The Fuzztones "Psychorama" 1984-1991(rec) 2015(comp)*****

I've already admitted to being a huge Fuzztones fan, so from the moment this appeared it was a matter of time until it gained a place of pride in my bookcase (as it has the size of a 7' single, it doesn't fit in the CD racks). So what if I already own all of these albums on vinyl, CD or both? Rudi Protrudi needs my money, am I going to deny him? Just kidding - it's actually great value for money, as the original albums and CD's are out of print and collecting them 2nd hand will cost you a small fortune. For old fans like me, of course, it's a bit of an unnecessary luxury. "Psychorama" is a beautiful box set containing a 7' single, 5 CD's with crisp remastered sound and a DVD, as well as a glossy 20-page booklet with a history of the band and photos. As is common these days, the CD's are housed in simple cardboard sleeves with miniatures of the original artwork (painted, as always, by the man himself: Rudi "Action" Protrudi"). Since I aim to present the original albums on separate posts I will only focus here on the bonus tracks - not rarities per se, but they certainly add to the value of the package. So let's see what we have here:

1. "Screamin' Jay Hawkins and The Fuzztones Live" 1985*** 
This is a 7' vinyl single, originally released on Midnight Records as a 12' EP. My 2nd hand copy is a bit worse for wear and I was really glad to be able to replace it. When I first saw it back in the day, I was pretty excited: My favourite blues screamer and garage band together? It's a match made in heaven! But actually, it's just decent - good fun, but neither artist's finest hour. Side A contains two of Hawkins' classics "Alligator Wine" and "I Put A Spell On You". Jay puts on a great show as always while the Fuzztones play some basic blues. They're much better on "It's That Time Again", a rocking Christmas tune combining Jerry Lee-style piano by Jay and psychedelic organ by Deb. "Constipation Blues" is -you guessed it- a comedy routine. Rudi plays some mean harmonica while Jay imitates a pain much more physical than what the blues have gotten us used to.

A1 Alligator Wine ***
A2 I Put A Spell On You**** 
B1 It's That Time Again**** 
B2 Constipation Blues***

2."Leave Your Mind At Home" 1984**** Their live LP debut (also originally for Midnight Records) is augmented here by 9 tracks previously issued as part of the "Creatures That Time Forgot" compilation. I'm very happy to have them, as my copy of "Creatures..." fell victim to the Great Vinyl Purge, a fact I've always regretted. Thankfully most of its tracks are included here - I think it's only missing their version of The Litter's "Action Woman" and a couple of instrumentals. We get The Fuzztones' first demo from 1982 (all covers: "99th Floor"[Moving Sidewalks], "Riot On Sunset Strip"[Standells], "The Witch"[Sonics] and "Don't Do It Some More"[The Cindermen]) and a demo of "Fabian Lips" from 1983. A new wave version of the latter had been previously recorded by Rudi and Deb's former group Tina Peel. "Green Slime" is horror psychedelia with Rudi sounding like a cross between Jim Morrison and Boris Karloff. Until now we've only heard energetic garage punk covers of old Nuggets/Pebbles 60's material. But the real highlights come with The Fuzztones' first original compositions. First among these is their debut single from 1984 ("Bad News Travels Fast" b/w "Brand New Man"), two sides of pounding garage rock with cocky vocals and swirling organ. Compilation track "Ward 81" is a psycho punk tale of mental illness with a classic, often copied, video clip.

ORIGINAL ALBUM: 1.Voices Green And Purple 2.Blackout Of Gretely 3.No Friend Of Mine 4.We're Pretty Quick 5.My Flash On You 6.The Bag I'm In 7.You Burn Me Up And Down. 

BONUS TRACKS:

8 Brand New Man [1984 Bad News, Single B-Side]****

9 Bad News Travels Fast [1984 Single A-Side]*****

10 Green Slime [Battle Of The Garages LP, 1984]****

11 99th Floor [1982 Demo] ****

12 Riot On Sunset Strip [1982 Demo] ***

13 Don't Do It Some More [1982 Demo]***

14 Fabian Lips [1983 Demo]***

15 Ward 81 [Rebel Kind LP, 1983]*****

16 The Witch [1982 Demo]****

3. "Lysergic Emanations" 1985***** Not just the Fuzztones' finest hour, but 80's garage rock's as well. Their signature track (a take on the Sonics' "Strychnine" that even surpasses the original) was not included on the original version of the LP, but was included on all subsequent reissues. The cover used here is the one of first pressing on ABC Records. The bonus tracks are live "Peel Sessions" which were already appended to the CD reissue of the album on Music Maniac. "Cinderella", "She's Wicked" and "Bad News Travels Fast" are strong live performances sticking close to the original versions. Their version of J.D.Blackfoot's "Epitaph For A Head" borders on hard rock, and effects-ridden album outtake "Green Slime" even surpasses their previous stab at it for the "Battle Of The Garages" compilation.

