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THE ZATOPEKS - Damn Fool Music (www.whoaohrecords.com)
By Marc Gaertner
Do you know why my favourite Ramones record is Road To Ruin? Just because it is not the 110% generic Ramones sound of the first three albums. (I like that too, but I like this even better!) Road To Ruin has arrangements that vary the typical 3-chord/ 2-minute punk song formula (adding acoustic guitar, and there is even a guitar solo!). After three albums that almost sounded the same, the Ramones try something new. And they succeed! They don't try to re-invent the wheel, they don't try to come up with an entire new sound. They try something new.1 That's what gives this album a unique sound. Punk rock purists might consider this as a step in the wrong direction, but many critics and fans love this album. I do.
 Now Damn Fool Music , the second full-length album by England's Zatopeks, gives me the same feeling. Listening to it, you instantly hear the typical Zatopeks sound and lyrics. But instead of sticking to the old recipes, the bands sound now has a wider range. There are more slower ("Picture Postcards," "Courtyard blues," "Song for Nina Simone") and more faster songs ("Don't Let The Night Get You Down," "Culture of Control," "I Don't Want The Airwaves") than on their first album. But actually, the band hasn't changed its pace; it's rather that those sound and tempo changes stick out more than before. It's one of the strong points of this release that the individual songs all manage to sound as great as possible. Part of this comes from all the arrangements that you can find on the record. I don't remember the last time I enjoyed a trumpet on a punk record as much as I do listening to "Daily Mail2 ." "15 Ta Life" strikes you right away with the chorus and handclaps and that little keyboard sound on "Jumble Sale" is exactly at the right place. The arrangements really do what arrangements ought to do: Highlight strong points! Not more, not less. They don't even have to make up for any weak song - because there isn't a single bad song on this album (But that doesn't surprise me, as I yet have to hear a bad Zatopeks song). It all comes together in this wonderful and unique mixture of 1950's Rock'n'roll (Buddy Holly), 1960's Folk (Bob Dylan), 1970's British punkrock (The Clash) and 1990's American Pop-Punk (Screeching Weasel) the Zatopeks play. And no matter what band or genre you like best, Damn Fool Music does justice to all of them.
1: They will overdo this at a later phase of their career, namely the End of the Century record, but that's another story.
2: Must have been NOFX circa 1993 back to jerseybeat.com l back to top
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