Black Vinyl Shoes

Years and years ago I picked up a couple of Shoes albums on vinyl, but I've never got round to listening to them till this week.

I've listened to the first side of "Black Vinyl Shoes" a couple of times and really liked it . To my ears it sounds like a mix of power pop and new wave with a dash of 80s C86 jangle pop. I love the slightly uneven production, with the boxy, almost too loud drums. The guitar sounds are great.

I've also got "Silhouette" to try. Is "Black Vinyl Shoes" their finest hour?

 

No, I think their finest hour was Present Tense. But they have never made a bad album. Silhouette I would say is the weakest, though there are still some great songs on it.

 

I would say Black Vinyl Shoes is their best, but the earlier Bazooka is also worthy. Numero Group released vinyl on some of their early stuff a number of years back and put out Pre-Tense, the demos for the Present Tense album, which is actually better than the released album due to the songs not being overcooked in the studio as they were on the official release.
Also, Ignition from 2012 is an incredibly good album, all the power pop moves still intact and energized. A must have in my opinion.

 

Thanks for your thoughts. Sadly the "Present Tense/Tongue Twister" twofer CD is currently £136 on Amazon!

 

Pre-Tense and Bazooka are still available from Numero for $15.00 each on vinyl if that's your thing, and the Ignition cd is $10.00 on Amazon. All are worth having.

 

Thanks!

 

I purchased Present Tense on cassette when it first came out in the late '70s. It doesn't have a bad song on it imho.
I was lucky enough to pick up a sealed copy on vinyl a few years ago and I still think it's a great album!

 

I bought that Bomp single first when it came out in '78, then later found an ORIGINAL BVS with the inserts, that Numero has also used on their reissue....you can definitely hear how Shoes kept improving their songs and musicianship along the way.....all this stuff was such a breath of fresh air for a teenager like me in 1978-9, and lots of magazines at the time like Bomp, Trouser Press, NY Rocker, etc were great resources at the time to track this stuff down!!! And i HUGELY prefer the original version of "Tomorrow Night" on the 45 and the second version of "Okay" on the 45 as well...

 

Present Tense was their peak IMO.

 

"Curiosity" is the best thing they ever did, and that is my final word on the matter.

 

The summer rain...n..n...n...n...n.....n....n....n.....

 

for those interested Cherry Red has just released 3 cd box set Black Vinyl Shoes anthology 73-78 for £18
got mine delivered yesterday, not got round to giving it a spin yet but will do asap over the coming days.


DISC ONE:
BLACK VINYL SHOES
1. BOYS DON’T LIE
2. DO YOU WANNA GET LUCKY?
3. SHE’LL DISAPPEAR
4. TRAGEDY
5. WRITING A POSTCARD
6. NOT ME
7. SOMEONE FINER
8. CAPITAL GAIN
9. FATAL
10. RUNNING START
11.OKAY
12. IT REALLY HURTS
13. FIRE FOR AWHILE
14. IF YOU’D STAY
15. NOWHERE SO FAST

BONUS TRACKS
16. CAPITAL OFFENSE
17. SHE’LL DISAPPEAR (Demo) *
18. LUCKY TAIL
19. I WANNA HIDE
20. TOMORROW NIGHT (Bomp! Version)
21. OKAY (Bomp! Version)
22. I’LL TAKE YOU AWAY
23. FULL BITE
24. BABY’S GONE
25. EVER AGAIN
26. LIKE I TOLD YOU (Second Version) *
27. KAREN (Acoustic Demo) *
28. I’LL TAKE YOU AWAY (Alternative Version) *

* previously unissued

DISC TWO:
BAZOOKA
1. PINHEADS
2. MOVE IT OR LOSE IT
3. ROCK YOUR OWN
4. ALONG WITH LOVE
5. LOVE TOOK A TURN
6. ALONE BUT SATISFIED 7. NEW MEAT
8. I’M BROKEN
9. THE ATLANTIC
10. MY ANISETTE
11. SNAP!
12. EDUCATED
13. LIKE I TOLD YOU BONUS TRACK
14. I CAN MAKE IT (Demo) *
* previously unissued

DISC THREE:
ONE IN VERSAILLES
1. DANCE IN YOUR SLEEP
2. DOIGETSOSHY
3. UN DANS VERSAILLES
4. KRISTINE
5. SOMETHING I CAN’T SEE
6. EGGROLL ROCK
7. SONG FOR HER
8. ONE NIGHT
9. NO, I DON’T
10. THE SUN
11. ONE IN VERSAILLES
12. BANJO

BONUS TRACKS
13. MY HUSBAND’S HOME!
14. NOTHING MEANS MORE
15. I’D LIKE TO TAKE YOU OUT AGAIN (from “Heads or Tails”, 1974) *
16. ROCK’N’ROLL FREAK
* previously unissued

 

Thanks very much for the tip. Ordered.

I played Black Vinyl Shoes to death back in the day, along with the BOMP! single of "Tomorrow Night"/"Okay."

Present Tense has some good tracks (e.g., "Your Very Eyes"), but they completely ruined "Tomorrow Night" with the remake of it on this album. I'll never in a million years understand the "off" note on the chorus or the decision to end it cold, as opposed to letting it drift away into the ether as on the single. The last 30 seconds of the single version is one of my favorite moments ever in a lifetime of the music I love.

 

thanks so much for letting us know , fantastic news

 

the box is really nice, booklet is VERY informative....hadn't listed to "Black Vinyl Shoes" in its entirety in many years, and i knew every song and every word, due to listening to the PVC version of BVS in '78 whilst i was in high school in the late 70s about a thousand times.......worth picking up for sure.

 

great package which i picked up last night at my local store on the way back from work , great week end ahead.
booklet is super thick indeed . Good for Cherry Red , a UK label , to pick that one up.

 

Way underrated band.

This looks like an excellent collection. I have the "As Is" collection from several years ago that the band released. I see it's quite rare these days but covers much of the same ground and comes from the master tapes. Not to mention all the vinyl reissues of a few years ago.

 

I'd love to hear some reviews on the mastering of this new Cherry Red release. Looks like a nice set!

 

This thread does not mean what I thought it meant.

 

Just bought a used Present Tense a few wks ago. Very Good! I have heard of Shoes for yrs but this was my first by them.

 

Go for the box set, at 23 bucks you can't go wrong. Black Vinyl Shoes is classic and Bazooka isn't far behind, One In Versailles is not quite up there with those but does have it's moments and is well worth owning.

 

Just a heads up, this is a today only sale at Numero, all 4 lps for 20 bucks.
SHOES IN STOCKINGS

 

Thanks! Just ordered.