Deep Purple: Shades of Deep Purple

Deep Purple: Shades of Deep Purple

1978


Tetragammatron Records  (Man, I hate typing out Tetragammatron...It always looks wrong to me and spell-check doesn't like it either, making me doubt myself, so I inevitably fall into this loop of checking and rechecking...)

Format I Own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. And the Address  2. Hush  3. One More Rainy Day  4. Prelude: Happiness / I'm So Glad   5. Mandrake Root  6. Help!  7. Love Help Me  8. Hey Joe    

To be totally honest with you, outside of the obligatory pre-adolescent love affair with "Machine Head," I've never totally fallen head-over-heels in love with Deep Purple...There's always a faint ridiculousness about them that keeps me at arm's distance from fully embracing them...I've never run out to buy a Deep Purple record...I usually just pull them out of the dollar bin here and there. so this won't be the comprehensive overview of the band that you might be hoping for (although, folks who read this blog probably know better than to hope for such a thing). Still, I've had a long-time fascination with the band...

I think the mystique comes down to three things...

 
1. Their incredibly deep discography...Sure everyone I knew back in the day owned copies of "Machine Head" or maybe "Perfect Strangers," but whenever you'd go through the cheap tapes at the Drug Store, you'd run across exotic titles like "Concerto for Group and Orchestra" or "The Book of Taliesyn"...How many releases did they have? How long had they been around? It was hard to tell back then, so delving into their back catalog was both exciting and intimidating ...

 2.  Their endless line-up changes...Oh yea, if you wanna sound legit, you've got to refer to the Deep Purple line-up changes as "Marks" or eve better "Mk's"....It was interesting to me that the band would completely change their entire line-up and sound every few albums...When you bought a Deep Purple tape from that cut-out cassette bin, what were you getting? Who knows?

 3. Their complete immersion in a sound that no longer exists...No matter what era a Deep Purple album is from, it's a deep reflection of that era...Their 60's albums are the 60's-iest albums out there...Their early 70's albums are the most meat-and-potatoes dinosaur rock you can buy....Their late 70's albums are quintessentially bland 70's cocaine rock,  and so forth...It also seems that no matter what, nobody seems to be able to put together a band or do a recording that sounds like Deep Purple...You just can't...The technology is all wrong, the tones are all wrong, you'll never get that organ sound...etc...If you're going for that whole early 70's rock vibe, Black Sabbath or Led Zeppelin seem to be much easier targets to hit, for some reason...

"Shades of Deep Purple" is their debut album, and different from the Deep Purple sound you're probably expecting (which I assume is the Ian Gillan-lead Mark II version)...I mean, it's still heavy rock, but there's a very strong psychedelic 60's jamming quality to it...Sort of like a mix of Vanilla Fudge, the Hollies and Cream, even if some of those band's don't necessarily fit together...Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, organist Jon Lord and drummer Ian Paice are already in place, but the bassist and vocalist are different than the famous Mark II line-up...Singer Rod Evans is kind of dull, to be honest...He doesn't ruin anything, but he's just kind of there...During the instrumentals I hardly notice he's gone...

 The only time he ever really comes alive and sounds like he should be there is on their popular cover of "Hush"...

  You suddenly realize he should be in a much groovier, hip-shakin' band than Deep Purple...For example, think back on the song "Mandrake Root"...I honestly can never remember the lyrics or how the vocal melody goes...All I ever remember is the epic showdown between Ritchie's guitar and Jon's Hammond organ...

Speaking of Jon Lord, his organ-playing is the main draw for me...Holy shit, what an amazing sound! It's always that nice, warm, classic Hammond sound with the Leslie effect, but he distorts it like a guitar and it's just the best, juiciest sound I can think of...I want to sink my teeth into it, whenever I hear it...Yes, you read it right, I want to bite down on Jon Lord's juicy organ...Have I creeped you out yet?

