More musically accomplished, more obsessively self-questioning, and with equally energetic yet sometimes gloomy performances, Love Bites from 1978 finds Buzzcocks coming into their own. With Howard Devoto and his influence now fully worked out of the band's system, Pete Shelley is the clearly predominant voice, with the exception of Steve Diggle's first lead vocal on an album track, the semi-acoustic, perversely sprightly Love is Lies. Though the song received even further acclaim on Singles Going Steady, Ever Fallen in Love, for many the band's signature song, appears here. with its note-perfect blend of romance gone wrong; a weirdly catchy, treated lead guitar line; and Shelley's wounded singing, it deserves its instant classic status, but it's only one of many highlights. The opening Real World is one of the band's strongest: a chunky, forceful, yet crisp band performance leads into a strong Shelley lyric about unrequited love and life. Lovingly restored and re-mastered from the original ¼” tapes for the first time and come packaged in the original Malcolm Garrett designed sleeves with a booklet containing unseen images and extensive liner notes by famed writer, broadcaster, music journalist and cultural commentator Jon Savage.
