RODGAU MONOTONES - Volle Lotte! 1984

Einen hab ich noch and we meet local heroes Rodgau Monotones, a rock combo founded in 1977 and they are especially popular in the Rhein Main area around Frankfurt/Main and in the German federal state of Hessia because of their biggest success Die Hesse Komme from 1984, which is sort of an unoffcial hymn for the region. This is their third album on Rockport with eleven solid rock songs. Bandinfo: In November 1977, five musicians from Rodgau met for the first time in the rehearsal room and founded the Rodgau Monotones. They wanted to make music which is not German or jazz rock, but rather party rock. In the early years they limited themselves to offering pieces by ZZ Top, Johnny Winter and Queen with German lyrics. In 1978, Hendrik "Henni" Nachtsheim joined the band with his saxophone, later known as a member of the comedy duo Badesalz. The first appearance of the band took place on Carnival 1978 @ the Roxy in Offenbach am Main - as a break filler of "Hartz Reinhard Revival", also played in the Mob and Osti. This was followed by a series of performances in smaller venues, where already up to 2000 people came to the concerts when the band was still unknown in Frankfurt. In 1980 followed the first appearance in the Batschkapp in Frankfurt-Eschersheim, which was terminated after only one hour due to lack of repertoire. In 1982 they took their first album Wollt Ihr Musik, Oder Was? on and went regional tour. With the single release Ei Gude as from the 2nd slab Fluchtpunkt Dudenhofen they made their first radio appearances. The chart sequence of the album Volle Lotte! (16th place) and the single Die Hesse komme! (#22) helped the Rodgau Monotones to the final breakthrough. In 1985, they put on the longplayer We see ourselves in court (# 23) and the singles Hello, I am Hermann (75th place) after. In the same year they played in the band for Africa together with other rock greats on the Cologne cathedral plate the German contribution Nackt in the wind to the "Live Aid Concert". The participation in the festival in the stadium @ Bieberer Berg 1983 in Offenbach with Santana, Bob Dylan and Joan Baez followed in 1984 "Pampa Power" in the stadium of the FSV Frankfurt on Bornheimer Hang with Flatsch!, Die Crackers, Feinbein, Hob Goblin, Roger Chapman ", the anti-WAAhnsinns festival and on October 19, 1985, following an appearance at Kuli in one, will also win one more in the ARD Rockpalast. As part of the Deep Purple Open Air 85 on June 29, 1985 on the Mannheim Maimarktgelände and on July 6, 1985 @ the Zeppelinfeld in Nuremberg they were honored to open both festivals (with Roger Chapman, Mountain, Meat Loaf & Deep Purple). The cartoonist Chlodwig Poth produced in 1985 with his daughter Leonore Poth a 30-minute music film with animated elements called "Rodgau Melodies - Die Rodgau Monotones and their songs" for the Hessischer Rundfunk. The rudimentary plot of the film - now available on DVD - played at a Rodgau kiosk. On 27 July 1986 they had a joint appearance with Herbert Grönemeyer and the band Die Toten Hosen in the demonstration against the planned nuclear reprocessing plant Wackersdorf. In 1987 saxophonist Achim Farr joined the band for his "Sportsmen" tour. In 1990, Henni Nachtsheim left the band and concentrated together with Gerd Knebel von Flatsch! based on the early eighties comedy duo bath salts. For a year and a half the band paused, then they found the right replacement for the vocals with Kerstin Pfau. In the middle of 2001 there was another break when Achim Farr left the band at his own request. With this departure also the horn section with Joachim Kunze (trumpet) and Thomas Wimbauer (trombone) was dissolved. The new saxophonist was Matthias "Mattl" Dörsam.