You get the impression this album was a bit of a rush job...Like it was just their live set or something...A bunch of instrumental jamming, a ton of cover songs and a couple 60's pop originals ("One More Rainy Day" and "Love Help Me").  The covers are hit and miss for me...The aforementioned "Hush" is classic...I don't even know if I've ever even heard the original Joe South version...Their stamp on it is that indelible...I also like "I'm So Glad," which shows their indebtedness to Cream and rocks good enough...However, I can't stand their cover of "Help." Why is it sooooooo sloooooooooooooowwwwww? Time just stops for me on this one...I think they're shooting for the whole Vanilla Fudge slo-mo cover thing, but man...even Vanilla Fudge is more interesting than this...

Their cover of Hendrix's cover of "Hey Joe" is also pretty pointless...Their only contribution is a ridiculously bombastic bolero intro that sounds like a cross between a bullfight and a ballgame...

Then it goes into the song proper, and it sounds so much like the Hendrix cover that you almost can't believe it...Why even put yourself through that? At best you're saying, "Look, we're so good we can almost sound exactly like Hendrix, but don't get too excited...We would never be able to come up with his radical interpretation ourselves...." Yea, I think they hadn't fully stumbled upon their sound yet...I'll give them a break, it was their first record and I'm saying this album sounds like a weekend job...
I mostly just dig this album out when I feel like some heavy 60's rock but I'm burned out on all the classics...It's nothing great, but it's definitely good... Pretty much a perfect $2.99 record....If you're into that type of late 60's heavy jamming thing and haven't heard it, I'd say go for it...Just don't pay too much for it...

Here's "Mandrake Root" by Deep Purple...Enjoy...

Death: ...For All the World to See/ Death III

Death :...For All the World to See

2009

Drag City Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. Keep on Knocking  2. Rock-N-Roll Victim  3. Let the World Turn  4. You're a Prisoner  5. Freakin Out  6. Where Do We Go from Here???  7. Politicians in My Eyes

 
Early recordings, dating back to 1975, from Florida Death-Metal legends Death...Many of these sessions predating the band's 1987 debut "Scream Bloody Gore"...



 Huh? Wrong band? Alright, let me start over...

 I had read the reviews and was very interested in checking out "...For All the World to See," by some unknown Detroit band from the early 70's called  Death, but I never really got around to it...One day I was scrolling through Netflix and ran across the 2012 documentary, "A Band Called Death."




 I loved the documentary and recommend it to anybody. As compelling as I found Found the human interest story, ultimately it was the damn music that blew me away...I could not process what I was hearing! There was this song called "Freakin Out" that sounded like 80's hardcore...But it was written in 1974 and recorded in 1975?, well before the Ramones or anybody had released a record...So I immediately bought a vinyl copy at Eastside Records, tossed it on my turntable that night and tossed back a few colds...

Immediately, I was saddened and dismayed that I hadn't been rocking out to "Keep On Knockin" my entire life...I was robbed of 30-something precious years where I could have been blasting that song every Friday night! Curse you record companies of the 1970's with your Peter Framptons and your Debbie Boones!! Why didn't anybody sign Death?!?! Why did Clive-freakin'-Davis turn them down because of their name?!?! Curse you!!!!

 Oh well, better late than never I guess...If there' one good thing about the internet, it's endless free porn...If there's two good things about it, it's that all kinds of old, forgotten gems are being dug up and polished in beautiful vinyl packages for me to buy(I guess that somewhat offsets the internet's accomplishment of pretty much destroying new music...). Anyway, "Keep On Knockin" is a thing of pure beauty...The perfect mix of windmill-worthy arena rock guitar heroics and punk ferocity...And check out that mighty chorus for "Politicians in My Eyes"...You must pump your fist in the air! You must hold your can of beer on high! Worship almighty Death! Worship them!!! 

  Really, every song is here is great...Even if it starts out wimpy and diffuse ("Let the World Turn") it eventually gets around to rocking like crazy...And I think it's safe to say that the chorus of "You're a Prisoner" is the first hardcore break-down...I guess if I had to pick a weak spot, it'd be "Rock-N-Roll Victim," which never develops a memorable melody, but even so, I love that speedy riff and lightning quick hi-hat hits...

