Life on the Line

1977 studio album by Eddie and the Hot Rods

Life on the Line is the second studio album by English rock band Eddie and the Hot Rods. The album was mixed by Ed Hollis and Steve Nicol, produced by Ed Hollis, and engineered by Steve Lillywhite.

Life on the Line reached number 27 on the UK Albums Chart.^[1] The album featured three singles: "Do Anything You Wanna Do", which peaked at number 9 on the UK Singles Chart,^[1] "Life on the Line", and "Quit This Town", which reached number 36.^[1]

The song "Do Anything You Wanna Do" was covered by Manfred Mann's Earth Band for their Criminal Tango album (1986).

Critical reception

The Globe and Mail concluded: "This band is so topical, so accurate on contemporary street feeling (the alternation between active-passive is scary but authentic), that Life on the Line qualifies as more than a collection of tunes; it's a document that pegs 1977 as it hasn't yet been pegged."^[5]

Track listing

1. "Do Anything You Wanna Do" (music: Graeme Douglas; lyrics: Ed Hollis) – 4:19
2. "Quit This Town" (music: Graeme; lyrics: Hollis, Douglas) – 2:27
3. "Telephone Girl" (music: Paul Gray, Steve Nicol; lyrics: Barry Masters) – 2:28
4. "What's Really Going On" (music & lyrics: Gray) – 2:17
5. "Ignore Them (Still Life)" (music: Douglas; lyrics: Hollis) – 4:43
6. "Life on the Line" (music: Douglas, Gray; lyrics: Hollis) – 4:04
7. "(And) Don't Believe Your Eyes" (music: Douglas; lyrics: Hollis) – 3:35
8. "We Sing... The Cross" (music: Douglas, Gray, Nicol) – 2:48
9. "Beginning of the End" (music & lyrics: Dave Higgs) – 8:17

2000 reissue bonus tracks

1. "I Might Be Lying" (Dave Higgs) – 5:16
2. "Ignore Them (Always Crashing in the Same Bar)" – 3:34
3. "Schoolgirl Love" (Douglas, Masters) – 3:21
4. "Till the Night Is Gone (Let's Rock)" – 3:13
5. "Flipside Rock" (With Robin Tyner) – 2:39
6. "Do Anything You Wanna Do" (Live) – 4:05
7. "What's Really Going On" (Live) (Douglas, Hollis) – 2:17
8. "Why Can't It Be" (Live) (Higgs) – 2:39
9. "Distortion May Be Expected" – 5:07

Personnel

Eddie and the Hot Rods

• Barrie Masters – lead vocals
• Graeme Douglas – lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals, 12-string guitar and organ on "(And) Don't Believe Your Eyes"
• Dave Higgs – rhythm guitar, backing vocals, Mellotron on "Beginning of the End"
• Paul Gray – bass, backing vocals
• Steve Nicol – drums, percussion, backing vocals

Technical

• The Rods, Graeme Douglas, Steve Lillywhite - assistant production
• Ed Hollis, Steve Lillywhite - mixing
• Steve Lillywhite - engineer
• Edward Barker, Keith Morris - design, photography

Charts

Singles

References

1. "Eddie and the Hot Rods". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
2. Thompson, Dave. "Life on the Line – Eddie & the Hot Rods". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
3. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Eddie and the Hot Rods: Life on the Line". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor and Fields. ISBN 0-89919-026-X. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
4. Cain, Barry (12 November 1977). "Review: Eddie and the Hot Rods — Life on the Line" (PDF). Record Mirror. p. 12. ISSN 0144-5804. Retrieved 16 May 2021 – via American Radio History.
5. McGrath, Paul (21 December 1977). "Life with the Hot Rods". The Globe and Mail. p. F8.