The Curious Case of Sniff'n'the Tears

You know which band never particularly gets its due? You've read the title, duh, so you know it's Sniff'n'the Tears. But really, when was the last time, or ever, that you thought of Paul Roberts and his merry band of musical men? Even at the heights of retromania for all things post-punk, where even marginal or formerly despised outfits got their due, Sniff'n'the Tears didn't so much as sniff (I know, I know!) a critical revival. Maybe everyone thought that one revival per band is enough? And at least Robert & Co. got that one revival - and a fair amount of royalties - when their one big hit became another big hit again after being featured in a European commercial for Pioneer car radios (blast from the past!), pushing "Driver's Seat" which had been a modest to decent-sized hit on release in 1979 all the way to no. 1 in the Netherlands (blame the D...no, OBG, no!). Ah, those were the days, when a car or jeans advert could bring musical heroes back into view, and in the charts. How many people have discovered Nick Drake because "Pink Moon" was featured in an ad for Volkswagen? How many first discovered The Clash's "Should I Stay Or Should I Go?" because of the classic Levi's commercial? I know I did. 

But still, Sniff'n'the Tears were more than just "Driver's Seat". They are considered one hit wonders, and they are (can you be a two/three hit wonder if it's always the same song that charts?). But they are more. Despite almost constant staff turnover in the band, whose only constant member was lead singer/songwriter and guitar player Paul Roberts, Sniff'n'the Tears four studio albums from 197 to 1982 have a treasure trove of good songs on them, showing them to be a slightly arty new wave band that could easily juggle different musical styles. Their main lane was guitar-based rock, but they also dabbled with reggae elements, dove partly into synth rock and had a lot of pop rhythms underlying their work. Hell, even the faintest traces of jazz are detectable on a track like "Poison Pen Mail". 

Two things mostly stick out, in my mind, about the music of Sniff'n'the Tears. The first is Paul Roberts' voice: he has, what they call around here, un certain grain de voix, a unique and recognizable vocal timbre. The second thing is how textured the actual music is. A number of songs all have their own little soundscapes to them, with a bunch of different keyboard and guitar sounds, sometimes all in the same song. This is exceptionally well made rock music, which makes the fact that no one seems to give much of a damn about the band nowadays (or most days, really) so surprising. Some of it, like "Hungry Eyes" (off the weak Ride Blue Divide) on the accompanying comp does sound very Eighties and thus a little dated, but I'd argue that most of their music has aged really well. 

So consider the One Buck Guy on a mission to rehabilitate Sniff'n'the Tears, starting with their Best Of from 1991 that came out right after "Driver's Seat" to profit from the band's newfound if once again short-lived popularity. It's a pretty good overview, giving listeners a good idea of what the band sounds like. Still, there were a ton of quality songs that didn't find place on there, so this is where I come in. This is the first part of a double feature. Check out the band with this and then come back tomorrow for an exclusively compiled selection of every other worthwhile Sniff'n'the Tears track...