The Bell Singles Collection

• Artist: Glitter Band
• Rating:
• Release Date: September 26, 2000
• Type: Compilation (best of)
• Genre: Rock

Review

Between 1974-1976, the Glitter Band released a total of nine singles on the U.K. Bell label, running up seven Top 20 hits, one American club smash, and emerging, at the end of the day, with two bona fide classics -- their debut, "Angel Face," and, precisely midway through the sequence, "Goodbye My Love." All have now been recycled so many times that there can barely be an interested soul in the world who does not own the entire catalog in one permutation or another. Far from screaming its own redundancy from the rooftops, however, this collection distinguishes itself by returning to the original source -- all nine singles, all nine B-sides, presented in strict chronological order. We can get the hits out of the way with barely a second glance; from the sublime (the aforementioned giants) to the ridiculous (the glitter-by-numbers "Let's Get Together Again," "Just for You"), the sequence encompasses a surprising array of directions and some remarkably consistent visions as well. Flip over the Beach Boys-esque "Love in the Sun" and find the band returning to the well of their inspiration, with the delicious "I Can Hear Music." Dig beneath the yearning "The Tears I Cried" and find the superb "Until Tomorrow." And upend the gratuitously irritating "People Like You, People Like Me," a last-ditch attempt to return to the glitter sound after some more adventurous efforts had failed to chart, and marvel at the instrumental "Makes You Blind," a squelching, pulsing slab of electro-disco-hard rock which came within a hair's breadth of breaking the American chart. As you'd expect from any compilation which takes half its weight from B-sides, it's an inconsistent collection. By and large, the Glitter Band's A-sides represent the peak of their powers; with only a handful of exceptions, the B-sides don't. But glam rock was a singles-driven phenomenon, and bands didn't come much glammier than the Glitters. No matter what the songs are like, this is history as it happened. ~ Dave Thompson, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Angel Face	Gary Shephard, John Rossall	Glitter Band	(2:56)
You Wouldn't Leave Me, Would You?	John Springate, Gary Shephard	Glitter Band	(3:44)
Just for You	Gary Shephard, John Rossall	Glitter Band	(3:06)
I'm Celebrating	Peter Phipps	Glitter Band	(2:29)
Let's Get Together Again	Gary Shephard, John Rossall	Glitter Band	(3:58)
Jukebox Queen	Gary Shephard, John Rossall	Glitter Band	(2:09)
Goodbye My Love	John Springate, Gary Shephard	Glitter Band	(3:50)
Got to Get Ready for Love	Peter Phipps	Glitter Band	(2:25)
The Tears I Cried	Gary Shephard	Glitter Band	(3:39)
Until Tomorrow	John Springate	Glitter Band	(2:37)
Love in the Sun	John Springate, Gary Shephard	Glitter Band	(3:06)
I Can Hear Music	Gary Shephard	Glitter Band	(3:14)
Alone Again	John Springate, Gary Shephard	Glitter Band	(3:41)
Watch the Show	Harvey Ellison	Glitter Band	(2:49)
People Like You, People Like Me	John Springate, Gary Shephard	Glitter Band	(2:58)
Makes You Blind	Mike Leander, Peter Phipps	Glitter Band	(3:11)
Don't Make Promises (You Can't Keep)	John Springate, Gary Shephard	Glitter Band	(3:08)
Tuna Biscuit	Harvey Ellison	Glitter Band	(2:26)

Credits

Glitter Band (Main Performer), Mark Brennan (Liner Notes), Mark Brennan (Compilation), Barry Plummer (Photography)