The packaging
The good
A photo of GG graces the cover and just in case you don’t know what you’re getting into, it says “Expose Yourself” across the front. The booklet has a photo of GG (at Hank Williams grave, though I’m not sure if that’s a Photoshop job or not) and very basic information of where the songs are from. A paragraph from Merle rounds out the booklet explaining that these recordings have been tough to find and deserved to be released properly.
The bad
I had low expectations going in so I’m not shocked by the booklet, but this could’ve been done so much better. For example, all of this has been released before...so get the original artwork and put that in the booklet. I would’ve liked to have been given more detailed recording and band info as well.
The music
The good
I put five discs into my CD player and just hit play forgetting what disc was in what. For the first minute of the first song, I couldn’t figure out what Kiss album this was. I figured I must’ve put on some demos perhaps from the Kiss box set...
Boy was I shocked to find out this was the GG Allin disc. The first two songs, I must mention are not sung by GG, it’s an old recording with GG on drums in a band named Malpractice.
The CD continues with some wanky 80s rock that has some heavy influence from the New York Dolls. People forget that GG didn’t start off as a naked, shit throwing, piss drinking maniac...he played some fairly normal music that wasn’t bad but certainly not great and nothing that would make him a huge star. The vocal style isn’t even the typical gravelly GG you’ve come to love..he’s pretty much sounds like a snotty teenager. This CD is fascinating, if for no other reason, than we see the decline in GG. Tracks one through six are pretty normal rock and roll, and then comes track seven... “Expose Yourself to Kids.”
When you hit that song the disc either gets really good, or it gets really bad depending on your tastes. One thing that’s strange is that the early tracks may not have been exceptional but the band sounds like they’re reasonably tight and have their shit together. On “Expose Yourself To Kids” it sounds like GG is making up the vocal pattern as he goes along. “Gypsy Motherfucker” doesn’t sound polished either. I shouldn’t expect polished sound, it’s GG, but what’s odd is that the quality and effort seem to diminish as I guess the band felt that being offensive would make up for lack of studio effort.
Then we get some live tracks that aren’t half bad considering the source. On the same level as “Evilive” by The Misfits quality-wise. As far as the performance, the band actually seemed to be trying and you can actually tell what songs are being played. Who would’ve known?
Then, we get some GG country. GG actually has an entire country CD out entitled “Carnival of Excess” that is nicely done, produced well, and actually has some well written songs with not entirely offensive lyrics (though there are some). The country tracks on here are far more raw...basically just a very melancholy GG with his guitar. “Sitting in this room, I want to die I want to die I want to die...” You get the picture. In case you didn’t, try this: “When I die, put that bottle in my hand, all these years on earth it was my only friend.” GG actually did country really well and though I realize many won’t give him a chance, it’s worth checking out.
Finally, the album ends with some GG and the Murder Junkies songs. I’ve listened to them a few times and I can’t say they grab me at all. There is a tremendous amount of material out there...not all of it can be hilarious or catchy. It’s not bad, but there’s some better stuff out there.
The disc is ultimately worth the investment if you are a casual GG fan for the country stuff and “Expose Yourself” single alone.
The bad
You know, it’s GG Allin. What you see is what you get...if you don’t know who he is, go rent or buy the DVD “Hated” which is a documentary about the guy. There’s some music in there, and if you are interested start digging deeper. If you know who GG is, you probably don’t even need to read this...you’ve made up your mind. Something like this is what it is.
Recap
GG lives in the hearts and minds of him friends, family, and fans. The odds are you are none of the above.
