When phalanxes of expectorating, spike-topped pariahs shattered the pipe-dreams of the Thames blues delta's proudest sons, they simply picked themselves up, brushed themselves down and produced a sophomore album of rare vision. Life On The Line saw the band stepping away from their traditionalist R&B roots and infusing their short, sharp stabs of sparkling twelve-bar riffage with a little MC5 adrenaline. Despite stylistically swimming against the punk rock tide, they even managed to produce one of 1977's ultimate Zeitgeist-defining anthems with the inspiring self-affirmation of "Do Anything You Wanna Do". The addition of second guitarist and ex Kursaal Flyer Graeme Douglas not only served to fatten the band's hitherto weedy sound, but also fleshed out their covers-heavy repertoire with a much-needed injection of song-writing muscle and flair. Classic album or not, the Rods swiftly collapsed under punk's unstoppable onslaught, with bassist Paul Gray ultimately jumping ship for the Damned. Ian Fortnam