by Steven "Spaz" Schnee
Formed in the early '80s by former One Below Zero leader Dennis Greaves (vocals and guitar) and second guitarist (and occasional vocalist) Mick Lister, the Truth's mixture of '60s rock and R&B veered away from the bluesy grind of Greaves' former band and embraced a more melodic pop sound. Emerging from the shadows just as The Jam broke up and Paul Weller formed the Style Council, the Truth filled in all the musical blank spaces in between. Not as 'punky' as former or as smooth as the latter, the Truth's energetic pop&soul jive came at just the right time. After a slew of great EPs (Confusion Hits Us Everytime, No Stone Unturned, A Step In The Right Direction, Five Live) and just as many line-up changes, the Truth finally settled down in 1985 with the awe-inspiring Playground album and their strongest line-up yet. Alongside Greaves and Lister sat keyboardist Chris Skornia (formerly of the Fabulous Poodles), bassist Richard Parfitt (later, the leader of '90s Britpop band 60 Foot Dolls) and drummer Allan Felder. After touring the U.S. a few times behind the Playground album, the Truth dropped off the radar map. When they re-emerged in '87 with the irritating Weapons Of Love album, they were now a duo with Greaves and Lister remaining as the sole band members. Dropping their soul influences, the Truth were unfortunately concentrating on their 'rock' side, filling the album with sub-par rock anthems for mullet heads everywhere. For the quality control to drop that fast that quickly was a shock to their many fans. And it didn't stop there. After hooking up with producer Roy Thomas Baker for the awful "It's Hidden," the theme from the film The Hidden, the duo quickly faded from view. With a 'never say die' attitude, the Truth popped up again in 1989 with the album Jump. Aided by a new rhythm section (including former Advertising/Secret Affair/Nik Kershaw bassist Dennis Smith), the all-new Truth were actually worse than their '87 selves. Sinking even more into the limp commercial rock abyss, Jump was another dud. Only "Straight To My Heart" resembled the Truth of old. Talented as they were, it was a relief to know that they officially called it a day soon after the release of Jump.