The Now - Here Come the Now (1977-79 + 2002, Wizzard in Vinyl)

As you might guess, there was/is more than one band out in the universe going by the name of "The Now," and frankly, I'm not sure if these guys were the best out of that supposed contingent.  Content-wise I'm a little on the fence about this collection, but I figured I'd put it out there so you lot could sort it out on your own.  The inception of the Ramones debut barnburner in 1976 was the proverbial face that launched a thousand shits, er, I mean ships.  A disproportionate number of young hopefuls taking the call to arms emanated from the British isles.  The Now, from Peterbrough, were one of the lesser known punters in the hundred or so class of '76-'78 punk cabal who actually made it to vinyl.

Upon absorbing their brief catalog, I've come to the conclusion that the Now were something of a one-beer-short-of-a-six-pack proposition.   The small volume of tuneage they flung at their termite ridden wall of choice didn't always adhere to the surface.  Commencing with their 1977 single, "Development Corporations" it was clear these boys were angling in the direction of (very) early Mekons and Wire. The song in question, as well as the loosely existential bent of it's flipside "Why?" made for vaguely interesting societal screeds, but fell short of anything approaching classic status.  Per the liner notes, the band concurs. 
Another single, "Into the '80s" came down the pike shortly thereafter, and was an improvement, as were five more cuts tracked in 1979 that really found the Now congealing in all pertinent aspects.  Still, you'd be hard pressed to discern any pop tunes from their slim volume of work.  By 1979 the quartet was splitsville.

Fast forward to the 21st century.   Renewed interest in the band yielded not only reissues of their two singles, but a reunion which entailed dusting off old 1977-era notebooks containing lyrics to songs that had yet to be committed to tape.  A quarter century later in 2002 The Now brought said text roaring to life - a half dozen songs worth to be exact, fulfilling that nascent potential of yore with salvos like "You Student" and "Here it Comes Now" that positively crank.  A splendid way to cap this reissue off to be sure.  Here Comes the Now was available on CD from the Japanese Wizzard in Vinyl imprint, and an even more limited vinyl incarnation was issued in a dosage of 500 copies.

01. Development Corporations
02. Why?
03. Development Corporations
04. Into the '80s
05. 9 O'clock
06. Into the '80s
07. 9 O'Clock
08. Don't You Believe Me
09. Seven Days Ago
10. So Simple Then
11. QQ/52
12. Room at the Top
13. You Student
14. Here it Comes Now
15. Labour Party
16. Third World War
17. Office Workers
18. The Invaders

1 & 2 - first single (1977)
3-5 recording session
6 & 7 - second single (1979)
8-12 - 1979 recording session
13-18 - 2002 reunion recordings

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