{"id":25127,"date":"2024-08-15T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-15T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=25127"},"modified":"2024-08-13T22:00:22","modified_gmt":"2024-08-13T22:00:22","slug":"the-alarm-alternative-declaration-the-21st-century-recording-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=25127","title":{"rendered":"The Alarm – ‘Alternative Declaration’ (The 21st Century Recording Company)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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How many copies or versions of one album does a man really need? Well the sensible amongst us would obviously say one. But since when is man sensible? I think this must be about the tenth copy of this album I now own. It’s fair to say I rate it, always have and always will. It’s raw and vital and for most of my life, it’s sung to me and still does. To be fair the alternative version I can do without, the live version of a few years ago I could also do without but the original and the rereleased double album along with the ‘Eponymous 81-83’ release I’d absolutely recommend. this one I have in my hands is also (no spoiler) a fuckin belter. ’68 Guns without the trumpet is raw and vibrant and a stone-cold classic. worthy of the ‘Alternative’ tag. The solo blows my mind and hearing versions of songs you’ve heard a bazillion times with different chord changes and drum parts as well as alternative lyrics is a mindfuck. It’s not necessarily the hits that were ever my favourites (Oh apart from where were you hiding) but the songs like ‘We Are The Light’ which is excellent here. I’m so used to the original production that hearing these versions is quite emotional and takes me back to a time when music was my everything and truly life changing. As I’ve gotten older and grown up with people like Mike Peters and gone somewhat on the journey with him and his music I don’t always get where he’s going but isn’t that the beauty of music its different things to different people and this was my time with the band and what I’d consider to be The Alarm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another of the album’s deep cuts that I always loved live has to be ‘Shout ToThe Devil’ and this version is immense from Sharpys contribution to Twist’s rhythmic beats I’m pleased I took the plunge and parted with my \u00a350 to get hold of this and to be fair for a double album, Poster and double CD that’s a decent price for hardcore fans. I’m not sure the super deluxe version was worth the extra money but I was secretly desperate to hear these versions and the track list as it’s laid out over the two records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pound shop U2 and Clash tags always bugged the shit out of me sure I could see the comparisons or inspirations but ‘Declaration’ was something else and for a debut album right up there with the best of em. A blistering live rendition of ‘Tell Me’ seems out of place on ‘Alternative Declaration’ but the version of ‘The Stand’ is top tier and closing off LP one is a fresh sounding and youthful ‘Howling Wind’ without the sterile studio sheen of the original released version. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sides three and four are more akin to that Eponymous album that came out (which is readily available on Amazon for a very reasonable price) If I’m being geeky and uber fan nerdy the ‘For Freedom’, ‘What Kind Of Hell?’,’ Up For Murder’ and ‘Unbreak The Promise’ are The Alarm in a nutshell, at their very best. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There’s a lot of music to get through (Twenty-Four tracks to be exact) with side four feeling like it has a few extras just in case you wanted to moan about VFM with a 2024 remix of ‘WWYHWTSB’ ’68 Guns having a 2023 remix complete with Trumpet and harmonica. A stonkin wander through The Whos ‘Legal MAtter’ which they always did very well to be fair. A hootin’ rootin’ tootin’ ‘Bound For Glory’. ‘Bells Of Rhymney’ always loved giving a cheers for Swansea even when it got boos in Cardiff (cheeky Sods). The album finishes with the 2013 part two piece of ’68 Guns’. Exhausted and happy an album I’ll take for a spin more than I probably should to be fair and one I’m glad I gave a chance to now for a run through the Abbey Road CDs that came with it and yet more versions of songs recorded in Dallas. what a band they were four lads who shook the world for sure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those not lucky enough to pick up a copy I noticed It’s got a barcode on the jacket so I presume soon enough the record will be readily available, most probably to coincide with the Autobiography that Peters has written. I’d like everyone to get a chance to hear this version of one of my favourite albums ever. When you’re young indeed, but when you’re old(er) you have all the memories and hopefully once more for the four lads from Rhyl to put a full stop on it for all those who didn’t go to Brixton or The Scala.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buy Here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Author: Dom Daley<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How many copies or versions of one album does a man really need? Well the sensible amongst us would obviously say one. But since when is man sensible? I think this must be about the tenth copy of this album I now own. It’s fair to say I rate it, always have and always will. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25144,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[1787,1710,51],"class_list":["post-25127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-review","tag-its-a-revolution","tag-rpm-online","tag-the-alarm"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25127"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25127\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25158,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25127\/revisions\/25158"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/25144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}