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Basement Screams -- Long overdue and perfect. Their first release was originally available in limited numbers, and highly sought after. This is one of those rare releases that demands your full attention the instant you first hear it. Albini's new liner notes describe Naked Raygun in their beginings - "Energy, matter, and time all one. Limitless potential. Pure action. The absurd along side the magnificent..." The photos would seem to back that up. Basement Screams is absurdly magnificent. A mix of vague politics, hilarious imagery, sarcasm, wit, naivite , all backed by vicious guitars and throbbing low end. In the early days you could write a song like "Tojo" without worrying about whether or not it was racist. The opening rousing chorus of "I Lie" to the end of side one was one continuous disco long playing mix. The aural assault picks up again on side two, reminding you that saxaphones can rock. "Swingo" is one of the few songs to successfully make use of a horn section in a punk tune without seeming forced. "Mofo"? What the hell is this song about? Political activism encouraged by lunacy? Who cares if you can pogo and sing along as the entire audience becomes the backing vocalists. "Potential Rapist" describes the situation perfectly - an innocent male who has chanced across a lone female late at night on a desserted street, and the look of apprehension on her face as they draw nearer. Basement Screams was and remains unique. A snapshot of the times that can not be recreated except by those just experiencing the genre for the first time. The passion and wild direction of this 1983 ep is amazing. They had Star Power. This album made it seem like these guys were some legendary L.A. band that had crash landed in Chicago. Any track would easily fit in on the Slash records compilation that suburban Illinois punks seemed to be issued upon awakening. Pezzati's short notes describe those magical early days of the scene which were slowly echoing throughout the midwest. As Pezzati and Mike Nesmith have both recalled, those were the days when you could get beat up for looking like a punk. Nowadays it's just another mall bought mass merchandized fashion. The extra tracks on Basement Screams are good for a first curious listen, but that's about it. The sound quality is pretty bad and the songs seem like they haven't been fully formed. It also includes the obligatory cover of Wire's "12XU". Lyrics are a plus. I can't remember if the vinyl version came with them or not since by the time I had procurred my own abused copy there was no record sleeve, but plenty of fire extinguisher dust. 5 stars get it, learn it. live it. | ||||||||
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Throb Throb -- With a name like Naked Raygun, what better album cover/title combo to have than "Throb Throb" and a satire of the military-industrial-technology complex. It features a sweating and possibly aroused tank commander rendered/riddled with heavy computer artifacts (probably done on one of the first Macintoshes). The irony is that this album is less throbbing than the first one, with the soon to be trademark Haggerty razor-wire guitars coming to the fore front. This remains the favorite of a lot of early Raygun fans, at least the ones I know. Definitely more serious sounding than Basement Screams, but the the humor is still there in spades. Political commentary through satire is nothing new, but how is it possible to reference goofy tv shows as the driving lyrical force without sounding goofy yourself? Listen to "Rat Patrol" to find out. "Surf Combat" one-up's the insane imagery of Apocalypse Now with the authoritative delivery of "...and the napalm makes you vomit, as it sizzles off your weenie!" Admittedly, I may be overinterpretting. I had to get out the dictionary to look up the meaning of "metastasis" and just like John Mohr says in the liner notes, I still don't know what the hell it's about. I was always into physics more than chemistry anyway. "Only in America" sounds like it could have been written by the Dead Kennedys, but thankfully it doesn't sound like they recorded it. DK's records always sound like they were recorded under a pillow. "Libido" is one of those songs that you just can't believe someone actually wrote, even after listening to it several times. It's so simple and pure. Anything more would be superfluous. The albyum lyrics are there as they were in the original release. Vinyl copies of the original were on sale for $40 in one Chicago record store and for some reason I've got two copies, at least till one of the fifteen or so "Ten shitty Guys" - my college era roomates - read this review. The extra track on this album is the single version of "Libido" which the notes indicate was limited to 1000 copies. The record store that I bought mine from had thoughtfully removed the free sticker from "Flammable Solid" that I so desperately wanted to apply to my skateboard. Although I checked regularly, they never stocked additional copies or I would have bought another one. The main difference in the single version is that it is shorter and features what can only be described as very rude keyboards instead of the almost inaudible piano tinkling found on the album version. Another bonus for computer geeks is with the cd you don't have to take the belt drive off of your turntable and manually spin it backwards to listen to the forwards recording of "On" at the end of side one. Raise your hand if you've done that. Throb Throb draws to a close with a swinging ditty entitled "Managua" that recalls a Windy City version of the Clash's "The Call Up". 4.5 Stars. Really, really good, but with a few moments that don't shine quite as brightly as the rest.
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