Fuck it, it's all good...If you have any interest whatsoever in proto-punk bands like the MC5 or Stooges, you've got to check this out...Don't deprive yourself of this...Stick it to Clive-freakin'-Davis...

 Listen to "Keep On Knockin"...You will believe...

Death: III

2014

Drag City Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. Introduction by David  2. North Street  3. Open Road  4. We Are Only People  5. Restlessness  6. Free  7. Yes He's Coming  8. First Snowfall in Detroit  9. We're Gonna Make It


There was another Death album that came in-between "...For All the World to See" and "III" called "Spiritual • Mental • Physical" that I still haven't picked up, despite the amazing cover...

But the cheapest copy I've been able to find runs about $19.00 and there's just no way I'm paying that much...But if I ever find something in the $10-$15 range, I'll be sure to snag it and write a post on it then...

"Death III" (and from what I've heard  of "Spiritual • Mental • Physical") is a much different release than "...For All the World to See," in that it's a bunch of loose demos and jams from various time frames, so don't go in expecting the tight, concise punch of that groundbreaking album..."III" is more rewarding in a "big picture" way...

"...For All the World to See" presented us with a band out of time, on that had somehow seen the glories of raw, primal punk rock and reported it back to the early-mid 70's via a filler-free 7-song masterpiece recorded in  a monumental session in a real-deal recording studio...It was a single magic moment caught on tape...The recording dates for "III" take place in random locales over three decades...

From the 70's we get a couple of lo-fi recordings...One is a brief guitar instrumental intro from David, and the other ("Free") is a drumless sketch where David's flanged guitar threatens to swallow the vocals entirely..."We Are Only People" starts out a lot like "Let the World Turn"...Same despondent guitar figure accompanying a desolate vocal, but whereas "Let the World Turn" eventually erupted into molten rock, this one gives way to a funky strut, making it an interesting companion piece...However, my favorite of the 70's sessions turns out to be the unassuming guitar instrumental "First Snowfall in Detroit" that effectively conveys the mood of a long-faded Polaroid of a cold Detroit street corner in the 70's...

The Hackney brother's session from 1980 is where the album's best moments originate...Yea, "Open Road" ain't that great, sounding like Hendrix playing a repetitive waltz with a billion false stops, but the other two tracks ("Restlessness" and "North Street") stand up to the band's best work...Particularly "North Street"'s gritty street lyrics and breakneck tumble...

And to round things off, a couple of David Hackney's final recordings made in 1992..."Yes He's Coming" is a bizarre gospel rock track, but "We're Gonna Make It" is the highpoint here...So optimistic, with charming touches like that synth-y sitar line and triumphant horns...As the film makes clear, David was always the one who always believed in Death and was confident that one day people were gonna come around, and as it turns out,  he was right...We can take comfort that if he didn't necessarily live to see the band's belated success, you can hear it in this song that he already knew it was going to happen...It was a foregone conclusion to him...His confidence was well-founded, because let's face it, Death ruled...A great way to top off their discography (assuming the claims that this is the final release of archival Death recordings is true)...

Again, I wouldn't start with "III"...Definitely check out "..For All the World to See" first...That was their indisputably their moment....But for the archive-fiends and those who want a closer look behind the curtain, it's a good listen...

Here's "North Street" by Death...Enjoy...

The Dead Weather:Horehound

The Dead Weather: Horehound

2009

Third Man/Warner Bros.

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. 60 Feet Tall  2. Hang You from the Heavens  3. Cut Like a Buffalo  4. So Far from Your Weapon  5. Treat Me Like Your Mother  6. Rocking Horse  7. New Pony  8. Bone House  9. 3 Birds  10. No Hassle Night  11. Will There Be Enough Water?



Hey! It's a supergroup record! I like supergroups...Here's my dream supergroup...

