Binky Philips And The Planets: Established 1972 NYC

I’ve lost count of the amount of bands that I’ve reviewed over the years who started out way back when with the promise of fame and fortune beckoning them, as those dreams of superstardom remained in sight but always just out of reach. For Binky Philips And The Planets the story is similar, if somewhat different, with the offer of a major label deal for this punk pioneer left on the table and stages shared with The New York Dolls, KISS and Ramones not enough to keep things on track or together.

As you’d doubtless expect this brief brush with success unfulfilled led to the end of a band that those who saw them believed were every bit as good, if not better, than those they had shared bills with. Philips kept his hand in the music business, and also wrote a book about his early experiences in the world of punk. And yet his itch remained unscratched, hence it was almost inevitable that one day he and The Planets would go into orbit once more with an album title that tells its own story - Established 1972 NYC.

It was interesting listening to this record first time round, before I’d read the backstory and presuming that Binky and the boys had guzzled down albums by the likes of Demolition 23 and The New York Dolls, while hanging it all round a framework that The Who would have happily called their own… well, if they’d smashed up their amps before going on stage and shredded Mr Townsend’s guitar strings prior to striking up a note. It may not be the original line-up that’s gathered round Binky but the sounds are vintage and real from “Splitsville Or Bust� right through to the closing rumble of “Wear Out The Grooves�. Those titles and others such as “Kinda Liked It At The Time�, “Plumbing The Depths� and “Sour Grapes� take you right back to the band’s boom and bust, while the been there and done it throwawayness of it all merely heightens the authenticity. Fame and fortune will never now be nestled in the palm of Binky Philips And The Planets but in many ways Established 1972 NYC is all the better for the fact that this outfit were never handed the opportunity to fall from grace.

Track Listing
1. Splitsville Or Bust
2. Drinking Gasoline
3. Just Fine Just Fine
4. Kinda Liked It At The Time
5. Leave Me Hanging
6. Plumbing The Depths
7. Blink
8. Goodbye To All That
9. Sour Grapes
10. Wear Out The Grooves

Added: December 8th 2019
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Established 1972 NYC @ CD Baby
Hits: 586
Language: english

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