In March 2003, the Rodgau Monotones celebrated their 25th stage anniversary ("Silver Wedding") in two sold-out concerts in the Stadthalle Offenbach together with their old companions Flatsch!, Hob Goblin, the Crackers and 8000 fans. The "Monotones" celebrated their thirtieth anniversary on August 30, 2008 together with numerous guests such as Anne Haigis and Wolfgang Niedecken and companions such as Hendrik Nachtsheim, Gerd Knebel and Jürgen Zöller in the Hanauer Amphitheater. The three-hour concert was broadcast on 28.September 2008 together with the two-hour unplugged concert of the "Monotones" in May 2008 and the film Rodgau Melodies by hr-Fernsehen as "The Long Rodgau Monotones Night". On April 2, 2009, Rodgau Monotones received the Citizen Medal in gold from the city of Rodgau. In March 2018, the band celebrated their 40th anniversary at the Stadthalle Offenbach. In the more than three-hour show they met again with old companions.

here

NIRVANA - Incesticide 1992

First vinyl rip and its a nice one: Incesticide is a collection of Nirvana's non-album tracks, B-sides, demos, outtakes, covers & radio broadcast recordings and I can't understand why this slab is traded so high? Surely its brilliant but not as rare as a photo of the Pope at the brothel visit, anyway.... Again a bit info from wiki: Early in 1992, Jonathan Poneman of Sub Pop contacted Gary Gersh, who had previously signed Nirvana to Geffen Records, to inform him that Sub Pop still had a number of unreleased early Nirvana recordings in their possession. The band had originally intended to release the material via Sub Pop and cynically called it Cash Cow. However, Sub Pop could not match Geffen's distribution network, and the band felt that getting the material maximum exposure was important. Sub Pop sold the recordings to Geffen for "a six-figure amount" on the condition that the band would create and approve the release of an album by Christmas 1992. At the time, the majority of the material on Incesticide was circulating within fan communities (albeit in lower quality). It was widely reported in the music press that the band wanted to offer fans a higher-quality alternative. In the book Cobain Unseen, Charles R. Cross writes that Kurt Cobain agreed to the release of this compilation because he was allowed complete control over the album's artwork. Since the songs were recorded in different sessions and some were recorded when Nirvana did not have a stable formation, the album includes recordings by four different drummers: Chad Channing, Dan Peters, Dale Crover, and Dave Grohl. Don't miss Nirvana @ Roskilde Festival 26.06.1992 and enjoy the weekend.

here

THE DAMNED - Damned Damned Damned 1977

Happy new year together and I hope you had a great transition. A new blogger year is coming up and I try to sweeten you this with refreshing rarities. At the start now: Damned Damned Damned, the debut album by London's The Damned and it was released by Stiff Records and allows me a short info from wiki: In a contemporary review, NME praised the group's musical ability, opining that the Damned have "all the residual skills needed for the actual performance of exhausting modern music", stating that James was the most effective powerhouse guitarist since Pete Townshend and concluding that the album as a whole was "a highly professional production and is much more convincing than some other new wave bands I've heard on record." BBC's retrospective review praised the album's energy, pop satire and general humour, commenting, "Each track featured the hammering toms of Rat Scabies & Captain Sensible's bass-as-guitar propelling Brian James' exhilarating machine gun axe into your living room". The American press has also favored the album. Ned Raggett of AllMusic gave it their highest rating of five stars, calling it "a stone classic of rock & roll fire" and declaring that "Damned Damned Damned is and remains rock at its messy, wonderful best." Pitchfork also positively assessed the album in a negative review of the Damned's 2001 album Grave Disorder, stating, "I won't lie to you: the Damned's new album isn't very good. In fact, the Damned have only ever recorded a few albums that were - for instance, their debut or 1979's Machine Gun Etiquette". Okay, now I'm looking into my treasure chest which album will be my first rip 2019.

here

KOSMONAUTENTRAUM - Juri Gagarin 1982

I'm not really a big fan of ZickZack records but the debut of Kosmonautentraum is not bad at all. The band was a music project founded 1980 by the singer Ziggy XY (Michael Jarick) and drummer EKT (then both at Der Moderne Man) in Hannover with a strong closeness to the genial dilletants from Berlin (Die Tödliche Doris, Einstürzende Neubauten, etc.). Kosmonautentraum published mostly on cassettes and zigzag records with changing accompanying musicians until the mid-1980s. Ziggy XY also published a volume of poetry titled The German and published together with E. K. T. the Fanzine Today, which contained mostly collages and fictitious concert reviews and record reviews. So enjoy this last post 2018 and I wish you all a great New Year's Eve!!