 Jim Gillette from Nitro on vocals...

 Guy Mann-Dude on guitars...

 Wolfgang Van Halen on bass...

The Ent from Slipknot on drums...

 Zamfir on lead Panflute...

Douglas Bishop on rhythm Panflute...

Ludwig Van Beethoven on lead keyboards...

 Figrin D'an II on lead kloo...

The Wizard from Sorcery on lead spells...

"You know what country has the best supergroups?" 

 "Heaven. Think about it, man...You got Janis and  Hendrix and Morrison all up there...I have a scientific theory that all the clouds up there are really just dope smoke, and they're just having a big jam session up there all the time...Jerry Garcia is up there playing "Dark Star" for all eternity..."

 ******************************************************************************

Alright, I should probably get to the point someday, so we can all get home in time for dinner... The Dead Weather is a band comprised of blues-rock guitarist Jack White from the White Stripes (whom I enjoy very much) who takes on the drum role in this particular project, Alison Mosshart from the Kills (whom I think I've heard in passing...I think they were also one of those early 2000's two-people "the" bands)  on vocals,  Dean Fertita from the Queens of the Stone Age (whom I don't really care much for)  and Jack Lawrence from The Greenhornes, The Raconteurs (also with Jack) and City and Colour (which are all bands I like alright...).  

What does it sound like?

 It sounds like a pitch black swamp that eats people. More damp, dark and heavy than the White Stripes ever were...Alison and Jack trade lead vocals throughout the album, and they sound pretty much like different shades of the same person (Alison being the cooler and more evil half)... The whole album shares this really cohesive mood despite the variety within the sound, for example "Treat Me Like Your Mother" is uptempo and "rocks" more than the most of the album, while on the opposite end of the spectrum "So Far from Your Weapon" is slower and  more brooding...Regardless, the two songs seemingly run together on the first listen or two due to the overarching feel of the record (Even the 80's Dylan cover ("New Pony") blends right in)...

There are a few stand-outs though...The sheer strangeness of "Cut Like a Buffalo" jumped right out at me, reminiscent of  a rusty, malevolent reverb spring come to life...And "Hang You From the Heavens" absolutely towers, with the band sounding particularly monstrous...Come to think of it, this is more distinct than you'd expect from a "super-group" project...I just can't think of anything else to really compare it to, musically...Not even the band-member's other bands, which you could still kind of do with the Raconteurs...Again, all I can picture is the Swamp Thing jamming with Led Zeppelin in a flooded basement...

The band released another album after this one in 2009, called "Sea of Cowards," but I never got around to picking it up...'



To be honest, I don't really spin "Horehound" that much, since I have to be in a pretty specific mood to hear it...But on the particularly humid summer night where evil thoughts cloud your mind, I can't think of a better soundtrack...

 But unfortunately,  I live in the relentless, dry blast of sunny Tempe, Arizona...Not much humidity here, so I turn to this for dark escapism...Still, a little bit of this goes a long way...

Here's "New Pony" by the Dead Weather...Enjoy...

Dead Milkmen: The King in Yellow

Dead Milkmen: The King in Yellow

2011

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. The King in Yellow / William Bloat  2. Fauxhemia  3. She's Affected  4. Caitlin Childs  5. Meaningless Upbeat Happy Song  6. Hangman  7. Cold Hard Ground  8. Some Young Guy  9. Or Maybe It Is  10. Passport to Depravity  11. Quality of Death  12. Buried In The Sky  13. 13th Century Boy  14. Commodify Your Dissent  15. Can't Relax  16. Melora Says  17. Solvents (For Home and Industry)




Sorry I haven't been doing the blog as much lately, I'm in the process of doing rough mixes for a TA-80 album, which has been eating up most of my free time this week...But I set aside a couple hours today, so let's finish up this Dead Milkmen section!

Y'know, for some reason I feel like writing a super inaccurate review today...

