Wah! ‎- Nah=Poo-The Art Of Bluff

"Nah=Poo-The Art Of Bluff" the debut album by the band Wah! and Pete Wylie, released in 1981, is highlighted for its passionate, post-punk sound, energetic delivery, and focused intensity, with many critics calling it Pete Wylie's finest work and a mini-masterpiece despite its flaws. The album is praised for its unique blend of funk, post-punk, and even hints of Emerson, Lake and Palmer, featuring standout tracks like "Seven Minutes to Midnight" and the instrumental "The Seven Thousand Names of Wah!". Nah=Poo is often cited as a foundational record of the Liverpool post-punk scene. The album is known for its dark, brooding, and innovative sound, with Wylie being a significant but often overlooked figure in music.

Nah=Poo is another one of the great lost albums, while the Bunnymen and the Teardrops (rightly so) are remembered fondly, this is Pete Wylies finest hour, along with Pink Militaries only album, it is a mini masterpiece. He never reached the dizzy heights of his debut again so Nah=Poo remains one the most underappreciated albums of its time. 

Unjustly neglected amidst the neo-psychedelic scene of Liverpool, where Ian McCulloch and Julian Cope stole the limelight, Nah=Poo is certainly a fantastic album, as fresh and powerful today as it was 44 years ago. No one sounded quite like Pete Wylie did... sometimes as sinister as Howard Devoto, but still quite different. Check the dark-punk ritual "Wind Up" (similar to Modern Eon), the glacial mixture of power-pop and dark-wave "Otherboys" (with the Wagner-ian synths), the hysterical new-wave "Why D'You Imitate The Cutout" (akin to the XTC), or "Mission Impossible" (akin to a more gothic Teardrop Explodes), occasionally reaching paroxysm levels in it's wall of sound ("Seven Thousand Names"), and sabotaged by discordant sections ("Somesay"). Wylie was a very underrated guitarist, as demonstrated in his work on "Seven Minutes to Midnight" and "Somesay" and a trifle prententious lyrically, which helped to deepen the mystery of songs like "Sleeppp". 

Actually this is a very creative record that surpasses both the debuts of Echo and The Bunnymen and the Teardrop Explodes. It's not often that someone can combine the melodic and the neurotic elements so effortlessly.

While the original vinyl LP featured 9 tracks, expanded versions, like this 2001 reissue by Castle add bonus material, such as alternate versions of songs like "Forget the Down" and "Somesay". 

Ripped to MP3

1 - The Wind Up

2 - Otherboys

3 - Why D'You Imitate the Cutout?

4 - Mission Impossible

5 - Somesay

6 - The Seven Thousand Names of Wah!

7 - Sleeppp

8 - Seven Minutes to Midnight

9 - The Death of Wah!

10 - Forget the Down (single mix)

11 - The Checkmate Syndrome

12 - Other Boys (Wah! Heat vrs.)

13 - The Seven Thousand Names of Wah! (NME tape)

14 - Seven Minutes to Midnight

15 - Forget the Down (Ian Brodie mix)

16 - Somesay (Ian Brodie mix)