Unsung Heroes: Naked Raygun

This Site Is Dead! Last updated some time in 2002. Here for archival purposes. This is where the action is.

The Entire Set--

Hats off to Quarterstick for not releasing combo albums. It's an easy trap to fall in - the theory being that consumers are more apt to buy a re-release if it contains two short albums instead of one short album. The flip side is that in order to get the whole catalog you need to buy more units. Whatever their reasoning was, my personal preference has changed to having one release per cd, no matter how short. Those releases were meant to be their own entities. The small surface area of CD's makes it hard enough to capture that without cramming the gestalt of two releases on to one tiny disc. Another pitfall they have managed to avoid is drastically revising the cover art. These releases don't mess with the originals on the outside, for the most part. The insides all have extra photos, lyrics, and piles of promos and flyers. While it's fun to look at, for the fanatical and or anal retentive it's very frustrationg because the reproductions are so tiny and jumbled on top of each other. While the concept seems anti-punk, I almost would have preferred a more expensive box set with seperately printed (and more detailed) booklet. In fact, If there are enough interested contributors, I will publish a limited run myself. If the response is there, I'd also consider a book on the Chicago/Midwest scene from the 80's. Follow this link for more details. Another point of contention: not enough interviews with Raygunners themselves. Pezzati has a short bit on Basement Screams but that's it. Are they worth buying if you already have them? That depends. If the rumors are true and Pezzati really is a fascist landlord working for the man, he certainly doesn't need your money. The extra tracks are not really all that extra, aside from the first CD release of "Slim", "Last Drink" and a couple of live tracks. If you already own the CD versions your biggest gain will be the fact that each disc has it's own color combo logo (like the t-shirts) and on one side the spines make a collective logo. If you already have a cd version of Basement Screams it's probably because I copied my scratchy vinyl to cd-rom in a fit of nostalgia and gave it to you. If you don't already own CD versions or have never owned any version, you can buy the first 3-4 without hesitation. Whether you buy the rest depends on how big of a fan you were, or how young you were when you first heard them. My girlfriends first exposure to Raygun was as a highschool brat listening to Understand, and she swears by it. Let's not forget Grover either.

The Last of the Demohicans--

I've never heard it, but I've heard it is good. On Dsylexic records, if you can find it. Contains demos from 1992, earlier stuff with Santiago Durango, 2 audio promos, and some live tracks. I've seen it described as a "public service to the world", but I've never seen it. All web links to anybody claiming to distribute it are dead or revised. Contains the folowing tracks: 1.Off The Edge 2.Hot Atomics 3.The Way It's Supposed To Be 4.Trio 5.Giveaway 6.7-11 jingle 7.Metastasis 8.Treason 9.Entrapment 10.Those Who Move 11.Where You Live 12.Got Hurt 13.System 14.Web 15.Bananacuda 16.New Dreams 17.Who are Naked Raygun? Note: Since this article was first posted, Mr Pezzati has informed me that The Last of the Demohicans will be re-released on his new label, Jettison Records.

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