International Rescue

Swell Maps | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 16, 1999)
• Original Release Date: April 20, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Alive Records
• ASIN: B00000IYOV
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #266,938 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars my jaw dropped, September 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: International Rescue (Audio CD)

While (almost) everyone was listening to The Clash, Sex Pistols and the Damned, very few people were listening to the Swell Maps in the late-70s and that's a shame (I am guilty of this). This disc collects material from their releases (like In Jane from Occupied Territory, Trip to Marineville) and so it's a good intro to the group's work. Like the Soft Boys, the Swell Maps were not appreciated during their time and were overshadowed by others like the Clash - this CD is a chance to hear the direction that punk/post-punk music should have taken. The music is hard, fast, sloppy, melodic yet chaotic, without the pretentious polish and posturing of the tripe that followed the 1977 punk explosion. The more you listen to this disc, the more you'll realize that much of what is being offered and marketed as "punk" on the radio/video TV today is crap (if you didn't know that already). The music on this disc is about 20 years old, but it sounds refreshing to me. Group members Nikki Sudden and Epic Soundtracks both had interesting and important post-Swell Maps solo careers.

5.0 out of 5 stars True UK Punk!, April 30, 2011

By 

Kelly Green "Gothic Vampyre" (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: International Rescue (Audio CD)

Love the Swell Maps! If you are a fan of authentic UK Punk, then you will love the Swell Maps. Item arrived as expected and in three days of ordering it.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars swell maps...what are these tracks? thery're great., October 15, 1999

By 

JOHN M. (BALTIMORE) - See all my reviews

This review is from: International Rescue (Audio CD)

When you listen to Swell Maps the mind takes you back a long way. This bunch of songs confirms the Swell Maps as one of the better bands from that wave of punk. Sure, they may have started out glam, but Swell Maps went down a different route. The songs here I was not familiar with except the singles "Read About Seymour," "Dresden Style." Some the tunes especially "International...," and "New York" are classic barn-burners. This cd reminds you that few bands make music like this anymore; and back then the Swell Maps were one of the few to do it with excitement, energy, and humor. Let's all keep our fingers crossed that this collection is but the counterpoint to future reissues of the classic albums "Jane from Occupied Europe," and "A Trip to Marineville." Swell Maps are a band which ranks right up there...and they deserved to be heard. Enjoy!