Christian Death "Sex And Drugs And Jesus Christ" 1988**

I must admit to having a soft spot for censored music and (especially) album covers. Of all the censored album covers, I can hardly think of any more offensive and blasphemous than Christian Death's Sex and Drugs and Jesus Christ, portraying Jesus as a junkie shooting heroin in his arm. Was it just a promotional trick to cause controversy and therefore get the band more publicity? Probably -at least partly- yes. It certainly has ensured that the band's notoriety remains high, 30 years later. Has it helped the album's sales? Maybe, a little. It did prove to be their best selling release of the 80's, and I confess that I mostly bought it on the strength of its cover rather than the tunes - I prefer the band's earlier recordings with Rozz Williams at the band's helm, like the one I reviewed here. Compared to that, this album features a completely different band. The line-up consists of real-life couple Valor Kand (vocals & guitar) and Gitane Demone (vocals, keyboards) plus the rhythm section of Kota (bass) and Webz (drums). Their provocative choice of cover may have gotten them noticed outside their small "deathrock" niche, and endeared them to the black metal crowd. But it also got them banned from a number of places, while their German and American labels refused to release it as it was (they used an alternative cover) and many magazines refused to print their ads. It is, in any case consistent with the image they were cultivating at the time. Valor's lyrics are full of macabre and apocalyptic images, using a somewhat pompous vocabulary - not sure whether it is a sign of his intellectuality or of over-reliance on his dictionary. And while the subject matter is sufficiently dark, it's not as blasphemous as one would imagine from the cover: it is full of savage attacks on organized religion, but not on the person or the teachings of Christ. Here is a typical sample: "Your church makes me vomit/ Into the vertiginous abyss/ Enfeebled by vice/ Dear God allow me to show gratitude/ For my fortunate eyes of truth/ Lord, how long shall the wicked/ Lord, how long shall the wicked triumph on Earth/ These loathsome parasites that cling/ To the cross, the cloth and the skin/ Soaked in the blood of man/ Not the body of Christ". These words come from "This Is Heresy", the potent album opener featuring Valor shouting and incanting over a background of hollow bass and metallic riffs. It's followed by the rockabilly-ish "Jesus Where's The Sugar". This is one of three songs written and sung by Gitane DeMone, all more concerned with sex rather than religion. Her bluesy vocals provide a nice contrast to Kand's theatrical and menacing style, and are among the album's highlights. "Erection" starts off with some melancholic acoustic guitar and gets progressively louder, while her third song "Incendiary Lover" is the album's shortest and most conventional (that's a good thing!) Gothic rocker. Valor's "Wretched Mankind" is atmospheric with an overtly dramatic vocals, and "Ten Thousand Hundred Times" is forgettable and murky new wave. Each side closes with a 10-minute piece: "The Third Antichrist" is dominated by "scary" effects and ghoulish recitations, and "Windowpain" is a sort of aural collage rather than a song in the usual sense. This LP displays the band's lack of quality control: there's barely enough material for a good EP, but it ended up being twice as long as it should have been. It mostly got negative reviews: NME gave it 1 out of 10, memorably remarking "may the good lord strike them down", while Trouser Press called it "a barely musical mix... that could have been knocked off in an afternoon by just about anybody with hands". Cult bands of course thrive on such extreme rejections. In my opinion, this is mediocre rather than bad. There are 2 or 3 good tunes, and DeMone's vocal performance is commendable, just like Valor's passionate delivery. The lyrics are controversial, but at least they are distinctively original. The music won't be to everyone's taste, but the heavier guitar might win some metal fans over, while the gloomy atmosphere may appeal to fanatic Goths or satanically-inclined listeners. Approach with caution.

**** for Incendiary Lover

*** for This Is Heresy, Jesus Where's The Sugar

** for Wretched Mankind, The Third Antichrist, Erection, Ten Thousand Hundred Times, Window Pain

Rancid "Time Won't Wait" 1998***

It must be a sign of old age, the fact that I'm surprised that an album like this one is over 20 years' old. In my mind it is a relatively new CD, and Rancid are still the new kids on the block trying to revive the good old days of punk rock - but in reality this record is closer to the days of the original punk rock explosion than it is to now, and Rancid are punk rock veterans. So as I write I can't help but ask myself who the hell is interested in a 20-year old album that revived what was then already a 20-year old trend? Well, maybe you are, since you're reading it, but why? It's not current, not what's happening now. And if you like punk rock, why listen to the copycats instead of the originators?

Of course this is a nonsense way of thinking: music is good or bad, it moves you or leaves you cold, regardless of whether it's innovative or derivative. Sure, at times Rancid sound uncannily like The Clash, even employing two lead singers (Frederiksen and Armstrong) to trade vocals like Jones and Strummer did. Then again, don't you wish The Clash had made more records? Well, Rancid are here to fill that void. Time Won't Wait is their 4th album, following on the heels of the super successful ...And Out Come the Wolves and continuing the band's evolution from hardcore towards ska-punk. The Jamaican influence is most evident on "Life Won't Wait" (recorded in Kingston, Jamaica) and closer "Coppers", both songs combining upbeat ska beats, rousing punk choruses, and toasting by Buju Banton and Dr. Israel, respectively. Other songs combining ska, latin and funk influences are "Hooligans", horns-heavy "Wrongful Suspicions", harmonica and Hammond-starring "Cocktails", the experimental-dub-funk "Crane Fist", and earnest love song "Corazón de Oro". Yes, I said love song - apparently punks fall in love, too! "Who Would've Thought" is another love song, with an upbeat/happy chorus. On the other hand, this may also be one of their most political albums, touching topics like disenfranchised youth, racism, the hardships of the working class, disillusionment with capitalism in Eastern Europe, etc. Unfortunately the lyrics aren't included in the 12-page CD booklet (it mostly consists of arty photos) and the singers aren't renowned for their clear elocution, so the words take second place to the music. Maybe that's how the band wanted it: focusing too much on the social commentary could diminish the enjoyment of what is at first glance a punk rawk party record. They may have thought it's better to let the message slowly seep in with repeated listens. Notwithstanding the Jamaican and rhythm & blues excursions, Time Won't Wait is essentially an old-school punk record, complete with Ramones-y hey ho's on lead single "Bloodclot", rockabilly-ish guitars on "Lady Liberty", and gang vocals everywhere. A certain sense of deja vu isn't a big drawback since it's all wild and rowdy fun. The only downside is that with 22 songs and a duration of 60+ minutes, it can get repetitive and even tiresome for those who aren't huge punk/ska fans. In smaller doses there's nothing wrong with it, it just falls short of being a 90's punk classic like its predecessor ...Out Come the Wolves, Green Day's Dookie or Offspring's Smash. Those were the essential albums of the era.

**** for Bloodclot, Hoover Street, Life Won't Wait, Hooligans, Crane Fist, Leicester Square, Who Would've Thought, Wrongful Suspicion, Corazón de Oro

*** for Black Lung, New Dress, Backslide, Cash, Culture and Violence, Cocktails, Lady Liberty, Turntable, Something in the World Today, Coppers

