The Plain People Of England are part of a secret subset of Homosexuals-related activity centered around Rob Murphy and his frequent collaborator Ted Barrow, a peripheral presence in both the original Homosexuals saga and a member of the post-Homosexuals unit Die Trip Computer Die alongside Jim Welton and Lepke Buchwater. The Murphy material has taken numerous guises over the years (Murphy No Geisha, Murphy Federation, Orchestre Murphy, Up Murphy Street, etc.) and to be honest, it wasn't until just recently that the work recorded under the Plain People Of England moniker finally clicked with me. Played closer to the vest than under their other guises, TPPOE privileges the most suavely urbane aspects of Murphy's collective aesthetic (something that on it's best days smacks of Slapp Happy at their most poignant) in a way that can initially register as surprisingly straight and cause this to slip right past you if you're not paying close attention. To put it another way, this album takes a strong turn for the better midway through. If that sounds like a reticent endorsement, do know that said latter half is often a thing of real heart tugging beauty and, as with all of Murphy's other aliases, this album (never released and only handed off to friends of the band) is a must hear for anyone into the Homosexuals mystery school.
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Thanks, I'm always glad to hear another one of Rob Murphy's projects. His work is some of the most difficult to find, but the few things I've heard Smut, Frankincense, The Miners of Banal have all been wonderful and like nothing else that I can name.
ReplyDeleteIn 1979 Chris Cutler told me that for his money The Homosexuals were, with This Heat, the best bands in the UK, which prompted me to pick up their EP and L Voag's The Way Out. The underground London circles that encompass the Woof crowd and its environs, Family Fodder, Officer, The Lowest Note, Bing Selfish & The Ideals, The Work, etc. have been responsible for so much great music, none of which fits into any neat categories.
May need 7-zip to extract this as the image files have very long names.
ReplyDeletei find a lot of good music on your blog,but The Plain People Of England and Frankincense is realy something special.
ReplyDeleteAnon - If you like The Plain People Of England, then you should check the mutant sounds archives for all the Homosexuals-related stuff Eric in particular has posted since last Spring.
ReplyDeleteTry clicking here.
And scroll through all the many results. There are many, many excellent posts.
could you please re-up|
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeletecould you please re-up
many thanks!