I've written before about Dead Moon and about how seeing them play at my neighborhood club in Athens opened my eyes to a different kind of rock'n'roll: intense, passionate, and gritty. Fred Cole quickly became an underground rock hero of mine, so I started collecting his albums: whether with 60's psychedelic/garage rockers Weeds/Lollipop Shoppe, 70's hard rockers Zipper, Dead Moon (1987 - 2006), or Pierced Arrows afterwards, his intensity and integrity shines through. Until recently, I hadn't come across any of his punk albums with The Rats - I wasn't even aware they had been re-released, so finding an affordable reissue of their 1980 debut in my neighborhood record store was a nice surprise. Looking at his photo on the album cover, Fred seems incredibly young. It's hard to believe that he already had 15 years of experience playing in rock bands at that point. His band The Weeds had started to make their mark in California in the mid 60's when they fled in a half-baked attempt to reach Canada in order to avoid the draft. Destiny was nevertheless waiting for them in Portland, Oregon where they stopped because they ran out of gas. It was there that Fred met his future partner in life and music, Toody, and where he'd later settle down. First the band went back to California where they changed their name to Lollipop Shoppe, made an LP, and got to play alongside Janis Joplin and The Doors, but ultimately failed to break through. The couple then left for Alaska before returning to Portland where they opened a guitar shop, while Fred continued playing rock in local amateur bands. One of them called King Bee ended supporting The Ramones in '78, and the experience was revelatory. One might think that '78 was a bit late to discover punk, but in the U.S. it was still an underground phenomenon mostly limited to New York. Anyway, punk's aggressive sound, DIY aesthetic, and prioritizing attitude over chops, suited Fred well. He had always been a great singer/screamer but not an accomplished guitarist, indeed The King Bees were the first of his groups where he also played guitar. He taught Toody to play bass, and they formed a punk trio called Rats with a drummer known only as Rod Rat. Their self-released debut didn't reach many ears but was certainly among the better U.S. punk efforts, and set the foundation for their future ascend into cultdom as Dead Moon. Indeed there's very little difference between the version of "Until It Rains" here and the one on Dead Moon's masterpiece Strange Prey Tell. On rare occasions they seem to be jumping on the punk bandwagon, e.g. when singing from the point of view of "Teenagers" despite being parents and small business owners at the time, while the unnecessarily ultra-short duration of that track also seems to point to punk orthodoxy rather than be what the song asks for. It's aggressive as befits a punk band, but also catchy and melodic, with Fred and Toody harmonizing perfectly on the chorus. They follow the same blueprint on most of the songs here: lo-fi production, fast songs, aggressive but always with a sense of melody, short on guitar solos but with an abundance of cool riffs. Fred's shrill voice drives most of the songs with Toody joining on the chorus. The music on a couple of tunes is a bit derivative of The Ramones ("Rat Race" and "Tactics Plan", the latter with Toody on half-spoken lead vocal). There's also a subtle folk influence on "It's Too Late" and ballad "19783" which is reminiscent of early Love. Other small deviations include "Secret"'s rockabilly guitar, the 60's influenced blues riff and organ on "Flash Dogs", "DC-10"'s distortion effects and a somewhat new wave-sounding "Can Never Go Back". The Rats would make another couple of LP's, which I'm now determined to add to my collection. This is raw but exciting stuff. I recommend it wholeheartedly, but I would suggest to start with Dead Moon which is where Fred and Toody got the formula exactly right. For more insights on Fred and Toody's story, you can read this article or, better yet, search for the documentary Unknown Passage: The Dead Moon Story.
**** for World War III, Teenagers, Flash Dogs, Tactics Plan, It's Too Late, Sacrifice, Social Indigestion, Panic On 39th, 19783, Gotta Get Away, Until It Rains, Secrets, Can Never Go Back
*** for Rat Race, DC-10
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