Track Listing

1. Lose control
2. Goldfinger
3. Girl from Mars
4. I'd give you anything
5. Gone the dream
6. Kung Fu
7. Oh Yeah
8. Let it flow
9. Innocent smile
10. Angel interceptor
11. Lost in you
12. Darkside lightside

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #30524 in Music
• Released on: 2003-07-01
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Written and recorded while a teenage Tim Wheeler was doing his A-levels, 1977 (named after the year Star Wars was released) made Ash bona-fide indie starlets overnight, largely thanks to the quality of the singles it contains. Their timing couldn't have been better: the summer of 1996 belonged to the Union Jack guitar, and Ash were free to ride the wildsurf of the Britpop tsunami, electrifying everyone with the quirky ("Girl From Mars"), the funny (the Jackie Chan comedy of "Kung Fu") and the best Christmas song ever written by a guitar band--the heartwarming mixture love and science that was "Angel Interceptor".

It is unfortunately hindered by the trademark duvet production of Oasis man Owen Morris, which muffles Rick McMurrey's thunderous drums and does nothing for Wheeler's uniquely flat voice (one of the album's major shortcomings in itself). It also suffers from a monotony produced by its constant full-on nature which a couple of acoustic (or even slower) numbers would have fixed and balanced the album better. If these had replaced some of the more forgettable album tracks here ("Lost In You" and the needlessly bombastic "I'd Give You Any Thing"), then so much the better. Come to reminisce not just for the pubescent memories it evokes within the songs, but also the memories of the time it was released. Or, as Wheeler laments on the teenage love anthem "Oh Yeah", "I sometimes wish it was that summer again". --Ben Johncock

Customer Reviews

oh yeah 1977's taking me over
okay i was two years short from hitting my teens upon its 1996 release but 1977 by ASH was the album that more or less reflected my growing up in some way's and this re-issue is a slight premature considering they have only released 5 albums into their lifetime and are now focusing on just releasing singles but i suppose it does not hurt the album any further since this 3cd collection gathers all the three pieces best hits and rarities to make a great album even greater.

Disc 2 and 3 are purely for the borderline - obsessive as disc 1 when it was first released 12 years ago is the real deal tracks like "Oh Yeah" has a slow start that veers into a climatic build up of Wheeler's vocals as if he was describing whats life like as a teenager connecting with those finding growing up a real chore as thier voice and body changes while "Girl From Mars" is pure power pop at its best with its fuzzy guitars and dreamy vocals whilst the three piece doff off their hats to the kung fu referenced "Jackie Chan" and carrying on their love for star wars with "Angel Interceptor".

Even though they went on to release better albums with charlotte hatherly as a four piece but thier debut album is the definitive purchase as even though it has a nolstalgic appeal its songs have never aged.

young irish kickstarts bring it
ash,when this was released were a young punky band with an ear for a single,this album was packed with top 40 singles such was their ability to get into the head of the average person,this is their debut album and isnt as scuzzy as their debut ep,but still has a nice rock feel to it,tim wheelers voice never screamed and for that i suppose lay the key to the albums success.It certainly seems like yesterday since i bought this but in fact it was ten years ago,and although the sound of this album may have suffered slightly over the years its still a landmark album for the group who have released single after single since,and while some of their albums since havent delivered,this is still the benchmark that they need to revisit.
The albums title is a reference to the year that two members of the band were born and the release of star wars,and its no surprise that the album has a few star wars references,not that im a fan of the star wars series but hey it pays to know a thing or two.
Like i said the album is packed with feel good ,sing a long moments such as the classic kung fu,goldfinger(what a song),girl from mars,gone the dream,oh yeah,lost in you,darkside,lightside.Its an album that is easy to take too as its simplistic poppy rock with good hooks,the album has one poor song if im to be a fair reviewer, and thats innocent smile which is pretty poor and i usually skip it if the truth be told,but all in all this isnt an album that challenges the bounaries of music but its an album of sheer enjoyment.

ash at their best
best album from ash, not yet matched by their later albums. moving forward from the punk pop 'trailer', ash entered the mainstream with 1977. the punk pop undertones are still evident but 1977 moved forward with a bigger, more accessible sound. 9/10