Completely Necessary (Anthology 1978-1982), by The Necessaries
Completely Necessary might not exist if Arthur Russell, the last person to be recruited into the most solid lineup of this NYC rock group, hadn’t gained posthumous infamy as an experimentalist.
Yet The Necessaries began with good fortune: Velvet Underground alumnus John Cale heard demos from guitarist and singer Ed Tomney, encouraged him to form a band, and even helped pick a favorite name from Tomney’s suggestions.
With Modern Lovers bassist Ernie Brooks and Red Crayola drummer Jesse Chamberlain, Tomney and Russell made Event Horizon, a 1982 LP that was the band’s sole official full-length statement. (1981’s Big Sky was basically demos that Sire Records put out without bothering to consult The Necessaries.)
Restored and remastered for this release, Event Horizon embraces postpunk, power-pop and early alternative-rock styles with a blasé disregard for boundaries and then daubs on colors from No Wave and New Wave.
Tomney, Brooks, and Russell get various songwriting credits, and Brooks and Chamberlain provide such artful rhythms that the Necessaries can switch from the jaggedly glossy hop of “Rage” to the withdrawn romanticism of “More Real” without grinding the listener’s auditory gears.
Although no direct influence can really be proven, Event Horizon hints at indie-rock developments later in the decade: the pogo-dance geekiness of “Europe” isn’t that far off from They Might Be Giants, and the wistful balladry of “Detroit Tonight” has affinities with the feel-good sadness of R.E.M. or Tommy Keene.
Most of the other 25 tracks here are either unissued or comparatively obscure, with several—particularly the funky, gawky “Tachito in the White Mercedes Benz” and a magnificently romantic alternate take of “My Baby’s Explosive”—proving that the band wouldn’t have squandered another turn or two of better luck.
As it was, and not long after Russell left, the Necessaries ended in 1982. Completely Necessary turns a footnote into a proper history.
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