Warning: Reading the irresistible truths in Act Two of this blog will drive you mad...Reading this first act is relatively safe though...So here we go...The Earth-2 review of "The King in Yellow" by the Dead Milkmen...

Act One:

 The Dead Milkmen's latest effort combines the street-wise, small-hat, pitter-pat of prime Jason Mraz with the complex musical map-making and puffy-shirted bombast of "In the Pathways of Pythagoras"-era Dream Theater...

The album begins with a tension-building 45 minutes of the band tuning their instruments, then suddenly the "water" suite begins with the feverish whirlwind of violins that introduces "The King in Yellow / William Bloat."  Their decision to work with Leopold Schpuss and the the Philadelphia Philharmonic really pays off in this piece, adding subtle (and often playful) shades of nuance you don't normally associate with the band's later "blue" period...

The duet "Fauxhemia," matches Rodney Anonymous (he of the 12-octave vocal range) with the smoked wine chanteuse Norah Jones; her venti voice wrapping itself seductively around every syllable, twisting the lyrics like saltwater taffy...

"I just don't get ME ME ME!
Maybe this is why I feel so alone..."

I think Starbucks better order extra copies of this album cos this thing's gonna fly off the shelves like a marbled panini!

On an album loaded with surprises, the biggest shock occurs on " Caitlin Childs" where the band teams up with the titular television chef, who recites her mouth-watering recipe for honey baked ham over lush accompaniment...

Who says gastronomy and gut-bucket rock n' roll don't mix?!

However, I do find the closing "sky" suite, consisting of ("Melora Says" and  "Solvents (For Home and Industry)" to be a little dull. The band experiments with micro-harmonies,  cluster notes, and sub-atomic frequencies...While academically interesting, this piece goes on for a little too long for this particular listener (453 minutes?!?! No wonder they had to make this one a 25-disc set!!). 

Act 2:

SPOILER ALERT!!! WHY, OH WHY DID YOU READ THAT FIRST WORD?!?! Now you have no choice but to read the rest of this act which contains truths so mind-bending that you'll spend the remainder of your miserable existence running through the streets, raving like a wild lunatic!

O, farewell, mind!

Sweet madness beckons...

Lo, the horrible truths:

1 In 4 Americans Thinks The Sun Goes Around The Earth, Survey Says...

 There are trillions of tiny insects living all over your body and no matter what you do you can never get them off of you! THIS MAKES ME ITCH, DAMMIT!!! ITCH!!!

Act 3:

Alright, now that we're all insane, here's what I really think about "The King in Yellow"...

I was super surprised to see this in the "new releases" section at Zia Records back in 2011...The band had been away for so long and with the tragic passing of Dave Blood, I just figured we'd heard the last of the Dead Milkmen...But there it was...Usually when I check out reunion albums I tend to automatically lower my expectations a bit, but this is one of those rare exceptions where the band didn't miss a step rejoining the workforce of active bands...

Sure, it's darker and angrier than their previous albums (although not dissimilar to the bummed-out second half of "Stoney's,"),  which makes sense because the world's become a darker, angrier place since they left...And their sense of outrage is well placed... A few of the targets include empty-headed patriotic country music, vampire-boyfriend novels, government surveillance, stuffy NPR blandness (Norah Jones, Wes Anderson), reality shows...But it still manages to be funny as hell, although I'd classify it as "gallows" humor ("Hangman" is literally gallows humor, in fact...).

"Country music used to be about music and not about the county
There once was a time when rap was dangerous
Now flag-waving idiots and millionaire illiterates dance across the screen
Johnny Cash died for you..."

- "Commodify Your Dissent"

"I've seen young people waste their time
Reading books about sensitive Vampires
It's kinda sad
But you say it's not the end of the world
Or maybe it is..."

-"Maybe It Is"

"If you didn't check the box next to “I am often sad”,
 there's something seriously wrong with you.
Cuz it's a big world,
and it's filled to the rafters with Cretans and morons.
Have you ever seen one of those child beauty pageants?
Sure, it's an easy target, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be a target..."


