I Need Another is a mis-paced, agreeable number that merges acoustic and electric guitars and has some Beatles-ish vocal harmonies.
Lovebird has the group displaying their Beach Boys meets The Beatles vocals against a late seventies/early eighties mod revival backing. "I love her and I know she loves me too" is decidedly Beatles, isn't it? The sound has a bit of an early Who vibe to it, particularly in the madcap drums and guitar bit near the end. It is reminiscent of Anyhow, Anywhere etc (I can never remember the correct title!).
Satisfied has a synthesised rhythmic backing and slows the whole ambience down a bit - "lying on the beach from dawn till dusk" taps into the slacker/lazy student thing. The song breaks out somewhat after a while, but it is still pretty laid-back. It's a good one. The song fades out into some chill-out ambience followed by a ghostly and mysterious hip-hop/trip-hop-influenced passage. Decidedly Stone Roses. Love the bass on this bit too.
Still in a downbeat, reflective vein is Grand Old English Oak Tree, which is one of those songs that reminds me of something else. Having listened to so much music over so many years, this happens such a lot. It is so annoying but inevitable. The track uses some very Beatles-ish strings and brass (or maybe The Kinks) to enhance its middle part. Despite its obvious quality, the album has become a bit low-key by this point, however. Maybe it's time for a lift? We duly get it on the chunky, rolling drum-driven Stand By Yourself, complete with Jam-like "la-la-la" lads' singalong chorus.
As My Time Goes By has a very early eighties post punk meets new wave feel to it. Very retro. This gave us nothing really new in 1993, though, did it? Never Again is a Paul Weller-ish blissed out piece of bucolic, acoustic fare. It has a certain laid-back beauty to it and features some impressive guitar. The same applies to the slightly more robust but still gentle Cold Tea. Tracks like these were hardly the short, sharp poppy numbers that characterised BritPop (supposedly). They were much more intense and reflective. The closer, We're Not Going To Take This Anymore was equally sleepy - to be honest, the lads needed a rocket up their you-know-whats. They needed to find some killer hooks. They did, too.
Although this is an ok debut, there was better to come from Dodgy, for sure.
