The Donnas – ‘The Atlantic Years’ (Cherry Red Records)

The Donnas – ‘The Atlantic Years’ (Cherry Red Records)

I started listening to the Donnas back around their ‘American Teenage Rock ‘n’ Roll Machine’ album and never stopped. As their sound became a little more developed through the years, their eventual signing with Atlantic Records after what is still my favourite album by them (‘The Donnas Turn 21’) was not a surprise. They had put in a ton of work over the years building a fan base and refining their sound. The Ramones inspired early singles had been incorporating more influences as the band found their own sound. I really thought the band would explode with the release of their major label debut ‘Spend the Night,’ but it never happened. This collection brings together both of the albums they released through Atlantic, as well as a disc of bonus tracks.  

At this stage, the band had somewhat blended a pop-punk and hair metal approach with their own special ingredients. ‘Spend the Night’ comes rocking out of the gate with one of my favourite songs on the album- ‘It’s on the Rocks.’ There is no let-up across the album as one gem after another comes next. The lyrics from the Donnas have always been cool as they are filled with attitude, sass, and cool. ‘Who Invited You,’ ‘Pass It Around,’ and ‘Too Bad About Your Girl’ are just three more examples of excellence across a great album. This disc is flushed out with a couple of bonus tracks. ‘Big Rig’ reminds me sonically of their previous album and features an effective but more subtle chorus. Finally, ‘Backstage’ provides a nice close to the first disc in the package with awesome vocals by Brett Anderson.

The second disc in this package is ‘Gold Medal’ with a bonus track. This was the first and really only time that I wasn’t hooked on a Donnas album. It remains my least listened to in their catalogue. I think the major factor for me was that the production seemed a little slicker and more polished. The first single, ‘Fall Behind Me’, didn’t jump out of the speakers to knock the listener around. It had a smooth feel that felt more radio-friendly. From the outside, it felt like the record label was exerting pressure, which is unfortunate, as I think I would have enjoyed these songs a lot more with more of a live feel. I have played the follow-up album ‘Bitchin” significantly more over the years. One of my favourites is ‘Don’t Break Me Down’ where the guitar work by Allison Robertson shines in the mix.  The title track reminds me more of something from the Nuggets era. I remember my new CD when this was released accidentally cut ‘Have You No Pride’ in about the middle of the song, and had to be replaced. ‘Lost and Found’ closes out the CD with a livelier feel than the album songs and will likely find its way onto my custom Donna’s playlist.

The last CD in the package is likely of more interest to long-term fans who are already familiar with the first two discs. ‘Hyperactive’ reminds me how awesome the ‘Get Skintight’ album is, with a much stronger punk influence. Maya Ford (bass) and Torry Castellano (drums) provided an awesome rhythm section for the band. Going back further with ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Machine’ helps showcase the growth of a band that maintained their brilliance until they left us. The exuberance of youth is infectious and demands the body to move with the beat as we sing along at the top of our lungs. ‘Mama’s Boy’ comes kicking and screaming out of the speakers before we get the old album track ‘Play My Game.’  Now, we start getting some harder to find items with a lot of live songs included and some alternate mixes. An acoustic ‘Don’t Break Me Down’ delivers the goods and showcases in another way how brilliant the song is. The electric guitar solo works perfectly over the acoustic frame. The alternate mix of ‘Fall Behind Me’ provides a nice twist with the electric guitar riff mixing perfectly with rocking acoustic sections. Other standouts on this disc include ‘Done With You’ with the band delivering an attitude and hook-filled song that will also be on future Donnas’ playlists. Covering Billy Idol is not an easy proposition, but the Donnas deliver a fun version of ‘Dancing With Myself.’ The final ten songs are live recordings and showcase what a great live band the Donnas were.

I still rock my ‘The Donnas Turn 21’ shirt and get comments from strangers of what a great band they were. Their catalog still sounds fresh, and this release should be welcomed by long-time fans like me as well as the passers-by who want something by the band. For those looking for a place to start, I highly recommend this and all their other albums. You have a gold mine of music to discover.