- "Meaningless Upbeat Happy Song"

I can imagine that some of the fans who were turned off by the whimsical humor and spoken-word leanings of post "Soul Rotation" DM will be thrilled with the faster, sharper melodies here...And the song "Passport to Depravity" is just flat-out one of their best songs...They turn the unlikely subject of Roman Emperor Tiberius into ridiculously catchy pop-punk...If anything, buy this album for this song...

It's so great to have these guys back, and it's made even sweeter by how good the new material is...Since this album they've released a string of singles that I haven't been able to get ahold of...Hopefully they issue those as a single-album or something...

Anyway, here's a video someone made for the Dead Milkmen song "Can't Relax" that uses scenes from Evangelion...Huh? Enjoy...

Dead Milkmen: Stoney's Extra Stout (Pig) /Now We Are 20

I heard about the tornado in Hale...Very glad that no one was hurt...Things could have been much worse...

 We should just all be thankful that it wasn't a Sharknado...

Sorry I haven't posted much this week...Just kind of been hanging out...

Amy and I went to the Guided By Voices show at the Crescent Ballroom on Sunday, which was pretty cool...I got to drink Hamm's for the first time! They were selling them for $3.00, which was fifty cents less than the Bud Light I'm holding in the photo above...

Boy, you could really taste every penny of that fifty cents, too! Still, it's beer, and we should never speak ill of beer...Anyway, it was great to finally see the "classic" GBV line-up (although things were cut a bit short due to technical problems with Tobin Sprout's guitar) and we landed a prime spot right at the front of the stage...My ears are still ringing...Here's a few pictures Amy took at the show...

Alright...Let's continue the Dead Milkmen section with a two-album marathon! Let's go!





Dead Milkmen

1995

Restless Records

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. Peter Bazooka  2. Train I Ride  3. The Girl with the Strong Arm  4. I’m Flying Away  5. Helicopter Interiors  6. The Blues Song  7. The Man Who Rides the Bus  8. Don’t Deny Your Inner Child  9. When I Get to Heaven  10. I Can’t Stay Awake  11. Crystalline  12. Chaos Theory  13. Khrissy  14. Like to Be Alone  15. Big Deal


I tend to think of this one as the long version of "Not Richard, But Dick." Same kind of bright, white, dry rock sound. Again, you hardly ever run across a positive review of this thing...Maybe it has something to do with Rodney moving to a largely monologue-based delivery on the verses which sometimes works brilliantly (the shaggy dog conspiracy story "Peter Bazooka") and sometimes doesn't ("Don't Deny Your Inner Child" and most of "The Blues Song" (except that "Oh my Gahhhd! You're really fat!" part....That always cracks me up)).  Or maybe Joe has finally become too wimpy for people ("I'm Flying Away").  It's hard to say because I enjoy this so much...

After almost 20 years, I still can't get enough of "I Can't Stay Awake." The fizzy, jangly mix of exuberance and exhaustion hits me just like it did the first time...Same goes for "The Man Who Rides the Bus," which appears to be a surreal rewrite of Joan Osborne's schlocky, nose-ringed "What if God was a Stranger on a Bus" song that came out the same year...

I consider the lyric "I heard him speak only once, "You're Standing on my foot..."" to be the funniest line ever written in a song...

 Rodney gets in few prime moments too...Most notably the ridiculously catchy "Helicopter Interiors" and "Chaos Theory"  which attempts to unionize loafers:

"Study hard and you'll have a future
Oh yeah, when the hell was that ever true?
Study hard and you'll still go nowhere
Study hard and you'll still get screwed...

Workers of the world, unite and do nothing
Workers of the world, unite and relax..."

