THE CYANIDE PILLS

THE CYANIDE PILLS

STILL BORED 

Red Vinyl

Damaged Goods (2013)

This one was on the list from last year, just didn’t manage to get it in 2013. I had checked out a few songs, thought they sounded pretty good, and put it on the “I’ll get that one sometime” list. I finally tracked down an import recently. 

Worth the wait, I think. This is a cracker, and it got back to back runs on the turntable for quite a few days, and is still on high rotation. This is great ’77 inspired stuff. The opening salvo of  Can’t get it up, (tongue in cheek, I assume), Up against the wall, and Johnny Thunders lived in Leeds had melodies revolving around in my noggin for about a week. Gotta love a song that not only mentions Johnny but gives a bit of a history lesson as well. Things slow up a bit with Teargas, but are back on track with the infectious Apathy. I’m often suspicious of songs that contain the word “dub”, but Lock up Dub manages to successfully marry melody with reggae/dub beat, and is another one that gets stuck in your head. Good to see a successful departure from the punk/powerpop mould, and a nod back to The Ruts and ’77 era influenced reggae/punk  perhaps.

The next couple of songs sit firmly in powerpop territory (They even have a new non album single Waiting for you to call me that has “70’s powerpop” as a heading on the front). Whilst there’s nothing wrong their powerpop efforts here - they’re all still solid tracks, it’s the punkier numbers that are more my preference. The album is consistent though, and it’s a strong listen from start to finish. I just hope they don’t fuck things up and embrace the powerpop side of things too overtly in the future or they could  be in danger of turning into the Strokes. Not to worry, the foot gets back on the accelerator a bit more  with Formica and more so with Nonbeliever. Don’t turn right lifts side two right up for my ears with its rawer approach. Still Bored closes with the buzzy Never gonna give it up, and if they stick to that manifesto, things’ll continue to be great. 

I’ve read a few reviews that mention comparisons with the Buzzcocks, which I don’t understand. Yes, there are a few love themed songs, but there’s no overriding unrequited love theme ala Pete Shelley. For my money they echo closer to original ‘77 snotty power punk poppers The Boys, which is no bad thing.  

Package wise this is a pretty neat record. The cover is prefab retro (at least done well). It even comes complete with faux-fading (where the record inside would fade the cover in a circular mark) and I had to look twice – I thought the seller backhanded me a crappy 2^nd hand or inferior copy. I like the cover though, the yellow and red contrasting colours, works well with their theme.  Red vinyl is a bonus, and the sound is full, but not glossy or slick, and captures everything quite well. Unfortunately, there’s no inner sleeve/lyric sheet, which as you may have guessed, is bit of a bugbear of mine. All round, pretty fricken’  good. Ya gotta love it when ya get a record that looks and sounds good, and ya wanna keep giving it a spin, and this comes up on all those fronts. Great stuff.    

PUNK- ROCK’N’FRICKENROLL VINYL ONLY chrismccousin@gmail.com

NEW TOE TO TOE 7"

TOE TO TOE

STILL FIGHTING 7”

Old School Cartel

New 3 Track single from Sydney Australia’s long standing hardcore crew. It’s been a while between drinks for TTT and this bridges the gap between the next long player.

This is good ‘ol old school hardcore, as you’d expect. All three are strong tracks, and feature guest vocals which give an extra dimension, if you like. Side one has Hope & Sorrow featuring Sick of It All’s Lou Koller, and Underdog featuring Craig Ahead. Side two has Fearless Heart featuring Freddy Cricien from Madball, and is perhaps the most flat out of the three.

Nice cover with the old school tattoo theme.  Soundwise there’s plenty of clout and punch, and everything is audible in the mix. There’s a download code included which gives you extra songs as well; some live and alternate mixes of old songs, and some other recordings which are a bit different from TTT’s usual stuff.

You can get this 7” here:     oldschoolcartel.bigcartel.com

You can also get TTT’s last long player Arturo Gatti on limited release red vinyl as well.

THE CRAMPS - NEW(ISH) VINYL PART 2

RARE TRACKS Demo, Rehearsals, B-Sides, Soundtracks continued

In the previous post there were a few little errors so let’s clear things up and set the record (ahem) straight, shall we?

