The Odd Numbers - A Guide To Modern Living LP - Picture Disc

Dolores (1997)

When A Guide To Modern Living came out I was already a gigantic fan of The Odd Numbers due to their prior record Jazz Cigarettes.  I played that one to death and was really eager to add another record to the collection.  Well, technically it was a CD at the time, but you get the idea.  For whatever reason, A Guide To Modern Living just didn't resonate with me the same way.  I never listened to it much and eventually sold away my copy during one of my CD prunings of the mid 2000's.

When a friend of mine was unloading the last of his record collection, I perused to see if there was anything I needed before the inevitable sale.  He had a copy of A Guide To Modern Living, so I decided to give it another shot.  I'm glad I did as I like it a lot more now than I did the first time I listened to it twenty years ago.

I will contend that the highs are still not as high as the ones on Jazz Cigarettes.  There's certainly no song that is the caliber of "So Many Girls," but Modern Living has its own charms, despite some missteps that are probably the reasons I didn't like it when I first listened to it.  The pace is quick and the songs are the sort of bouncy mod that you'd expect from the Odd Numbers for the first few songs.  It's really what they're best at.  From their things do start to meander.  You've got weirdly arranged songs like "Clubbin'" an even weirder dub version of it called "Dubbin'" and probably more acoustic numbers than should be around.

While the slower songs just don't hit, the faster, poppier ones land every single time.  I can even appreciate the lesser songs more now within the context of the album.  Sure there's a few strange detours, but as a whole, it's a solid listen.  

The Odd Numbers - A Guide To Modern Living (You Tube playlist):

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpIBU9ncdLqwrlofmvSVp2d32mKAUheBI

Odd Numbers - I Am One 7" - Brown Vinyl

Dolores (1997)

Odd Numbers Monday is back and this time we have a 7" from the 1997 Dolores records singles club.  I didn't join said club back in '97, but I do have experience hunting down a record from it before.  One of my all time favorite bands is Starmarket.  They put out a 7" called Nailbox as part of this club.  My actual memory of where I finally found a copy is somewhat hazy, I think it might have been on Gemm.com back when that was still a thing (I found a lot of cool records there in the earlier days of the internet). But I remember frantically trying to find a copy as I couldn't have that hole in my Starmarket collection.

This Odd Numbers 7" from the same club was substantially easier to find on Discogs, though I did also buy it twenty years after it came out.  The songs themselves hold a unique distinction as ones that only appear on this 7" and didn't wind up on a full length at a later point.  Based on the release date, it is easy to identify these as being from the same time period as the A Guide To Modern Living album, though you'd never know that by listening to the record.

A side "I Am One" is a slow acoustic song that seems to be borrowing from folk rockers of the past than the usual mod underpinnings that the Odd Numbers are more known for.  You keep waiting for the song to kick in, but it never does.  B side "Move On Up" fairs a little better as the band is plugged in at least.  But again, the song doesn't really go anywhere and the tropicalia style drum accompaniment sounds kind of silly, to be honest.  I'm not exactly sure what the band was thinking with this one but it's pretty unlike anything else they ever released and it's simply not very good.

The Odd Numbers - Thrift Shoppin' 7"

Sessions (1999)

I am getting closer to wrapping up the pile of Odd Numbers 7"s I recently picked up.  This is a later era one that came out of Sessions records.  Like many of their 7"s, you can also find these two songs on a full album as well, this time the songs are also on The Trials And Tribulations Of The Odd Numbers.  That's a record of theirs I'l admittedly not familiar with.  I don't own it and honestly, I didn't even know it was out there.  It'll have to be a pick up at some point.

That being said, for the first time I've been writing about The Odd Numbers both songs on this 7" are new to me.  "Thrift Shoppin'" is a pretty standard fast paced Odd Numbers songs.  Building over a bass line that rises and falls, it has a bit of a bouncy break before the hooky chorus kicks in.  A strong song for sure, even if the 'oohs' in the chorus sound a little silly.  

B-side "Dee Major Tom" is a bit choppier, though still retains the mod vibe that really is the hallmark of The Odd Numbers.  The song isn't much shorter than "Thrift Shoppin'" but for some reason it feels like it blows by so quickly.  I can't say that either of these really rank with my all-time favorite Odd Numbers songs, but both are respectable entries into their catalog.

The Odd Numbers - "Thrift Shoppin'":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH0zYxMg_as

The Odd Numbers - "Dee Major Tom":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KBEFkoOpeM

The Odd Numbers - Easy Life 7"

Detour (1995)

I've still got a few more Odd Numbers 7"s to get through, so there's several more Mondays dedicated to their records coming up.  Today we have The Easy Life, a 7" of theirs from 1995.  I bought this one on Discogs along with a handful of other records a couple of weeks ago, mostly looking to fill holes in my collection.

