Discography & Re-issues

On tour during the cold months at the end of last year a then recently released discography hit the shelves at one of my favorite record dealers which i had to order so i felt like throwing in a bunch of re-issues that were on my list for quite a while already. none of it is anything special pressing wise. i see them for sale quite often but usually i find something a little more interesting to waste my dough on. but not this time

ok. let's take a closer look at each one of those starting with the piece of vinyl that got this ball rolling:

Headfirst - the complete recordings 1987 - 1992 3LP - Indecision Records IND90

Discography releases are tricky. Usually I am not too into those. Especially if they press multiple versions right away like they did for Turning Point, Judge, Underdog, etc. I love all of those bands and collect them so on one hand these releases should be in my collection but then again they are somewhat of an equivalent to Best of… records and I really hate those. 

The Underdog one was a no brainer because of the book that came with it and this beautiful thing here also won me over right away. First of and obviously mainly so for the two unreleased songs from the 'back in control' recording session plus the included two demo tapes i had never even heard of. The other reason is that there is only this one pressing, apart from maybe a test pressing that i'm generally not into. That way I don't have to throw too much money at a recent compilation of old releases while I'm still missing a few OG pressings while still being on a good way towards a truly complete vinyl collection instead of just a collection that feels complete to me but actually isn't.

The most needed of the Re-issues I threw in the cart is this one:

Supertouch - the earth is flat - Revelation Records REV21

With all those represses Rev churns out I'm slowly getting to back the 'Revelation can suck it' thing but this one here is a whole lot different. From what I know this is what the record was actually supposed to look like. Maybe not the vinyl itself but the packaging. But due to financial problems the original release looks the way we all know it. I think it's great that after all these years they were able to finally make the vision of how to present their music come true. No way I would pass on this one. Discogs says there were 550 pressed on opaque blue vinyl. Well, mine is clear and not mentioned on there. Anybody know what that's all about? Another one of those cases where they ended up with a lot of different 'shades' of vinyl? Or maybe some kind of transitional pressing? 

Of course Rev already repressed this release on a different color and at first I thought i definitely don't need that but meanwhile I'm not too sure. That white vinyl version looks a hell of a lot better than this blue one.

Followed by this one:

The Make-Up - destination: love. live at cold rice - discord DIS99V remastered 2012 pressing

The Make-Up are one hell of a band. I went to a lot of shows and most of them I don't remember anymore but I clearly remember seeing them on what I think was their first euro tour in support of this, their first full length, release. Definitely one of the best shows I ever saw. Why I didn't pick up this LP back then escapes me. The only reason I can think of is that I didn't have the funds at the time. Took me only about 17 years to finally get my shit together and it's not even the original pressing. Usually I wouldn't mind as I'm not into collecting certain pressing of this band but the fact that this release was remastered somehow doesn't sit too well with me. Looks like I'm in the market for the first mix which to my ears probably doesn't sound any different.

And then this one:

H2O - s/t - Bridge Nine B9R158

This record was a little too melodic for me back when it was released. I liked it but was never bothered to actually pick up a copy until years later. And for an even longer time I didn't feel the need to own any later H20 releases but that changed with the 'Nothing to prove' record. That one I bought and like almost as much as the first full length. 

After I finally decided to pick up a vinyl copy it kept eluding me. It felt like the record was saying 'you neglected me for that long now I don't want to be with you'. And even now that I finally do own one it's on the ugliest vinyl color it was released on. But I'm ok with that. I don't deserve any better.

Last but not least is this killer KBD 7"

Nubs - job / little billy's burning 7" - Last Laugh Records HAW-033

I got a real late pass on everything KBD which is why none of those releases mean anything special to me. I mean I love the music but they didn't influence me like say UC's 'screaming for change' which had me turn straight edge about 20 years ago.
I'm glad I don't have a special connection with any of those releases because otherwise my desire for OG pressings would be a lot higher.
This is one of the best of the genre and one of many re-issues on Last Laugh Rec. If you have a soft spot for this kind of music you need to check out this record and if your pockets are as shallow as mine you should check out the label. Some of their releases you can order from my shop GIHC.



But wait there is one more 7" in that picture.

Trephine - reprogram…recondition 7" - +/- Records PMR-004

This one was a freebie and the only original pressing on this heap. A lot of times those free records are crap that no one cares about and while no one might care about this record too it definitely isn't crap.
Great 90s militant vegan sound in the vein of Green Rage. I almost put this in the distro without even listening to it. Good thing I didn't. I might not take this one out for a spin too often and if I do it sure won't be the first of the genre that comes to mind but once in a while when I'm in the mood for that sort of stuff it will be a great addition to the playlist.

Is this my beach?

"Cool and strange blend of punk, Beach Boys and Residents. Witty surf punk with a synthesizer and great melodies. It's a novelty, but it's not that bad really. Quite unique."

