Trade Test Transmissions - Misplaced Pages

This article is about the Buzzcocks album. For the test transmissions by the BBC, see Trade test colour films.

1993 studio album by Buzzcocks

Trade Test Transmissions

Studio album by Buzzcocks

Released

2 June 1993 (1993-06-02)

Recorded

March–April 1993

Studio

Eastcote Studios, London

Genre

Pop punk

Length

47:58

Label

Essential (UK), Caroline (USA)

Producer

Ralph P. Ruppert

Buzzcocks chronology

Operator's Manual: Buzzcocks Best
(1991)

Trade Test Transmissions
(1993)

All Set
(1996)

Singles from Trade Test Transmissions

"Innocent"
Released: May 1993
"Do It"
Released: August 1993
"Isolation"
Released: 1995

Trade Test Transmissions is the fourth studio album by English pop punk band Buzzcocks. It was released on 2 June 1993 by record label Castle Communications on their sub-label Essential Records and was the band's first release in fourteen years, following up 1979's A Different Kind of Tension. The music was quite different from their earlier material with nods to the power pop scene popular at the time.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Chicago Tribune
Robert Christgau
Entertainment Weekly	A−
Pitchfork	6.9/10
PopMatters	6/10

Trade Test Transmissions has been generally well received by critics.

Jason Crock of Pitchfork was generally favourable, though writing "the album remains a strictly diehards-only affair." CMJ later qualified it as "a superb record which oddly got lost in the shuffle".

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Pete Shelley, except as noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Do It"		3:23
2.	"Innocent"		3:34
3.	"TTT"		3:18
4.	"Isolation"	Steve Diggle	3:58
5.	"Smile"		2:47
6.	"Last to Know"		2:52
7.	"When Love Turns Around"	Diggle	2:25
8.	"Never Gonna Give It Up"		2:47
9.	"Energy"	Diggle	3:35
10.	"Palm of Your Hand"		3:22
11.	"Alive Tonight"	Diggle	3:48
12.	"Who'll Help Me to Forget?"		2:57
13.	"Unthinkable"	Diggle	2:52
14.	"Crystal Night"		3:18
15.	"369"		3:02

2004 reissue bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
16.	"Inside" (B-side of "Innocent")		2:32
17.	"Do It" (single version)		2:57
18.	"Trash Away" (live; B-side of "Do It")	Diggle	4:44
19.	"All Over You" (live; B-side of "Do It")		3:25
20.	"Libertine Angel" (non-album single, 1994)		2:57
21.	"Roll It Over" (B-side of "Libertine Angel")	Diggle	6:07
22.	"Excerpt from 'Prison Riot Hostage'" (B-side of "Libertine Angel")		1:59

Personnel

Adapted from the album liner notes.

Buzzcocks

Pete Shelley – guitar, vocals
Steve Diggle – guitar, vocals
Tony Barber – bass
Philip Barker – drums

Technical

Ralph P. Ruppert – production
Ingo Vauk, Philip Bagenal – mixing engineers
Graeme Durham – mastering
Malcolm Garrett – album design
Pete Towndrow – photography

References

McGartland 2017, p. 196.
^ Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: Buzzcocks". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
^ Brod, Doug (19 November 1993). "". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 5 December 2008. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
McGartland 2017, p. 307.
Kot, Greg (19 November 1993). "Buzzcocks: Noisy Music To Hum". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
Larkin, Colin (2011). Encyclopedia of Popular Music: Concise (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857125958.
Raggett, Ned. "Trade Test Transmissions – Buzzcocks | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
Kot, Greg (14 November 1993). "Joyful Noises". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
^ Crock, Jason (17 April 2005). "Buzzcocks: Trade Test Transmissions | Album Reviews | Pitchfork". Pitchfork. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
Soulsby, Nick (27 May 2020). "Buzzcocks' 1993 Comeback 'Trade Test Transmissions' Showed Punk's Great Survivors' Consistency". PopMatters. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
Stegall, Tim (March 1996). "Reviews". CMJ New Music Monthly: 34. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
Buzzcocks (1993). Trade Test Transmissions (Album liner notes). Essential Records. ESSCD 195.

Sources

McGartland, Tony (2017). Buzzcocks: The Complete History. London: Music Press. ISBN 978-1786062741.

External links

Trade Test Transmissions at Discogs (list of releases)

v t e Buzzcocks
Steve Diggle Danny Farrant Chris Remmington Pete Shelley Howard Devoto Garth Smith John Maher Barry Adamson Steve Garvey Mike Joyce Tony Barber
Studio albums	Another Music in a Different Kitchen Love Bites A Different Kind of Tension Trade Test Transmissions All Set Modern Buzzcocks Flat-Pack Philosophy The Way Sonics in the Soul
Compilation albums	Singles Going Steady Operator's Manual: Buzzcocks Best
EPs	Spiral Scratch
Singles	"Orgasm Addict" "What Do I Get?" "I Don't Mind" "Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)" "Harmony in My Head"
Related articles	Discography Flag of Convenience Magazine ShelleyDevoto The Teardrops Luxuria
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