Customer Reviews

Throb Throb

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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Expanding on the promise of "Basement Screams", "Throb Throb" is the best Naked Raygun release and probably the best album to come out of the Midwest in the eighties. Barring the release of the Breaking Circus and Angry Red Planet disks on CD, this will stand as the best and most innovative post-punk scree still available. Indebted to both Wire and the Stranglers, this release surpasses them both. Consume!

First I want to thank a high school friend, Jason, for letting me hear this on cassette while we were in independent study art class in high school. That cassette pailed in comparison to this new remastered CD, but it didn't matter because having a worn out cassette of "Throb Throb" is still better than having many crisp and clear CDs from the "punk" genre or whatever it's called now. I always thought Naked Raygun sounded unique, passionate, intelligent and well, good, which is why I probably never heard of them until 10 years after this album came out. I just got this remaster the other day. Funny story = I called to see if one of my favorite record stores had it and they had every other Raygun album but "Throb". Actually that wasn't funny, now that I think of it, but they got it for me in a couple of days! As soon as I started this album and heard the opening guitar of "Rat Patrol" - it was like "Oh yeah, I remember this". Ok, so I said that for just about every song, but it brought back memories alright? I can listen to this album from beginning to end, but I already know that "I don't know" is gonna get worn out. Without a doubt my favorite track and reason enough for me to seek out this album. The new Naked Raygun remasters have bonus tracks, photos (that cassette didn't have photos so I just learned what Raygun looked like a day ago and I first heard them about 8 years ago - far out!), and cool commentary/essays. The bonus track on "Throb Throb" is a shorter version of "Libido". This album is essential and I'm glad that a rare band like Naked Raygun are getting a remastered catalog. You should be too, this stuff isn't made every day. Someone cared enough to get this remastered, I think you should go buy it and listen to it a lot. For every Blink 182 and Linkin Park CD that is bought, an album like "Throb Throb" should be given to that customer to listen to. Maybe that's not such a good idea to get it for free, but you get my point.

Throb Throb is a throughly fasinating album combining punk sensibilities with post punk and noiseband sensibilities. Somehow it combines the best of both. There are two underlying themes at work on this album, war and sex (or lack thereof). It starts off innocently enough with Rat Patrol with its oi chants and punk riffs, then goes into Surf Combat where the rhythm section begins a hold on the record they rarely let go of. The guitar becomes an instrument of jagged bursts and feedback and it rocks mightily! Gear is similar, a song stating whoever has the most missles wins (tongue in cheek of course!).Metastasis is another great punk song with the guitar coming back out in front for a moment, until the fantastic Leeches. Basically a free jazz type song with a piercing guitar riff over it, stream of conscious lyrics are spewed, every once in a while the chrous of "Leeches, let 'em live" and then back to whatever pops up (is that a food order he places near the end???)until the song segues into the slower more noisey Roller Queen. The song which follows (if you can call it a song) is called On (not listed here, but I am reviewing an older copy. it may be where I Don't Know is listed twice) is basically a track run backwards from start to finish, and the bands chants of No no no no backwards become on. I won't give away what they say but I will say it isn't satanic but it is a tad nasty. The band switches gears again on I Don't Know (on the original LP it was the kick off of side two) and it just a great punk song and the riff at the end is one of John's best ever. Libido is a song similar to Leeches, with more jazzy rhythms but with a humorous slant (he just ain't into sex, but it's not his fault) and the statement at the end is hilarious!! No Sex is an abrasive punk song, followed by Only In America which sounds like it could be an Angelic Upstarts outtake with it's horns and chants. Stupid is just a brutal punk putdown song with a blistering guitar solo and is easily the most hardcore song on this album. The album closes with Managua which is a slow rock song which is probably the weakest track here, but still a strong finish for what was the most original sounding Naked Raygun album. All Rise made a shift to pop punk, and was still great, but it went downhill fast after that.

Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago I remember going to see many Naked Raygun shows at the Metro on Clark. Throb Throb was always the glue of the shows. The raw nature of Jeff's energetic style and inviting refrains brought the crowds together. It's hard for me to put into words what Naked Raygun was like live. All I can say is that it was the most fun I've had in my 34 years.

Chicago's Naked Raygun fit somewhere between Husker Duh and Big Black but were also influenced heavily by the sound of classic 70s British punk, especially Wire. "Throb Throb" is their best record, with excellent, catchy tunes, hard, solid playing, adds up to be the best recording of one of the better 80s hardcore punk bands.

Essential punk from this highly influential Chicago band. Highly melodic and loud as hell, Naked Raygun combined the best of two worlds. Though in my opinion NR's best was All Rise, Throb Throb contains such legendary tracks as Surf Combat and Managua. For years their stuff was hard as hell to find (Jettison was bought by collectors for some pretty big bucks). Here's your chance to have it all.

It may or may not be the BEST Naked Raygun record, but I find "Throb Throb" to be their most creative & original. This is the one N.R. record where they fuse the quirky/art-punk/Wire-influence of the debut, "Basement Screams", with the more melodic post-punk sound (with elevated songwriting) of the later releases (starting with the next record, "All Rise"). Songs such as "Rat Patrol", "Gear", and "Libido" veer towards the past, songs (dare I say 'anthems'?) such as "I Don't Know" and "Only In America" veer towards the future. An excellent record, whichever way you look at it, and whichever era of N.R. is your preference.

I bought this LP when I was in high school ('85?, '86?) and it's still one of my favorites. Smart, fun, and super-rockin'. I don't think that they did anything this good ever again.

This CD just gets you started and keeps you going. What can you say about a CD that entertains with songs like Leeches, Libido and Rat Patrol(also Raygun's contribution to Louder and Faster Vol. 2-maybe not the best choice of songs from them, but, at least they're represented). It is a short CD, but when it ends,it's difficult to fight that urge to push the repeat button.

According to a brief conversation that I had with their guitarist, John Haggerty, Throb Throb is the best album that Raygun did. A must have! Raygun was the cornerstone of Chicago punk in the 80's