The Fear Merchants – "Mental (remastered)" (Emotional Response) – ER84 1983/2019

Fear NOT!....I'm not going to mention "The Special Military Operation" that is saving us all from Nuke wielding Neo-Nazi's. The only Fear Merchants I wanna listen to today are the almost God-Like Amos and Sara under another of their many guises.Featuring Jim Welton,late of the almost God-like Homosexuals, and Sara Vaughan of Sara Vaughan fame.

Originally this was a cassette on the almost God-like "It's War Boys" DIY label, or should I say "It's a Special Military Operation Boys" label.....the original cassette rip of which can be found HERE!...if you like that sort of thing...which of course you do?

This rip is from the much awaited vinyl re-releases from 2019,or thereabouts.This also means that we now know what all the tracks are called.If anyone likes a good Larry Olivier Nazi Doctor pastiche then this is the record for you.

If you wanna read my original review splurge blurb write up then click HERE!...'cus i can't be arsed to do it again.

Meanwhile a parting message for any poor lickle Russians (ahhh bless 'em!) that are still able to read this.....I'm just going to MacDonalds for a burger and a coca-cola,but first i'll have to withdraw some cash from my open banks ATM machine,then maybe do a bit of shopping before settling down to watch some of the myriad of TV channels available to me.May even browse Facebook too?......and just think, at least you've got a fine permanent leader like Vladimir Putin and we have to cope with rubbishy old Democracy. I envy you.......altogether now..."WAR!...what is it good for? Absolutely nothing".....whoops you've just been arrested as a precursor to a sound beating!?...."Huh! say it agaaaaain"......not likely Edwin,it's fifteen years banged up in a Russian Prison if certain nationalities say it twice.

Ain't life great?

Tracklisting:

1. Act One
2. Un Choix Du Mal Song
3.Meanwhile.....back in the Doctors Surgery
4. U - Boat Captain
5.Enter Giant Whales Mouth​.​. Leaving Through Its Anus Back into Surgery of Doc
6. The Uzbeck Connection 9
7. The Irate Psychiatrist is Shaking His Head in Disbelief at the Patient's 'Stories'
8. Industrialist's Dirge
9.Reflections in Psychiatrist's Spectacles Theme
10 Act Two
11. Fiasco
12.Visibly Brighter the Psychiatrist Thinks He's Getting Somewhere at Last
13. Ya Habibi
14.She Runs off Across the Sands and Vanishes in the Ripples of Hot Air Rising Upwards
15. Aristocratic Hunchback Out-cast Song
16. Absolute Misery Theme
17. When She Weighs Eighty-Six Stones
18. Mental Theme

DOWNLOAD without fear HERE!

The Tesco Bombers ‎– "Hernando's Hideaway" (Y Records ‎– Y 14) 1982

Mmmmm, sounds like they're haaving fun doesn't it?.....another Homosexuals spin-off, including the irritating britpopart ratpack member of the nineties, Keith Allen, father of Lily allen. Better known as the yobbish drunk twat who hung around with fellow drunk twats Damien Hirst,and that bloke from Blur, doing cocaine and champagne......because they could......and we didn't want to.
This isn't too bad for a semi-trendy chart attempt......its got Sara, on vocals, and Amos (Jim Whelton) to add some class and moral fibre.

Tracklist:

A Hernando's Hideaway
B1 Break The Ice At Parties
B2 Girl From Ipanena (Instrumental)

DOWNLOAD at asda price HERE!

The Homosexuals ‎– "The Homosexuals' Record" (Recommended Records ‎– RR 18) 1984

From the same fertile London Squats as This Heat, here's a band name to rival the Bathroom Renovations and Danny and the Dressmakers as 'best band name' ever. I wish i'd thought of it. The Homosexuals (and they were beaten up for it too), existed in London squatland from 1972, and recorded mostly to mono cassettes for themselves and friends. Hardly releasing anything in their lifetime, except a couple of singles and an e.p. between 1978 and 1982; this record collects the releases and selected highlights from the bucketload of cassettes they recorded. I prefer this collection to the 3cd astral Glamour set on Hyped2Death, as it cuts out the boring chaff and leaves the quality that this band were more than capable of, if they cared.Their angular guitars, complex melodies, and experimental leanings distanced them somewhat from the punk rock being created by their contemporaries, and has now cemented them as uk DIY legends. So much so that they(Bruno Wizard and backing band!) have now reformed and are touring.
Also the group members released various other records as various alias (which have be posted earlier on this blog), like L.Voag, Just Measurers , Amos and Sara, etc.
A reissue of the first single, 3 tracks from The Homosexuals EP, 6 songs* from the live-to-tape session at Surrey Sound that was one of the first things recorded there (You can tell which songs those are because of the awful distortion), 3 alternate mixes ** and Jim's wonderful "False Sentiments." Remastered by Bob Drake. Bruno's handsome mug appears on the cover courtesy of one of Suzy's videos... 
(Before any sad fucker mentions it, Yes, it's the CD version from 2003....yawn).

Track Listing:

1) My Night Out *
2) Technique Street *
3) Vociferous Slam (a different mix from the EP with some tape-wobble but many more effects) **
4) Soft South Africans "#1" (a previously-unreleased rough-mix) **
5) Neutron Lover *
6) A Million Keys *
7) Naming of Parts *
8) Kiss With Venom *
9) Divorce from Reality
10) Hearts in Exile (45 version)
11) All About Cheap
12) Soft South Africans (45 version)
13) False Sentiments
14) Mecho Madness (a radically different mix from the EP) **
15) Astral Glamour
16) The Birds Have Risen
17) Collapsible You (a longer, more dub-stye mix that turned up in Chris Cutler's unused tapes: the 3:45 original is on George Harrasment and AG)
18) Snapshots of Nairobi (instrumental: never released: there's also a live vocal version on Astral Glamour)
19) "Soft South Africans (raw)" Actually this is the original rough mix of "Hearts in Exile" with all the vocals and the three guitar-parts that Bruno faded out (in response to which Anton faded Bruno's vocals up-and-down, dub-style. This is the pre-mixing counterpart to the rough mix of "SSA" from the LP and it's an incredibly major "find" (It'll be on Astral Glamour, too, of course.)
20) Walk Before Imitate (from the Recommended 2LP sampler)
21) Still Living in My Car (from Venceremos)

DOWNLOAD the homosexuals' mp3 zip file HERE!

Various Artists ‎– "Recommended Records Sampler" (Recommended Records ‎– RR eight & nine) 1982

One of thee most right angled compilations of the early eighties was 'the Recommended Records Sampler. Released when Post Punk was turning into that 'New Pop' shite, and the even shite-er Goth nonsense. This handmade double album was unashamedly 'Prog' in its outlook, a dirty word, even amongst the obviously 'Prog' section of the Post-Punk brigade. Post-Punk was basically Progressive music,but with different (better) clothes,artwork,and in short song format. It's amusing to note how many intellectually interesting and/or progressive new records were released in 1977 and1978( doesn't include proggers from before punk broke). Probably only Throbbing Gristle,The Residents and Pere Ubu in '77, and Wire,Cabaret Voltaire,and PiL in '78? A Brain was not a obligatory requirement in Punk Rock,and neither was musicianship.All the big Punk Groups of '76 had prog fans as integral members (including Rotten),and some of them became the key players behind the post-punk-prog groups. The avalanche started from 1979 onwards,and continued to mutate up to 1982,when it began to sound as if the preceding five years hadn't happened.

Unknown to the new generation, the old guard of progressive music had carried on regardless,like the Henry Cow lot, and had evolved into the Rock in Opposition bracket; which is another way of saying 'Prog',but with a 'Post-Punk' edge.Like the NWOBHM,they took Punks urgency,and improved the older model for a modern,thinking,audience.

This set was definitely an eye-opener for me, with its glue and glitter sleeve, DIY artwork, and obvious anti-capitalist politics,and I noticed it had The Residents(with their best song),This Heat, and The Homosexuals on it, so it couldn't be Yes or ELP record; worth a punt.

Played this to death,and it helped me rediscover the Progger within,and still am today.

There's hardly a dull track on the four sides of this classic compilation,even the French bands are good?

Can't Recommend (Geddit?) this enough, even 32 years later.

I'll let Chris Cutler the man behind the label explain the reason for releasing this recording:
 "In 1982 Recommended was 4 years old, the catalogue had expanded and the label was firmly established; a sampler seemed an obvious and necessary next step. Compiling extracts from existing releases would have been boring, so I asked the most interesting groups under our umbrella to record something new. Most of them did. All the Rio groups appear, except for ETRON FOU LELOUBLAN who had broken up, and the sharp edge of the new generation of British bands is also well represented(THIS HEAT, THE WORK, THE HOMOSEXUALS, AMOS AND SARAH). But Europeans and Americans still predominate; the Japanese had not arrived yet. This record would have sounded very different 3 years later". "Intended on it's release to be a practical compendium, 25 years on this collection reappears as an indispensable document of the range and musical brilliance of a handful of left-field groups struggling to give shape to new musical vocabularies. The breadth of their imaginations is exemplary. And Inspiring." Chris Cutler, May 2008. 

Track Listing:

Side A:

Vogel: "Flaschenzug"
Faust: "Extract 5 from Faust Party Three: 'The Voice of the Pumpkin' "
Art Bears: "All Hail!"
Stormy Six: "Reparto Novità"
The Homosexuals: "Walk Before Imitate"
Joseph Racaille & Patrick Portella: "On ne Peut Plus Compter sur ses Doigts"
Feliu Gasul: "*"

Side B:

The Black Sheep: "Strangelove"
Univers Zero: "Influences"
Aksak Maboul & The Honeymoon Killers: "Boss de Crosses dans le Doulos"
The Work: "Houdini"
Henry Cow: "Slice"
Henry Cow: "Viva Pa Ubu"
Decibel: "Radio Extract"

Side C:

Art Zoyd: "Simulacres"
The Muffins: "Two Extracts from 'Chronometers' "
Heiner Goebbels: "Berlin Ku-Damm 12 April 1981"
Amos: "Steer Clear of England"
Conventum: "Commerce Nostalgique"
Hector Zazou & ZNR: "Vera C"

Side D:

This Heat: "Pool"
The Residents: "Walter Westinghouse"
R. Stevie Moore: "Pedestrian Hop" & "Copy Me"
Ron Pate: "Fun in the Fundus"
Picchio Dal Pozzo: "Uccelin del Bosco"
Robert Wyatt: "The Internazionale"

a DOWNLOAD is highly recommended so click HERE!

Nancy Sesay and the Melodaires - " C'est Fab " (It's War Boys £1) 1982

Bonjour mes aimless aimies, one assumes this must be the "It's War Boys" record label month on Die or DIY? And what more natural place to start than the first release (£1) on said imprint, none other than Nancy sesay and the Melodaires.
I get confused about the shady history behind this label and the artists/artist that appear there.
Basically its the vehicle for Jim Whelton/Amos/L Voag of the Homosexuals/Milk From Cheltenham ,and various buddies to let their creative juices run riot.
The first fruits of which is this outing, a non-metronomic sub-jazz , falling down funk syncopated art damaged masterpiece,that conforms for no-one.
Featuring the Treacle Singers,and executively produced by The Dandy Horses, I think you know what you've let yourselves in for.

Track listing:

A		C'Est Fab
B1		The Ballad OF Hong Kong
B2		National Honk

DOWNLOAD C'est Fab! HERE!
or
DOWNLOAD from mediafire HERE! 

The Just Measurers - " Flagellation " (Its War Boys, £5) 1983

Its those damn Homosexuals again! This is Jim Whelton, Lepke (Milk from Cheltenham), and Chris Grey (amos and sara). My favourite Homosexuals related release, its got that falling apart feeling that one loves so dearly, an almost endearing aimlessness. The very best in Avant punk strangness you can find. Released on jim's Its War Boys Label in 1983.

Track Listing:

		This Side
A1		The Perfect Life
A2		See You In Hell, Darling
A3		Dinner Party
A4		Infiltration
A5		The Best Thing I Did Was Give Up Smoking
A6		Immigrants
A7		Petit Guirlades
A8		Nioo Yiirk (The Big Time)
		Flip Side
B1		Go West (E.T.A.)
B2		Spies World
B3		Bank Owner Living On Borrowed Time
B4		Be Good To Your Leaders
B5		It's War Boys
B6		Issolation Booth
B7		Rooting Them Out
B8		Calling All Teenagers

DOWNLOAD some Flagellation HERE!

Amos and Sara - " Sara Goes Pop " (It's War Boys, £4) 1982

Its War Boys! £4;and Jim Whelton, L. Voag , or Amos of the Homosexuals, teamed up with Sara in 1981, to make his most acessable music yet with this aptly named double seven inch release ,Sara goes Pop. Think the Raincoats, but good, and you get the idea of what it sounds like.

"Sexy Terrorist" is a bona fide alt-pop classic.

Music by: Sara - singing, drumming, bassing, horning, Ron Dealo - guitar, Spoonface Leroy - trapset, Amos - bass. Special Guests: Stephanie - singing, Saadi Ottoman - ideas, Paul - enthusiast, King Kobra - dynamic producing.
Disc 1 is orange vinyl, and disc 2 is yellow vinyl.

Side 1
1- Arab O Habab of Arabia
2- My Pal The Crook
3- Lulu on the Rock
4- In Walked Lance
Side 2
1- Fleeced
2- Muslim Computer
3- Sexy Terrorist
4- I'm an Actress.

DOWNLOAD These Sexy Terrorists HERE!

Amos and Sara - " Go Home Soldier " (Its War Boys, £9) 1983

£7 don't exist to my knowledge, and £8 was an unreleased recording called "Dull Thud Beet" by the Klak Klak Moguls.(I bet thats a great album!)
But,£9 was a12inch single by Amos and Sara with a thinly disguised anti-war theme. I'd completely forgotten that I had bought this when it was released; 'cus as I didn't like it,it was erased from my memory,until rediscovering it for these 'Its War Boys' posts.
God knows why I didn't take to this disjointed indie disco number,with a hint of 'Return of the Giant Slits' era Slits. I can only think that it sounded too 'Hip' for me, a bit 'pinko disko', y'know ,like Pig Bag and Maximum Joy, annoyingly right on sounding,and worse still, eminantly skankable for any white rasta's hanging at the alternative discotheque. This vomit worthy image is further engraved on my anterior lobe by the annoying Dub version that follows it on side one; and side two, well, just don't go there.
Although i sorta like it now, its probably the shittest thing any Homosexual has done; but thats still better than ANYTHING anyone from U2 has done....ever....or will!

Amos and Sara is Sara Fancy - Amos De'ath - Christopher Greyt. Guest artists Jan Hill accordian, Martin Fredericks baritone and percussian. Recordsed at Surrey Sounds, mixed at Berry Street. Produced by Martin, horns added on tape by Lepke. Cover designed by Sara.

Track Listing:

A1		Go Home Soldier
A2		Enough Is Enough
B1		Surveillance O.H.M.S.

DOWNLOAD Go Home Soldier HERE!

Amos and Sara - " Sing the private world of Amos " (It's War Boys, £2 ) 1982

Next up is Its 'War Boys'catalogue number £2, and the cassette only release,"Amos and Sara ...sing the private world of Amos".
Amos aka L Voag, Aka Jim Whelton, and the mysterious Sara, made some of the best dreamlogic pop music in the whole of squatland during the early eighties.
With a predeliction for defracting lounge music through a sound prism, splitting jazz rythms into its constituent parts and reflecting them in a fairground mirror. The result is something genuinely unhinged but strangely addictive. Amos and Sara are comfortably my favourite Homosexuals offshoot.
With a backroom cast of such luminaries with names like Lepke Buchwater (milk from Cheltenham, Die trip Computer Die), Andrew Camelot, and Seamus Luttman-Luttman-Luttman, how can you fail?
Alternative dimension hits include: "In a Hell Bed","It Kinky" and the magnificent "Syphillis Party".One suspects that the recently discovered glitch in the background microwave radiation of this universe,'Dark Flow', is probably all these great tunes leaving this dimension to be hits in our very lucky neighbouring universe.....I wanna go there toooo!

