The Sin of Pride was by far the most exploratory album
the Undertones ever issued and, other than their debut, fares the best. Whereas
Hypnotised had been another
punk rave-up album and
Positive Touch had been a
psychedelic outing,
The Sin of Pride was a deep look into the
soul music of the '60s done with a
post-punk sensibility. Obviously,
ABC and
Paul Weller's
Style Council were reference points on this trail, but
O'Neill's own way of hearing created a kind of
psychedelic soul that was very different in approach and execution than either of those chart-topping acts. Covers such as
Leon Ware's
"Got to Have You Back," which opens the LP, and
Smokey Robinson's
"Save Me," which closes it, are bookends for a moving blend of funky, driving, deeply textured
psychedelic soul music that makes pearls of tracks such as
"Untouchable," with its driving basslines and horn section, the roiling melodic line of
"Bye Bye Baby Blue," and the sweet
Motown groove of
"Conscious." Vocalist
Feargal Sharkey's range limitations make him more expressive and offer a kind of innocence that is refreshing and enduring. With songs like the title track and
"Love Parade" crossing
Marvin Gaye's rave-up territory with
Arthur Lee and
Love's
Baroque pop sensibilities,
The Sin of Pride is one of the great unsung albums from the early '80s and sounds much fresher and more adventurous today than many of its more well-known contemporaries' albums (check
"Chain of Love" to see if you recognize the harmonica line -- it was stolen wholesale for
"Karma Chameleon" by
Culture Club). This album may have been
the Undertones' swan song, but it reveals that they were headed into exciting waters musically and called it quits at a creative peak rather than in some lonesome, tired, aesthetically bankrupt alleyway of potential spent and gone. ~ Thom Jurek
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