No.28 Sheep on Drugs – Greatest Hits

Obviously, I love the music I listen to, but there’s some of it I’d have a hard time defending and this album is probably on top of that pile. It’s cheesy, in poor taste, was never close to cool and might actually be a bit shit, but I love every goddamn note of it.

Back in the misty past, some time around 1995, young me was not into dance music. (As I’ve mentioned before). I was dabbling with industrial and was all for the idea of evil beats and guitars, but I just hadn’t come across anyone who combined those ingredients that I enjoyed. My friend Tez got a loan of Greatest Hits from one of his mates and suddenly something changed. Here was sleazy filth that was obviously dance music but had guitars and a punk sneer. I wasn’t comfortable with this, I really had to squint hard and tell myself that it was ok, it wasn’t really dance music, they were similar to bands like bands like Pop Will Eat Itself. It was ok to listen to them. Life was tough as a music fan back then. There were lines you just couldn’t cross. (This must sound wild to any younger readers, but it was very much a Thing)

Sheep on Drugs were introduced to me at the perfect time, beat curious and getting further into goth. Greatest Hits struck me like a lightning bolt and I’m sure they’d be delighted about how uncomfortable it made me feel.

I’m not sure if the sample at the start of Uberman is from Holidays in the Sun by the Sex Pistols but it certainly brings it to mind, which really fits the snotty punk vibe that SoD are going for. As an introduction, Uberman is the sound of a band telling everyone just how great they are, while staring the world dead in the eye and promising to give it the Bad Touch, in the form of a dance banger.

I struggled a lot more with the second track, Acid Test, which is a flat out rave belter, I just kind of held my nose for that one. But it’s an outlier on the album, 15 Minutes of Fame quickly follows it and is an album highlight. Moody and carrying an incredible amount of swagger, it’s fast paced and strapped to a chorus that must have sent crowds wild.

Somehow there’s a Grace Jones cover of Track X, called Sex Drive. I’m not sure what lunatic came up with that, it’s a great combination, but she’s just not on the same level of sleaze as the original. Which is saying something. Suzy Q is probably my favorite song on the album, the slow acid squelch and filthy guitar perfectly complement a song about tattoos and the masochistic joy of pleasure and pain.

It’s strange that such a gleefully obnoxious band has quite a lot to say, railing against vapid celebrity, mindless consumerism and the Americanisation of modern culture, there’s a lot more going on here than is obvious at first glance. The cheek to call your debut album Greatest Hits must have wound up the 90’s music press no end, and that was always a worthwhile thing to do.

Greatest Hits is a sleazy, trashy album that struts like a peacock with a switchblade. Pretending to be vacuous, while sneering at the vapid, and embracing all that is crass and puerile. All while not giving one single fuck about what anyone thinks about them. And you could play it at a rave. This is a very strange album and absolutely nothing else sounds like this.

Unfortunately, and I’ve no idea why as it’s on Island records, Greatest Hits isn’t on Streaming so I’d added some youtube links and Bandcamp.

Grace Jones