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Tunnelvision Reissues
When Blackpool, England post-punks Tunnelvision broke up in late
1981,they left behind a legacy of one single with renowned Factory Records,17 live shows, and the embarrassment of being labeled "spineless heavymetal" by the New Musical Express. Apparently, this was good enough toconvince LTM to release Tunnelvision's complete works to an indifferentpublic.LTM
Watching the Hydroplanes, though a well-intentioned affair, isan ultimately unrewarding one. This is hardly the fault ofTunnelvision, who existed all too briefly to further the rough ideasonly hinted at on this release. Watching shows a young band,clearly captivated by the sound and concept of pioneers Joy Division,who try to build on that firm foundation. "Watching the Hydroplanes"b/w "Morbid Fear," released by Factory in June of 1981 and produced byresident nut-job Martin Hannett, carries all the hallmarks of theirheroes. Upfront, darkly melodic bass work, echo-laden guitar, sinisterlyrics—all of this make Tunnelvision's first single a study inobservation and mimicry. But the fact is that Joy Division covered thischilly terrain before, and with much more conviction. While only thesetwo songs saw release at the time, the band had written at least 12more songs, eight of which (including the "Hydroplane" single) wererecorded at various sessions. The best of these are a set of songsmixed by New Order bassist Peter Hook. "The Man Who Would Be King" isperhaps Tunnelvision's harshest song, with driving drums and a bassline clearly inspired by Hook's former band. "100 Men" pulls awayslightly from the Joy Division legacy, with its crisp drumming andacoustic guitar, and sounds not unlike a less scary Death in June. Avibraphone reverberates throughout the tense "Guessing the Way," makingit perhaps Tunnelvision's strongest track, and offers a glimpse of themid-tempo tension builders the band may have pursued had they notbroken up so soon. But the fact is that Tunnelvision didn't givethemselves a chance to progress, and as a result the record is paddedwith just about every tape deck recording of the same eight songs.
Perhaps as a way of proving to people that Tunnelvision were in fact a real band, LTM have also released Guessing the Way,which documents two live Tunnelvision performances dating from 1981 and1980. While I was let down in my hope that many of the songs found on Watching the Hydroplaneswould take off in a live setting, what were pleasantly surprising werethe tracks that were never recorded. "The Blue" and "Emotionless," fromtheir set at Bristol Trinity Hall in 1981, bounce along with tambourineshakes, tom-tom beats and stabs of distorted guitar. Though they aren'tearth-shattering, they are solid, driving, rock songs. "Hollow Men" isanother song that benefits from the live setting. Its walking bass linepulls the song along, punctuated by more raw blasts of distortion.Ultimately though, the whole concept of releasing two CDs worth ofmaterial from a band who previously had one seven inch to their namestrikes me as a bit excessive and utterly pointless. Plenty of bandsignored during their lifetime deserve to be rediscovered. Last Ichecked though, no one was demanding a Tunnelvision revival.
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