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Author: Gerald Stansbury

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Motorhead – ‘Another Perfect Day’ 40th Anniversery Edition (BMG)

Motorhead – ‘Another Perfect Day’ 40th Anniversery Edition (BMG)

The latest Motorhead album to get the deluxe 12″ book treatment along side ‘Iron Fist’ and ‘No Sleep’ albums as opposed to the superb box sets of ‘1977’ and ‘Ace Of Spades’ is 1983s ‘Another Perfect Day’ This brand new half speed master from the original tapes also includes a full live show of a recently unearthed concert recorded at Hull City Hall on June 22nd 1983. As well as the story of ‘Another Perfect Day’ told through previously unpublished and new interviews and never before seen photos and rare memorabilia. I’ll let Kenny explain the diamond in this most impressive set.

Motorhead – Live at Hull City Hall, 22nd June 1983

1983 was a strange year in the Motorhead camp. ‘Fast’ Eddie Clark had left the band after Lemmy’s dabbling’s with Wendy O Williams, (apparently, Eddie was less than pleased with their ill-fated cover of Tammy Wynette’s Stand By Your Man.) The man who replaced Eddie was ex Thin Lizzy axeman Brian ‘Robbo’ Robertson. On paper, a good choice you would think. In hindsight, this era was the most divisive in Motorhead’s long history. Robbo was reported to be a bit ‘difficult’ while being in the band, refusing to play standards such as Ace of Spades live and wearing questionable clothing on stage, shorts and ballet shoes?? (much to Lemmy’s annoyance.)

Drummer Phil ‘Philthy Animal’ Taylor was said to be a bit of a fanboy of Robbo and he couldn’t do any wrong in his eyes. Robbo’s tenure in the band was short lived but he left us a fine album with Another Perfect Day. The Motorheadbangers were unsure at the time, sales of the album reflected this, it only reached number 20 in the UK charts for example. Over time though, the album has gained critical acclaim, I think it’s a great album myself, Robbo brought some much-needed melody to the songs while it was still unquestionably Motorhead.

As part of the 40th anniversary release of the album we get a cracking snapshot of the Robbo era in a live setting with a full set recorded at Hull City Hall in June ’83. The band really are on fire here, tracks like Heart of Stone, Rock It, Dancing On Your Grave, and standardslike Shoot You In The Back & The Chase Is Better Than The Catch sound great. If there was any animosity between the band members at the time you certainly can’t pick that up here.

This is a wonderful addition to the original album that’s been remastered and repackaged beautifully on vinyl and CD formats. Go and give ‘Another Perfect Day’ a listen if you haven’t for a while. You’ll be pleasantly surprised….

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Author: Kenny Kendrick

The Libertines – ‘Up The Bracket’ 20th Anniversary Edition Box Set (Rough Trade)

The Libertines – ‘Up The Bracket’ 20th Anniversary Edition Box Set (Rough Trade)

‘Up The Bracket’ was one of those debut albums that had all the magic of a Rock and Roll band with the danger, the mystique, the band of brothers, the excitement the infamy, the notoriety, but above all the songs to back up all the claims and chaos that went with the band. The intricate workings of the main songwriters Doherty and Barat wouldn’t have worked without the rhythm section of Gary and John holding the ship steady through some choppy seas and letting the two songwriters have the freedom to weave their magic. I say this without hesitation but the Libertines were and are genius bands like this don’t come along that often and sometimes they can fall through the cracks they may have proven to be flawed but their genius is everlasting through their music and the fact they are still together and sounding as good as ever and being older and hopefully wiser right decisions are now being made and charting their early formative years in this box set is a beautiful thing. For a start getting Mick Jones to produce the record was a masterstroke because if anyone knew exactly where the band was coming from it would be Jones.

There’s a mammoth amount of music to get through on this comprehensive labor of love with live recordings, demos, and a remaster of the original album. The box set also includes a treasure trove of extras. a lavish sixty-page book with some amazing photographs and new interviews with the band and those who were circling the orbit of planet Libertine.

