Customer Reviews

Plasmatics-wendy O Williams -Beyond The Valley Of 1984

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Given the graphic visual nature of the band's album covers and the adult nature of Wendy Orlean Williams' physical presence, one could assume this music is sub par. Upon closer examination of the History of the Band, the political nature of many of their songs, and a direct attack on American political contradictions, "Beyond the Valley" is stellar, and unrivaled. No woman rock singer sounds remotely as riviting as Wendy-0-Williams, and the masterful songwriting and musicianship of Wes Beech and others provide a full compliment to their message. For best results, play this music loud. And listen to what they have so artfully created.

Originally released in 1981,this was their much worthy follow-up to 'New Hope For The Wretched'(see my review)and JUST as intense.Another slice of all American in-your-ugly-face C-L-A-S-S-I-C punk.Most memorable(as well as blistering)cuts here include "Headbanger","Hit Man",the power-packed "Sex Junkie",the instrumental "Plasma Jam"(recorded live in Milan,Italy)and their anthem(sort to speak),"Pig Is A Pig".Highly recommended if you like pissing off your neighbors.Turn this one UP!

The Plasmatics were.... I really don't know how to classify them.

Once in a lifetime. they were sooooo original, so rocking.

Beyond the Valley of 1984 is a classic piece of music.

I felt very sad by the death of W.O.W., Wendy Orleans Williams.

I still have this album cover sitting on my plate rack. Wendy had Definite Ideas and she used her FAME TO Full POTENTIAL.

Her cigararette-haspy voice declared "Out with the status Quo" .It was fun to read the etchings on the vinyl( I don't remember that being done before)

She wasn't America's little sweetheart. That didn't matter, what she screamed about in a most direct and pleasing way was MORALITY.

Sawing Cadillacs was just the beginning of this lovely tough songstresses way of making A CAReer out of Good Conscience !

Monkey Suit would state the cause prominently.

Masterplan was a master piece of her work. Pig is A Pig put Values into perspective and she had done so with gusto.

Nothing was a great tribute to herself, she may have been a nothing, .but time proved she was a Somebody, a somebody who gave us courage, who gave us fragments of her chain sawed off guitars, A Somebody who will remain A Very special legacy to her admirers.

Thank you Wendy for setting thew world straight for awhile and you couldn't have done it better.

11. Pig Is a Pig

This is the 2nd Plasmatics cd I got and maybe the best one to.
It has so many great songs and Wendy Williams is in her prime.Any fan must have this one.

Raw...yes, repetitive...yes, ludicrous...yes, addictive...YES!!! From the cult-like intro leading into "Masterplan" to the instrumental "Plasma Jam", this album just rocks. Musicianship is much better than on most punk albums if you can classify this as part of the genre. Really more like a cross between metal and punk, but not as overtly metal as Wendy's later releases. At it's roots, this is just 3 chord rock 'n' roll with a healthy shot of nihlism & narcissism to kick it up a notch. I still remember buying this on vinyl when it came out partially because of Wendy O. For all you 80's guitar players out there, you'll recognise the abundant use of flanged guitar sounds throughout this disc.

The second proper album by The Plasmatics was a surging improvement sonically from New Hope for the Wretched. Non-stop touring and the intense scrutiny placed on the band had driven their level of musicianship to a high level, and the sonic force of "Beyond The Valley of 1984" is raw, in your face and uncompromising. But it also is highly professional. What "Valley" really accomplished was to blow all notions that The Plasmatics were a joke band 100% out of the water.

While the song-template stayed the same - short snarling verse, hooky chorus, blitzkrieg solo - stayed the same, the music opens up. Songs smash the four minute barrier for the first time, yet remain infectious as ever. "Masterplan" is an incredible combination of punk and speed-metal, and the remake of "Living Dead" was polished enough that it should have been a mainstream rock hit. But radio stations were enamored with the likes of Journey/Styx/Reo Speedwagon at the time, and the threatening imagery of Wendy O Williams scared the bejeesus out of most of 'em.

Which is what part of "Valley" addresses. The infamous Milwaukee obscenity bust and beatdown of Wendy (and manager Rod Swenson) put a chill on bookings and seemed to attract Morality Fascists wherever The Plasmatics played. So when the country strains of "A Pig is a Pig" give way to an explosive tirade, there is no mistaking where this song is aimed. The Plasmatics were willing to try everything (even a girl-group death ballad, "Summer Night" with chirpy 50's girl group The Angels 'baby baby-ing" in the background) and didn't care what the consequences were. Like the "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" photograph the adorned the original cover (and Stiff Records gatefold sleeve), Plasmatics were iconic, ferocious and uncompromising. There has not been a band like them since, and "Valley" is a terrific document on why they were so exciting.

This album probably best represents the Plasmatics for who they were; A controversial, in your face, raw, and one of the worlds greaest metal/punk bands EVER! Wendy O is the Metal Priestess!
If you are a Plasmatics fan as I am you have got to have this in your collection.
And if your not a fan you will be after listening to this album.

this is pretty good when you know that the Plasmatics weren't much more than a joke.
Not so bad as I thought.

I had heard of The Plasmatics, Black Flag, and the like back in the day when the line between punk and metal seemed very fine, but in actuality was quite abysmal. I was a metalhead who had not given punk a chance. That is, until one hot night in March of 1983 when, while touring with KISS on the "Creatures of the Night" tour, Riot pulled out. Taking their place was Wendy O. Williams and The Plasmatics.
I'll never forget the look on my fellow metalheads' faces when Wendy O. came out screaming and flipping everybody off! Although I hadn't yet heard a Plasmatics album, I read enough about them to more or less know what to expect. Still, the spectacle of a scantily-clad Wendy O. with strips of electrical tape across her, uh, noticeable assets was quite a pleasant surprise. It would be less than a year later that I would finally purchase a cassette copy of "Beyond the Valley of 1984." Oh, it wasn't metal, but it was definitely hard-hitting and in-your-face. It was then that I would become a fan of The Plasmatics. Heck, I even admired Wendy's natural beauty, which not even that mohawk could hide.
"Coup d'tat" would finally see The Plasmatics "cross over," so to speak, to metal, much to the chagrin of punk purists, but "Beyond..." and the other Plasmatics works remain the timeless statements they were over two decades ago. She would probably laugh at me for saying so, but I do so miss Wendy O. dearly...