Cheap and Nasty #9 Lost Punk Rock Hits 77-82

 

  Being the sweet, lovable people we are, we figured you deserved another trip through the punk rock scrapyard. Forget the collector hype, forget the ridiculous price tags. We're only interested in the records, and these twenty-two forgotten beauties prove that the best discoveries are usually buried beneath a thick layer of dust.

  Among the curiosities featured here is Christ Child, one of punk's best-known fake punk stories. The project was put together by studio musicians hoping to cash in on the exploding punk scene. Controversy aside, their one and only LP is an outstanding record from start to finish, represented here by "Washington AC/DC," one of its finest tracks.

  Australia is represented by X-Ray-Z, musicians who emerged from the country's pub rock circuit before embracing punk. "Three (More) Glorious Years" remains their best-known recording and captures the raw energy of Australia's first punk wave.

  The UK contributes two genuine underground treasures. The Scabs left behind just one outstanding EP, enough to secure their place among the great forgotten names of British punk. The Users only released two superb singles, and "Sick Of You," the A-side of their 1977 debut, remains one of the essential records of the era.

  Australia returns with Tactics, whose excellent EP already hinted at the transition from straight punk into the emerging post-punk sound without sacrificing any of its urgency.

  Japan is represented by both tracks from Mirrors' debut single, released in 1978, an essential record for anyone exploring the earliest days of Japanese punk. The journey continues with The Stalin, arguably the most influential and uncompromising band of Japan's first punk generation.

  Spain is represented by the Valencian band Garage, a group I only discovered recently and one that immediately made me wonder how I'd managed to miss their only EP for so many years. Since choosing just one song proved impossible, this compilation includes two of its three tracks, a small taste of one of Spain's best-kept punk secrets.

  The cover stars of this volume are The Onions Dolls, and not by accident. Their only single is another forgotten gem, packed with Detroit-inspired guitars, razor-sharp riffs and fiery lead work that perfectly bridges rock 'n' roll swagger and first-wave punk attitude.

  But these are only a few of the treasures hidden inside this collection. Chester Vomit And The Dry Heaves, Wasted Lives, Upsets, Ivy Green, Fuck Ups, P.I.G.Z., Kriminella Gitarrer, Pekinska Patka and KFC all help make this another volume where the quality never lets up. Some of these bands left behind a lone single, others an EP or one forgotten album, yet every one of them deserves to be heard.

  That's what Cheap and Nasty has always been about.

  Not chasing the obvious classics, but digging beneath decades of dust to rescue the records that history overlooked. Some became impossibly expensive collector's pieces, others simply disappeared into obscurity, but they all deserve another spin.

  So keep digging, little record-rat... because the punk rock scrapyard is still full of treasures waiting to be found.

Trashlist:
01. Chester Vomit And The Dry Heaves - Duo Sonic Blues (USA, 1978)
02. Christ Child - Washington AC/DC (USA,1977)
03. X-Ray-Z - Three (More) Glorious Years (Australia, 1978)
04. The Scabs - Amory Building (UK, 1979)
05. Wasted Lives - Divorce ( Canada, 1979)
06. Upsets - Heartattack (Australia, 1980)
07. Tactics - Watch My Hands (Australia, 1979)
08. Ivy Green - Another Subculture Going Bad (Netherlands, 1978)
09. Fuck Ups - Once I Had A Brother (USA, 1982)
10. Mirrors - Shōgeki X (Japan, 1978)
11. Mirrors - Mirrors (Japan, 1978)
12. The Stalin - 豚に真珠 (Japan, 1981)
13. Garage - Pelea entre dos frentes (Spain, 1982)
14. Garage - Tiempo Perdido (Spain, 1982)
15. The Rats - Working Class (USA, 1983)
16. The Onions Dolls - The Kids (Belgium, 1979)
17. The Users - Sick Of You (UK, 1977)
18. The Carpettes - Small Wonder (UK, 1977)
19. P.I.G.Z. - Stooges (Belgium, 1978)
20. Kriminella Gitarrer - Vårdad Klädsel (Sweden, 1978)
21. Pekinska Patka - Bela Sljiva (Yugoslavia, 1979)o
22. KFC - Stumpf Is Trumpf (Germany - 1980)
23. Cuña Estacion Zombie - La Mosca

Unearthed by Tony Rivers