I mentioned to the back cover pic which, in which I referred to “Candy Fur”. The bassist circa 1986 was actually Fur Dixon, not “Candy Fur”. I kind of got mixed up with Candy Del Mar who followed Fur. As I said, there was no recorded output during brief Fur’s tenure, live or otherwise, but there is some great footage of her with the band on youtube;

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdoed3V7OB4‎

The live songs were actually previously released on the relatively hard to find CD release of “Smell of Female” which does feature Kid Congo, more or less. (He is credited on the release, but the band found some of his guitar parts unusable). It’s a shame they weren’t on the original vinyl release. They’re two of the wildest cuts on “Rare tracks” and Kid’s fuzz guitar goes off!

For your edification and amusement, here is the tracklist, and I’ve provided some extra info on the songs which doesn’t come with the records.

A1		Blue Moon Baby  (B-Side to “Can your pussy do the dog?” 7” & 12” 1985)
A2		Georgia Lee Brown (B-Side to “Can your pussy do the dog?” 12” 1985)
A3		Give Me A Woman (B Side to “What’s inside a girl” 12”  1990)
A4		Get Off The Road (B Side to “What’s inside a girl” 7” & 12” 1990)
A5		Confessions Of A Psycho Cat  (B-Side to “Ultra Twist” 7”& 12” 1994)
A6		No Club Lone Wolf Cat  (B-Side to “Ultra Twist” 12” 1994)
B1		I Walked All Night (B-Side to “Like a Bad Girl should” 12” 1997)
B2		Peter Gunn (Bonus track on “Big Beat from Badsville” CD rerelease 2001)
B3		Wilder Wilder Faster Faster (B-Side to “Eyeball in my Martini” 7” & 12” 1991)
B4		Twist And Shout – (From “Songs The Lord taught us sessions”, and featured  on  the CD rerelease)
B5		Her Love Rubbed Off B-Side to (Bikini Girls with machine guns” 12” 1990)
B6		Beat Out My Love (B-Side to “Creature from the Black Leather Lagoon” 12” 1990)
B7		Jelly Roll Rock (From “Blues Fix” EP 1992)
C1		Jailhouse Rock (B-Side to “Creature from the Black Leather Lagoon” 7” & 12” 1990)
C2		Jackyard Back Off (B-Side to “Bikini Girls with machine guns” 7” & 12” 1990)
C3		Beautiful Gardens (Live 1983, from “Smell of Female” sessions CD rerelease)
C4		She Said (Live 1983, from “Smell of Female” sessions CD rerelease)
C5		Surfin Dead (From “Smell of Female” CD rerelease, and Return of the Living Dead soundtrack)
C6		Rumble Blue (‘81 Rehearsal)
D1		Lonesome Town (‘81 Rehearsal)
D2		Journey To The Centre Of A Girl (‘88 Rehearsal)
D3		Sweet Woman Blues (‘81 Rehearsal)
D4		Call Of The Wighat (‘82 A&M Studio)
D5		Jackyard Back Off (‘88 Rehearsal) The Cramps are/were/have been one of the most bootlegged bands out there. This one at least has been done with some love and care, and hopefully as a homage to the band.

NEW(ISH) CRAMPS COMPILATION

THE CRAMPS

RARE TRACKS Demo, Rehearsals, B-Sides, Soundtracks

 

I’ve always had a soft spot for The Cramps. They’re one of the (few) bands that I heard when I was first discovering non-commercial music way back when, that have retained an appeal for me. I’m still buying their records all these years later, and they feature on the playlist fairly regularly........... Perhaps I should grow up. Ha Ha.

This double LP collection was released in about 2012, but I only came across one in a record shop recently. I saw it in the rack, looked, went hmmmm.... and put it back. I kept glancing back to check no one else picked it up, then went “just go and get the fuckin’ thing”.

While I own most of the earlier vinyl stuff (up to 1990’S “Stay Sick”), I’m no tragic when it comes to The Cramps. This compilation is geared to the later period of the band, which I’m relatively unfamiliar with, but it’s a great romp,  and there’s something for every Cramps fan.