The two songs on this 7" also make appearances on the Odd Numbers album A Guide To Modern Living.  When it came out, I was kind of disappointed in that album.  I didn't like it nearly as much as I liked Jazz Cigarettes so I honestly didn't listen to it all that often.  In fact, I didn't even end up keeping the CD of it as I must have sold it off during one of the purges of my CD collection.  Listening to it again, as I've gotten older, I actually like it a lot more than I did back then. 

The versions of the songs on this 7" are different than the album version.  Both seem a little muddier with a bit more fuzz and distortion on the guitars.  In particular, "The Easy Life" is a toe tapper and I find myself bobbing my head along to it as I listen.  But the version on the album is much cleaner and catchier.  "Clubbin'" is a little longwinded and meandering for me.  It's not really the Odd Numbers' best work if I'm being honest.  Still I wanted to lock down all of the Odd Numbers 7"s, so this was one that needed to be added to the pile.

The Odd Numbers - "The Easy Life":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQTI30TCjp4

The Odd Numbers - "Clubbin'":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_f6NMOOrqw

The Odd Numbers - From Cradle To Grave 7" - Green Vinyl

Eight One Nine (1992)

Another Monday, another Odd Numbers record.  This time up we have thew band's second 7".  As with a great many of Odd Numbers singles, all four of these songs are also on other releases.  Every song from this 7" is on the Retrofitted For Today album and the title track "From Cradle To Grave" is also on Jazz Cigarettes.  

We've got four classic Odd Numbers tracks on this one though. All four are upbeat mod rockers with great melody in the vocals and the sort of bouncy energy that sounds like late era Chisel or peak The Jam.

I do love this band and while I'm excited to add so many new singles to the collection, I do wish there were more songs that weren't already on other albums.  Still, they are great songs.

Odd Numbers - "From Cradle To Grave":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHHRnSO9_YQ

The Odd Numbers - Something New 7"

Eight One Nine (1991)

I decided that for the next few Mondays, I'll post something about the Odd Numbers 7"s I've picked up recently.  I'm in the process of filling out their discography in My collection, so seems like an OK idea to me.

As with all of their songs, the three on this Odd Numbers 7" certainly veer into mod/The Jam territory.  "Something New" is a mid tempo entry to their catalog that was also on their albums Jazz Cigarettes and Retrofitted for Today.  A lot of Odd Numbers songs do double and triple duty appearing on singles and albums.  "Sometimes Girl" is a faster paced song and is just as catchy as anything they ever released.  It also appears on the Retrofitted for Today album.

The only song that is exclusive to this record is "Between the Two of Us.  A short, poppy and stripped down blast, it actually reminds me quite a bit of the sort of thing Ted Leo would end up doing a few years later when he was playing on his own.

The Odd Numbers - Something New 7":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILGc-FpDxYA

The Odd Numbers - So Many Girls 7" - Green Vinyl

Eight One Nine (1993)

My buddy Alan has been downsizing his record collection over the past ten years or so.  During his most recent cull, I went through his records to make sure there wasn't anything I needed.  Well, naturally there was, after all, I always need more records.  The things I was most excited to pull were Treepeople, Jolt and Odd Numbers 7"s.

This Odd Numbers 7" is actually the one I've been wanting to add to the collection the most.  "So Many Girls" has long been my favorite Odd Numbers song, ever since I heard it so many years ago on their Jazz Cigarettes album.  It's bouncy guitar chord progressions (knowingly similar to "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love") combined with the catchy mod influenced vocal melody has stood the test of time for me.  I love it just as much today as I did the first time I heard it. 

The other three songs may not be as good as "So Many Girls," but really how could they be?  Still, the two of the three are pretty fantastic.  "Autumn Leaves" with its punchy lead guitar riff is also a long time favorite of mine.  "Do You Know What Love Is" is a definite earworm with its downstroke heavy chorus and simple, but memorable vocals.  The only song on here that I don't totally love is the closer "Long Live Love."  Not that there's anything inherently bad about it, but with its jaunty somewhat island vibe to it, I don't think it's as strong as the other three.  

Regardless, it's a hell of a little 7" and one I'm thrilled to have in the collection finally.  I grabbed two other Odd Numbers 7"s from Alan and also bought a few on Discogs to round out the collection, so you have not seen the last of these guys.

The Odd Numbers - "So Many Girls":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruhYppQV0AE

The Odd Numbers - "Autumn Leaves":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdJGjSYTTr0