Public Image Limited – "Public Image (First Issue)" Record Store Day/Lost US Mix - Warners-2025/1979

We interrupt the fascinating run-through of a few of the Local Band compilations as of yet not not given the Die Or DIY? treatment. To make available ,thanks to Record Store Day 2025, from alternative history's what might have been section,if those awful Americano's had got their way with Thee Greatest Bad Attitude album ever made. An attitude that made Lou Reed look like lil' Jimmy Osmond.
Don't make me say it!...i'm warning you.....oh okay, it's PiL's 'First Issue'.,..The long lost USA Remix!?.....how anyone could remix perfection I can only gasp in disbelief. So,I'll have a go at re-imaging the Sistene Chapel after lunch....a liquid one of course.

Nothing....NOTHING sounded like this,or sounds like this,or will ever sound like this. We are just worthy enough to look at it,never mind hear it or even touch it.
But,apparently, according to PiL's american label,Warner Brothers, this record was just unlistenable by American ear-holes, and may damage their delicate brains enough that they could turn to Communism!
As a result this masterpiece,the UK Version as is, was never released on the other side of that great big beautiful pond,until 2013!?
It did manage to be banned in Malta however, because the lyrics of "Religion" offended public morals and decency.....er......good?
Some prat in Sounds reviewed it to be worth 2 stars our of 5?.....but fear not, it got to number 18 in New Zealand.....which may explain something about the future New Zealand scene of the 90's.
As for the 're-mix' itself,done half-arsed style, by John Leckie for £250 quid, it seems based entirely on press reports that Lydon may have been a 'Dub Reggae' fan. So out came the Space Echo, and a hefty amount of spring reverb was channeled to one of the effects knob's,and applied to Jim Donut Walkers' snare,then pushed to the back of the mix,alongside Levene's guitar, too discordant maybe(?). Worst is Lydon's front of mix vocals get the panning treatment with lashings of space echo.
The exclusion of the UK version's most attitudenus track, Fodderstompf, is at best inexplicable? Removed,as was its most controversial moment "Religion",and they don't seem to have been replaced!?
"Death Disco" from future albums sticks out as a possible single,and sounds rather over-produced in the process,when compared to the rest of the numbers.
Running time is made up by adding 4 minutes to "Annalisa" of one of the fab four tinkling on the ivories while the other three howl like pub singers in an echo chamber lock-in.
Wobble's Bass in the iconic,or is that Ironic, "Theme", has clearly had a touch of treble added.....which i ashamedly find to be an improvement...NOT that i would do that if i remixed the fucker I'll have you know. The best way to re-mix this, let's face it, Work Of Art, is to leave it alone as originally conceived,wading upstream in the psychological chaos that shat this unpolished turd on an ungrateful public...especially the Punx. Another invaluable lesson in how to alienate your audience and survive....."I will Survive,I wish I could Diiiiie"
Oh Yeah,2* out of 5 DON'T BUY IT!.....get the other re-issue,OR.......

......DOWNLOAD IT HERE!

Tracklist:

A1 Theme 8:59
A2 Annalisa 10:00
B1 Public Image 3:01
B2 Low Life 3:51
B3 Attack 2:45
B4 Swan Lake 6:44

The Stalin – "Trash" (Political Records – MIG2505L) 1981

 Hmmm,Rather exciting is this Japanese Punk Rock stuff.

And a refreshing change is that no Jap Punk ever reckons they invented Punk Rock,ever!!!

It helps that they never had any Bubblepunk proto power pop groups with Brian Jones hairdo's hanging out at the jap version of the Roundhouse.

You wouldn't find any Brian Jones hairdo's in Tokyo(or London) in 1980 ,and beyond....but you will find a stampede of Colin from GBH look-a-likes, and  weedy versions of 'Wattie' from the Exploited .

To a large portion of the planet, this is what 'Punk' is all about, and who can argue against that?...despite the dodgy version of the Bowl-cut punk bubblegum classic 'Blitzkrieg Bop' making up the numbers.

Nobodies Perfect

Tracklist:

A1 解剖室
A2 冷蔵庫
A3 Trash
A4 天上ペニス
A5 革命的日常
A6 主義者 (イスト)
A7 インテリゲンチャー
A8 バキューム
A9 Bird
A10 溺愛
B1 メシ喰わせろ
B2 ハエ
B3 ハード・コア
B4 猟奇ハンター
B5 電動コケシ
B6 アーチスト
B7 ブタに真珠
B8 Gass
B9 サル
B10 撲殺

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Various Artists– "Springtime In Belsen" - (Sadist Records – SIB 001) 1998

Like some time-warped anti-matter west-end Juke Box musical,this insults on every level.For example The Yodler Killers ,from Switzerland, has the one and only Dr Josef Mengele on drums.....this is a little known fact about the original 'Angel Of Death' himself.

Luckily I like my Punk Rock irreverent,beyond Stupid,and played by a bunch of musically incompetent politically incorrect continental European burks....;don't we all? 

This is the factor that made the Stranglers stand out from the otherwise 'woke' before their time punk throng.Mainly thanks to having a Franglais classical guitarist and karate black belt in their midst,arriving via Guildford.

Frankly, anything with a track by Italian retardo's 'Tampax' on it, has to be worth a quick track skipping listen.

I have reviewed... gulp...."Tampax(in the cunt)" before.......(OMG?)....I paraphrase myself...it's an ultimate example of the kind of retarded sexuality last mentioned in Spinal Tap. Giggling in the classroom, unthink rock by repressed catholic boys who've just heard that ladies have a menstrual cycle, and....giggle....they use tampons....giggle,titter.
This tune is very probably the zenith of Stupid as we understand it. Download it and appall your Woke friends, especially if you don't want them to be your friends anymore;........unless they're the kind of lowdown pond-dwelling fuckwits that Tampax are, then they'll want to be with you forever.

The K9's are the cred giving English Punk band here,even giving Tampax a serious challenge in the ignoramus stakes.

There's even a Noo Yawk 'punk' band too,who sound like an English Punk band????

What The Prats, from Scotland, are doing on here is almost insulting,them being one of the greatest groupz wot ever existed...right?

SEHR SCHNELL do a blatantly plagarised version of Wire's "Lowdown",probably lifted from an imported copy of the "Live at Roxy" Album?

The punk thievery stops not there, as Japanese punk by numbers band ,"The Stalin", do Blitzkreig Bop for us, just in case you've never heard it...which i think they secretly hope you haven't...but we have,so...?

I guess this is someone trying to do something like one of those Killed By Death compilations,which sell in their thousands, and the profits go to some hidden Finnish bank account.

However its fantastically stupid stuff, and full of the kind of things that may get you Cancelled.....a nobler cause I can not imagine.

It's Banned from being sold on Discogs...what more glowing a recommendation do ya need?

Altogether now....."Its Springtime for Belsen and Anarchieeeeee" 

Insert with notes included.

A1 taken from 'Rattenloch EP' 7" (Ratt Records, 1979)
A2 taken from '1990's Pop E.P.' 7" (Rough Trade, 1980)
A3 taken from 'Son Of Sam' 7" (Kapitalist Records, 1977)
A4 taken from 'Bunker' 7" (Another Swiss Label, 1979)
A5 taken from 'Life Of Rian' 7" (Sånn'ja Records, 1980)
A6 taken from 'Me Myytiin Itsemme' 7" (Poko Records, 1979)
A7 taken from 'スターリニズム' 7" (Political Records, 1981)
A8 taken from 'Silvias Unge / Hitlers Barn' 7" (Kloaak, 1978)
A9 taken from Hitler SS / Tampax split 7" (Compact Cassette Records, 1979)
B1 and B9 taken from 'Jacot Masturbette' 7" (Zaki Records, 1979)
B2 taken from 'The K9 Hassle' 7" (Dog Breath Records, 1979)
B3 taken from '3-Spor EP' 7" (Krakk, 1979)
B4 taken from 'Only Fools Pretend To Be Happy' 7" (Sweet Harmony, 1979)
B5 taken from '1980' LP (CBS, 1980)
B6 taken from 'Hot Love / Die Wüste Lebt!' 7" (Periphery Perfume, 1977)
B7 taken from 'EP' 7" (Savage Music, 1979)
B8 taken from 'Vaihda Vapaalle' 7" (Love Records, 1979)

Tracklisting:

A1 Dirt Shit– Discoscheisser

A2 Prats*– Disco Pope

A3 Chain Gang– Gary Gilmore In The Island Of Dr. Moreau

A4 Technicolor*– Bunker

A5 Norgez Bank– Springtime In Belsen

A6 Ypo-Viis– Me Myytiin Semme

A7 Stalin– Buta Ni Shinju

A8 Kriminella Gitarrer– Hitler's Barn

A9 Tampax– Tampax In The Cunt

B1 Yodler Killers– Jacotte Masturbette

B2 K9's– Sweeny Todd

B3 Oslo Bors– Smukke Folks Born

B4 Checkmate – Weekend

B5 Brats– Punk Fashion

B6 Nasal Boys– Die Wuste Lebt

B7 Young Identities– Positive Thinking

B8 Sehr Schnell– Vaihda Vapaalee

B9 Yodler - KillersSoussolrock

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Melvins – "A Tribute To Pop-O-Pies / Tales Of Terror" (Amphetamine Reptile Records – SCALE 139) 2013

With the honor of being the only American representatives on this series of Tribute records by Melvins;but What,or who, the fucking hell were Pop-O-Pies? Sounds a bit like the pies filled with abattoir floor scrapings,spines and eyeballs,that i ate at half-time during a football match in the 80's,'Pukka Pies'.So, I thought it must be some American kids TV show or something worse,with a resident teenage Punk group in tow from about 1984.Awesome Doood!?....definitely NOT! 

Y'know,the Punk Rock successor to "Josie and the Pussycats"

So, I suppose i'll have to do some research...although I'll probably prefer my estimation more than the hard facts.

The Los Angeles Times said "The Pop-O-Pies were called "absolutely the worst band in California", and having listened to this Melvins cover, I could  absolutely agree absolutely. One of those awful bratty Californian post 1980 skatecore type groops of 16 year olds,with ripped jeans and converses'. The roots of Blink 182 can be found here. Of course there will be Californians who disagree.

So, I hesitantly move on to side B, and the equally obscure Tales Of Terror (Sacramento 82-86) .

I Wikipedia'd it and saw a few keywords,"Nirvana and Grunge", that made me abandon my mission immediately.....I Quote: "Their only LP greatly influenced rock bands Green River/Mudhoney and Nirvana. Considered by many as innovators to not only the Skate Rock sound and aesthetic but as well as Grunge???.....crimes that should not go unpunished.

The only Tale of Terror I can imagine is actually being inflicted a proto-grunge gig or record upon oneself, featuring any bands like this. But at least it's not Brown Day,or No Fun 41,or Wank 182. Small mercies.

ps....sign this petition will ya?

Tracklist:

A- Timothy Leary Lives
        By – Pop-O-Pies

B- Romance

By – Tales Of Terror

DOWNLOAD these punky monkees HERE!

Squad – "Red Alert" (Squad Records – SQS 1) 1978

And now Terry Hall also, has succumbed to the 'thing' that makes life utterly fucking pointless.... Death.

He did have a talent for conveying such pointlessness within his vocal style coupled with his natural deadpan presence.

Never a fan of The Specials meself,, however i did see them supporting The Clash with Suicide when they were the Coventry Automatics. blah blah fucking blah!

Oh sweet jesus, never has there been a band where the Tonic suited,Fred Perry and Pork Pie hat decorated audience all thought they were in the band,and Danced to order as their idols commanded.

Lots of Punky Bands started to bark shite like "Why aren't you Dancing" to the crowd....because we don't fucking want to??? If we wanted to dance we'd go to a bloody Discotheque wouldn't we? I'm here for the existential angst and the freedom to spill beer in the melee thanks. The Specials or Joy Division.....I know Where I'd rather be.

However musically not my thing Two Tone may have been,or not been, they were completely DIY in execution.,and incredibly successful at it.!?

Terry, was in the early line up for Coventry Punk Rockers "Squad"...whether it's 'The' Squad and not just the contracted version I dunno,but it was fashionable for record labels to drop the "The" at the beginnings of Band Names,like when Virgin insisted that The Ruts had to be called, just ,"Ruts", to be cool enuff for Richard Branson.

Terry was there, in "Squad", for about five minutes;but long enough to get a writing credit for "Red Alert",I don't think he got recorded, but the singer on the plastic does sound uncannily like him....Gus Chambers, who,i am told,is also deceased!? From imbibing  an accidental cocktail of his medication and alcohol...not recommended.

In fact "Squad" are a fine example of no-one is bigger than the team,as the line-up was totally different for their second,less charming, single as compared to the original line-ups...including terry, who went onto pastures during the first ten minutes of "Squad's" existence....presumably joining the Coventry Automatics, aka Special aka. 

As there were several bands called "Squad" in the UK, they could have had interchangeable personnel if only they knew of each others  being. 

Concrete Fly-overs, Lady Godiva , and Two Tone is what Coventry is known for, and Terry is part of that forever,the pleasant chap he apparently was....hopefully still is?

No, I don't own this record...its as rare as Hens Teeth.

ps....i'm gonna have to change tack...this is getting dee-pressing!

Tracklist:

A Red Alert
B £8-A-Week

DOWNLOAD and sound the alert...life ain't a permanent condition!? HERE!

Slant – "1집" - ((Iron Lung Records – LUNGS-174) 2021

Unbelievably I found a North Korean Punk band!?....well...er....no, not really. Just looking at the picture of young people just having fun would be crime enough for them to have been executed by artillery fire in the Peoples Democratic Republic on the wrong side of the Demilitarized Zone where 'Fun' is strictly Illegal and enforced.

No,Slant are certainly NOT North Korean,nor are they a Korean Slint tribute band....although 'Slant' the 'Slint' Tribute band should really exist somewhere? They are ,however, from the Korean peninsula,on the right side of the Demilitarized Zone.south of the 38th parallel.

They play american style 21st century Hardcore Punk very efficiently, with a rather attractive be-tattooed young lady screaming some lyrics about how crap it is in the north (bit like it is in England)and loud enough to detach a couple of her Tattoo's.

Rumour has it that Kim Jong-Un has taken a shine to the young lady singer Keji,and is considering having her kidnapped and forced to consummate a marriage with one of his belly's. Should she not comply, the same fate that befell the charming singer of his father's best favourite band,Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble,Yun Hye-yong,would apply to her. Which is to be the only person to be executed while still in a coma from a desperate escape attempt.

Of course ,Kim Jong-Un hasn't really got his beady little roving eye on young Keji at all...I'm making it up in the tradition of all great Dictators everywhere.Taken to new heights recently by Phil Collins impressionist and short arse,Vladimir Putin,who also isn't too shy about shagging about either.

Tracklist:

A1 Enemy
A2 Terminal
A3 How Did It Feel?
A4 Stagnation
A5 Travesty
B1 Prison
B2 Effigy
B3 Violent Minds
B4 Modern Addictions
B5 Casualty

DOWNLOAD this potential death sentence HERE!

женская дисгармония (Female Disharmony) - "«62 п​а​р​а​л​л​е​л​ь​» tape ' 14" (Bandcamp) 2015

 
Zhenskayadisgarmoniya, or Female Disharmony, from the punk rock hinterland of Yakutsk in sunny Siberia show us spoilt brats in the western world, Moscow and beyond how to Rock like cro-magnon womens libbers from a violent stone age from around the early days after the creation of the Earth 3000 years ago. This music's brutality is personally responsible for the enormous melting sinkholes in the Siberian permafrost. The only nearest western equivalents of this sound i can think of is maybe Noh Mercy,only straight.

Gay cavewomen didn't exist until well into the 1600's,and were often seen dying their breast hair blue before the annual Morris dance.They sadly had a difficult time convincing the Witchfynder General of their lack of satanic cred,and many succumbed to the ducking stool before the survivors escaped on the Mayflower to form, what we call today, The Republican Party.

Tracklist:

1. что мы ненавидим 00:37
2. дом 01:20
3. киска кот 01:34
4. ласточка 01:11

ANNEX for free from a part of the motherfuckerland that putin never knew existed HERE!

"П​р​и​т​о​н (Den)" + "Live 2018" by Притон (Den) - (Youth Of The North ) 2016/8

Yakutsk Siberia, December 2016, with an outside temperature of around -43°C (-45°F), Притон,or in the king's English,"Den", (so named after a Russian word to describe the dens where drug users and criminals gather...oooer! Mummy!) locked themselves inside their studio to record a self-titled album with a Tascam CC-222 tape recorder. Not sure this would exempt themselves from Putin's medieval mobilisation of anyone with at least one leg,but it should. That murdering cunty mcCuntface,Putin, likely has no idea where Yakutsk is.....but then again nor do we.Ask an American where England is and he'll say that you can drive to it by going north from New York;ask him where Yakutsk is and he'll probably punch you.

Watch out Ukraine Притон are coming!

Digital technology has never sounded so bad.Making the most sophisticated of sound systems sound like its been played back through a 70's telephone receiver. An altogether sludgier, fuzzier, experience than fellow Yakutsk inmates Katiny Slezki, whom we all adore of course....don't we boys and girls?

Proves that not all Russians are genocidal barbarians, child rapists and thieves...just most of them...as far as I know anyway.Indeed, one never knows but its quite possible that as I write this the male members of Den have probably already been forced to kill old men and rape children with their commanding officer making sure they follow orders at gunpoint.All this eight time zones of distance between them and home.In fact i live closer here in France to Ukraine than the residents of Yakutsk do.At least they should be safe from the first tranche of nuclear fall-out,unless they've all been conscripted.

Let's look on the bright side shall we(?), at least there'll be plenty of hardcore stuff to write about for the next album?.....that's if they haven't had their skulls crushed under the tracks of a stolen Russian T-90 driven with alacrity by battle hardened laughing Ukrainians.In which case these are probably the last П​р​и​т​о​н albums for the foreseeable future.....puts a new angle on breaking up I suppose.....those crazy rock'n'rollers.

Tracklist:

Притон:

1. Портвейн 01:05
2. В лесу ебутся кошки 01:05
3. Притон 00:51
4. Сойти с ума от холода 00:57
5. Хэй Рокеры 01:42
6. Танцуй шлюха 00:41
7. Антихрист 01:27

Live 2018 but will they be a-live in 2023?

LIVE 2018:

1. ПРИТОН 00:53
2. АНТИХРИСТ 02:00
3. ПОРТВЕЙН 01:04
4. В ЛЕСУ ЕБУТСЯ КОШКИ 01:46
5. ТАНЦУЙ ШЛЮХА 00:38
6. РОКЕРЫ 02:14

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"Everything" by Katiny Slezki (self-Released on Bandcamp) 2017

I was gonna carry on with my lowdown on rubbish original wave punk follow-up albums,and post every available mix of The Heartbreakers "L.A.M.F.", which is neither rubbish or a follow-up album,but has that same damning 'muddy' sound that bedeviled Punk groups in 1978 onwards.(by the way the best mix turned out to be on "The Found Masters 1977",just edging out the cassette mix)

Of course The Heartbreakers were more accurately labelled Street Rock,who luckily got invited onto the infamous Anarchy tour,and soon picked up the fashion sense of the epoch,leading to a rushed recording session to get an album out before the Pistols.....which everybody managed to do, easily.

Therefore I won't bore you, and myself, with such shameless self-indulgences.

The mean streets of lower Manhattan in 1976 were a holiday camp compared to the isolated and depressing desert of,Thee official coldest,not coolest, city on earth Yatutsk in deepest Siberia,where my bestest favourite Siberian Punk band come from; the rather very good indeed Katiny Slezki.Who are like a cross between a PTSDed Teenage Jesus and the Jerks,with The White Stripes on really baaaaad drugs.

Watching the news today I'm getting very worried for the male members of the band who are prime candidates for getting drafted into the Russian army as canon fodder for the insane objectives of their malfunctioning nation. 

Firstly they are just the people Putin would like to get rid of,and second, they live in the kind of arse-end of the bag place that contains a  population of racially ambiguous  'Russians' who will not be missed by the middle classes in St Petersburg and Moscow.

They've got a lot of crazed stuff on Bandcamp, but I have more that isn't on there,including my fav "Unreleased Tracks 2016 EP".Got some mad numbers on there.

I sincerely hope they avoided the mobilisation,escaped to Mongolia or something,and we shall hear of them again after some brave patriot Offs Putin.

Come back Katiny Slezki we evil westerners love you.

DOWNLOAD everything by Katiny Slezki on their bandcamp HERE!

and

DOWNLOAD everything else that isn't on bandcamp HERE!

The Damned – "Music For Pleasure" (Stiff Records – SEEZ 5) 1977

 Now for number 2 in the terrible 2nd album by original wave UK Punk groups, the much maligned "Music For Pleasure".

The story has it that the zanier half of of the group wanted Syd Barrett to produce the follow up to their near perfect debut on Stiff, "Damned Damned Damned";but the nearest the management could get was the Floyd's drummer, Nick Mason, who seemed to not be interested in music at all,even as part of one of the biggest bands on the planet. This could also have been a reposte towards the Pistols' "I Hate Pink Floyd" DIY t-shirts, as an expression of Punk envy. The Damned were always thought of as the Other Punk group,in a poor third place to the Pistols and The Clash. Captain Sensible,did however beat Lydon to outing his own Prog Rock credentials , as a life long Soft Machine obsessive.He and his proggy mates used to stalk Mike Ratledge dressed as...... Mike Ratledge,including the hair. However , as Ray Burns, he was in the most proto-punk of all proto-punk bands The great Johnny Moped band,along with, of all people Chrissy Hynde......I notice that this wasn't mentioned in that rather daft TV series "Pistol",where apparently Chrissy was the very talented lover of the illiterate pistol,Steve Jones.When in fact she could hardly hold a chord down as a member of The Moors Murderers and the Johnny Moped band.

What the Damned expected Syd Barrett to do behind the controls when everyone knew he could hardly talk never mind leave his Flat I really don't know? I doubt he was even aware of what was happening to the UK music scene either.

Only slightly better,Nick Mason was at least 'normal',and had some clue about what Punk Rock was,which is obvious when listening to his production job on this album. He's opted for the raw rawk'n'roll angle,as if captured 'live', and to a certain extent he succeeded,as these songs sound like a very lifeless,medium slow set of Demo's.

The songs seem to be rejected leftovers from  Brian James's time in the London SS,with ambitions towards some kind of Yob Metal,supposedly why unnecessary 'fifth' member Lu Edmonds was added to the line-up,to add more meat to the riffs.He does seem to just play exactly the same chords sequences as Brian does.Good live but pointless in the studio,but at least it allowed James to do his short solo's without stopping the riffage.

The mix does sound as if Nick Mason was actually deaf,which was highly possible,with it's horrible mid-range dominant  EQ mud....a common problem shared by second album Adverts it seems.

I suspect that Mason had done his punk research by playing The Clash's debut,took notes then tried to impose his version,noting the basic production values....trouble was the group wanted to make a hard rock record like The Clash's crisply over-produced follow up was to be.So, probably some brownie points there for the Floyd drummer;even though he was likely dreaming of cars rather than concentrating on the job.

I played this uncomfortable record a lot back in the day,and never thought it was as awful as the revered British music press,and Stiff records thought it was. It was only £2.50 after all, which cushioned the disappointment, and my schoolboy income........the bank of mum.

In comparison to the debut album, this record pales in insignificance,but when compared to the albums they released in the eighties,its a punk rock masterpiece. (I suppose Machine Gun Etiquette could join it in joint second place I suppose?)

The ears do get some relief with the bonus tracks, notably "Sick Of Being Sick",the B-side to "Stretcher Case",which must have been recorded at Pathway studio's, with Nick Lowe (it says Shel Tamy on the label)It has that first album sound,which would have been better served as the A-side..It was certainly not Nick Mason anyhow.He'd long gone,speeding off in his classic British sports car back to his mansion in the countryside,to indulge his car obsession.

Tracklist:

1.Problem Child 2:12
2.Don't Cry Wolf 3:13
3.One Way Love 4:23
4.Politics 2:25
5.Stretcher Case 2:32
6.Idiot Box 5:39
7.You Take My Money 1:59
8.Alone 4:15
9.Your Eyes 3:30
10.Creep (You Can't Fool Me) 2:14
11.You Know 5:02

Bonus Tracks:

12.Help 1:46

13.Sick of being Sick 2:32

14.Singalongaacabies 0:59

DOWNLOAD for your pleasure HERE!

The Adverts – "Cast Of Thousands" - The Ultimate Edition (The Devils Own Jukebox – SDEVIL905CD) 2005 / 1979

Another endlessly interesting and debatable aspect of the Punk Rock Explosion,is the seeming inability of any first or second wave group to actually expand upon the theme."What do we do now?"

A clutch of what, at the time, seemed like bloody terrible albums, were squeezed from between the butt cheeks of the new wave of Rock'n'Roll. A question as contentious as the "Who invented the Punk Rock" dilemma,is "What was Punk after Punk"? If you were The Buzzcocks or The Ramones it meant carrying on doing the same thing over and over again, maybe write the odd longer song,but they painted themselves into a corner. If you were The Adverts it meant getting a classically trained keyboard player to clunk away, Elton John and his fat stumpy fingers style, along with the newly penned two chord blunders from the gifted pen of T.V.Smith.Thankfully the record company didn't supply a string section,but the key-bored player had a polyphonic synth to supply a subtle wash of horrible string sounds. This difficult second album has,like a lot of prog albums, that lingering foul taste of the failed musical about it. However,as fan-bloody-tastic "Crossing The Red Sea" was,things were moving fast in the direction of experimentation for Punk's derocked  children in what is now referred to as 'Post-Punk'.Back then it was all thoughr of as punk proper...was it not?

The Pop Group, Gang Of Four, PiL,etc had kicked the chair from under the phenomenon that made all this possible,and the first wave survivors were dangling from a rope  after being caught in a post-punk pincer movement.

Despite wishing I was going out with Gaye Advert from beyond the first singles time, before she started getting constantly drunk and putting on the weight, one had hardly noticed that the Adverts had released a 'second' album,which upon leafing through the 'A' section in our local secondhand record emporium,

I had stumbled upon. I had heard "Televisions Over", and thought it was certainly rather splendid lyrically, but sounded a bit dodgy,like it had been recorded in a damp cardboard box.The drums sounded like cardboard too,and the guitar had all the bottom end and top end taken off,leaving this mid-range mud as the backing to Teev's impressively impassioned vocals....and it was so slow that it had got stuck in it's own mud.

Maybe the album was different?......turns out it was worse!/

As we now know, Timothy Smith is a rather fine wordsmith, and the words and tunes on "Cast Of Thousands, crackle with spiteful cynicism , the trouble is those dreadful keyboards.Be it a failed attempt at musicality,or to be taken seriously,or a desperate attempt to appear to be moving forward.....I dunno!? The trick was not to go forwards but to turn left or right,and whip out the oblique strategies cards.

Its another album that needs to be drastically re-mixed by someone who knows about EQ. The guitar needs re-recording, even though Howard Pickup is probably the worst guitarist in the Punk Years, which is indeed some kind of honor.Maybe they had it in mind to record Howard's parts again, but gave up the idea after he left rehearsals one day,said see you tomorrow,and was never seen again!

Of course Super-Fan of virtually everything that ever existed, Henry Rollins, is constantly ejaculating superlatives for The Adverts, saying stuff as if channeling the scriptwriter of Fast and Furious 79 million.Such as (I'm making this up by the way)This album kicks serious butt like a nuclear blast in a sea of napalm, or equally silly words to that effect. 

The fact is this album sounds like having a couple of pints of mud poured in yer ears, but I've grown to love it like a disabled child.....I now adore the sludgy guitar sound,and have zoned out the piano.I even like the flaccid wet cardboard sound of the drums?,,,,you can get to like most things if you dump your conceptions and preconceptions down the shitter. I need to like this album more than anything,the songs are badly recorded classics,but they remain classic....I surrender (my fav hymn to apathy ever),its flawed, killed off one of the best groups of my Epiphanal years ,ended Gaye's musical career,but ,like an ugly girlfriend you've  grown to love , I've....er...grown to love it.

The radio sessions included here,are a short but imperfect glimpse into what might have been. For the "Cast of Thousands" tracks a better production job clears away the dirt slightly,just as you'd expect from the BBC,plus a couple of tunes that TV would use for the much hyped Explorers album,which also bombed.However the classic session tracks on the bonus disc,tend to overshadow the later material somewhat unfortunately.....as they would for most Punk tunes.

The Adverts were a great example of how you could do Punk without going Metal.Mainly because they couldn't play their instruments...for real this time instead of a stunt by a svengali shop manager. 

Tim Smith would persevere over the ensuing thirty plus years,to now be a big draw as a solo artists with his intense one man shows....its never too late.

Tracklist:

Cast Of Thousands:

1.1 Cast Of Thousands
1.2 The Adverts
1.3 My Place
1.4 Male Assault
1.5 Television's Over
1.6 Fate Of Criminals
1.7 Love Songs
1.8 I Surrender
1.9 I Looked At The Sun
1.10 I Will Walk You Home

Bonus Tracks:
1.11 Television's Over (Single Version)
1.12 Back From The Dead

The Complete Adverts Radio Sessions:

2.1 One Chord Wonders
2.2 Bored Teenagers
2.3 Gary Gilmore's Eyes
2.4 Newboys
2.5 Quickstep
2.6 We Who Wait
2.7 New Church
2.8 Safety In Numbers
2.9 Great British Mistake
2.10 Fate Of Criminals
2.11 Television's Over
2.12 Love Songs
2.13 Back From The Dead
2.14 I Surrender
2.15 The Adverts
2.16 I Looked At The Sun
2.17 Cast Of Thousands
2.18 I Will Walk You Home

DOWNLOAD the lost chord wonders HERE!

Reagan Youth – "Youth Anthems For The New Order" (R Radical Records – RYR 831) 1984

Yeah, it's guess what I did today part 2.....answers on a postcard to Reagan Youth Superfan, Vladimir Putin,The Kremlin, Moscow via China via Taiwan.The one delivered by hand to that Chinese Dictator bloke by Nancy Pelosi is the winner, who will gets free lessons in roofing techniques by yours truly.

Shoot!...i gave it away slightly,because i spent the afternoon,gluing down tiles on my roof ready for the ruthless winter wind swooping down from the Pyrenees.It was cooler today,only a refreshing 31 degrees. 

Yesterday my travails were accompanied by Adrenalin O.D.,so today's US Hardcore classic has to be Reagan Youth ;who contrary to popular opinion were absolutely NOT the official KKK hardcore band.......although there were plenty more that were......not that I've really got anything against that on a musical level,in fact its adds a bit of spice to the proceedings,shakes things up a tad.There ain't much music these days that is strictly Taboo,and i guess racist redneck punk is certainly taboo...so if i'm attracted to the wrongness of it, then so will more sinister folk.

This copy of "Youth Anthems For The New Order"is one of those expanded complete deluxe edition that are so popular among the sideways-ly mobile middle Classes over 60 these days.Although Hardcore was made for eleven minute long 13 track 7" ep's, now we have two hour long versions including every piece of shite that a band ever recorded.

The original E.P is represented here on tracks 53-59, beefed up with endless alternative versions, live tracks,and alternate mixes.....rather silly.

As for the music, I'll substitute my personal feelings with an hilariously pretentious critique of a Don Van Vliet painting from 1989.....i feel the words used are perfect for analyzing Reagan Youth in 1984?

 'Beefheart's remarkable art - a raw vibrant collision of colours, muscular brushstrokes and vivid physical tableaux - has a strong element of mischief about it. He challenges your sense of dimension and natural order while reaffirming, with a kind of aggro-primitivist delight, his love of nature itself, a trademark theme of his music and poetry as well. One 1985 painting, 'Pig Erases Statue In Passing', has a dark maroon, rather elongated hog striding purposefully past an interlocking array of distorted hybrid figures, some humanesque, one the head of a steely grey horse. The pig stands out from the chaos as a beast of pride and purpose.' 

I also think that, like The Pig, Reagan Youth stood out from the chaos as a beast of pride and purpose...at least until the second Ep,anyway.

Personally,always courting the unpopular opinion,Don Van Vliet's paintings are largely pretentious shite,but fun to look at,decorative at best.

I'm pushing my luck expressing an interest in Red Neck Punk and dissing Captain Beefheart's frankly rubbish painting.....but admittedly not as bad as Ronnie Wood's irredeemably terrible tableaux.

It's been a long time since i've been called a nazi asshole, so here's hopin'!?

At least i fixed the roof without falling off.....although i came close after listening to some of the terrible production values on this Reagan Youth box set......did someone say "Reagan Youth Box Set."???

An "aggro-primitivist delight" indeed but certainly remarkably "Jejune" in content.I may even detect a Crass influence here,with the fold out poster and monotonous politics.

But tracks 53 to 59 are nearly perfect.In a way.

Tracklist:

