Punishment Of Luxury — Puppet Life- The Complete Recordings

Punishment of Luxury where/ are a five-piece post-punk band from Newcastle who initial existence between 1976 & 1984, reforming in 2007. The bands sound moved between jerking ‘n’ urgent guitar-led fare that flirted between punk & Post-punk, new wave/ art-rock with distinct Roxy Music leanings, guitar tipped synth-pop, and later more electronics & sample edged take on their sound. Puppet Life is a five-CD boxset collecting together all the recordings of this lesser-known, but still creative British band- who sadly seem to have largely slipped through the cracks of Punk/ Post Punk History.

The boxset appears on Cherry Red Records- and is presented in the form of a glossy flip side box. Each of the five CDs has its own slip sleeve, and these take in original artwork and track listings. Also in the box is a glossy thirty-page inlay booklet- this features a new eighteen-page write-up about the band, press cuttings, some great pictures of their decidedly theatrical stage show, and concert poster collages. And the Boxset is really the definitive release of this project- taking in singles, B Sides, albums, rare releases, and a full CD of live recordings.

Punishment of Luxury were formed in Newcastle in 1976 with the line-up of  Brian Bond - vocals, Neville Luxury guitar & vocals, Red Helmet guitar, & vocals, Jimi Giro- bass guitar &  vocals, and "Liquid" Les Denham –drums. All the members had a background of working in fringe theatre groups- so this explains the bands often theatrical & bizarre costume based live shows, as well as the more flamboyant/ anarchically showy sides to some of their songs. The band first signed to London based punk/ post-punk indie label Small Wonder, releasing one single with them "Puppet Life"- seemingly on the strength of this, and thier live performances the band were signed to major US label United Artists- they released one album with them 1979’s Laugh Academy, going onto move back to indie Red Rhino Records for their 1984 second album & to date last full length 7- in-between, and past these the band put out Ep’s & singles.

So on the first disc, we go all the way back to the bands first single 1978’s "Puppet Life", and it’s B side "The Demon"-it’s great this release follows things very chronological, though at times a little frustrating/ repetitive- because the bands first album opens with "Puppet Life"…so you get to hear it twice in quick secession…so I’d advise skipping these first two tracks. Anyway getting back to the point, and this first disc- and the lion share of this is taken up by the band 1978 debut album Laugh Academy- this severs up ten tracks in all, and the focus here is very much edgy-if-at-times- mischievous blend of Punk/ Post-punk- with a few other genre touches. So, as mentioned the album opens with "Puppet Life"- and it’s a suitable bouncing, at times almost funfair like track that brings together head-bopping guitars, carnival-like keyboard touches, and tuneful-if- fairly manic male vocals. As we move through the album the guitar ‘n’ pulsing bass lines stay front & center, though with subtle keyboard embellishments - we go from wailinh ‘n’ baying riffing meets dramatic guitar chug & synthetic string simmer of "Obsession". Onto the stabbing ‘n’ speeding almost hardcore punk of "Bablon", though to chugging guitar meets rising harmonies/ harmonic keyboard simmer of the title track that feels like a halfway house between post-punk & synth-pop. It’s certainly a curious debut, though sadly it does suffer from lack of focus in the lesser moments, and its genre-blending can at times feel a little awkward. The five other tracks on this disc are taken up by singles/ B sides from between the late ’70s/ early ’80s.

The second disc in the set takes in the nine tracks of 1981’s mail-order cassette Gigantic Days, bonus tracks from around this period, and the bands 1978 Peel Session( which is oddly tacked on the end of the disc). In all this disc takes in twenty-one tracks and seventy-four minutes of music. So first we have 1981’s Gigantic Days- and the eight tracks here find the band going more towards darting songcraft which is a blend of bounding guitar & bass tones, weaving and twisting vocals, and more reserved synth elements- the more pop-bound & playful edges have been rather forgotten, as have the more synth-pop touches making for bounding ‘n’ bucking post-punk album. The remaining bonus tracks here are more varied- going from the Ferry does post-punk ghoulish chug of “Why Don’t You”, to rapidly rolling & playful keyboards, guitar hack, and wonky theatrical chanted vocals of “You Eat Too Much”. To slight the awkward pogo bounce of “Lets Get Married”.

Moving on the third disc, and we have the band's second album 7 from 1984, and a selection of ten bonus tracks- so we have a disc total runtime of fifty-four minutes. Fitting its title the main album here has seven tracks- it moves from the buzzing ‘n’ swirling synth bass line, meaty guitar, and almost glam like drumbeat of “The Bird And The Elephant”. Through to angular and choppy “Gasman” with it’s taut ‘n’ strutting post-punk guitar work, brooding bass line, and wavering sing-song vocals. Through jaunting new wave guitar/ synth-pop pulse of “Tria-Dance”. The albums ok I guess, though there is not much light & shade with the mix & songcraft sounding a little samey through-out. Where this disc shine is the bonus tracks- we go moody-yet- memorable 80’s pop-rock “Hold Me(Never Mold Me”, onto the darting ‘n’ bobbing goth synth-pop of “Feels Like Dancing”. Or the head nod bassline & searing guitar harmonics  stutt of “The Prisoner” with that Ferry goes New Wave vibe on the vocals again.

The fourth disc takes in two Eps- we have 1989’s Hi Alien and 2011’s 5. So first off we have the six tracks of Hi Alien- this opens the sample ‘n’ beats heavy “Alien Contact”, and this comes off like a rougher ‘n’ ready take on Jesus Jones sort of territory. As we move on we come to shimmering & tuneful indie guitar strum, sing-song vocals & rather naff drum machine beats of “Killer Riff”. With the first Ep finish off with a more guitar-based punk-meets- hazed AOL of “Wise Guy”.
The next EP 5 takes in five tracks, and the sound is very much a return to the more guitar-based sound of the past- but with a more tuneful rock/ lite punk edge. On the whole, it’s an enjoyable enough comeback- which really does nod back to their prime, but of course with a slightly smoother production.

The firth and final disc is the set in the boxset is a live disc, and this takes in twenty-three tracks & seventy-nine minutes. The CD brings together five different live sets from 1979- so as you’d imagine there is a bit of repetition with classic songs been repeated a few times. On the whole, it’s an expectedly balls out, and raucous collection, and it good to hear the band in a live setting- just a pity there couldn’t have been some sort of DVD of live material considering the bands more theatrical performances.

So, in conclusion, Puppet Life certainly is the definitive boxset of this band who shifted in & around punk, post-punk, synth-pop, and sample/ electro fed rock sounds. Sure some of the sequencing and arranging of the tracks is a bit annoying- and the band's material, on the whole, is a little hit & miss. But you’ve got to give Cherry Red their dues for putting out such a through & nicely put together set. Certainly, if you’re a fan of where Punk & Post-punk met you need to pick this set up.