here

V/A - Killed By Trash 2 2008

Three years after Volume 1 the small label P.Trash Records bang out a worthy second part with twenty more old classics in a new raw sound, another chance to listen to an international bunch of contemporary bands doing some killing versions of songs by obscure bands from the Stone Age of Punkrock. Most of the bands are relatively unknown to me and its nice to search for more slab of them and sometimes there is a real highlight underneath (Killerlady, Cola Freaks). Comes with detailed liner notes, limited to 1000 copies. Listen to the whole album and the lovely melodies of:

1.I Hate Cops - VICIOUS CYCLE

2.I'm Gonna Punch You In The Face - LIVE FAST DIE

3.You Make Me Sick - AGGRAVATION

4.I Rock I Ran - ORIGINAL THREE

5.Neutron Bomb - WASTED PIDO

6.Television Sect - STATUES

7.Drugs - RETAINERS

8.Neon Light - RAD KIDS

9.Break Out Tonight - FASHION! FASHION! & THE IMAGE BOYS

10.Rather See You Dead - BRUTAL KNIGHTS

11.Learn To Hate In The 80's - KILLERLADY

12.I'm Useless - CHEAP THRILLS

13.Job - FUCKED UP

14.Surfin' With Steve & E.D. Amin - COLA FREAKS

15.L.A. Sleaze - CPC GANGBANGS

16.Matinee - PRESS GANG

17.Mom's A Fake - SUDDEN WALKS

18.Telepathic Love - KAMIKAZE TRIO

19.I Beat You - BUD WHITE

20.What's Your Problem? - ANTI YOU

here

HÜSKER DÜ - Land Speed Record 1981

Now a classic record by a classic combo, Hüsker Dü were Bob Mould (vocals/guitar), Greg Norton (bass/vocals) and Grant Hart (drums/vocals) and formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota 1979. Info from wiki: Land Speed Record is the debut full-length and was released in January 1982. It was recorded live on August 15, 1981, @ the 7th Street Entry, a venue in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The album is a fast and furious hardcore workout that bears almost no resemblance to the melodic post-punk that the band became known for in the mid '80s. The title has a double meaning, referring to both the band's ability to play as fast as they could (there are seventeen songs crammed into 26½ minutes) and their penchant for amphetamine pills. Hüsker Dü's August 1981 concert was recorded straight to 4-track soundboard tape on a three hundred dollar budget. Once the band had taped it they realized they lacked the financial means to release the album. Friend of the band and member of Minutemen, Mike Watt, offered to put out the album on his label, New Alliance. The original LP release on New Alliance contained an insert with lyrics and upcoming tour dates. The album was reissued in 1987 on SST Records on compact disc and LP. Like Hüsker Dü's other releases, Land Speed Record has not been remastered to alter the LP's sound for the compact disc release. The band's ongoing royalty disputes with SST have been given as the cause for not having a unique CD edition issued. Ken Shipley of The Numero Group has noted that the original tape was stolen from the band's van. The SST CD contains only two tracks, one for each side of the original album.

The album sounds like straightforward hardcore at first glance; with volume and power being emphasized over melody, it's the Hüsker Dü record that least sounds like Hüsker Dü. Bob Mould once referred to it as "the bad part of the acid...It sounds like when you go to a gig and get your ears blown off". The album was recorded just as they went on a tour of various places in the country, those close to the band say upon their return the band was louder, faster and noisier than before. The magazine Discords said about it: "It's hard to believe but the only Minneapolis hardcore band have gotten even faster during their stay away." Yet there are some elements emerging under the wash of noise that foreshadow the band's future direction. "Don't Try To Call" is one of their most melodic early songs, while Hart's "Data Control" slows the tempo to conjure a creepy musical mood to match the paranoia of the lyrics.

