Customer Reviews

Uncrushed (Dig)

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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.

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

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.