various artists - The Groups Of Wrath: Songs Of The Naked City

This one was hanging out on a low shelf, all by its lonesome, when i came across it a few months ago. And the title on the spine gave me doo-wop or jazz noir vibes. So imagine my surprise to discover this was a compilation originally compiled by Marty Thau, owner of Red Star Records and NYC new wave impressiaro. Any look at the emergence of punk and new wave is going to gain my interest; the selections herein grabbed my attention:

• A pair of cuts from the New York Dolls' second LP
• Two Thau-produced Ramones demos from 1975
• The first Blondie single on Private Stock ("X Offender" b/w "In The Sun")
• One of my all-time favorite 45s - Suicide's "Cheree" b/w "I Remember"
• Two contributions each from Bloodless Pharaohs and the Fleshtones, both originally appearing on 1980's "Marty Thau Presents"
• A dynamic duo from Richard Hell & the Voidoids' 1982 LP, "Destiny Street"

There's a good chance that you're like me, and you already own a fair amount of these in their original forms, or as reissues, or part of other compilations. But it's nice to share something like this, with very distinctive curaation, and some Bob Gruen photography on the cover, with someone who hasn't discovered this era yet. I probably would have lost my mind if I had gotten this on cassette in 1991; so many groups I now find influential all gathered in one place, the same year I discovered Sonic Youth and Nirvana and Public Enemy. It's pretty cool to think about, which is why my niece is getting a copy of this in the mail in time for Thanksgiving.

Discogs

Click here to download.

various artists - Live From The Masque: Dicks Fight Banks Hate

I guess this'll make three L.A. posts in a row.

I remember seeing these at the top of a shelving section at Best Buy back in '96. At the time, when your resources as an 18-year-old in suburban Baltimroe were essentially what issues of MRR, Profane Existence, and HeartattaCk you could lay hands on, these sort of things stood out. But then I flipped the cover over, and only recognized that band that covered the Banana Splits theme. And weren't they on A&M? So how could this be anything good.

Ah, capricious youth.

One of four releases on the short-lived Year One Records, this comp is home to four sets of first wave Los Angeles punk rock legends. All recorded live at the legendary Masque, February 24 & 25, 1978. I cannot even imagine going to a basement and getting to see the Dickies, Eyes, Randoms, and Black Randy and the Metrosquad. What a mind fuck. What a righteous time. What a glorious time to be alive.

I'll keep my eyes peeled for the other two releases in this "Live From The Masque" series.

Discogs

Click here to download.

Screamers - Live at the Whiskey, 1/6/78

OK, gang, here's the deal. Tomorrow morning I bail out for NYC for a week for work. That means the moderately-consistent posts cease for at least that long. So I'm going to try to put a few things up today for your listening pleasure.

First up: a partial set from the Screamers, circa 1978. This comes courtesy of the crucial In A Better World 2 CD set released by Xeroid Records & Extravertigo Recordings in 2000. I can't stress enough how freaking awesome the Screamers were. If you're into early L.A. punk, synthpunk or noise, you'll probably dig on the one. This recording is missing "Vertigo" & "I'm Going Steady With Twiggy"; if you want those, you'll have to track down the CDs for alternate versions. The great tragedy is, short of a few demos and live recordings, the Screamers never released a legit 7", much less a LP, during their run as arguably the biggest band of L.A.'s first wave of punk.

BTW, I have no idea if you can still track down the CD. If I get some positive feedback, I'll post the whole damn thing up sometime in the near future.










Screamers - live at the Whiskey, 1/6/78
(click the record to DL)

RIYL: organs, hair, freaking out