Of the 65 previously unreleased recordings many are original demos, radio sessions and live recordings all helping to chart the making of ‘Up The Bracket’, plus the jewel in the crown, a live recording from the 100 club in 2002. Imagine still owning a packet of Up The Bracket rizlas or some other priceless Libertines fanboy curio sadly I don’t. I still maintain that The Libertines sailed the closest to what The Clash was about musically, from the ragged intro of ‘Vertigo’ you find yourself handclapping along as the rowdy good times unfold and you’re taken back in time. After whizzing through the studio album the rapid raw energy of the 100 Club performance is epic and sweat-drenched and every sinew of energy is perfectly captured as a rapid ramshackle ‘Horror Show’ lights the gunpowder. The fantastic non album tracks with their howling feedback and shouting contest are brilliantly captured like ‘The Delaney’ and the shit-kicking single ‘What A Waster’. A fantastically captured time capsule where a band in full flight is captured.

Of the demos and studio jams, songs like ‘Wolfman’ will peak the deep dive interest of fans. I love the late-night jams that are songs like ‘7 Deadly Sins’ and acoustic jam ‘Mocking Bird’ with all the in-between banter left in which is somewhere fans aren’t normally able to attend. Grab a bottle of red sit back relax and turn off the light and imagine you’re in the room with the boys in the band.

There is a fair bit of repetition going on as one would expect when it’s focussed on a single album but there is so much more than what appeared on the record this is a beast of a box set. To hear and chart the progress of a song like ‘Boys In The Band’ is a treat from the germ of a song played with a drum machine Bontempi style, “oh so rudimentary” through the radio session to band-worked demo to what finally was rolled out on the finished shop product.

For the retro kids there is also a DVD for every song on the album as well as so much more cobbled together using never before seen footage and so much more like TOTP and Jools Holland all in one convenient place. Ask Santa or your nan for one of these because as far as box sets go this is right up there with the best.

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Author: Dom Daley

‘DANSE MACABRE’ – Celtic Frost pre sales

‘DANSE MACABRE’ – Celtic Frost pre sales

SUPER DELUXE BOX-SET

OF THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS : 1984 -1987

TO BE RELEASED ON 28th OCT IN UK/EU AND 25TH NOV IN USA/CA VIA BMG

The pre-order link for the boxset is here

It almost seems churlish to regard Celtic Frost as one of the great extreme metal bands, because they were so much more than that. It’s better to hail them as among the finest extreme and experimental bands of the 1980s. Refusing ever to do what was expected or demanded, the band constantly changed musical direction, always brought in surprising influences, and kept people guessing as to where they might venture next. Their catalogue of albums is formidable and unmatched. Each is not only unique, but part of an entire tapestry that only now can be appreciated for being a remarkable part of music history. Despite, or maybe because of, constant turmoil on so many fronts, Celtic Frost achieved an artistic level few others would even have dared to dream of aspiring towards. They climbed high because they were never afraid to fall. Which is why the band are now rightly regarded as icons, and iconoclasts.

‘Danse Macabre’ captures the radical ambition and evolution of Celtic Frost from 1984 through to 1987. In addition to the albums ‘Morbid Tales’, ‘To Mega Therion’ and ‘Into The Pandemonium’, the 7 marble colour vinyl box set also includes the ‘Emperor’s Return’, ‘Tragic Serenades’ and ‘I Won’t Dance’ EPs, along with ‘The Collectors Celtic Frost’ 12”, a 7” of ‘Visual Aggression’ and a cassette of rehearsals recorded at the band’s Grave Hill Bunker. A 12” x 12”, 40 page book, brings together photography – some previously unseen – from the era and brand new interviews with Tom Gabriel Warrior and Reed St Mark. A Heptagram USB drive contains MP3 audio of all the albums, including bonus tracks. A Danse Macabre woven patch, a double sided poster, and a Necromaniac Union fan club enamel badge complete the set. ‘Danse Macabre’ is also available as a 5 CD box set, with 40 page book, badge, poster and patch.

A very limited edition Glow In The Dark vinyl variant edition of the LP box set will be available via EMP and Nuclear Blast online. This is limited to 1000 units.

