Electric Eels Spin Age Blasters 2xLP
To say that the ELECTRIC EELS were ahead of their time is at once a statement of the obvious and a vast understatement. Pressing play on the new Spin Age Blasters double LP compilation, I’m struck by the gut feeling that we still haven’t quite caught up to the unintentional proto-punk prodigy of John Morton & co. They created in a way that was shockingly free at a time when even the supposedly uninhibited hippies were largely constrained by popular conventions. This monster 27-track collection is a “best of the best”-style follow-up to 2001’s The Eyeball of Hell, which was the most thorough EELS experience up until this point. This one plays like a connoisseur’s guide to the group, showcasing the finest representations of the band’s greatest hits plucked from previous comps and expertly sequenced to deliver a gourmet spread. To me, the band’s jazzy, ragtag sound computes as a mix of rock as art, art as art, and rock as weapon of provocation to baffle and fascinate in the best way possible, and it’s wild to think that these tunes were captured in 1975. They were ruder than the STOOGES, more flamboyant than the NEW YORK DOLLS, and violently unconcerned with what you thought of them. We’re lucky that this brief and brilliant blaze of original punk glory has been preserved with such meticulous care.