I bought the double tape of 'Substance' in the summer of 1988 in the Cowes Woolworths whilst on holiday in the Isle of Wight. I'd have been 13 at the time. I knew 'True Faith' and had bought the 'Touched By The Hand Of God' 7". 'Blue Monday 1988' was in the charts. Other than that every track on 'Substance' was new to me.
As others have said, it changed my life and got me exploring indie, punk, dance and so on from then on. I'd never heard anything like 'Shellshock' and was hooked to that straight away. Still think it's underrated and am always drawn to songs that sound unlike any other - of which 'Shellshock' is definitely one.
'Theives Like Us' will forever remind me of being in Dad's car with Mum and my brother, playing the tape on headphones as we drove over Isle of Wight hills on the way back from Cowes to Whitecliff Bay holiday camp.
Was bewildered and fascinated at the same time by all those crazy dub versions. The album has accompanied me through my life and often gets played when I'm on holiday, in keeping with when I first heard it.
There's definitely something about this mere "compilation" that transcends it way above standard greatest hits and, to me, it is an album in its own right. 12 perfect tracks (13 on tape 1) in a perfect order as an album, yet showing the band's development, progression and innovation in 6 short years.
Edited by user 03 September 2020 03:47:59(UTC)
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