“To no man will we sell, or deny, or delay right or justice.”

Featuring a quote from the Magna Carta on it’s back cover, 1989’s No Rest For the Wicked represented New Model Army’s first album for a major label (EMI.) It is also the final New Model Army recording to feature original bassist Stuart Morrow, who left the band during the promotional tour. The band would stick with the same messages on subsequent recordings, but, missing Morrow’s high-flying bass act, they would later end up sounding a bit more polished. Stuart Morrow’s bass playing gave No Rest For the Wicked an aggressive, raw sound that complimented the bands political message perfectly.

Unfortunately, for some reason, EMI apparently was not interested in providing any information on the band in the packaging of this CD. The cover art is by singer / guitarist Justin Sullivan’s girlfriend, Joolz. One cannot confirm this in the liner notes, however, because there are none. The cover appears to be done in charcoal, with a haunting (wicked?) face peering out from the middle. However, to confirm that Joolz actually did this cover, I had to do an Internet search to find her artwork. As Joolz does all the band’s artwork, it was an educated guess, still, to actually confirm this, I had to do a search.

There is also no information on the band in this package. Only by reading the credits on the songs are we able to find out that Sullivan, Morrow, and Heaton were the songwriters. No one is credited with producing this effort. For all we know, it’s the guy who’s face is on the cover. The liner lists this as a compilation, yet no information is available to tell us where we might find the origins of these songs.

The CD packaging is about the only thing I really can complain about here, though. No Rest For the Wicked is actually a fine listen. It’s a very message-oriented CD, intended to set change in motion. According to the band’s website, New Model Army once appeared on Top of the Pops in support of this album, sporting t-shirts that read "Only Stupid Bastards Use Heroin." New Model Army is a band that has always been up-front with their beliefs, and this CD is no exception.

A few of the songs that have moved me:

Frightened kicks off the proceedings. It is a powerful, fast paced song, complete with heavy drums, and Stuart Morrow’s nasty bass line. The song contains a common theme that runs through New Model Army CD‘s. Essentially, A: one has the choice to bury one’s head in the sand and ignore the things around them, or, B: one can seize the opportunity to make a change through whatever means possible. The band, of course, tends to believe in B: grabbing the problem by the throat and forcing a change. The word pacifist does not seem to be a part of these guy's vocabulary.

“You never fight for anything
you always turn your face away
And you never get involved in trouble
let all evil have it's way
So as the girl screams in the street below
you turn up the television
Perhaps you'll see it on the news -
well it's nothing to do with you
You're too frightened
everybody's so frightened
Why is everybody so frightened?”

Keeping the pace up, Ambition follows. There is no intro, the band just charges right in. Steady drumming, fast, fluid bass lines, power chords, and distorted riff’s are what this song brings. Another of New Model Army’s running themes, breaking free of a small town existence to seize some power, highlight this song.

Stepping out onto the stage the small town star tonight
Flexes out for fame and fortune into the lights
The way she tears into the heart makes me realize
That I never understood hatred until I looked into those eyes
She cries, "No one's going to talk down to me again
No one's ever going to patronize me again
I'm going to get out of this town, steal myself a crown
I'm going to get myself some power
If it's the last thing that I do"

Grandmother’s Footsteps starts with a ping-pong style percussion that continues throughout the song. Musically, it’s a bit stripped down from the preceding two songs. While the pace is just as high, the bombast has been toned down a notch. At 2:30 in, the song breaks down to allow Stuart Morrow to throw in one of his funky, nasty, bass riffs. (Whatever happened to this guy, I have no idea, but a bass player this good should be playing in a band somewhere. If anyone who knows, I’d love to hear about it.) The lyrics are snotty and sarcastic.

Come with me my little innocents, there's a game that we can play
See how much we can change your world while you look the other way
Turn around as if to see if you can catch us cheat
And all you'll find are shining presents laid down at your feet
Take the bait, take the bait
Television is flash and Coke is nice and you can have the rest
Dream those dreams you've always had of wealth and power and sex
We'll run your mines, your factories and we'll take our little toll
And you can have these missiles too while we maintain control

My Country is simply one of my all time favorite songs by this band. With it’s meaty bass lines, power chords, and powerful drumming, the song rocks. And while at first this may appear as just a pro-war song, it is actually a song about fighting a common, everyday, enemy. An enemy, that on a daily basis, tries to take away one’s basic rights, rights that millions around the world have died to protect. And according to Sullivan, if you try to take these rights from him, by God, he’s going to do something about it.