Slade – ‘All The World Is A Stage’ (BMG)

Slade – ‘All The World Is A Stage’ (BMG)

Amongst the many hundreds of concerts I’ve attended over the years, I still Slade as one of the best live bands I have been fortunate enough to see. I saw the classic line up of Noddy Holder, Jim Lea, Don Powell and Dave Hill twice, in Cardiff and Bristol, on the ‘til Deaf Us Do Part’ tour when I was around 14 years of age, and having initially fell in love with the band through their ‘Sladest’ album around 1974-75, I think this is proof positive that when you fall in love with a band early on in life they stick with you forever, especially when they are as awesome as Slade.

I’ve also collected the band’s back catalogue with an almost religious fervour over the years, and with Salvo having provided the almost definitive reissues of their recorded output as recently as 2006, including the ‘Slade Alive! (The Live Anthology)’ two CD set (which features three of the albums/concerts included here plus the ‘Slade Alive Vol. 2’ set which isn’t included here) you’ll forgive me if I admit that the purpose behind this all new ‘All The World Is A Stage’ 5CD box set is somewhat frustrating.  With only the CDs ‘Live At The New Victoria’ recorded on April 24 1975 and ‘Live At The Hucknall Miner’s Welfare Club’ recorded on June 26 1980 proving to be of any real interest, and at around £40 for the set, I have to say that’s a lot of money to spend when things are getting pretty tight at the moment.

Granted the ‘Alive! At Reading’ CD (which I’m sure some will also be buying this set for given its almost legendary status) restores the classics’ Tak’ Me Bak ‘Ome’, ‘Mama Weer All Crazee Now’ and ‘Cum On Feel The Noize’ (all missing from the Salvo reissue along with the ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ singalong) but it’s still not the full fifteen song set, and to include ‘Slade Alive!’ and ‘Slade On Stage’ but miss out ‘Slade Alive Vol. 2’ simply feels like an opportunity missed to finally give Slade fans as near a definitive live document of the band as they always excelled in that setting.  Or why not simply ditch the already released albums and just go with previously unreleased live sets, I’m sure there must be enough fans who would have snapped that 5CD set up?

To that effect, I find myself only briefly dipping into the review streams of ‘Slade Alive!’ and ‘Slade On Stage’ (they sound just as I expect them to), before moving quickly to ‘Alive! At Reading’ and that triumphant Sunday back in 1980 when Slade stepped in at short notice to replace Ozzy Osbourne’s Blizzard Of Oz and Gary Moore’s G Force on the Reading Festival bill and then proceeded to not only steal the show but also kickstart their ‘80s reawakening. There are a few sonic dropouts throughout this set, but it’s great to once again hear it in most of its glory, as my tape recording from the Friday Rock Show had long since disappeared from my collection, most probably leant out to a friend and never returned. 

Moving on to ‘Live At The New Victoria’ from April 1975 and not only does it capture the band live at the time I first started listening to them, but it also has a set list that centres largely around the band’s then new album and film ‘Slade In Flame’. The volume on the stream of this recording seemed to drop ever so slightly compared to the Reading set but it’s a rip-roaring run through a dozen of some of the finest songs the band ever penned. Okay ‘The Bangin Man’ might be stretching that definition a bit but this set is worth investing in just for the versions of ‘How Does It Feel’ (which is also my all-time favourite Slade song), ‘Far Far Away’ and the B-side ‘OK Yesterday Was Yesterday’ where Noddy slips into an impromptu Tommy Cooper impression for the song’s introduction. Amazing stuff indeed!

The ‘Live At The Hucknall Miner’s Welfare Club’ 1980 CD that closes this set out is (as far as I can tell) pretty much the full live set that Slade did a few nips and tucks on for their Reading 1980 set, and here the band sounds absolutely fantastic from opener ‘Dizzy Mama’ through to ‘Born To Be Wild’ which brings things to a suitably high energy end. I’m not sure how large the crowd was at this show but compared to the turbocharged sound Slade generate onstage they sound positively timid. This is the sound of Slade firing on all cylinders, yet seemingly on the verge of also splitting up due to their lack of commercial success at the time. Mind blowing stuff indeed.

Unfortunately, as I’ve only received a stream of this box set to review, I cannot tell what the twelve-page booklet or clamshell packaging is like, but what I can tell you is that the (mainly) previously unreleased live material really is exceptional.