** for Intro, Warsaw, The Wolf, 1998

Porcupine Tree "Deadwing" 2005***

This is my latest Porcupine Tree acquisition, almost completing my collection: I count now 9 studio albums, 4 live ones, and two compilations, plus some scattered tracks in various samplers. I've been following PT since their first steps on the Delerium label, a UK indie that was in my radar for releasing interesting neo-psychedelic albums. I have some nice records from other Delerium bands to present in the future, but none as good as Porcupine Tree. Initially a Steven Wilson solo project heavily influenced by Pink Floyd and Gong, they gradually morphed into a real band with an instantly recognizable sound eschewing early electronic experiments in favor of a modern prog style, and spearheaded a prog revival movement during the 90's and 00's. With every release they seemed to hone their sound further, reaching their apogee (IMO) with consecutive albums Stupid Dream and Lightbulb Sun. At this point they took a left turn, embracing a heavier sound with traces of Dream Theater, Opeth, and a number of grunge/alt.metal bands. Deadwing belongs to this latter period: their previous melodic ambient style is augmented (or interrupted?) by violent bursts and metallic riffing. The vocals are distinctively PT: dreamy, distant-sounding, and often multi-tracked. To be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of Wilson's voice: it's perfectly adequate for his material, but indifferent to me. Then again, not everybody can be Freddie Mercury or Robert Plant, and that's alright. The album opens with eponymous track "Deadwing", whose short electronic intro is then followed by heavy riffing. The song changes often pace in its 10-minute duration, and includes contributions by guests Mikael Åkerfeldt (from Opeth, on vocals) and Andrew Below (King Crimson, guitar). The latter adds a nice solo that almost justifies the existence of the song's second part, but I think it would have worked better as a straight-up rocker if faded out around the 6-minute mark. Second track "Shallow" is less complicated, and the better for it: a commercial 4-minute rocker a la Smashing Pumpkins/Soundgarden. "Halo" and "Open Car" are two more songs in the same style, while "Lazarus" is the most beautiful composition here. Atmospheric mellotron, wistful piano and dreamy vocals combine to produce one of their best ballads. Not overtly progressive, yet a great song that's bound to broaden their fan base, it has echoes of UK indie bands (think Coldplay, Elbow etc). It is the album's highlight, next to 12-minute progfest "Arriving Somewhere But Not Here" reviving the ghost of Pink Floyd that was lying dormant until now. Great guitar solos, multitracked harmonies, alternating acoustic and heavy passages, everything you ever wanted from PT is here. "The Start Of Something Beautiful" is another alternative rocker with exceptional bass, rousing chorus and excellent guitarwork. The two remaining tracks "Mellotron Scratch" and "Glass Arm Shattering" are typical of PT's earlier airy psychedelic style. While undoubtedly good, they sound over-familiar. Maybe this explains PT's sudden infatuation with heavy rock circa In Absentia as an attempt to break out of the mold somehow. In any case, repetition was unavoidable - already Deadwing sounds too much like its predecessor, and two further albums in the same prog-alternative-metal style were to follow with diminishing returns before Wilson broke up the band. It is also worth noting that the album apparently started out as soundtrack to a ghost story co-scripted for film by Wilson, but never realized. This is partly mirrored in the CD booklet, but not made explicit - there are some spooky photos and cryptic scrawlings, but the lyrics are not included. No worries though because, unlike the Dream Theater's similarly themed Metropolis Pt.2 , here the story is not integral to the music. Finally, I'll acknowledge that my 3* judgement may be selling Deadwing a bit short. It is after all an intelligent, impeccably played and produced album. But after listening to as many PT CD's as I have, the repetition has started to grate on me. I wish this included more memorable choruses/riffs, or a bigger variety of styles: maybe a throwback to their electronic days or some purely acoustic folk diversion. In any case, newcomers have no reason to avoid this: it is a satisfying listen, and as good an introduction to latter-day PT as any.

**** for Shallow, Lazarus, Arriving Somewhere but Not Here, Open Car, Start of Something Beautiful

*** for Deadwing, Halo, Mellotron Scratch, Glass Arm Shattering

Lynyrd Skynyrd "Gold And Platinum" 1971-1977(rec) 1979(comp)*****

This is one of those LP's I bought twice: I've had the double vinyl edition since the late 80's, and had played it to death during that time. I later bought all their individual albums on CD and, believing the vinyl to be redundant, sold it off during the great vinyl purge. Recently I succumbed to nostalgia and re-bought a cheap second hand copy online. Now this one is nowhere as clean as my copy was; it's seriously worn out at the seams and has a number of light scratches, while my old copy was played often but treated with care and showed less signs of use. But playing it brings memories of the fun I had listening to these songs when they were relatively new to me. I daresay this specific song selection in this order seems to be the definitive way to listen to Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Yes indeed there are many compilations of this material, but none as concise as Gold & Platinum. This double LP was compiled by Gary Rossington and Allen Collins, two of the survivors of the fatal 1977 plane accident that cost some band members their lives and put an end to the original band run. Released in 1979, it went platinum the following year and triple-platinum (signaling 3 million sales in USA alone) in 1987. It's easy to see why: Not only is it consistently great, but with only 16 songs culled from all 7 albums, it doesn't nevertheless seem to be missing anything essential - except possibly for "Working For MCA". Fittingly, the first and last track come from 1978's Skynyrd's First...and Last. Released posthumously in '78, that album contained songs recorded in 1971-72 at Alabama's legendary Muscle Shoals studio and intended for the band's debut but left unreleased at the time. The music is pretty good but superseded by later, superior, versions - so it's safe to assume that it would have remained unreleased if it wasn't for the band's untimely demise. Worth hearing nevertheless in order to better appreciate their evolution, as well as a testament to their early line up including Rick Medlocke who went on to head fellow Southern Rockers Blackfoot and who can be heard here on closer "Comin' Home". 

