Album Info

999

By 999

Rock - 1978

The great pop-art album jacket for 999’s 1978 debut perfectly mirrors the content within: spiffy punk-pop (inspired by mid-’70s pub... more

Tracklist

1

Me and My Desire

3:50 min
2

Chicane Destination

2:42 min
3

Crazy

3:38 min
4

Your Number Is My Number

2:57 min
5

Hit Me

2:54 min
6

I'm Alive

2:34 min
7

Titanic (My Over) Reaction

3:32 min
8

Pick It Up

2:43 min
9

Emergency

2:51 min
10

No Pity

1:58 min
11

Direct Action Briefing

2:20 min
12

Nobody Knows

3:12 min

About 999

The great pop-art album jacket for 999’s 1978 debut perfectly mirrors the content within: spiffy punk-pop (inspired by mid-’70s pub rock and ’60s Merseybeat) complete with speedy eighth-note bass charges, relentless open-chording, and up-a-fifth harmonies on about every chorus. The music’s as colorful as a candy factory, as if 999 purposely attempted to create a full-length album out of three-minute singles. What keeps it from being swallowed whole by its own histrionically inclined spirit and Nick Cash’s relentless tenor is that there are real guts under the sugary spazz: R&B breaks (“Me and My Desire”), durable power grooves (“I’m Alive,” “Direction Action Briefing”), and good AOR-style rock (“Titanic [My Over] Reaction”). The minor hit “Emergency” (which the AOR band Foreigner lifted for their huge hit 1981 hit “Urgent”) is 999 at their best: better-than-boilerplate chord changes and harmonies upholding simple lyrics detailing personal panics. It’s a well-executed album, and the songs bounce hard in the skull even after they end, lasting a little longer than that sugar buzz you get from too much candy.