As I said at the top of this piece Slade will always rank as one of the best live bands I’ve seen in my forty plus years of gig going and ‘All The World Is A Stage’ turns that fact up way past eleven…and then some. Magical stuff, even if the set is seemingly somewhat overpriced. I’ll let you decide if you snap one up now or wait for the price drop that will no doubt follow.

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Author: Johnny Hayward

Jellyfish – ‘When These Memories Fade’ Box Set

Jellyfish – ‘When These Memories Fade’ Box Set

JELLYFISH -‘ WHEN THESE MEMORIES FADE 7” VINYL SINGLES BOX SET’ RELEASED BY NEW LAND – 30 SEPTEMBER 2022

On 30th September 2022, reissue label New Land + celebrates the singles career of enigmatic ‘90s US rock band Jellyfish with the release of When These Memories Fade. This is the first-ever Jellyfish vinyl box set and is limited to 1,000 copies only. Inside are 7 remastered 7”s spanning the band’s original run of singles, a bonus ‘covers’ single exclusive to The Box Set, a deluxe 64-page booklet featuring interviews alongside previously unseen photographs, memorabilia, and for the Jellyfish completest, a 3D poster with custom Jellyfish glasses.

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While Jellyfish were only around for a short few years — they released two albums in the early ‘90s, which included some tracks from the singles collected here as well — their legend looms large some three-plus decades after their music first appeared in record shops.

Jellyfish formed in the late ‘80s out of the ashes of Beatnik Beatch, a power-pop band that included Bay Area high school pals Andy Sturmer and Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. That band released one album on Atlantic then split up, leaving Sturmer and Manning to their own devices. This resulted in the creation of Jellyfish and with it some of the most sublime pop music of the MTV era, featuring arrangements that demanded to be put under a microscope and witticism-laden lyrics that gazed at the world through a unique lens. Jellyfish existed both
within the rock trends of times and apart from them, meshing power pop, arena rock, and whatever other types of music fit a song’s mood in a way that turned each song into its own aural spectacle. “We don’t fit anywhere, and we’re up against a wall all the time,” Manning told the Los Angeles Times in 1993. “It would be very easy to slip into whatever the current fad is and cash in on that movement for as long as it lasts. Fortunately, we’re not associated with anything like that.” Their monster-sized hooks made them a pop band; their arch lyrics fit them in snugly alongside the too-cool-for-school modern rock crowd; they had a respect for the pop-rock titans who had preceded them, as proven with covers of Wings, Argent, Badfinger, Styx, Elton John, and other album-rock stars they’d stick into their live sets.


Jellyfish’s two albums, Bellybutton (1990) and their magnum opus Spilt Milk (1993), made clear that Sturmer and Manning were leaders of an album band—the songs flowed and crashed into one another, making each long-player its own self-contained universe. But their keen knowledge of pop’s inner workings, and the minute detailing that they gave to each song, made them undeniably a great singles band as well. Looking at them through this series of
seven 7-inches, we see a group who could create perfect power pop that had allegiances to the Beatles, ELO, Wings, XTC, Queen, Supertramp, and Todd Rundgren.

From their very first single ‘The King Is Half-Undressed’ through to gems like ‘Baby’s Coming Back’, ‘New Mistake’, ‘Bedspring Kiss’ ‘I Wanna Stay Home’, and ‘The Ghost At Number One’, these beautifully presented singles show us how on the money Jellyfish really were.

The Rods – ‘Metal Will Never Die’ (Hear No Evil Recordings/Cherry Red)

The Rods – ‘Metal Will Never Die’ (Hear No Evil Recordings/Cherry Red)

Hot on the heels of High Roller Records’ sensational set of vinyl reissues covering The Rods back catalogue from their 1980 debut right up to their 2011 reunion, this 4CD set from Cherry Red provides a rather poignant addendum to the band’s back story covering as it does the same period in time, albeit from a “live in-concert” perspective.

