Customer Reviews

(GI) [Vinyl]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

Just wanted to point out that there's little reason to buy this CD when you can get the 'Germs MIA' CD which contains this entire album + the rest of Germs entire discography. I guess MIA costs a few dollars more... if you're pinching your pennies (and who isn't these days?) this one might be the way to go. But man, the idea of going without songs like No God, the first version of Lexicon Devil, or My Tunnel... that would suck.

EDIT: ...and now that this edition is finally unavailable, this review is irrelevant.

This record somehow still sounds fresh and powerful almost thirty years after its release - a near-miracle of crystal-clear production and bristling tension. This record straddles the boundary between punk and hardcore; the tunes are mostly snarled, and sometimes off-beat, and the lyrics can have an almost visionary quality. When I heard it played during its debut week (at a college Tower Records), everyone seemed to stop still in their tracks.

This LP eschews melody for a kind of punk poetry - an approach more famously employed by fellow L.A. rockers X. But while X's songs were always informed by a rockabilly flavor, The Germs are almost indescribably disorganized and intense. Nut unlike their live gigs, there's that sense that everything is going to break apart at any moment. The production by Joan Jett helps keep the whole thing going.

It's easy to use the usual stream of adjectives to describe a favored record. This is one where the superlatives may very well fit.

This LP came out in 1979 and was produced by Joan Jett. I love the song melodies and the music has some speed and force to it. Darby can't really sing and the band can't really play all that well but neither can alot of good or great song-writters. Then again, alot of technically accomplished musicians can't write to save their lives.

Anyway, this records is transcendent to me. It has all the growling, distortion, speed and other essential elements of a good punk rock record. It was just ahead of it's time.

Ah yes the Germs. What can I say? They're fast, loud, aggressive, every thing a punk band band should be. And this album proves that they aren't your average run-of-the-mill punk band. The Germs were smart, powerful and philosophical. Don't believe me? Just look at the lyrics. Darby obviously paid a lot attention to Bowie. The songs just comes at you full force, taking the sound of the Ramones and gave it an extra dose of adrenaline. I recommend this album to any punk fan.