A Collection Of Pop Classics By
Reagan Youth Vol 1
1-1 Reagan Youth 1:16
1-2 New Aryans 1:17
1-3 (Are You Really) Happy? 1:34
1-4 No Class 1:34
1-5 I Hate Hate! 1:58
1-6 Degenerated 2:22
1-7 (You're A) Gonowhere 1:22
1-8 U.S.A 1:23
1-9 Anytown 2:00
Reagan Youth Vol 2
1-10 In Dog We Trust 2:47
1-11 It's A Beautiful Day 3:53
1-12 Jesus Was A Communist 1:44
1-13 Urban Savages 1:24
1-14 What Will The Neighbors Think? 3:50
1-15 Get The Ruler Out 2:25
1-16 Brave New World 4:30
1-17 Miss Teen America 2:46
1-18 Heavy Metal Shuffle 4:38
1-19 Queen Babylon 5:12
1-20 Acid Rain 1:55
1-21 One Holy Bible 6:12
1-22 Back To The Garden (Parts I-IV) 4:07
1-23 Heaven & Hell (CBGB's 1988) 2:59
Live & Rare
2-1 It's A Beautiful Day - CBGB's 6/25/83 3:09
2-2 Degenerated - CBGB's 5/28/83 2:27
2-3 Go Nowhere - CBGB's 3/5/83 1:22
2-4 New Aryans - CBGB's 3/5/83 1:36
2-5 No Class - CBGB's 5/3/83 1:47
2-6 Urban Savages - CBGB's 5/3/83 1:18
2-7 Brave New World - CBGB's 3/5/83 3:02
2-8 Acid Rain - CBGB's 12/17/83 1:09
2-9 Anytown - CBGB's 12/17/83 1:59
2-10 Are You Happy - CBGB's 12/17/83 1:59
2-11 U.S.A. - CBGB's 12/17/83 1:56
2-12 I Hate Hate - CBGB's 5/28/83 1:56
2-13 In Dog We Trust - CBGB's 11/20/83 3:01
2-14 Reagan Youth - Studio Spring 1982 1:21
2-15 U.S.A. - Studio 10/82 1:24
2-16 I Hate Hate - Studio 5/83 1:54
2-17 Degenerated - Studio 5/83 2:18
2-18 Brave New World - Vol 1 Out-Take 1982 4:09
2-19 New Aryans (Alternate Version) 1:23
2-20 Anytown (Alternate Version) 2:01
2-21 Go Nowhere (Alternate Version) 1:24
2-22 Reagan Youth (Alternate Version) 1:22
2-23 In Dog We Trust (Alternate Version) 2:43
2-24 U.S.A. (Alternate Version) 1:00
2-25 I Hate Hate (Instrumental) 1:53
2-26 Ace Of Spades - CBGB's 1984
2-27 Anytown - Rehersal 2:06
2-28 Reagan Youth - CBGB's Ratcage Benefit 11/20/82 1:27
2-29 Postlude - Demo 1988 1:01
Power Anthems For The New Order
A1 New Aryans (Original R-Radical Version)
A2 Reagan Youth (Original R-Radical Version)
B1 (Are You Really) Happy? (Original R-Radical Version)
B2 I Hate Hate! (Original R-Radical Version)
C Degenerated (Original R-Radical Version)
D1 U.S.A (Original R-radical Version)
D2 (You're A) Gonowhere (Original R-Radical Version)

DOWNLOAD the reagan of your youth HERE!

Adrenalin O.D. – "The Wacky Hi-Jinks Of Adrenalin O.D." (Buy Our Records – BOR-12-002-CS)

This is one of those "Hey guess what I'm doing today" posts so beloved of those Facebook,Instagram,and Twitter type twats.

We Bloggers look down our hooked noses at this kind of narcissistic behavior,and also one has to say it's all so terribly "Jejune"??????

jejune

/dʒɪˈdʒuːn/

Learn to pronounce

adjective

1. 1.

   naive, simplistic, and superficial.

   "their entirely predictable and usually jejune opinions"

   Similar:

   naive

   simple

   innocent

   artless

   guileless

   unworldly

   childlike

   ingenuous

   unsophisticated

   inexperienced

   ignorant

   green

   immature

   callow

   trusting

   trustful

   unsuspicious

   unwary

   unguarded

   credulous

   gullible

   easily taken in

   unaffected

   without airs

   open

   frank

   uninhibited

   natural

   unpretentious

   spontaneous

   down-to-earth

   childish

   juvenile

   puerile

   silly

   infantile

   wet behind the ears

   Opposite:

   sophisticated

   mature
2. 2.

   (of ideas or writings) dry and uninteresting.

   Similar:

   boring

   dull

   dull as ditchwater

   tedious

   dreary

   uninteresting

None of the above applies to me of course.....except maybe all of it!

No, i'm not gonna post a photoshopped selfie,but i will tell you what I was doing today,and its jolly interesting,listen to this.....I was painting my roof terrace in 36 degrees C of ruthless greenhouse effected heat, whilst admiring the breathtaking views of the Larzac Plateau in les parcs du l'Haut-Languedoc (Unesco Listed),while listening to Adrenaline O.D.'e debut LP at high volume....such Hi-Jinks. One of the greatest moments in the evolution of US Hardcore,with sublimely chunky guitar sounds like electrified mud shoveled down yer dancing pants. The delicate juxtapositioning of these two extremes did not escape my appreciation......unlike the instructions on the paint tin which said not to use in temperatures above 29 degrees Celsius.....Whoops!>

But, what I like most of all about this rather fine platter,is that its so incredibly motherfuckingly "JEJUNE"! (according to definition number 1 of course.Definition 2 probably applies to this post).

SIDE 1:
1 A.O.D. Vs. Godzilla
2 White Hassle
3 New Years Eve
4 Small Talk
5 Going To A Funeral
6 Corporate Disneyland
7 Trans Am (The Saga Continues)
SIDE 2:
1 Sightseeing
2 Middle-aged Whore
3 World War IV
4 Clean And Jerk
5 Sleep
6 Rah-Jah!
7 Rock & Roll Gas Station
8 Paul's Not Home

DOWNLOAD 24 minutes of adrenaline fueled punk rock HERE!