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Eddie And The Hotrods - Life On The Line (1977)

Track listing:
  1. Do Anything You Wanna Do 4:20
  2. Quit This Town 2:26
  3. Telephone Girl 2:28
  4. What's Really Going On 2:17
  5. Ignore Them (Still Life) 4:43
  6. Life On The Line 4:04
  7. (And) Don't Believe Your Eyes 3:35
  8. We Sing...The Cross 2:48
  9. Beginning Of The End 8:17
  10. I Might Be Lying [Bonus] 5:16
  11. Ignore Them (Always Crashing The Same Bar) [Bonus] 3:34
  12. Schoolgirl Love [Bonus] 3:21
  13. Till The Night Is Gone (Let's Rock) [Bonus] 3:13
  14. Flipside Rock [Bonus] 2:39
  15. Do Anything You Wanna Do [Bonus] 4:05
  16. What's Really Going On [Bonus] 2:17
  17. Why Can't It Be [Bonus] 2:39
  18. Distortion May Be Expected [Bonus] 5:06

Notes

Size: 134 MB
Bitrate: 256
mp3
Ripped by: ChrisGoesRock
Artwork Included
Source: Japan 24-Bit Remaster

Life on the Line Is the second studio album released by Pub Rock band Eddie and the Hot Rods. It is mixed by Ed Hollis and Steve Nicol, produced by Ed Hollis and engineered by Steve Lillywhite. The Album is considered a step in the Punk direction for The Rods sound, the album produced the single "Do Anything You Wanna Do" which peaked at number #9 in the UK singles chart.

Eddie & the Hot Rods' much-anticipated second album appeared in fall 1977, on the heels of the band's biggest hit single yet, the gloriously anthemic "Do Anything You Wanna Do." Like that attraction, Life on the Line revealed a considerably more mature musical outlook than did its predecessor, the fury-whipped Teenage Depression -- aware that there was no point in pursuing their original whiplash R&B-soaked visions in the face of the ever-accelerating hordes of punk, the Hot Rods swerved into a hard-hitting prototype of what would later become power pop, awash with guitars and riffs, but clinging to some genuinely memorable melodies, too. Of course, the band did not wholly eschew their past -- excuse the young Steve Lillywhite's sparkling production, and both the Pistols-guitar powered "Quit This Town" and the premonitory closer, "Beginning of the End" would readily have fit into Teenage Depression.

Flip the coin, however, and the instrumental "We Sing...The Cross" reached far beyond any musical pastures the band had hitherto grazed, toward the same extremes of tension and release that made the early Television such a dynamic experience. The end result was an album that still screams "classic" today -- hard to believe, indeed, that prior to its release, it was difficult to imagine the band ever equalling the triumphant punch of the hit. Nine bonus tracks wrap up the reissue, albeit with considerably less illumination than those which complete the Teenage Depression reissue.

The best is the B-side "Distortion May Be Expected," which wanders around similar territory to "We Sing...The Cross," with added jungle, crowd, and, oddly, dub effects, while three live tracks do include a magnificent reading of "Do Anything You Wanna Do." Elsewhere, "Till The Night Is Gone" and "Flipside Rock" fascinate via the presence of MC5 frontman Rob Tyner, in London to check out the punk scene, and winding up with the one band that really didn't wear his old band's name on their sleeve. Musically, the ensuing single was a disappointment, but the possibilities still intrigue.

01."Do Anything You Wanna Do" - 4:19
02."Quit This Town" - 2:27
03."Telephone Girl" - 2:28
04."What's Really Going On" - 2:17
05."Ignore Them (Still Life)" - 4:43
06."Life on the Line" - 4:04
07."(And) Don't Believe Your Eyes" - 3:35
08."We Sing... The Cross" - 2:48
09."Beginning Of The End" - 8:17

Bonus:
10."I Might Be Lying" - 5:16
11."Ignore Them (Always Crashing In The Same Bar)" - 3:34
12."Schoolgirl Love" - 3:21
13."Till the Night is Gone (Let's Rock)" - 3:13
14."Flip Side Rock (With Robin Tyner)" - 2:39
15."Do Anything You Wanna Do (Live)" - 4:05
16."What's Really Going On (Live)" - 2:17
17."Why Can't It Be (Live)" - 2:39
18."Distortion May Be Expected" - 5:07