Friday 30 April 2010

STRAIGHT AHEAD - BREAKAWAY 12" EP



Two fucking words Tommy Carroll. Carrot topped, Human dynamo, crazy ass front man, golden gloves boxer and the guy that once infamously spat at "rockstar" Kirk Hammett who was in the audience at a Crumbsuckers show!! The record I own is from the 3rd press and in my honest opinion one of the greatest pieces of NYHC that has been committed to plastic! On an interesting collectors note, the story from duane (Some Records) was that he had the 3rd batch pressed up (black labels w/ white print) and then couldn't afford to pay the bill, so the pressing plant repo'd them. presumably the plant sold them off to a distributor because they seem to be only slightly less abundant than the 2nd press. Pressing info is:-
Breakaway 12" EP (1987 I-Risk)
1st press = 1000 with plain white DJ sleeve
2nd press = 500 with lion sleeve and white labels w/ black print
3rd press = 500 with lion sleeve and black labels w/ white print
Anyway watch the video below and pray for a time machine to take you back to the greatness of Straight Ahead!

YOUTH OF TODAY - WE'RE NOT IN THIS ALONE LP, CLEAR PURPLE




Another classic YOT release that again was reissued and also remixed. This reissue was also in 97 and again aesthetically looks totally different to the original. The remix from the second Caroline Recs press of this is used on this version and in my eyes is the best mix. I was so stoked to hear this record when it came out back in 88 and not only did it push the sxe scene back into the limelight, it also was my first taste (pardon the pun) of vegetarianism. Thought provoking lyrics, powerful music and the incredible opening seconds of this record (weeee'rrrrrrrreeeee back!!!!!) made this an instant classic in my eyes.

YOUTH OF TODAY - BREAK DOWN THE WALLS LP, WHITE



Reissued in 1997 by the good folk at Rev and originally released on Wishingwell Recs (86) and Rev Recs (88). This was the record that made me realise how good YOT were and how powerful their message was. I vaguely remember it taking a while to get used to the parrot like vocals but eventually everything clicked into place and a classic in it's genre was found. This reissue isn't anywhere near aesthetically to the original which I guess is a good thing because what's the point in creating a carbon copy, however I do find the layout to be pretty bland and uninteresting. Saying that it's a classic rev release so in that respect definitely worth collecting. Breeeeeaaaak ....... downnnnn....thhheeeee.....walllllllsssssss!

Sunday 25 April 2010

VOORHEES - SPILLING BLOOD, CLEAR/RED SPLATTER




So last night saw one of only two Voorhees reunion shows (1 in Amsterdam, 1 in Leeds Uk) and to mark the 20th anniversary of their existence Grot ecords re-released Spilling blood without reason on colour vinyl. Their were two colours on offer a clear red splatter that I picked up limited to 100 (which all sold out) and a clear red limited to 500. The record is a faithful reproduction of the original sleeve and the vinyl is awesome thick wax. I'll be picking a red version pretty soon and if you get the chance, try and get hold of this record as it is one of the best ever that this tiny island has produced.

I guess I'm biased having seen many different incarnations of the Hees over the years and being friends with the band members for many years but to me Voorhees was more than a band but a group of friends that did well playing the music they love. Last night proved that even 20 years on they still have the passion, anger and skill to blast out their extensive catalogue brilliantly......MORE VIOLENCE IN HARDCORE!!!

Friday 23 April 2010

DAG NASTY 85-86 EP BOXSET, VARIOUS COLOURS





It's late and I'm tired, so I copied this from Flex!!! Great band, love Shawn Browns vocals over pretty much all of the other dudes.

4 x 7” on colored vinyl (white/green/purple/pink), 3500 made; 5-6 test pressings. + info sheet.

The first two EPs of this set contain the legendary demos with Shawn Brown (later with Swiz) singing: vocals are a lot rougher and less pop oriented than on the first LP. The 3rd EP has demos with Peter Cortner, very similar to the versions on Wig Out LP. The 4th EP contains goodies, two nice unreleased songs w/ Peter Cortner and Dave Smalley, a live track and a second version of Another Wrong.

WIDE AWAKE - S/T EP, SAMMY COVER




So the story with this one is that I had the first press cover and unfortunately one of my cats decided that she would use it as cat lit and proceeded to golden shower the record. Yup had the damn record for near on 20 years and in an instant it was no more. So after much searching I located a spare that a friend had and we traded.

As an aside the last time I saw Sammy was around 7-8 years ago whilst he was on tour with Rival Schools, I actually bumped into him as I was on my way home from work having absolutely no intention of going to see his newest band. Anyway we ended up going for a Chinese meal and after much reminiscing over past tours (esp Youth Of Today in 89), records and other stuff, he pretty much told me that I was on the guest list and that I had to go to the show. To be honest I actually enjoyed it although to this day I still own zero Rival Schools records.

Wide Awake what a great yet underated youth crew band....awesome.

AGAINST THE WALL - IDENTIFY ME EP, GREY MARBLE




One of Mike Hartsfield's (New Age Recs) many bands and boy does this one rage. Although hailing from S Cal these boys have a harder NY influenced sound mixd in with that OC SXE vibe. Released on Nemesis Records (you know the label with that horrible baseball logo), this ep comes on a grey marbled wax. Definitely a band to check out if you haven't already. Sadly Travis Hunt the drummer for ATW and later Mean Season died in an automobile accident in 2006 at the age of 34. RIP Bro.

Thursday 22 April 2010

DANZIG - MOTHER 12"




Danzig's Mother 12", only released in the good old UK and although not particularly rare a really nice looking slab of vinyl. Which in turn leads me on to my "one" Danzig encounter. Back in 1989 Danzig supported Metallica at Newcastle City Hall and much to my good fortune I managed to be front row when the master of evil and shortness played on his debut UK tour. Anyway can't actually remember the song but whilst I was enjoying being so close to the man himself his mic chord managed to wrap itself around my head and before I could free myself the man himself decided to yank the chord which promptly tightened behind my neck and the next thing I knew I was face down on Danzig's boots and partly on stage with him! Fuck yes beat that!!!!

This 12" was released in 94 and the only interesting fact is that he live version of "Mother" supposedly taken from Thrall-Demonsweatlive is actually just the '94 remix with live crowd noise. "Mother '94" is identical to "Mother '93."

HAIL DANZIG !!!!

Sunday 18 April 2010

SICK OF IT ALL S/T EP, RSD, CLEAR





Well this one was a bit of surprise considering a) I hadn't realised that it was world record store day and b) that Rev had planned to reissue the first SOIA ep on clear vinyl. Anyways thinking I was gonna be too late to pick one up (as only 550 are in circulation world wide) I made a trip to one of 3 local record stores that I thought might have actually had a chance of ordering them in. Luckily for me the only one open on a Sunday in Newcastle had one copy left and I quickly bought it up. Now to the interesting facts....apparently there are 4 different covers one of which is a black and white version which was previously seen on the original 80's "Gilman Street" press and one like mine which is from the original pressing run and has the old New Haven Revelation Records address on it (see pics). Some inserts (like mine) seem to be old original 80's ones and some are from the last press with the "fake paper clipping included". Anyway for more pics see the related thread on the Livewire Records Board and happy hunting.