I absolutely love the final section of the album...It was such a great send-off for the band (who would eventually return, but we'll get to that later)...After the acid-freakout pop of "Khrissy," the album suddenly, uncharacteristically turns somber...The only possible trace of humor I can find in the piano ballad "Like to Be Alone" is during the break, where Joe's voice reaches lower and lower until he finally ends up in Johnny Cash territory for a moment...And when that's over, you're greeted with "Big Deal," an acoustic shuffle with morose lyrics like:

"Life sucks, then you die
And your soul gets sucked into the sky
Birds sing, I wonder why
You eat a bowl of cereal and sigh..."

Which gives the impression that the Dead Milkmen essentially give up and die here...But at least they provided themselves a beautiful funeral! As long as I live I'll never understand the ridiculously misinformed and one-sided view that the group was merely a "joke" band...They had so much more to offer and anybody who doesn't get that obviously wasn't paying attention...So blah...

Here's "I Can't Stay Awake" by the Dead Milkmen..Enjoy

 

Dead Milkmen: Now We Are 20

2003

Restless Records

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. Beach Song  2. Labor Day 3. Don't Abort That Baby  4. Girl Hunt   5. Land of the Shakers  6. I Don't Wanna 7. Milkmen Stomp 8. Beach Song  9. Dance With Me 10. Labor Day  11.
Bitchin' Camaro  12. Plum Dumb 13. Swordfish 14. VCW  15.  Spit Sink  16. Introduction 17 .Laundromat Song  18. Filet Of Sole 19. I Hate Myself  20. Junkie  21. Right Wing Pigeons 22.
Dean's Dream  23. Rastabilly  24. Takin' Retards To The Zoo  25. Violent School  26.
Stupid Mary Anne  27. Surfin' Cow 28. Shape Of Things  29. Ask Me To Dance  30.
Rock 'N' Roll Queen  31. Message To You Rudy 

 

This is an expanded reissue of the  self-released compilation "Now We Are 10" featuring a ton of unreleased, rare and live recordings...

I don't 100% understand why some stuff is here and other stuff isn't (outside of CD running time limitations), but overall it's a fun listen for die-hard milk-heads...Here's a breakdown of what's on here...

Four very early live tracks from the "Funky Farm" cassette which captures the band at their rawest and snottiest...Rough quality but reasonably well-mixed for a home-made live recording...Recommended for folks who chuckle at song titles like "Don't Abort That Baby"...

Three home-recorded songs from the 1984 "Death Rides a Pale Cow" cassette (a greatest-hits compilation with the same title came out in 1997, so don't get the two confused).  "Land of the "Shakers" is a fairly annoying near-instrumental but their live re-appropriation of the "Meatmen Stomp" is entertaining...Again, rough stuff, but you can hear everything clearly...

Now we're getting to the good shit...18 tracks from "Dead Milkmen Take the Airwaves" which was a live show the band performed on the radio (Damn. What an awesome radio station...All I get on the radio here in Phoenix is Nickelback and Disturbed)...These are high quality recordings of songs that would end up on "Big Lizard in My Backyard" and quite a few outtakes ("Dance With Me," the nihilistic "I Hate Myself " and the anti-Jerry Lewis rocker "Labor Day" which has become a fan-favorite). There's a few other live tracks dating from the 90's..."Stupid Mary Anne" being the big highlight...Such a happy, catchy song...I wonder why they never used it on any of their albums? 

The best track, however is the fun pop ditty, "Ask Me to Dance" about a one-legged dance party, which was a B-Side from the "Instant Club Hit" single...I wish they would have added a second disc and put on the remainder of the band's B-Sides on here...Particularly those "Smokin' Banana Peels" B-Sides...I've been dying to get my hands on those! Oh well, maybe they'll do it for "Now We Are 40"....

The album closes out with a couple of cover songs, one excellent ("Rock & Roll Queen") and one alright-ish ("Message to Rudy." ) Wait, what is that "Tune Master" cover all about? Does it really work like a View-Master? How can that be? 

If you're unfamiliar with the band, I would skip this, but fans of early Dead Milkmen who can take a little lo-fidelity will have a good time with this...Let's check out "Ask Me to Dance" by the Dead Milkmen...Enjoy...