Formed in 1980 in Cortland New York, The Rods came from an age when sub-genres of rock/metal didn’t really exist, or in fact matter, and if “you rocked” – “you rocked”. As such, mainstays, guitarist and lead vocalist David ‘Rock’ Feinstein (guitarist and lead vocals) and drummer Carl Canedy – who are both still in the band to this very day – along with then bassist Steven Starmer, set out their clear mission statement by naming their excellent debut release ‘Rock Hard’.

Swapping out Stamer, for one Garry Bordonaro, before then being snapped up by Arista Records, who revamped and rejigged their debut and re-released it as a self titled album (set to take the rock world by storm). CD one of ‘Metal Will Never Die’ perfectly captures this fledgling version of the band via a dozen tracks recorded during two shows from 1981 and 1982 in El Paso, Texas.

If you have sampled any of Hear No Evil’s previous “bootleg” box sets from the likes of Riot or Humble Pie, it’s worth noting that that these archive Rods recordings are not finished live albums – like say ‘Live And Dangerous’ or ‘Live After Death’ – nah these recordings are rough ‘n’ ready, warts ‘n’ all, and originate for a variety of different sources, although most importantly they are all fully approved by the band themselves. In fact, you only have to leaf through the excellent 16-page booklet that accompanies this set to find out exactly what they think of the shows in question as David and Carl take you on a whistle-stop tour through their band history.

It’s the second CD that will probably be of most interest to UK based Rods’ fans. Recorded at Portsmouth Guildhall on 8th March 1982, this ten tracker is the band’s setlist from when they were supporting Iron Maiden on the UK leg of their Beast On The Road tour, and I must admit it’s an absolute riot to listen to four decades on. Okay granted the bass drops out during the opening couple of tracks ‘Rockin’ N Rollin’ Again’ and oddly they choose to follow this with ‘Waiting for Tomorrow’, another tune the band had yet to release (they both came from the band’s third album ‘Wild Dogs’), but as soon as the boogie-tastic ‘Get Ready To Rock And Roll’ kicks in everything just seems to click and just as I recall (from seeing them three nights later in Bristol) they really were on fire back then. The quality of this recording sounds (to my ears at least) to be taken from the soundboard and is totally (ahem) ‘In The Raw’. Great stuff!

From this tour onwards there seemed to be missed opportunities alongside each new album and numerous record deals that seemed to promise so much yet ended up providing the band with diminishing returns with each subsequent release. I mean, does anyone remember the ‘Hell On Earth’ UK tour from 1984 that was due to see The Rods play 11 shows alongside Exciter and a then little-known band by the name of Metallica? Nope, well it was cancelled due to poor ticket sales.

In the late 80s, with the band slowly becoming disillusioned with their management and record labels they began to drift apart and move on to new musical projects before disappearing from the scene altogether. Feinstein, Bordonaro and Canedy finally being tempted out of their self-imposed hiatus in 2008 to play a few live shows in Europe, and with their success the gig list just grew and grew, CD three showcasing the band at Germany’s Headbangers Festival in July 2009 and CD four boasting a great sounding 2010 home town show.

The Rods quickly followed this 2010 gig with their 2011 album ‘Vengeance’ and ‘Brotherhood Of Metal’ in 2019, and as I mentioned at the top of this review, still continue to this day, albeit as a newly expanded (and Bordonaro-less) four piece with their next studio album ‘Shockwave’ planned for a 2022. In the meantime, you’ve got those aforementioned High Roller vinyl reissues to invest in and of course this box set to enjoy too, this proving that ‘Metal Will Never Die’.

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Cherry Red Records

Author: Johnny Hayward

The Vibrators – ‘The Albums 85-90’ (Captain Oi!)

The Vibrators – ‘The Albums 85-90’ (Captain Oi!)

A follow up on two successful Captain Oi! box sets by the band, ‘THE EPIC YEARS’ and ‘THE ALBUMS 1979-85’

Disc One is the band’s first-ever live album that includes Punk classics like ‘Baby Baby’, ‘Automatic Lover’ and ‘Troops Of Tomorrow’. The recordings are vibrantly captured and the band’s boundless energy is well captured. When I’m listening it dawned on me how overlooked the band’s catalogue has been in general terms. Knox and the gang wrote some really great slabs of power pop punk rock and had it down to a tee and did it better than most of that time period. None more outstanding than ‘Amphetamine Blue’ which has stood the test of time and is still a stone-cold classic.

