Well, here it is 1986 and I finally discovered why people used to rave about DMZ. After hearing their other releases and being sorely disappointed, I thought the hype was underserved. But now that a tasteful purveyor of primitive raunch has managed to unearth a live DMZ recording that frankly blows away everything else they’ve put out, I’m convinced.
Billed as “the wildest rock ’n’ roll song ever,” the title track of this 1959 release is pretty wild R’n’R, but doesn’t really hold up with today’s frantic HC. I’ve also heard some wilder ’50s stuff, but this ’50s bar band (not unlike the Northwest’s WAILERS) does kick ass. The two B-side tracks are more rockabilly/R’n’R, a bit like the EVERLY BROS.
First off, this is not the Swedish NOMADS, but a US garage band from the ’60s. Secondly, it’d have to be an awesomely great band to warrant a whole LP’s worth of rough demos, and this combo from North Carolina is not of that calibre. Lots of covers, but the title track is hot.
This time around, the label responsible for the great Back from the Grave compilations has decided to release a whole album by one band, the SQUIRES, who aren’t so much a ’60s punk band as a ’60s garage pop band. While most of the material isn’t as inspired as that classic “Going All the Way,” most of it combines an appealing mixture of raw instrumentals and strong melodies.
Well, they’ve heard early PRETTY THINGS-type primitive R’n’B, especially the Jagger-like vocals, raw plunky guitar sound (though nowhere as grungy as the THINGS), etc. Out of Sweden.
For my money, the most essential ’60s compilations beside the Pebbles series and Nuggets are the two Back from the Grave collections. Unlike other releases, there’s never any psychedelic sounds, just primo teenage punk served up with plenty of guts, enthusiasm, and anger. Reams could be written about classics on this album like the UNRELATED SEGMENTS’ “Cry, Cry, Cry,” the BANSHEES’ “They Prefer Blondes,” the LYRICS’ “They Can’t Hurt Me,” and “The Crusher” by the NOVAS. Not a duff cut, but plenty of fuzz. Truly amazing.
Among the many ’60s reissue series, Back from the Grave has been the best because of its focus on the snarling teenage punk emanating from suburban garages all across America between 1965 and 1967. And fortunately, Volume 3 maintains this tradition of basement quality by presenting more of the most heartfelt adolescent rants about problems with gurls, gurls, and more gurls, accompanied by two-chord fuzz guitars, squealing organs, and ham-fisted drum beats. The obscure pearls by KEN & THE 4TH DIMENSION, SIR WINSTON & COMMONS, and MURPHY & THE MOB are just as cool as they can be.
More primitive ’60s punk from pimply faced pubescents who couldn’t attract a “gurl” if their lives depended on it. And it’s a damn good thing, too, or they wouldn’t have been mad enough to produce these raunchy misogynistic rants. Almost everything here is primo stuff, maaaan, but I especially dig the CYCLONES, RED BEARD & THE PIRATES, the HALLMARKS, and the AZTEX. Can’t wait for future volumes.
Once again Crypt has come up with an above-average selection of snotty ’60s obscurities for our listening pleasure. Most all of the tunes are punk with that mid-’60s English R’n’B influence—guitar-oriented with snarling vocals. Bands such as the KEGGS, FEW, NOBLES, ILLUSIONS, and lots more deliver that real “intellectual” stuff that makes the EXPLOITED look like real geniuses.
More two-chord rants about unresponsive gurls. I keep waiting for the quality in this series to decline so that I won’t have to bore everyone by reiterating how great these reissues are. But I guess I’ll have to wait longer, for this volume has mind-numbing ’60s punk gems by the SHAMES, SAVOYS, BARRACUDAS, etc. One of the few series which can honestly be described as “all killer, no friller.”