here

FRONT PAGE - Qualified 1981

Front Page is a Norwegian five piece from Halden, founded 1978 by Morton (vocals), Steinar & Storm (guitars), Ulf (bass) and Chris (drums) and they brought their first Kick Them! single from 1979 on New Noise a classic which is nowadays a very sought record. They also released two albums before they dissolved in 1983 and this is their first one on Mellow Madness with thirteen not so hard mid-tempo goodies. Numerous presence on compilations, Back To Front and other relevant slabs. I hope you are happy with Santa Claus and you got what you wanted, more presents tomorrow.

here

THE SKEPTIX - ...So The Youth 1983

A great politically charged band, not as heavily political as Crass, but great well thought out meaninful lyrics are there. The Skeptix originally formed 1980 in Stoke On Trent by Snotty (vocals), Fish (guitars), Usher (bass) and Chig (drums) and they signed to Zenon Records and release their debut 7'' Routine Machine in 1981. Between 1981 & 1983 the band released five singles & an album via the German label Rock-O-Rama Records which was not a good decision, the album went down in nothing and received little response. A split with OHL, The Kids Are United EP, followed and they said goodbye to H.E. and in 1985 the Skeptix split up. In December 2001 the band, with the original band line-up, reformed & started to rehearse for the Holidays in the Sun Festivals in the UK & USA. Their first album in twenty years, Hate & Fear, was recorded & released in 2003. In the same year the Skeptix toured the USA to promote the album. The recording of their gig at New Yorks CBGBs became their next album for release. A DVD of the CBGBs gig, including additional footage from the tour, was also released. So now enjoy fast, brash UK eighties hardcore punk.

here

A+P - s/t LP 1981

Last post before X-Mas and it's a another German classic: A+P come from Starnberg near Munich and was founded 1979 by three brothers, where bassist and guitarist are twin brothers. Characteristic are above all the snappy-critical lyrics and the unmistakable voice of the singer. What was planned as a surprise gag on the 40th birthday of the singer developed into a real reunion as part of the Punk-in-Munich project. Philip, the singer, was able to convince his two younger, then fourteen-year-old brothers and his friend Felix that they should make punk music. First, all four band members wanted to play guitar and so had to be gagged for the cast. Florian won, so Felix, who was actually the best guitarist, was on the drums. The first record was recorded with Felix, then came Jürgen Tonkel to the band, who was playing at the same time in inner German relations. Jürgen left A+P in 1984, Felix came back and the band played until 1985 in the original line-up.

The band was controversial in the then Munich scene, which was partly because they had as 'Starnberger' the reputation of Rich Kids. On the other hand, the first record was released on a major label (Jupiter Records/Ralph Siegel). So there were few appearances in Munich itself from A + P, but they played a lot in Starnberg and the surrounding area, but especially in Switzerland, where the Links Rechts EP appeared on Soilant in 1982. Jürgen worked with the band Inner German Relations (IDB) on the TV series BLAM and came in this way to acting, which he operates successfully today.

Due to the excitement of the song 'Dachau' appeared the 2nd edition of the album without this song. But anyone who dealt with the entire text of the song 'Dachau' recognized the very clear anti-fascist statement. 'Dachau' became a cult song. Even in the former GDR A+P achieved a considerable degree of awareness, tapes with the songs were copied countless times and further processed.

In 2004 A+P with Jürgen Tonkel on drums after twenty years went live again and publicly in Munich on the stage. The old A+P songs and especially the very personal but also very political lyrics have lost none of their original meaning and explosiveness. What should be a unique gig was repeated due to the incredible response in 2006 and 2007.

here

NOT FOR SALE - NFS 1986

Two years after the A Few Dollars More EP the three piece from Houston released their only album on Rabid Cat Records and we enjoy thirteen creamies decorated with strawberries, cherries, lemons and tasty stollen from Mutti. The saxophone is a bit too dominant for my taste and disturbs partially, I had expected more, well, you can't have everything. Anyway, thirty minutes are quite enough and 'Solitaire' is a pretty number. Let's see what the weekend has to offer, come in well!

- Special Thx to Via -

here