If the name doesn't ring bells, then you haven't read the sleeve notes on those early punk albums. Tim Smith was the leader of The Adverts, who released two of the best songs of the '70s, "Bored Teenagers" and "Gary Gilmore's Eyes." Since then he's plowed a number of furrows, settling in finally as a solo artist. Unlike so many old punks, age hasn't mellowed him. There's enough lyrical venom here to wear out several snakebite kits. They're the words of the outsider, the underclass, the people without who were created by Thatcher and Reagan, the cardboard cities, and empty pockets you find everywhere. And they're also those who walk a tightrope of money, scared of losing it all and being down on the ground. Even if he is playing an acoustic guitar these days, TV definitely ain't James Taylor. Can an angry young man go gray and stay caustic? Yes, thank God. --Chris Nickson
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