The opening number 'Strange One' is just that, a strange opener that actually carries the post-punk sound of 1979 a year early, it reminds me a great deal of early Ultravox blended with the sound of late period Buzzcocks and even Wire. Steve New would actually emege later as a gifted songwriter on the material from the group's aborted second album. While guitarist Steve New and drummer Rusty Egan provide both flash and muscle on their respective instruments. When encountering this album it's clear from the start that The Rich Kids are not Glen Matlock's trip alone, singer/guitarist Midge Ure steps up to the plate with some great songs that provide a nice contrast to Matlock's material. When it's all said and done the song 'Ghosts Of Princes In Towers' was one of the great 45's of it's era, I would rank it along with 'Another Girl, Another Planet' by The Only Ones, 'Do Anything You Wanna Do' by Eddie & The Hot Rods & '2, 4, 6, 8 Motorway' by Tom Robinson Band, 'Ghosts' is one of those great songs that makes you feel life surely is worth living (it can be lethal when listening to it while driving though!) One of the reasons some were disappointed with the album 'Ghosts Of Princes In Towers' might have been the astonishing 45's that preceded it, most notably the group's third single which carried the album's namesake. To me the Rich Kids had a similar approach to Generation X (another great group who were treated unfairly by critics.) Glen Matlock was his own man and a big fan of melody as was apparent when one first heard The Rich Kids. Perhaps many people were expecting The Rich Kids to be the Sex Pistols 2, which they clearly weren't. Of course Matlock will always be remembered as the guy who was tossed out of The Sex Pistols for allegedly liking The Beatles, however history has vindicated Glen as the guy who more or less shaped the Sex Pistols best songs and let's face it Sid Vicious was a musical nothing. Sadly Glen only sporadically showed his immense promise over the years most notably in the short lived group The Spectres. I have always been a big fan of Glen Matlock and at one time I thought he might become one of the great songwriters of his generation. In fact there was a strong rumor at the time the group was forming that The Jam's Paul Weller was considering joining the Rich Kids (he of course was suffering a writer's block at the time of The Jam's second album.) While the Weller rumor never materialized guitarists Steve New (briefly a Sex Pistol) & Midge Ure more than carried the freight. Personally I could never understand the criticism levelled at the record as to my ears it's an outstanding album that is head and shoulders above anything The Jam or Buzzcocks had yet released at the time. The words 'murky', and 'cloudy' have been used over and over in describing the record's production by David Bowie guitarist Mick Ronson. Much has been said about this album over the years, most of it has been negative.

Glen matlock kids