Junk Box Jury

“All In It Together” taken from the album ‘Skull Wars’ (Warner Bros K56468) April 1978

The Pirates | Skull Wars | (Warner Bros) | IF YOU’VE seen the Pirates live and liked them, you can’t afford to be without this album. It’s what rock and roll should be all the time — and I think it’s what Wilko should be aiming at too. All the time I listened to it, I thought of the Wilko gig I saw the other week and how he could be this powerful with just a bit more effort.

It’s power that makes the Pirates so good. For a three man band, they make enough music to satisfy audiences that are used to expecting more man power for their money. I could think of lots of drummers that could use a few lessons from Frank Farley.

I wasn’t that surprised the single ‘We’re All In It Together’ didn’t make It (It’s included here) because somehow the time wasn’t right for it. But it fits into the album perfectly. I don’t know if this album is as strikingly immediate as ‘Out Of Their Skulls’, but it’s still a cracker. Their live version of ‘Johnny B Goode’ is, as always, excellent and suffers only from familiarity — too many people have done mediocre versions of it already.

The only drawback to the Pirates being immense, is their insistence in sticking to music without frills, power without pyromania. If you don’t care about light shows and dry ice, this won’t bother you. I’m happy to take them on their own terms. + + + + (Record Mirror, 29/04/78)

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cost of record: £7
from: British Heart Foundation