The Glitter Band - Listen to the Band

All Music Guide

Largely conceived during the months immediately surrounding Gary Glitter's "retirement," the third Glitter Band album is the sound of the group driving hard to escape their old paymaster's slipstream -- a desperation, of course, that would ultimately see them truncate their name and dump their wardrobes altogether. For now, the spangles were still on display and the two singles that spiraled into the U.K. chart from Listen to the Band, "The Tears I Cried" and the ultra-annoying "People Like You, People Like Me," at least retained a hint of old glories. Elsewhere, however, the album boldly strikes out for fresh ground. "Alone Again" is a Spector-meets-the Beach Boys concoction that may not be quite as successful as its ambition demands, but would still have made a great Shangri-Las B-side, while "Watch the Show" and the near-instrumental "Makes You Blind" have such a nice mid-'70s funk air to them that you could readily mistake them for the Average White Band -- which was probably the i...dea. The problem, of course, was the same as that which afflicted almost every band to emerge from the glam movement, from Sweet and T. Rex to Mud and the Rubettes. They built their names on the strength of one sound -- literally in the Glitter Band's case -- and then tried to take their audience with them into another. Unfortunately, the audience rarely wanted to follow them and, though the Glitters were still scoring regular hits, the end was certainly nigh. Another few months and this album's title would become a desperate plea. But nobody paid attention. - Dave Thompson, All Music Guide Read more Less