The bulk of the two record set features B-sides of  various singles and EP’s from 1985 -1994. The first record (Yellow Vinyl) is all B-sides from this period, with the exception of “Twist and Shout” from the “Songs The Lord Taught Us Sessions” Highlights of the B-sides are mid period cuts ”Blue Moon Baby” the flipside of “Can Your Pussy Do The Dog” and "Jackyard Backoff", the flipside from 1990’s “Bikini Girls with Machine Guns” (I remembered that one from a LONG time ago when I bought that 7” for a friend and wished I’d got one for myself). Interestingly, their take on “Peter Gunn” and “Jailhouse Rock” steer right away from the traditional (in The Cramps inimitable style) and veer on ridiculous, but you know they wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

 

Record Two (Black Vinyl) comprises only two  B –Sides, the rest is made up of  miscellaneous recordings. As I said, there’s something to please everyone. Although it doesn’t indicate it on the cover, there are some live cuts here. “Beautiful Gardens” is pleasingly and appropriately wild, as is “She said”, which is worth it for Lux’s monologue alone.  “Surfin’ Dead” is the soundtrack song (From Return of the Living Dead), which isn’t one of their more memorable songs. “Rumble Blue” is an ’81 rehearsal, and I assume it features the original (Bryan Gregory) line-up. The other rehearsal cuts -  “Lonesome Town”,” Journey to the Centre of a Girl”, and “Jackyard Backoff” (here for the second time) are unfortunately a bit tame for my liking, as is the studio cut of “Call of the Wighat”from ‘82 .                   

Package wise this is pretty damn good, particularly for a bootleg.  Containing 24 songs in all, it comes in a huge fold out poster cover with heaps of pics. For the die-hard fan there may yield nothing new picture wise, but it’s still pretty impressive, and showcase all eras of the Cramps in their various incarnations. In some ways misleading perhaps, the front cover features the Kid Congo era Line up, but I can’t be sure if he actually features on any of the songs here (my guess is the live songs though). The impressive back cover pic featuring short lived bassist Candy  Fur had no recorded output (studio or live).  One of the vinyls is coloured, the other one is plain black, and there are varying combinations available. The sound quality is pretty good, particularly the B-Sides, but the rehearsal and live stuff are perfectly passable for what they are as well.   The only real quibble I have is that there’s minimal info on the songs - most have no info- like what was the A-side of the song, what was the line up, when was it recorded etc. That info, accompanied by pics of the singles would have really topped off this collection.

All up, a great bookend to any Cramps collection. If your’e a hard-core Cramps collector, it’s worth getting, there may be something you don’t have, or just for the package alone, same if your’e more of a casual Cramps fan – it’ll keep you entertained. If your’e looking for an introduction (?) to The Cramps perhaps get one of the first Couple of LP’s and check’ em out.

RIP LUX

PUNK- ROCK’N’FRICKENROLL VINYL ONLY chrismccousin@gmail.com

 

NEGATIVE APPROACH7"

NEGATIVE APPROACH

SELF TITLED 7”

Touch And Go Records

Just goes to show how err, out of aah, touch one can be. I had kind of forgotten about American label Touch and Go, and was unsure how active they still were. Although this was reissued in 2010, I’ve only just found one now. Needless to say, I didn’t get one first time around, or last time around. Original first and second pressings sell now for ridiculous prices on ebay.

Legendary,classic, and influential detroit hardcore from ’82. Great stuff, Fast and short. This 10 song EP features the often-covered “Ready to Fight” – Can’t quite recall exactly who has covered it, but there has been quite a few bands (which followed in the wake of Negative Approach).

This reissue is (apparently) remastered. Not that I’d know, or can tell. It’s still a little rough around the edges, but that’s the appeal of it. The cover has also been revamped, the original “Linda Blair” styled photo has been replaced with a B&W line drawing as shown, that gives an updated feel as well. Also includes an (reproduction of the original) insert which is good value and kinda always makes a little hardcore 7” package complete.

This was a little on the expensive side, but worth it, and there are still a few around .............   

PUNK- ROCK’N’FRICKENROLL VINYL ONLY chrismccousin@gmail.com

NEW VINYL!

UK SUBS – XXIV                        

Captain Oi!

I’ve been a fan of the Subs for a long time. Unfortunately I’m not as familiar with their more recent material as I’d like to be. This came out in 2013, but I’ve only just gotten a copy.

