Track Listing

1. Dave
2. Over And Over
3. Drag Me Down
4. A Hold Of Me
5. Another Sad Story
6. Tonight
7. Hard Times
8. Lucky
9. An Icicle In The Sun
10. Up Or Down
11. Dave (Single Version)
12. Walking Down Town (B-side)
13. Precious Time (B-side)
14. She's Not The Best (Home Demo)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #87173 in Music
• Released on: 2005-02-07
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .27 pounds
• Running time: 55 minutes

Customer Reviews

A brilliant swansong
Finally, after 21 years, this long lost album gets a well deserved CD issue. And it was well worth the wait. I didn't even know this album existed until a couple of years back, assuming the Rats had broken up in 1980 (of course, they released V Deep in 1982 which also deserves your attention).
Forget the punkesque Springsteen sounding early stuff (which is excellent in its own right), this is the sound of a band who appear to know their time is up but they ain't going out without a bang.
Nobody noticed the singles that were released from this album but they stand out as some of the best sounding songs of the Rats career - Dave is just a great song (Geldof has said it himself) but Drag Me Down and A Hold On Me are just epic bordering on anthemic. I have to admit to being surprised at the sheer depth of this album. It's so well produced. If you like a bit of substance to your music you will be well rewarded here.
Even though it was issued in 1984 it doesn't suffer too many of the 80s mannerisms which blighted so much music at that time. There's the odd use of brass instruments which sounds dated but apart from that it's a very loud and powerful sounding album.
Unfortunately, the overall sound is somewhat tarnished by Jon Astley's trademark use of compression and noise reduction. Dynamics are lost and the end result is a harsh, clinical mush. It's virtually impossible to listen to more than half of this disc without feeling your head is in a vice. If this is what Geldof calls 'The Definitive Remasters' then I seriously question his hearing ability. Alas, there is no other CD version to compare to so if you want to hear this fine album then you'll have to live with the below par remastering.
Sadly (in musical terms only) Band Aid came along and abruptly ended the Rats career and that event undoubtedly put the final nail in the coffin back in 1984. That's a shame because this really is a superb album and deserves to be taken seriously. Bob Geldof did go on to make one great (and similar sounding to this) solo album (Deep in The Heart of Nowhere) before losing the musical plot. In The Long Grass, though, remains one of those great lost albums. Thank goodness they dug it up.

An overlooked gem
This album was almost completely overlooked upon its original release, which is a pity as it is a solid and rewarding album. Harder than their other albums it has a varied sounds and, most importantly, good songs. There is no filler on the album. Four singles were released from the album, but none were sizable hits. The album was overshadowed by Live Aid and doomed because of Bob's refusal to allow advertising for it. It remains a fitting swansong to a fine band.

Fines album from a great band
I had the great privilege of see the Rats live a couple of times. The first time while Gerry Cott was still in the group goes down as one of the best concerts I have ever seen. In their heyday, they were very underestimated, totally in spite of the quality of the music that they turned out. I have always thought they were one of the truly great bands of the period without whom we may never have seen the likes of U2. This album is their finest work, and was very nearly never released. Tracks like Dave and A Hold of Me prove that this band stood head and shoulders above their peers. It was a shame it was their last, but it would have been a bigger shame if it had never been heard. Well done Rats, your music has deservedly lasted the years.