Uncrushed (Dig) [Import, Original recording remastered]

Crushed Butler | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 17, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import, Original recording remastered
• Label: Rpm Records UK
• ASIN: B000AOGM30
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #280,878 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

This may have been the first ever British punk rock album, (although Deviants fans may disagree) as crucial to the genre in the UK as Funhouse or Kick Out The Jams were in the States, but it also set the tone for most of the boot stomping terrace glam that followed (Slade, Mott and the Faces for starters). Alan Butler and Jesse Hector, on bass and guitar respectively, formed Crushed Butler in early 1969, with 17 year old drummer, actor and teen mag pin-up Darryl Read. Playing prestigious gigs with the likes of Atomic Rooster, Third World War, Mott The Hoople, Osibisa and Kevin Ayers, Crushed Butler routinely blew the headlining act off the stage with their ferocious brand of hooligan rock. A 10 inch LP was recorded in 1970 but not released until 1991in an extremely limited edition. Presented in a superb gatefold sleeve with original cartoon drawings, full liners and photos, it was a wholly deserved release for these pioneers. Now it is released for the first time on CD with the addition of an extra version of 'High School Dropout'. Presented in digipak to replicate the gatefold LP, freshly printed photos, the returning cartoon, plus updated notes. Digitally re-mastered. RPM. 2005.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the distortion, fuzz, and "raw power" attitude on display should qualify 'em as pioneers, April 1, 2006

By 

Aquarius Records (San Francisco) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Uncrushed (Dig) (Audio CD)

I heard a lot about this before I got it in which fired up my curiousity just a little bit. Like it says in the title, this obscure post-mod trio with the cool name has been trumpted as the "first punks" to come outta Blighty, kicking out the jams with an antisocial sneer and snarl long before the Sex Pistols and the Damned and all the rest blew up in '77. And on the strength of the seven tracks here recorded circa 1969-1971, they were indeed pretty darn punk and ahead of their time (at least, in terms of bands who made it into the recording studio). Loud fast rules with these guys, most of the tracks being uptempo rockers, though the lumbering "Love Fighter" will be welcomed by all '70s proto-metal lovers, and supports the argument that these guys are just as much a proto-metal outfit as proto-punk, being something that fans of Buffalo, Toad, Budgie, Nazareth or Black Sabbath would enjoy.

Indeed, some of the riffing on here might quite well remind you of Sabbath, and I wasn't surprised to learn that they'd opened for the likes of UFO and Atomic Rooster. Metal? Punk? Same dif back then really. The distortion, fuzz, and "raw power" attitude on display should qualify 'em as pioneers in either camp. Crushed Butler were heavier than the Pink Fairies, anyway, and that (awesome) band is already rightly heralded as punks before their time. So I'd say that the legend of Crushed Butler is hereby confirmed... alongside the Fairies and Third World War and a few others in England (and the Stooges in the States, of course, and some European freaks too) they trashed the happy hippy scene of the day for something uglier, grottier and more dangerous.

This digipack cd (a slightly expanded version of a 10" released a few years back) boasts in-depth liner notes and archival graphics. There are just two drawbacks: it's only 21 minutes long, and that's only because of the inclusion of an alternate version of what's probably my least favorite song as a bonus track. BUT it's 21 minutes that anyone into metal/punk/hard rock history should find quite a blast.

5.0 out of 5 stars Crushed Butler issued again on VINYL LP!, November 25, 2009

By 

wm72 (New York) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Uncrushed (Dig) (Audio CD)

Radio Heartbeat Records just released new vinyl LP of Crushed Butler "Uncrushed".
It's just released along with their reissue of The Quick Mondo Deco LP

5.0 out of 5 stars Crushed Butler crushes T. Head, March 20, 2009

By 

Bryce R. Henry - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Uncrushed (Dig) (Audio CD)

So, Marc Bolan, riding high on his boppin' elf gone metal guru fame, and Lemmy fresh from bein' booted outta Hawkwind got together in the early 1970's to try and put something together. I've heard people ask why, and didn't Marc claim to hate all those freerock creeps (Pink Fairies, Shagrat, Hawkwind, anything to do with Twink) that Steve Took was doing dope with? The hell would he be recording with Lemmy Kilmister for? I honestly can't answer that, maybe it was a cocaine/speed bender fluke, but the demos titled fondly as T. Head are some of the more kickin' stuff you'll prolly never get to hear.

Turns out that the T. Head stuff isn't nearly as unique as I'd thought. In fact two years before T. Head, a group loaded on the Third World War called Crushed Butler beat 'em to the punch. They only really got one song that sounds like the best T. Head stuff called Love is All Around Me, and boy is it ever a goodie. Turns out Crushed Butler are way more heavy than ol' T. Head could ever have hoped to be, but I guess that's the problem with letting Bolan in the band. With him it's always gotta have that slick pop garbage roll feel to it. Crushed Butler on the other hand was is a full on war against the jive. Darryl, Jesse and Alan it's a shame there wasn't more, but your soloer stuff rocks just the same.