The second disc is 1988’s ‘Recharged’ album which features the single ‘String Him Along’ that opens the album in a more countrified power-pop but the band was able to go from that to the more aggressive and choppy ‘Hey Little Doll’. ‘Go Go Go’ is pure Rock n Roll’ and indicative of the time with regards to the production. One of my favourites off the album is the acoustic ‘Every Day I Die A Little’ maybe a predictable rise and fall middle section as the drums kick in but a top track all the same. Rounded off nicely with a crowd-edited rendition of ‘Disco In Moscow’.

Disc Three is the ‘Meltdown’ album which now adds the previously non LP ‘Wasted Life’ as a bonus track. ‘Office Girls’ kicked off the album and the band had lost none of their appetites to pen spikey punchy power pop, tight verses and uplifting chorus. Again I love the balladeering on ‘So Young’ with its great saxophone break from Waterboy Anthony Thislewaite that took the Green On Red sounding track into another direction making it one hell of a song. The band mixed the songs up quite a bit on ‘Meltdown’ running through their repertoire of influences from the balladeering to the tougher punkier songs and other genres getting some oxygen which helped make The Vibrators one of the best bands to emerge out of punk and beyond.

In under twelve months the band released the follow up to ‘Meltdown’ with the fourth disc in this set 1989’s ‘Vicious Circle’ album which features the Billy Fury cover of ‘Halfway To Paradise’ single and the rare bonus B-side ‘Drive’. With a better fuller more rounded production that really suited The Vibrators songs, ‘Vicious Circle’ kept the show on the road with topical ‘Polltax Blues’ adding some grunt to proceedings and that Stooges piano tonk underpinning the rolling riff.

Whilst ‘Fire’ was still snotty having it lean on the Billy Fury cover still sounds weird such is the contrast.

The final disc is the band’s tenth album, imaginatively called ‘Volume Ten’. Opening with ‘Losing It’ is something of a classic sounding Vibrators song with a strong pop melody and chorus glued together with a sharp guitar riff that leads to a palatable chorus. ‘Hot For You’ is more uptempo and yet another example as to how good the band was even when they did a cover of ‘Rave On’ which I’m still not sure about. It’s not like they were struggling with writer’s block and could have gone with just original tunes but hey ho what do I know.

The clamshell box also has a booklet containing detailed liner notes overseen by Jon ‘Eddie’ Edwards which are pretty cool.

For a relatively cheap amount of dosh, these Vibrators box sets are a fantastic purchase and people who possibly got blown off course and missed out on these recordings now have the chance to fill those gaps with some great records. Pick one up it’s a no-brainer!

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Author: Dom Daley

Faster Pussycat – ‘Babylon’ The Elektra Years 87-92 (Cherry Red Records)

Faster Pussycat – ‘Babylon’ The Elektra Years 87-92 (Cherry Red Records)

From the end of the ‘80s and early ‘90s Faster Pussycat were the premier league title holders of sleazy Hollywood Rock and Roll bands. As far as debut albums go, their self titled was released the same day as Appetite from Guns N Roses and this one has stood the test of time far better In my humble opinion. They managed to follow it up with the most excellent ‘Wake Me When It’s Over’ two years later and then after Grunge tried to kill off anything even resembling a hair metal band these cats knocked out the much underrated ‘Whipped’ in ’92.

There is also the Japan-only Live and rare EP and the ‘Nonstop EP’ wrapping up what is a complete set of previously released tracks.

Forming in Hollywood, California in 1985, and taking their name from Russ Meyer’s 1965 exploitation trash classic, Faster! Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, Taime Downe (lead vocals), Greg Steele (guitar), Brent Muscat (guitar), Eric Stacy (bass) and Mark Michals (drums) were the darlings of the Hollywood scene on sunset strip along with GnR they were putting in the hard yards on the live scene.