The Subs don’t disappoint; a cracking tone is set with the zippy Implosion 77.  Coalition Government Blues is next, influenced by Charlie’s blues background, complete with harmonica, and slows thing up a bit; it perhaps could have been slotted in later to so as not to interrupt the momentum. Things are back on track though with Speed. Rabid, along with several other tracks features distorted vocals. Monkeys takes on a slightly more melodic edge, and benefits from background vox in the chorus.

The second side opens with the more introspective and measured pace of Stare at the sun which more or less sets the tone for side two. Workers revolution also gets a boost from the backing vocal on the chorus. Wreckin’ ball, no doubt referencing council knocking down old buildings to pave the way for development, again features Charlie’s harmonica. Detox is for quitters, I’ll remember that one next hangover. XXIV Closes with Momento Mori (remember your mortality) which livens things up again.

Package wise this is pretty boring. The Russian? themed green and red affair with a Madonna holding something that I can’t quite discern? Sorry, but it’s a bit........... pedestrian. The back cover is pretty feckin' average as well.  There’s no info on the band this time around; the Subs feature a revolving line up. Songs are credited to various members of the current line up though (Charlie Harper, long term in/out bassist Alvin Gibbs, guitarist Jet, drummer Jamie), and long term in/out guitarist Nicky Garrat appears to have no input into this one.  There’s no insert/lyric sheet, which is a bit stingy I reckon. Would have been good to get some background info/lyrics to the songs. Coloured vinyl/and CD packages are available though (still no lyric sheets with the vinyl issues) but this is the standard issue black vinyl. Fortunately the vinyl  generates a good sound with plenty of clout. The production is good; everything is pretty crisp and smooth.

This is a solid offering from the Subs on their 24^th release. Whilst not start to finish 4 to the floor punk, it’s all pretty good, and I was pretty keen to give it another spin, which is always a good sign. XXIV could easily slot quite comfortably alongside various chapters of the Subs back catalogue. For me there’s hints of Endangered Species with its “faster” side one and “slower” side two.

Unfortunately the Subs never made it for their intended “Farewell” tour of Australia last year. There’s still hope though, right?

Check out the excellent UK SUBS web resource that is TIME & MATTER - http://uksubstimeandmatter.net/

PUNK - ROCK 'N' FRICKIN' ROLL VINYL ONLY - chrismccousin@gmail.com

 

PUNK –ROCK ‘N’FRICKIN ROLL VINYL TOP 6 FOR 2013

Well, here we are with the first week of 2014 out, and here’s my pick of the vinyl for 2013. Top 10? Nah. There wasn’t  just only 5 either.

Reviews are in the archives. All have had a steady reign on the turntable over the last year.

In no particular order;

MARCHING ORDERS – LIVING PROOF Best Oi! release for 2013, from Australia, and coloured vinyl too.

MOTORHEAD – AFTERSHOCK Lemmy and the boys produce another ripsnorter. In terms of vinyl, doesn’t get much better than this. Apologies to Motorhead, in the review I kept referencing the album as “Aftermath”...........Oops.

THE CORPS – KNOW THE CODE May technically have been even from 2012, but whatever, I got it in 2013, and it kicks arse.

NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS – PUSH THE SKY AWAY His best in a while, and now one of my favourite Nick Cave releases.

THE PISSED JEANS – HONEYS  Misanthropic? Nihilistic? Dunno, but this sludge punk always puts a smile on my face.

HOSTILE OBJECTS – YOUNG GOD 7” Great little slab of hardcore from these sonic thrashers.

2014 Promises more great vinyl. Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds  already have a follow up to Push The Sky away (released last year), a double live vinyl set that I’m yet to get. Looks like there will be more “Limited runs” that I’ve heard of some bands doing, small pressing of 250, to please the vinyl junkies. Dunno how financially viable this prospect is, but I’m happy for it to keep happening. Sydney Hardcore stalwarts Toe To Toe have released a limited run of 250 of their 2011 release “Arturo Gatti”, and have pre orders for their “Still Fighting” 7”, which is available now on download. Toe To Toe frontman Scott Mac has a new label   “Old School Cartel which is releasing these, and  has other vinyl in the pipeline.