From their 1973 debut proper Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd, we get a couple of fantastic ballads: "Simple Man" and "Tuesday's Gone". Three more songs from that album, "Gimme Three Steps", "I Ain't the One" and the epic 14-minute (in this version) "Free Bird" are included in live takes from their 1976 double live LP One More from the Road. 1974's Second Helping is, of course, represented by the unofficial national anthem of the American South "Sweet Home Alabama". Written in response to Neil Young's South-bashing "Southern Man" and "Alabama", they proclaimed their Southern pride in a controversial manner, often (but apparently erroneously) thought to be expressing support to racist governor George Wallace. But if "Sweet Home Alabama" left space for misappropriation by the ultra-right, the same can not be said for "Saturday Night Special". One of three rockers taken from 1975's Nuthin' Fancy (along with "On the Hunt" and "Whiskey Rock-a-Roller") this song made a case for gun control, prompting listeners to "dump (their handguns) to the bottom of the sea". By all accounts, the mention to "bullets" on next year's Gimme Back My Bullets is also metaphorical; there's nothing pro-gun about the song at all.

 

Frustratingly, four of the best songs in this collection come from the original band's swan song Street Survivors (1977). "That Smell", "What's Your Name", "You Got That Right", and the rockabilly-ish "I Know a Little" show a band on top of their game: unfazed by the onslaught of punk, they were firing on all cylinders - who knows how much better they could have possibly gotten if it wasn't for that damn plane crash? As it is, a decade later the band name was resurrected by a new lineup consisting of older members and singer Johnny Van Zandt in place of his late brother Ronnie. Their farewell tour, cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, is called The Last of the Street Survivors, a poignant name given that guitarist Gary Rossington is now the only one of the original 7-piece still living. Let's hope they'll reconsider their retirement plans and add some European dates to the tour so that we can tell them a proper goodbye - if not, they've still left us with an awesome recorded legacy best enjoyed in this particular form, and in vinyl: it just sounds right this way, and looks good too; check the cute drawing on the record's inner gatefold!

***** for Saturday Night Special, Gimme Three Steps (Live), What's Your Name, You Got That Right, Sweet Home Alabama, Free Bird (Live), That Smell, Whiskey Rock-a-Roller, Simple Man, I Know a Little, Tuesday's Gone

**** for Down South Jukin', Gimme Back My Bullets, On the Hunt, I Ain't the One (Live), Comin' Home

          

Various "Psychedelic States: New York In The 60s, Vol. 3" 1965-1971(rec) 2011(comp)****

This kind of CD is not usually one I look forward to reviewing: too  many tracks from too many different bands mean a lot of work. But my human jukebox woke up humming the tune of Shocking Blue's "Send Me A Postcard Darling", which got me looking at my garage/psych shelves. When my eye fell on this CD I drew a complete blank: I couldn't remember ever listening to it before. Reading the booklet I was even more surprised: the liner notes started with the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attack on New York, combined with a strong denunciation of the U.S. invasions on Iraq and Afghanistan. According to the writer "The thousands of brave men and women who have died there is yet another repeat of a disastrous and flawed foreign policy. The economic ruin our country has suffered over these ten years further amplify the need to elect leaders who have the interests of American people (at heart), not the Wall Street capitalists that profit from this death and misery". Not quite what I expected reading in a booklet with the stars, stripes, and statue of liberty on the cover. But it gets one thinking about who is the real patriot: one who acknowledges that something is wrong with his country and tries to fix it, or one who says "my country, right or wrong" and "love it or leave it". A question that is just as relevant in the 21st century as it was when these songs were recorded (1965-1971).

