Customer Reviews

MIA: The Complete Anthology

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Usually I credit Black Flag or the Middle Class or the Bad Brains with being the progenitors of the hardcore punk sound. But sometimes, I think that perhaps the Germs might deserve the credit for it. In any case, the Germs are definitely one of the more influential and memorable groups from the 70s L.A. punk scene, and this CD belongs in everyone's punk collection, right next to the Ramones first two albums, Never Mind The Bollocks, The Clash, etc. One thing that will always set them apart are Darby Crash's lyrics. (...) he was also one of the most creative and interesting lyricists in the history of music.

My only gripe is that the sound quality on the song "My Tunnel" is actually WORSE than the version I taped from Rodney On the ROQ circa 1983.

EDIT- Thank you to the Amazon editor who made the bizarre and arbitrary decision to censor my mention of Darby Crash using *gasp* "DRUGS." Never mind that it's a well documented fact and he's been dead for over 20 years and that I didn't even name the drugs. The bottom line is, Amazon needs to protect the children from the word "drugs." (...)

The Germs were, in my opinion, one of the great and essential American punk bands. Their sound was a particularly primitive stripped down three chord punk; listening to them it sounds as if they could barely play when they started. No matter - neither could other punk legends like Sid Vicious or the Ramones, both of whom were obvious influences here. The other obviously key part of their unique sound is singer Darby Crash. Darby was no poser; for him, punk was a total way of life, one to which he committed his (short lived) life. On songs like What We Do is Secret, Richie Dagger's Crime or Lexicon Devil, you can hear the power of his vocalizing; and you can also hear a deeply buried but inherent tunefulness, deep within the musical muck.

The Germs may have been one of rock's more delf-destructive units, but no matter. Listening here, you can begin to understand why they mattered, and why they have influenced so many bands that followed in their wake.

From the moment I purchased the album years ago, it was clear that it was going to be one of the classics in the punk repertoire. In reality, the Germs might very well have helped spawn the hardcore moviement, and Joan Jett's production lends a razor-sharp immediacy to the songs.

The tunes aren't so much sung as growled, and Darby Crash's lyrics can be among the most expressive I've heard in the punk genre. There's a grueling intensity to the tunes that's exciting even now. While the band won't appeal to everybody, the record left me slack-jawed with amazement the first time I heard it. The band X may have encapsulated the hopes of the L.A. punk scene, but this record still makes the hackles on the back of your neck rise. There's nothing formulaic here. If you're willing to give it a chance (and that means something more than listening to a bunch of twenty second audio samples), it's hard to imagine your not being moved. That's why this is punk music at its very best.

Darby's lyrics are a portrait of living in L.A. The man was taking his art to the edge every performance. He lived his art and died for it. In a world of corporate alternative music, i find myself going back to music like this when true artistic expression was as real as a heart attack. Today's bands dont even come close to this type of reality. They wouldnt dare try.

Now this album is something else. I was laughing because of the one review I saw saying you must have some insane reason to like the germs. This is actually pretty true, you sort of need a different appreciation of music for this collection. It certainly is raw stuff, they don't spare on sounding like they know exactly what they are doing. a lot of songs though really come together like lexicon devil, media blitz, communist eyes etc. then there are songs like "shut down" which is some 8 minutes of mess. vocals range from pretty crusty to completely raspy to inaudible. Caught in my eye has a chorus saying "I got you caught in my eye" and he sounds kind of like an old man coughing up a hairball or a loogee when singing the word 'eye'. so this probably isn't making the CD too appetizing to you but it really is good stuff. straight up late 70's crusty punk. fast drums, muffled rockin guitars, crusty raspy like fast paced vocals. the germs got it all!

a little story abt when i first found a copy of gi in nc...

we/d heard tapes of it for a few months, but a copy hadn/t yet come to raleigh. my band was playing in greensboro when my girlfriend and i found a copy of the vinyl in an alternative store (back when alternative was alternative).

as we drove back to raleigh, she read the lyrics, and was *completely* stupified that that was what darby was singng. i doubt she still believes it.

the germs were on such a higher level than the other l.a. bands at the time, except for x. in many ways they and x were peers. mia (gi and all the other stuff they recorded) is an astounding deal. it/s harsh brutal poetry, but it is a must have.

from a 43 year old computer programmer who nevertheless knows poetry when he sees it ...

I'm ambivalent about this work. I really like some of the songs in it ("Forming," "Lexicon Devil," "We Must Bleed," "The Other Newest One," "Caught In My Eye," and "My Tunnel") -- but others are disappointing, whether from Darby Crash's heroin-soaked Tuvan throat-singing style of warbling (which shows up so much -- it kills some otherwise excellent riffs -- I say "kills" because it ends up a distraction, taking away more than it adds), or from some of the mainstream-rock-feeling tunes, like "Round and Round" -- which I just hate. It seems like they were reaching for a Stooges-style tune with that, and it didn't quite connect with me. MIA does nicely chart the progression of their sound, from a sonic trainwreck of a band to a tight little punk group.

So, for the committed Germs fan (and most diehard Germs fans probably should be committed) this is a great compilation; but if you're just passing through, you might be disappointed. I like the good stuff on this album, a lot, but there is a definite mixed bag here. Some people gripe about the bad sound, but I like it. Also, the liner notes are good in this one.

Your either a Germs fan or not a Germs fan. I like the Germs and am happy to have only one Germs album..."MIA: The Complete Anthology. The quality is a little rough for the first two songs (Forming and Sex Boy), but give me a break, it is what it is...recorded in a garage. What, my favorite songs? Sure, Richie Dagger's Crime, Lexicon Devil, Manimal, Shut Down, My Tunnel, Lion's Share, We Must Bleed, and No God.

Darby was an interesting character and not the mindless monster he was portrayed as. Don't forget Pat Smear was also in the band...How old is that guy now?

I don't want to make claims or tags..."the real punk rock" "How we did it in the old days" "old school punk" blah blah blah....BUT, This is the real deal and not the radio crap pseudo punk of today, whining and crying about girls or relationships or....WTF. "Kid" panned the Germs in his review and called them "nassally" and I suppose it is a fair opinion, but be smart, throw out the low and the high scores. The Germs (Darby) was a scary, entertaining and dangerous (to himself) train wreck of a person.

Your Grandma loved the Germs.

Since my original review I read 'Lexicon Devil'...check it out, it is an interesting read. One of the books about the "punk scene" written in a format of multiple authors...basically anyone that knew him adds there two cents..but still worth the read.

A nice discography cd of one of the most influential early LA HC bands.Clocking in at an overwhelming 73'+(not complaining ! ),most of the tracks,except the 1st 2 and those of the film soundtrack,feature very decent sound,,especially the GI lp,included entirely and produced by none other than rock n roll goddess Joan Jett !!!!!!! (bottom end is a hammer !!!! ).This cd is a piece of history,if only for americans (I'm not)

In the late seventies I was much into the brittish punkrock scene and the first real USA punk rock band I heard was The Germs's MIA and felt of my chair...
What a sound and so catchy!
Please fill you ears with "american leather" and you know what I mean.
Darby Crash's obsessive way of singing made my adrenalin flows that days, and still does..
Believe me this is one of the best punk albums ever..