This is one of these cases where the music is eclipsed by the personality of the artist themselves. You see Wayne (later known as Jayne) County was famously the first transgender rocker, and that's inevitably more interesting than his band's legacy as proto-punk pioneers. It also creates some confusion e.g. as to which gender pronoun to use. Wayne is now Jayne, but back then he/she still used a male name. She/he performed in drag, but on the cover photo of the band's debut he/she wears men's clothes. Doesn't make the choice of pronouns easy for a writer. Going back at the beginning, there was a Southern queer named Wayne Rogers who arrived in New York some time in the late 60's. Then, in the words of Lou Reed, "Holly...plucked her eyebrows on the way/ shaved her legs/ and then he was a she"; that song was written for Wayne's New York roommate Holly, another drag queen in Andy Warhol's social circle. Despite the Warhol connections, Wayne's initial theatrical and musical attempts were deemed too extreme for New York stages. They'd have to wait until 1976 and the dawn of New York's proto punk scene, when clubs like Max's Kansas City and CBGB opened their stage to all kinds of misfits, including Wayne County and his/her new band The Electric Chairs. Even among punks, their show must have been quite shocking. Usually the rough edges of songs are smoothed over during recording, but in this case even the finished product shocks with its vulgarity. No wonder, then, that their records were never released in the U.S. What we have here is a German compilation taken from two UK sources: the band's eponymous debut LP, and an EP containing some of their edgier material, called Blatantly Offenzive. On the record cover, the singer is pictured in both male and female character. The songs are often celebrations of sexual perversion ("Toilet Love") or hilarious putdowns of ex-lovers ("Bad In Bed"). Opener "(If you don't want to fuck me, baby) Fuck Off" is the band's signature tune: starting off as heavy blues with electric guitar and boogie woogie piano, it culminates in a Ramones-like punk coda, while Wayne heaps insults on the object of his/her "affection", e.g."you think you're hot shit, i heard/ you ain't nothin' but a cold turd", how's that for a rhyme? The band's playing overal is quite heavy, with glam, hard rock, and punk influences. The New York Dolls and The Dictators come to mind. "Night Time" is a raucous 60's garage cover, followed by "Mean Mutha Fucking Man", a satire of the macho rednecks that made Wayne's life miserable when he/she was still living in Georgia. Side One closes with an excellent rocker called "Out Of Control". Side Two is not as lyrically outrageous as what preceded it, but still very similar musically; 50's pastiche "Eddie & Sheena" and the Ramones-y riffs of "Rock & Roll Resurrection" stick out. On purely musical terms, this is as fun a punk'n'roll record as you can find. Beyond that, it's really unique; an album that retains its edge and ability to both shock and entertain, 35 years after its inception.
P.S. Apparently, there's a Canadian release with the exact same title and cover as this one, but completely different content: that one really is the band's second album Storm The Gates Of Heaven in disguise. Then again, there's another LP with the title Blatantly Offenzive; its cover is identical to The Electic Chairs LP, yet the content is exactly the same as the compilation reviewed here. That's probably an indication of Wayne/Jayne's chaotic liscencing procedure, but it could just as well be a prank; confusing people seems to be his/her favorite hobby.
***** for Fuck Off
**** for Night Time, Mean Mutha Fucking Man, Out Of Control, Eddie & Sheena, Rock & Roll Resurrection
*** for Bad In Bed, Toilet Love, Max's Kansas City, On The Crest, Plain Of Nazca, Take It
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