Track Listing:

A1		Cruel Cocktails
A2		A Ballad Of Amos
A3		In A Hell-Bed
A4		"Just What Is Your Gripe."
A5		You'll Never Guess
A6		Totem Of 1,000 Dolls
A7		Green Is A Bad Colour
A8		The Tame One
B1		It Kinky
B2		Hi-Finance
B3		Syphillis Party
B4		The Harry & Flo Scene
B5		Say It With Strings
B6		Mudchuker Man
B7		Visiting Beast
B8		The Genderizer

DOWNLOAD The Private World Of Amos HERE!

Amos and Sara - " Invite To Endless Latino " (It's War Boys, £10) 1983

 

This is Fantastic!...Why has this never been released on CD?......i'm glad it hasn't ,'cus the hideous silver disc is quite possibly the worse invention/scam for music storage ever. Hail the humble cassette, the perfect vehicle for the mighty Amos and Sara.

Easy Listening was never like this,(although i am a huge fan of Easy) with its 'on medication' Latin vibe, Bossa Nova for day centre disco's, and Samba's for schizophrenic's in remission.
Quite superbly anti-commercial, in a 'no sell out' kind of way; definately something one cannot accuse any Homosexual (the Band) of, and remember most of them played the Roxy in '77! (as the Rejects). This is Good.

Track listing:

A1		Mr. Sinista
A2		Bossa Kings Of Rhumba
A3		Horrible Echo In Space
A4		Urge To Cha-Cha
A5		That's Him All Over
B1		Pain Mambo
B2		The Snake
B3		Private World Of A Private Eye
B4		The Westerners
B5		Insomnia Samba

B6    Unknown Track
B7    Unknown Track

DOWNLOAD This Endless Latino HERE!

Amos and Crew - " True Tears " - (It's War Boys, £11) 1982

As it says on the insert:'Recorded in Tokyo, Japan, (by Amos whilst on tour with The Work), on Mr Shiotas old four track cassette in Mr Kitamuras kitchen in sporadic three day binge.'
More stream of consciousness improv non-pop from the prolific Amos (Jim Whelton), laying down plenty ramshackle syncopated beats to contorted melodies, and dream logic lyrics.
It takes rock super stars three or four years to come up with some absolute crimes against art, but only three days for Amos and Crew to churn out this tape of near-genius.Perfection is, in itself imperfection kids. Listen and learn says self-appointed patronising pater figure.

Track Listing:(this is the track list from the insert,but there are 5 unknown tracks also included for your entertainment.

A1		Tokyo Golden Night
A2		Rex Humbard World Out-Reach Ministry
A3		No.1 Beast In Japan
A4		How Much 'American'?
A5		Urban Masterpieces
A6		Closed Off
A7		Key Role Fragments
B1		Miraculous..
B2		Nippon Slave Mentality
B3		Training The Pets..
B4		The Voice Of God
B5		Hero Of 'Western'
B6		Armed Truth Foreigners
B7		True Tears Epitaph

DOWNLOAD These 'True Tears' HERE!

The Fear Merchants - " Mental " (It's War Boys, £18) 1981

Amos and Sara by any other name; The Fear Merchants is,again, Amos backed up by various unamed individuals, plus the mysterious Sara on Vocals. Amos plays the role of a, probably ,ex-nazi extermination camp doctor, come psychiatrist; hamming it up ,like Larry Olivier in the Marathon Man on nitrous-oxide, between tracks on various themes of mental illness....hence the title of the album:"Mental". If you played this to your mum she would probably think you or the band were indeed, Mental!
There is no track insert with this C-30 cassette, so dunno what the tracks are called, but from what i can make out, "U-Boat Kapitan" and "Schizoid Personality" are the stand out numbers.(trk 7 & 12).
It seems to have enough logic for this to be a soundtrck to a very off-west end musical production about mental health........i'd go and see it anyway!

(nb. There are two cassettes between £13 and £17 that weren't released, (£15) "Skim Nomrod and the Corolettes -"Copydex Wonderland", and the excelently titled,Ron Dealo - "The Punishing Strings of Ron Dealo"(£16). Does anyone out there have access to any of these?)

DOWNLOAD "Mental" HERE!