The debut album was all killer and no filler as they released singles ‘Bathroom Wall’ and tracks like ‘Don’t Change That Song’ the rap inspired ‘Babylon’ opening the band up to a global audience they were so much more than being an Aerosmith inspired band. Their infamous appearance in the Penelope Spheeris film The Decline of Western Civilization part 2 – The Metal Years, with the band interviewed as well as performing ‘Cathouse’ and ‘Bathroom Wall’ on stage did no harm propelling them into front rooms everywhere.

The commercial peak came in 1989 with second album, ‘Wake Me When It’s Over’, which reached gold sales status. Featured the singles ‘House Of Pain’ and ‘Poison Ivy’ with The black and white video becoming a classic. ‘Wake Me When It’s Over’ was a slight step to the left of field from the debut opening with the awesome ‘Where There’s a Whip There’s A Way’ as frontman and mainstay Taime Downe Led the band with his cheeky lyrics. They also recorded a cover of Carly Simon’s ‘You’re So Vain’ for the compilation album ‘Rubáiyát’, an album celebrating Elektra Records’s 40th Anniversary that is also included in this box set.

By the time they came to record ‘Whipped!’ the musical landscape had shifted dramatically but this gang of reprobates had gathered to record album number three Led by the single ‘Nonstop to Nowhere’, the band became more experimental pushing the boundaries of their style and spreading their wings ‘Jack the Bastard’ contained a fantastic riff. Despite sold-out tours and grunge, Faster Pussycat called it a day in 1993.

If you haven’t paid them much attention or were unaware they were still out there playing live and making records then this is the perfect one-stop-shop for all your first-wave Faster Pussycat music capturing their heyday in one box. What’s not to like? Besides the music contained is still immaculate all these years later and has certainly stood the test of time.

You know what to do. Hit that link and get involved – four CD’s of the best music from the second half of the eighties and beyond from the kings of sleazy Rock n Roll F-f-f-f-f-faster P-p-p-p-p-p-pussycat!

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The Revillos – ‘Stratoplay’ (Cherry Red Records)

The Revillos – ‘Stratoplay’ (Cherry Red Records)

An often forgotten incarnation of Scottish punk legends, The Rezillos. A name change developed to get out of record contract obligations. Although only a slight change of a consonant, a definite stylistic shift saw the group becoming more of an Irn Bru tinged B-52’s. This new New Wave output was prime for the  American market and achieved a very much converted spot on a John Hughes teen movie soundtrack. Although the band maintained a massive following in Japan, they struggled to make a lasting impact in the UK & the US.

This box-set special lovingly compiled (as ever) by Cherry Red records, includes the band’s two studio albums Rev Up (1980) & Attack! (1982). Further items included in the set, an array of live recordings, BBC sessions, demos and non-album singles.
Disc 1 is primarily the debut album with added extras tacked onto the end. This album, the bands better-known work is a splendid mix of 60s girl group cool with rockabilly revival riffs and retro organ sounds. Additional material here includes the excellent stand-alone singles ‘Scuba Scuba’ and ‘Where’s The Boy For Me’ and two separate Peel sessions from 1980 & 1981 respectively.
The second disc featuring the lesser-known follow-up album ‘Attack!’, but the 2002 re-release version. Legend has it when the LP was released the wrong mix was used, causing copies to be eventually recalled. For completist purposes both mixes of this album have their own discs. Bonus tracks here include: a further BBC session and a Christmas cover of ‘Santa Claus Is Coming To Town’.
The remainder of this package is 3 discs of live material. The previously released Japanese live album, a UK reunion gig from 1996 and a rough live recording from 1981. The production quality on the Japan recordings is fantastic, the 96 reunion recordings are definitely worth an investigation but the 81 archive recording are definitely for completists only. Also added onto these final discs are further stand alone singles “Bitten By A Love Bug” & “Midnight”. These ended up being the last re-releases of the groups original run. I must admit I had never heard either before, but both are particularly strong material wise with very great production and it’s disappointing they called it a day not long after.
Overall this set is a well priced addition for Revillos/Rezillos fans looking to thicken out their collection, but as someone who has had a past interest and looking to hear further material this collection has a lot of much the same. When material is at it’s best the band shine their brightest, but unfortunately Cherry Red have included a lot of filler in this set.
Buy ‘Stratoplay’ Here
Author: Dan Kasm