Gear Fab is a relative newcomer to the 60's reissue campaign started by Lenny Kaye's legendary Nuggets compilation. Dozens of specialized labels have since unearthed 1000's of rare singles by unknown 60's garage bands. Gear Fab's Psychedelic States series takes the geographical approach, much like another favorite series of mine, Highs In The Mid 60's. They've been very thorough about it, always searching for unreleased -or, at least, lesser known- gems. One of the songs here immediately rang a bell: The Fugitives' melodic garage rocker "Mean Woman" was perviously included in the German Mindrocker volume 7 comp which has been in my collection for more than 30 years now. I also knew "Tripsy" from the Beyond The Calico Wall compilation, but the rest of the songs were new to me. This CD is the 3rd one dedicated to New York by the Psychedelic States series, and I'm happy to report that the quality of the material remains high. Sound quality, of course, is predictably poor: the source is old 7' singles or acetates, some of which are quite scratchy and noisy. Even if they weren't, the production values for this kind of garage records often are abysmally low. But the conviction and enthusiasm of the (mostly teen) performers is catching. Some of the lyrics are deliciously cheeky: the usual girl putdowns abound, while the Kinks-like "Doctor Friend" contains the hilarious line “I know you’ve never studied medicine as such…” - and then there's the unbelievable 10-minute epic "Destruction" by the fantastically-named Thrashing Butterflys Of Divine Happiness. Introduced by an organ playing Bach's famous toccata in D minor, it unfolds with apocalyptic lyrics, anguished vocals, frantic drumming, and fuzzed-out guitar solos. To this they add various effects, screams, and someone pretending to smoke dope; everything but the kitchen sink. One discerns the influence of fellow New Yorkers Vanilla Fudge, yet it's still one of a kind. Not that originality runs high in this collection, it's usually just more of what you've already heard in countless other garage comps. Fortunately, though, here you get more in-your-face garage rock than commercial 60's pop stuff. If you like The Standells, Music Machine, or Count V, you're bound to dig The Aggregation, Eric & The Smoke Ponies, Morning After, III And A 1/2, and Cucumber - what a name, Cucumber! One of the joys of these compilations is checking out inventive band names like the aforementioned Thrashing Butterflys Of Divine Happiness, Moustache Wax, or Household Sponge. Alternatively, some bands differentiate by using imaginative word spellings like Sonic Lyne, Luv Wons, or The Peepl. The latter contribute a psychedelic ballad from 1967, truth be told one of the lamer moments here. "White And Frosty" and "Love Me Girl" are a couple of cooler ballads featuring nice organ, while some of the highlights are provided by melodic mid 60's garage by the likes of  The O'Aces, Luv Wons, and Fugitives. There's some more R&B-influenced stuff by The Tweeds, Chain Reaction, Jazzmasters, Sonic Lyne and Moustache Wax, and a couple of surf-a-delic instrumentals ("Tripsy" and "Velvet Acid", both recorded in 1967). The fact that this CD doesn't stop at 1966-67 as most garage comps do, allows it to include some more psychedelic/hard rock numbers like Household Sponge's Doors/Iron Butterfly-like "Second Best" and Glass's "And You Hurry" (from 1971, the most recent track here). Not forgetting the two excellent garage-fuzz-hard rock singles from 1969 that open this CD, "What Ever Happened To Us?" by The Upward Movement and "Hide Your Face In Shame" by Sound Solution. All in all, a good job by Gear Fab that's bound to satisfy garage rock fans. Being one, I enjoyed listening to it even though I probably have a hundred 60's comps that are just as good or better in my collection. Like each one of them, this is worth getting if only for being a throwback to a magical time in the history of rock when neighborhood bands operating from their garage were every bit as vital, and produced more records than, professional musicians operating from high-end studios.

***** for Mean Woman (Fugitives)

**** for What Ever Happened To Us? (The Upward Movement), Hide Your Face In Shame (Sound Solution), So Good (The O'Aces), Tripsy (Pebble Episode), You Lied To Me (The Aggregation), I'll Give You More (Erik & The Smoke Ponies), White And Frosty (The Whether Bureau), Love Me Girl (The Tigermen), Don't Make Me Cry (Cucumber), Please Don't (Luv Wons), Second Best (Household Sponge), And You Hurry (Glass), Don't Cry To Me Babe (III And A 1/2), I Don't Need You Today (Morning After), Destruction (The Thrashing Butterflys Of Divine Happiness)

*** for We Got Time (The Tweeds), Home Type Girl (The Overtones), Ever Lovin' Man (The Chain Reaction), Velvet Acid (Tony Dee), Doctor Friend (The Druids), Walkin' (Jazzmasters), Last Time (Sonic Lyne), Summertime (Luv Wons), I'm Gonna Get You (Mustache Wax)

** for Freedom (The Peepl), The Real Thing (The Front End)