Wanna Buy a Bridge? is a 1980 compilation album released by Rough Trade Records, a British record label, in the United States. The album was intended to showcase Rough Trade's lineup to an American audience. The album comprises 14 singles by various Rough Trade artists.[1]
| Wanna Buy a Bridge? | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Compilation album by Various artists | |
| Released | 1980 |
| Genre | Post-punk |
| Length | 45:14 |
| Label | Rough Trade |
Reception edit
The New York Times called the album "the best single introduction to the variety and vitality of British 'underground' rock ... Six of the groups include women, and many of them deal in dissonances and rhythmic displacements, but there the similarities end."[2]
In 2013, Tal Rosenberg wrote in Chicago Reader that Wanna Buy a Bridge? "...is probably best known as one of the finest, if not the finest, collection of British postpunk music."[3] AllMusic's Todd Kristel gave the album 4.5 out of 5 stars, concluding that "Overall this may be the best single-album collection assembled of post-punk music."[4] Another favorable review of the album was written by Robert Christgau, who gave it an A and called it "superb".[5]
Mark Richardson of Pitchfork later described the album as a key example of "label comps actually [becoming] classics in their own right:" "I've never heard Wanna Buy a Bridge?, but the fact that I've heard of it, 23 years after its release, speaks to its classic status."[6] Kelefa Sanneh said, "The album was exciting because it captured the moment when the energy of the punk explosion was beginning to disperse, shooting out as screaming chaos and bashful love songs and a dozen other things besides."[7]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| Robert Christgau | A[5] |
| Sounds |  [8] |
Track listing edit
| No. | Title | Performer | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Alternative Ulster" | Stiff Little Fingers | 2:43 |
| 2. | "Mind Your Own Business" | Delta 5 | 3:45 |
| 3. | "Man Next Door" | The Slits | 3:35 |
| 4. | "Aerosol Burns" | Essential Logic | 2:50 |
| 5. | "Part Time Punks" | Television Personalities | 2:36 |
| 6. | "Read About Seymour" | Swell Maps | 1:27 |
| 7. | "We Are All Prostitutes" | The Pop Group | 3:11 |
| No. | Title | Performer | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Soldier Soldier" | Spizzenergi | 3:48 |
| 2. | "Ain't You" | Kleenex | 3:02 |
| 3. | "Nag Nag Nag" | Cabaret Voltaire | 4:32 |
| 4. | "In Love" | The Raincoats | 3:11 |
| 5. | "Final Day" | Young Marble Giants | 1:20 |
| 6. | "Skank Bloc Bologna" | Scritti Politti | 5:54 |
| 7. | "At Last I Am Free" | Robert Wyatt | 3:20 |
| Total length: | 45:14 | ||
References edit
- ^ mmatos (26 July 2007). "Hey, Kid–Wanna Buy The Best Post-Punk Comp Ever?". Idolator. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
- ^ Palmer, Robert (17 Oct 1980). "THE POP LIFE". The New York Times. p. C14.
- ^ Rosenberg, Tal (10 December 2013). "12 O'Clock Track: In honor of Rough Trade coming stateside, Young Marble Giants' "Salad Days"". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
- ^ a b Kristel, Todd. "Wanna Buy a Bridge? Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
- ^ a b Christgau, Robert. "Wanna Buy a Bridge? Review". Robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
- ^ Richardson, Mark (8 April 2003). "Various Artists: Wanna Buy a Craprak? Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
- ^ Kelefa Sanneh (2021). Major Labels. Canongate. p. 235. ISBN 9781838855932.
- ^ McCullough, Dave (8 November 1980). "We are the radicals". Sounds. p. 36.