| One Man's Fight For The Right To Talk Rot - The Ian PTP Waffle-fest |
| I read a review of "Jungle Rot" by George Brigman written by Jon Savage a while back and it look interested. Must admit I'm a bit wary of Savage recommendations - especially since that terrible 1970 comp he did last year. And I think since "England's Dreaming" (which was great but certainly more than a bit subjective on the author's part) he's been treading water, writing the same article practically again and again - Post Punk etc. Anyway the review of this LP recorded in 1974 and barely distributed even when it emerged the following year linked it as part of the proto-Punk zeitgeist with the Ramones, Simply Saucer and the Saints (the cover art to "Jungle Rot" definitely has the feel of "I'm Stranded"). Anyway I canvassed opinion from various sources and got not too much in the way of feedback. Eventually I just though "balls" and bought the damn thing. And I'm glad I did. I don't know if you could call it a "Punk" recording, but it's definitely wild in a kind of the Stooges most blues moments (think "I Need Somebody"). In fact on first view it would seem to owe a lot to Ann Arbour's favourite sons, if it wasn't for the fact George insists that he didn't hear Iggy until year after (and I have no reason to doubt him). It's a great recording that never lets up, tracks like "DMT" and "I Feel Alright" (yes I did say he hadn't heard the Stooges!!) full of venom and energy. The bonus tracks are good in their own right but detract a little from the original LP in my opinion as they are later material recorded with a different vocalist, to all intents and purposes it could be a different band. The cover art is stunning and definitely anitcipates the Punk art aesthetic, even though the other two blokes on the derelict lot apart from George weren't even in the band. Don't bother getting "The Making Of The Great Rock N Roll Swindle" book by Joel McIver though, even if you find it for less than three quid as I did. It's riddled with mistakes that have you questioning whether McIver has ever seen the film, rather than just read a synopsis. He doesn't seem to know the girl playing Soo Catwoman isn't the former Sue Lucas but an actress. Or that its Steve Jones that is interviewed at Caerphilly and not Lydon. And he seems to think that the Ramones wrote "No Fun". The bloke is clueless and the only interest comes from the interview snippest from the likes of Jayne County, Dave Parsons of Sham and Don Letts. McIver makes a lot of simplistic judgements as to the motives of McLaren but it's a toytown political examination really. A swindle? Most definitely. "30 Seconds Over DC", a compilation from 1978 of the early bands on the Washginton Punk scene, has only just recently made it's debut on CD. Definitely the starting point for the scene that came up eventually with the Dischord label, but is it any good as a stand alone document of the times? Well yes and no. Some of the tracks here like Mark Hoback's "No Fun" are really weedy New wave, but there's also plenty of garage rock mayhem and also oddities like the long running 1/2 Japanese and Mock Turtle (not the UK baggy band). The Slickee Boys. who's brainchild the record was in the first place, impress with "Attitude" and Tina Peel's fuzzy "Knocking Down The Guard Rails" pre-empts the Fuzztones that were to spring from their wake. Overlal not bad even in 2006. Geza X was a fixture on the early LA Punk scene. He was a member of the extraordinary Deadbeats and also produced the records of the early bands like Black Flag, the Avengers, the Weirdos and the Dead Kennedys. As well as that he did put out a single in 1979 and later an LP under his own name. But anyone expecting non--stop Punk Rock would be disappointed, though people who followed the Deadbeats would no doubt see it as the obvious progression. To sum up the sound of the LP "You Goddam Kids" in a snappy soundbite is impossible. But here goes. It's kind of like the Residents at their most pop (think longer versions of tracks from "The Commercial Album"), mixed with European folk rhythms, plus odd lyrical concepts, mixed with a dose of Punk guitar and the Jazz fixation left over from the Deadbeats. It's like nothing you'll ever hear, but insanely catchy, or is that catchily insane? The choice is yours but its a shame Geza never put out much more. |
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