It was Meg White's 50th birthday a few weeks ago, and it reminded me of the first time I heard the White Stripes. And the Dirtbombs. And Clone Defects, Bantam Rooster, the Detroit Cobras.ymp
It was 2001's "Sympathetic Sounds Of Detroit", compiled, produced, recorded, and mixed by Meg's "husband" and bandmate, the former Doc Gillis. If the goal was to put together a humdinger, then consider it a success. Longtime readers can guess which bands I favor here, but there's not a dud in the entire bunch. Even someone like the Von Bondies, who I otherwise never dug, really bring it on "Sound Of Terror".
I have nothing clever or interesting to offer regarding this comp, compiled by Iggy Pop himself and offered up by Mojo back in Twenty Aught Seven. It's just good shit, and I missed a deadliine a couple days ago on account of exhaustion and a binge on Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, so I know I need to bring the good shit.
I found this one sitting in the midst of a clearance section in a Half Price Books a few years back, and actually debated for a minute spending the $2.99 it would cost me. B/c, to be fair, Oi! in the late 80s could lean a bit dodgy. But I'm glad I snagged it, and generally surprised this has never had a more recent reissue, shitty cover and all.
This is the 1993 CD reissue on Step-1, featuring the original 1988 Link tracks, as well as six additional cuts. What's on it? "U.S. of Oi!" starts with a classic Warzone track, then follows it up with Atlanta's Moonstomp. There's three songs from Youth Defense League, all coming from the same time period as their track on "New York City Hardcore - The Way It Is". Anti-Heros and the Kicker Boys, also coming out of Atlanta (Oi!-lanta?), contribute tracks from their 1988 LPs on Link, while the Uprise, Immoral Discipline, and the Bootboys all chime in with bops from their respective demos and 7"s from the time. The bonus tracks include tracks from Uprise-related bands the Mad Hatters and Boneshakers, as well as Detroit's Grievance Committee.
It's 21 boot blasts total, lager fueled and an under-heard classic. If you're a student of the mid- to late-80s American Oi! scene, you probably already own this, or the source material for a lot of these tracks. But it you're like me, someone who's curious what was happening in DC at the same time as Revolution Summer, or alongside the youth crew revival in NYC, this is a record worth checking out.
I typically wouldn't post or write about "Metallic 'KO", because what's more to say about one of the all-time great live records, and the onstage meltdown of one of my favorite bands? I can only jump on top of a pile of great reviews and dry hump my way into the legacy, you know.
It's worth me sharing this, though, in case you're one of the heads who've never received the sacrament of Iggy and his Stooges getting pelted with loose change, threatened by bikers and giving back twice as much hate. And the reason is that Jungle Records just put out a collection of all their Ig releases over the years, starting with this here classic as disc #1. Some kind soul sent me a copy, and it's all I want to listen to. The collection also has both sets (October 1973 and February 1974) that make up "Metallic 'KO"s contents in remastered forms, as well as a number of other cool live and studios rarities.
This, tho...the "Raw Power" lineup of the Stooges, plus Scott Thurston on piano...phew. Give me all the medium drugs and set me loose. It's almost 50 years old and it's still an incredibly sexy, dangerous record.
If you're not a fan of the Gories, then you're probably a dipshit, your actions are suspect, and you're not invited to my birthday party.
Is that harsh? Yes, but fair. The Gories are that good. If you've ever liked the White Stripes, or rock 'n' roll in general, you probably should have heard them. Along with The Cramps, Thee Milkshakes and Tim Warren, they were the wellspring of garage punk in the 80s. They released three LPs and a wealth of singles from 1989 to their breakup in 1992. Despite not having the best distribution, their legend grew via word of mouth throughout the 90s and 00s, culminating in a reunion tour in 2009. They've been houserockin' ever since.
I got turned onto the Gories shortly after I heard guitarist/vocalist Mick Collins' next band, the Dirtbombs, in 2001. I'd just started listening to bands like the New Bomb Turks, the Hives, and Oblivians, so the rawness of the Gories fit right in. I never thought I'd get to see them, yet once they reunited, they headlined U+N Fest in Baltimore in 2013. Mrs. Mummy and I snuck in to see them; they were beyond fantastic. Just raw-ass, primitive punk rock 'n' roll; AM radio, mono recordings blasting my ears, raising my pulse and my loins.
Here's the story on the Bandin Session, as told by Dan Kroha to Savage Magazine back in 2007:
The guy who put out our 1st LP, Lenny Puch, had Wanghead Records. His recording studio was where the Bandin show was filmed, so the studio you see in that video is the studio where we recorded our 1st LP. The walls of the studio were covered in carpet and Mick felt that the sound was too dead, so we asked if we could move all our stuff into the metal walled machine shop next door and record in there. Which is what we ended up doing.The Bandin show was shown on a local cable channel back when cable was like the radio station at the end of the dial. Like in a place where no one would see it. I never actually saw it until years later when someone gave me a videotape of it.
So there you have it: a Gories record that never actually came out, and, as far as I can tell, has never really been bootlegged. Someone ought to get on that.
If you're like me, you enjoy drinking someone else's beer, turning up Negative Approach and running repeatedly into a brick wall. You don't like that, you say? Well, you are missing out. There are very few things better in life than N.A. and a pilfered six-pack of Shiner Bock.
Cheers to Henry at Chunklet and Benn & Rachel at Atomic Books for a rousing Rock Band party last Friday, and for the inspiration for this post. What you have here, in a mere 28 megs of file space, is the first year's output from Grosse Point, MI's finest. What you get is the first demo, the track from the Process of Elimination 7" and the self-titled 7". 21 songs, 18 minutes. You must break something. All of this should be on Guitar Hero, or Rock Band, or some video game.