ORIGINAL ALBUM: 1.1-2-5 2.Gotta Get Some 3.Journey To Tyme 4.Ward 81 5.Strychnine 6.Radar Eyes 7.Cinderella 8.Highway 69 9.Just Once 10.She's Wicked 11.As Time's Gone 12.Living Sickness

BONUS TRACKS:

13 Bad News Travels Fast [Radio Sessions]*****

14 She's Wicked [Radio Sessions]****

15 Epitaph For A Head [Radio Sessions]***

16 Cinderella [Radio Sessions]****

17 Green Slime [Album Outtake]****

4. "In Heat" 1989***** This was the Fuzztones' major label debut and the product of a wholly different line-up -except, of course, leader Rudi Protrudi. It saw the band trying out a more mainstream hard rock sound that didn't appeal to their old fans, but nevertheless contained many good songs that became staples of their live shows. What elevates the CD to 5* status is the inclusion of the "Action" EP, a better showcase of this line-up's capabilities with rawer, snappier sound. Hard rock is abandoned for the pure '66 style garage stylings of the Music Machine-like "Action Speak Louder Than Words" and "I Never Knew", Count V-meet-Sonics "My Nothing" and the Vox organ-dominated "Yeah Baby" with its frat-rock ? And The Mysterians sound.

ORIGINAL ALBUM: 1.In Heat 2.Nine Months Later 3.Cheyenne Rider 4.Everything You Got 5.Black Box 6.Shame On You 7.It Came In The Mail 8.Me Tarzan, You Jane 9.Heathen Set 10.Hurt On Hold 11.What You Don't Know 12.Charlotte's Remains

BONUS TRACKS:

13 Action Speak Louder Than Words [1990 Action EP]*****

14 I Never Knew [1990 Action EP]*****

15 My Nothing [1990 Action EP]****

16 Yeah Babe [1990 Action EP]****

5. "Brain Drops" 1990***** Yet another lineup and the 'Tones most "psychedelic" outing. It's augmented here by 5 tracks from the live Psychedelic Ejaculations album - IMO the best of their live releases. Well chosen, as these are garage classics never before attempted by the Fuzztones and thus there's no duplication with other songs in this box set. Rudi gets to indulge his oversexed macho persona on The Standells' "Try It" and The Avengers' "Be A Caveman" and goes psychedelic for Max Frost And The Troopers' "Shape Of Things To Come". There's also some saucy between-song banter, while a punky cover of Love's "Little Red Book" and a garage-soul take on The Standells' "Rari" complete the CD's tracklist. Too bad they didn't include the definitive version of "Strychnine" from the vinyl-only edition of ...Ejaculations. It's got some cool musicianship, but what really makes it is Rudi replacing "strychnine" with "69" in the chorus - singing about how much he likes "the taste of 69" gives the song a whole other meaning.

ORIGINAL ALBUM: 1 Third Times The Charm, 2.Skeleton Farm 3.Romilar D 4.Fear 5.Rise 6.Ghost Clinic 7.7 And 7 Is 8.Look For The Question Mark 9.I Looked At You 10.The People In Me 11.All The King's Horses 12.Blackout

BONUS TRACKS:

13 Try It [Live]*****

14 My Little Red Book [Live]****

15 Be A Caveman [Live]*****

16 Rari [Live]****

17 Shape Of Things To Come [Live]****

6. "Monster A Go-Go" 1991**** A delightful tribute to Halloween (full presentation here) but the poorest regarding bonus tracks: "A Halloween Message" is a spoken word piece and "Horror Asparagus Stories" was already available as a CD-only bonus track since the first album issue. It's a fun cover of an absurd Driving Stupid song with crazy surrealistic lyrics.
ORIGINAL ALBUM: 1.Jack The Ripper 2.All Black And Hairy 3.Charlotte's Remains 4.Dinner With Drac 5.Night Of The Phantom 6.The Witch 7.Happy Halloween 8.D.O.A  9.Cellar Dweller 10.I'm The Wolfman 11.She's My Witch 12.Goin' To A Graveyard 13.Night Of The Vampire BONUS TRACKS: 14 Horror Asparagus Stories*** 15 A Halloween Message*

7. "Live At the Elixir Festival, France 1985" DVD***. The "unreleased" portion of this box set, though you may already have seen the clip on youtube. It's a straight transfer from a French TV program from the 80's taped on VHS, so visually it's nothing special, but it's great nevertheless to see the young and ambitious Fuzztones in action. The DVD has no chapters, meaning it's impossible to go straight to the song you want to hear and, as the beginning of the concert is missing, you get unceremoniously dropped straight in the middle of the set. At least the French TV version in youtube avoided that by changing the order of the songs. Shoddy job, then, for an expensive box set - especially as the DVD is the biggest selling point for fans who already own the records. The video is what you'd expect from a straight-from-VHS transfer but, on the bright side, the audio is pretty good and on a par with the live albums released by the band in the 80's. In any case, it's great to have a Fuzztones DVD but I expect there's better live footage out there. Hope it'll surface soon, and get a more careful restoration.

1. Voices Green And Purple 2. Blackout Of Gretely 3. Writing On The Wall 4. Highway 69 5. Action Woman 6. She's Wicked 7. Cellar Dweller 8. Journey To Tyme 9. You're Gonna Miss Me