No Dice - No Dice (1978)

No Dice is the self-titled debut album by the band No Dice. The album was released in 1977 and recorded with Gary Strange (bass), David "Dzal and Deezal" Martin (guitar), Roger "Peaches" Ferris (vocals) and Chris "Kitty" Wyles (drums). The later band member Dave "Munch" Moore recorded the keyboards as a guest musician, the harmonica on Silly Girl played S.T.E.V.I.E Smith.

The album itself was not overly successful commercially, but the band was able to achieve a good radio airplay with the song "Why Sugar", to my knowledge the song even hit the UK charts. The band was usually well defined via this song and there was a certain comparison with the Rolling Stones. The band sounded, at least for my taste, more exciting than the Stones and always exuded a lively pub rock feeling. At the time it was actually a promising sound, but for No Dice it didn't go all the way up.

The band probably wanted to be more than just a Stones clone. On the album (in which case I refer to the 1978 US press) the band started in the best pub rock manner with the said "Why Sugar". "Foolin" and "Down n'Dry" also rock dry and hearty in this sense. The band put a little bit of hardness with "Silly Girl", country flair with "Crystal Clear".

Already with "Happy In The Skoolyard" the band showed that they were very ambitious beyond these genres. "Spacey Romance" was followed by a casual rock song with borrowings from pub rock plus synths that were more familiar from art / prog rock. "Salt In The Wound" is a lavishly arranged ballad, almost symphonic and slightly bubbly for a pub rock band. The band served a mix of everything with the closing "Someone Else's Gold". Basically an official pub rock song, but with an ambitious arrangement.