Let's come on to another fuzzy by the fantastic Punk Collectors Series by Anagram Records and this is dedicated to the Raped and compiles both singles, some demos and nine live songs. Despite the fact that the band has released very little, they were nevertheless included in this glorious series but their existence was meteoric... Inevitably, with a name like that, criticism was bound to follow. In reality, the problem with the musicians of Raped was that they weren't necessarily suited to Punkrock; a sort of almost gay alternative to the machismo of the movement's early bands, their influences were primarily to be found in GlamRock. Who could take seriously a group whose drummer wore stilettos and whose singer presented himself as an androgynous version of Iggy Pop? Yet Raped certainly didn't lack dark energy; developing a Punkrock directly descended from the Stooges and the Ramones, even the New York Dolls, the band offered raw, punchy, direct music, like Sean slashing his torso on stage... Nothing revolutionary, just good Punkrock with a slight glam edge and a few hits ('Normal', 'Raped'...). In 1978, Raped changed their name to Cuddly Toys to create a more decadent, darkly glam sound where the musicians finally revealed their true potential. Nevertheless, this small collection remains a treat for fans of good old-school Punkrock, its main weakness being that it doesn't quite measure up to the music of Cuddly Toys. (words by Moyen)
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