Tell all the people who believe what they read in the press
Tell all the folk who stare from behind suburban walls
The enemy is not some nation far across the sea
The enemy is with us every single breathing day

So yes, I will fight for my country
The land that I love so well
Yes - for justice, a land fit for all our futures
Yes, I will fight for my country
The land that I love so well
Hear the voices of our history echo all around

Fight all the ones who divide us rich against poor
Fight all the ones who divide us white against black
Fight all the ones who want their missiles in our earth
Fight all the powers who would lead us into war
No rights were ever given to us by the grace of God
No rights were ever given by some United Nations clause
No rights were ever given by some nice guy at the top
Our rights they were bought by all the blood
And all the tears of all our
Grandmothers, grandfathers before
For all the folk who gave their lives for us
For all the folk who spit out - never say die
For all the fires burning on our highest hills
For all the people spinning tales tonight
Fight all the powers who would abuse our Common Laws
Fight all the powers who think they only owe themselves . . .

The title track, No Rest, is another favorite. Starting out with a basic guitar, Sullivan sings about no rest for the wicked until the band kicks in with a vengeance. Thick, meaty bass lines, and steady, heavy, loud drumming, propel this song along as Sullivan explores whether or not he should feel guilty for his needs, wants, and actions.

Four o'clock in the morning and still we cannot sleep
Turning over turning round, twisting in our sweat
They say there is no rest for the wicked ones
Dear God what have we done?
There is no rest for the wicked ones
Dear God what is this evil that we've done?

Drag it Down opens with an acoustic guitar, joined by more of Morrow’s fret-work on bass as the band kicks in. Stuart Morrow is in fact a highlight of this song, with lightning quick licks throughout. This is a bass-driven song, and the pace is appropriately fast enough for Morrow’s talents. Sullivan sings of pulling down the statues of our great-grandfather’s hero, the new books said he wasn’t such a great man after all… as Robert Heaton keeps a nice, steady beat.

We think we are so clever killing heroes, killing magic,
Until everything that's sacred is brought down to our level
for Mammon is a jealous master, - leaves no room for any other
All the questions left unanswered, all the answers gone forever
So bow to the woman in the finest fur
Bow to the man with the ace street cool
Bow to the woman with all the power
Bow to the man with all the money
In whose sight are we equal now?
Now that we've killed God

An acoustic guitar begins The Attack, as Sullivan plays and sings of the tensions of a night before an attack. As a subdued bass and drums join in, the song builds tension until it ends with just Robert Heaton’s dark drumming. A fitting end to the CD.

Now the talking's over, plans are laid and the hour is set
Glances round the table, eyes all shining, dark and bright
We meet again at daybreak for the day that will be ours
We're tomorrow's history
So just check your weapons, say your prayers.
Now the evening's over, voices muffled in the cold night mist
We leave the house together, home to rest up in the last few hours
Heads against the pillows with eyes that will not close
Of all the dreams that we've ever had
This is the one, this is the one

I would recommend this CD to anyone wishing to hear well-written, intelligent, politically motivated lyrics backed up by finely crafted playing. As written above, this CD has a bit more aggressive sound than some of New Model Army’s later works. Later, the band would expand the sound to include the occasional keyboard or violin. No Rest For the Wicked shows the band in all their stripped-down glory, just guitars, drums, and bass. And oh, what a bass player!


No Rest For the Wicked - New Model Army

Justin Sullivan - Guitars, Vocals
Stuart Morrow - Bass Guitar
Robert Heaton - Drums

Frightened
Ambition
Grandmother’s Footsteps
Better Than Them
My Country
No Greater Love
No Rest
Young, Gifted, and Skint
Drag it Down
Shot
The Attack

This is the second in a series on New Model Army. The most difficult part of this for me seems to be how to accurately describe what a song actually sounds like, so, I hope you find this at least somewhat useful. Thank you for reading.

Related opinions:

Don’t Ask Stupid Questions


For more information visit:

http://www.newmodelarmy.org/

http://www.joolz.net/

Recommended: Yes