Review - The King Blues - Save The World, Get The Girl (Single)

The King Blues - Save The World, Get The Girl (Single)

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9 out of 10

I reckon the continuing rise of The King Blues will lead to the ukulele becoming the must-have campsite item for this festival season. Having said that, this track probably won't contribute to that trend, given that the amount of dwarf guitar action on it is barely noticeable. Instead, 'Save The World.' sees the studio version of the King Blues (much more of a 'proper' band, instead of just the core three blokes with battered acoustic guitars) using occasional strings, organ, and studio 'oomph' to augment their ska/punk/pop bounce. Vocalist Itch is on particular form as the lyrics are basically a constant stream of rhyming couplets, and every other one has a joke, pop-culture reference, or a dig at a worthy target ("We put the oops back in troops", "There's girls in labour with Tory boys", "I still can't believe the Terminator's the governor"). It's not a bad pace when you consider most punk bands would go for one target per song, and the unrelenting optimism has to count for a lot given the state of the nation right now.

For some reason, the CD I received doesn't have the single version of the song, but does have both a beeped and an extra clean radio edit. Both are the same length as the album version (it's not like they needed to chop down any self-indulgent guitar solos), and the only difference between them is whether you want to hear a beep or just total silence in the pre-chorus line "And if we lean on you, we are gonna fall, when it's all for one and one for [BLANK]-all!". Now I wonder, whatever could they be saying? I suppose we'll never know.
Despite that puzzle, I'd recommend getting this just for Dan Le Sac & Scroobius Pip's version of What If Punk Never Happened?, which is probably an improvement on the original. Le Sac's computer beeps and beats are a lot more varied than the original basic sample-loop, although Itch's spoken word performance still doesn't quite scan at certain points, and Pip's verse of punk name-dropping which has been added to the end will give you a few wry smiles at the very least, and possibly even make you go back through your old CD collection too.

Listen: www.myspace.com/thekingblues

Tracklist:
1. Save The World, Get The Girl (Beeped Radio Edit)
2. Save The World, Get The Girl (Extra Clean Radio Edit)
3. What If Punk Never Happened? (Dan le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip Radio Mix)