I never cared for the Beach Boys and I've never knowingly listened to the Residents. Nevertheless the above review from the flex discography got me interested. Being a sucker for late 70s early 80s US west coast punk the attributes 'great melodies', 'novelty' and 'unique' were not needed to be thrown into the mix for me to make a mental note about this record. Always looking for that little something extra that makes a record stand out from the rest I knew I had to check it out even though 'not that bad' would put a negative spin on it in most peoples books. Not in mine. It only means that someone else is not into it. Just like a lot of people around me are not into quite a few bands I love. I'm known to have weird taste so the Surf Punks' 'My Beach' LP could really be for me.

The record was originally released as a self titled 15 track LP in 1979 on Day Glo Records and re-issued as 'My Beach' by Epic Records in 1980 including two extra tracks. Figuring that the original would probably be a lot more expensive and being lured by those two extra tracks I decided right away to keep my eyes peeled for the rerelease even though it comes without a lyric sheet as opposed to the 1st press.

To my big surprise I found a copy that might just be Mint sitting in a cheapo bin...

...next to 2(!) Mint looking copies of their last LP 'Oh No Not Them Again' released by Enigma Records in 1988. Without a listening station available I opted for buying all of them because they were so cheap thinking how bad can it be and that I'd give one of them to a couple I'm friends with, who do surf and are into punk. Perfect gift right there.

The printed innersleeves for both copies of this LP do have those Shirts crossed out in exactly the same way. Seems they ran out of them before the innersleeves were printed.

Right now the tour I'm working on has left Zuerich, Switzerland (where I bought the records) and is now residing in Essen, Germany which is a lot closer to where I live. Due to that I was able to go home and spend a bit of time with my wife. Of course I was eager to listen to all those new records. When it was the Surf Punks turn I naturally started with the first LP and was pretty disappointed. It has all the elements mentioned in the review but somehow it's not leaning quite enough towards punk. At least not in the traditional sense of the associated musical style. So a day or two later I put on the 'Oh No Not Them Again' LP hoping that they'd be one of the few bands in punk that do get better with time. Are they? You might already get the feeling that they are not and boy are you right.Meanwhile though I gave 'My Beach' another try and I have to say it's not as bad as the first time. I hear some Devo in there. Maybe it's one of those records that grow on you each time you give it another try.

Unless the later LP gains a better reputation with me I'm a little hesitant to turn that spare copy into the initially intended gift. What would you do? Present a gift you don't like? Sounds a tad off to me. But then again they might like it. What do I know?

 

You never have fun

That's what's being said about Straight Edge people. And you know it's true. We are a bunch of moralizers constantly reminding you that we've 'got better things to do'. Perhaps that's why I like the song but maybe it's just a great song.

I always like to dip my feet into uncharted waters. You never know what you're going to find. Sometimes it's a gem like the 7" featured here.

About a year and a half ago I discovered the awesome Shotgun Solution Blog. The person running it pretty much has the to me unknown territory of Power Pop / Pop Punk mapped out while I'm still struggeling to remember the bands I downloaded and like. I never cared much for Pop Punk or Power Pop Everything I heard that was associated with that genre I didn't like. And I really don't know where to draw a line between the two. But at some point I realized there are actually some really great things to unearth from that drawer. Naturally I rejoiced upon finding a fine source.Although it got pretty quiet on her/his blog lately, for a while there were shitloads of posts to check out. Too many actually for me to keep up with. So once in a while when my schedule allowed it I downloaded a bunch of stuff and unfortunately only gave it a quick listen resulting in quite a bit of confusion. Mostly I cannot remember which bands I like and which ones are too pop-y or beatle-esque for me. And yes, that means I don't like The Beatles. In my book they did nothing good for Rock'n'Roll. I'm with the Meatmen on this. '2 down 2 to go'. But let's get back to what I like. You know?! Be postive. Straight Edge. PMA. All that stuff.

My memory works best with pictures and has quite a few downloaded covers stored somewhere in the back of my head which I will recognize should one be sitting in a box I'm flipping through at a store. On the downside I cannot remember if the music is any good. Especially when being somewhere with no possibility to listen to the thing it really bums me out. Lucky me Vinyl Pirate in Zuerich had a listening station.

The Locals - you never have fun b/w yes or no 7"

'You never have fun' rightfully owns the A-Side to this 45.It's a total hit mixing powerfull pop music with the right amount of punk rawness.It's rough edges are sure to catch on to anyone even remotely susceptible to this music.

'Yes or no' is a solid B-Side.It incorporates the same qualities yet isn't as good.Come on. There has to ba a second place.

 

Griffy Records published the original pressing in 1980 and the last one on ebay sold for $86. While that is considerably less than the $315 someone had to dig up for a copy in 2009 before the reissue was released by Sing Sing Records in 2010, I couldn't be bothered to bring up anything close to that.

I'm very happy having found a NM copy of the by now also kinda hard to find repress with a pricetag you'll find on most of the recently rereleased classics.

Next time I take out some records to spin for an audience this one will most definitely be among them.