James - Stutter

Perhaps if James had stuck with Factory Records, the world would have been saved from the Happy Mondays?

There are many theories as to why The Smiths never signed to the Manchester label. It is known that Morrissey and Tony Wilson had a dislike for each other. It is believed that Rob Gretton wanted to sign them but, between themselves, Stephen Patrick and Anthony H. were ensuring that would never happen.

So what has this to do with James?

Pure suggestion, no evidence (even 25+ years on), consider also that the main players are no longer with us, but may I speculate that James were the consolation. Both bands were fresh on the Manchester scene in 82/83. Both had a similar direction and charismatic front men. In his Shadowplayers book, James Nice suggests that James (the band) did not want to sign to Factory but were persuaded by Wilson & Gretton. So much so that it is also suggested that they deliberately recorded and released what they perceived as their worst for Factory. Did Wilson want James on his roster that much?

James did not hang around and attracted major interest from Warners/Sire who signed them up for their Blanco Y Negro subsidiary. Stutter is a superb album, with a crystal clear production by Lenny Kaye, it is a fine vehicle for all the best tracks saved by the band from Factory ;-) Surprisingly it did not include the title track and live favourite, Stutter nor their debut major single Chain Mail. Scarecrow is one of the finest songs ever written, the second single So Many Ways and Really Hard are things of great joy. These days this album & this era of James' history would be tagged as alt:folk !! I'll get my sandals.

Factory no longer had a hip and credible rising act. Wilson was surely desperate, especially as Factory's main act New Order had lost their direction after the delicious pop of Low-Life (who remembers how bad Shellshock and State of the Nation were). Wilson's response was the Happy Mondays and the rest (including Factory's downfall) is well documented elsewhere.

Disappointingly (and after being dropped by Warners following the difficult second album), James turned to the new madchester (sic) brit-pop for direction and influence. After numerous reissues their new pop anthems were eventually hits, with a new found credibility as a Manchester band. The rawness, energy and distinctiveness of the original James sound was long lost and this scribe stopped paying attention.

Perhaps Factory should have signed the bloody Smiths!

Stutter : Originally released on a vinyl album on Sire Records (JIMLP 1) in 1986
A1. Skullduggery
A2. Scarecrow
A3. So Many Ways
A4. Just Hip
A5. Johnny Yen
A6. Summer Song
B1. Really Hard
B2. Billy's Shirts
B3. Why So Close
B4. Withdrawn
B5. Black Hole

Stutter