Rescued from the Trash Can of Time:

Lost Albums that Deserve to be Re-Discovered

By Bob Ignizio

I liked Eddie Fleisher’s article on neglected albums enough that I’ve decided to make it a semi-regular feature.  This time I’m going to give some of my picks for albums that deserve a second chance.   

Faith No More – ‘Angel Dust’.  This follow up to the hugely successful ‘The Real Thing’ sold well, but quickly tapered off.  Eventually, a good portion of the copies that had been sold wound up in bargain bins across the country.  The reason is really pretty obvious.  For the time, this was one hell of a weird album.  Happy, poppy verses collide with brutal death metal choruses, chanting cheerleaders, and funky dance beats.  Songs have titles like “Jizzlobber” and “Crack Hitler”.  General weirdness abounds.   

Voi Vod – ‘Angel Rat’.  Voi Vod never really achieved wide notice, but did attract a loyal cult following.  Even that following passed on this album for the most part, though.  Again, it’s not hard to fathom why.  Voi Vod started out as a thrash metal band, albeit one with some pretty weird ideas.  As time went on, they started mixing in more and more progressive rock elements, culminating in their most popular albums ‘Dimension Hatross’ and ‘Nothingface’.  ‘Angel Rat’ saw the band shift gears to a simpler, more song oriented approach.  Songs like “Panorama” and “The Prow” are almost pop, but still way too weird for the average commercial radio listener.  While the metal purists will probably never like this album, fans of oddball rock geniuses like Syd Barrett and Roky Erikson may want to give this a listen. 

Dead Kennedys – ‘Frankenchrist’.  Conventional wisdom holds that ‘Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables’, ‘In God We Trust, Inc.’, and ‘Plastic Surgery Disasters’ were the Kennedys’ best work.  While I love all of those records, this is my favorite from Jello and the gang.  For anyone who thinks that punk rock bands don’t have any talent, listen to East Bay Ray’s guitar work on this album.  Includes such bonafide classics as “MTV Get off the Air”, “Soup is Good Food”, and “Jock-O-Rama”.  Disheartened by their legal battles over the poster included in this album and the lackluster response of fans, the Kennedys’ next album, ‘Bedtime For Democracy’, returned to a more straight forward punk sound.  The results were less than thrilling, in my opinion.  After that the band released a singles compilation, broke up, and more recently became entangled in suing each other. 

Nomeansno – ‘Wrong’.  Nomeansno straddle punk, metal, and progressive rock in a wholly unique manner.  The band is more than capable of throwing down complex riffs and intricate rhythms on a song like “Tired of Waiting”, but at the same time are just as happy to do a two chord wonder like “Two Lips, Two Lungs, and One Tongue” that includes a two-note guitar solo parody.  Not all of their many albums thrill me, but this one is just about perfect.   

Crumbsuckers – ‘Life of Dreams’.  These guys came out at the height of the punk/thrash metal crossover scene exemplified by DRI and Suicidal Tendencies.  For some reason they didn’t really catch on, but I think this album is just as good as DRI’s ‘Crossover’ or Suicidal’s self-titled debut.  The title track and “Bullshit Society” are the standout tracks, but all in all this is a solid record.  Two members of the band eventually formed Pro-Pain. 

Necrophagia – ‘Seasons of the Dead’.  Before death metal had really become a genre unto itself, this band unleashed one of the sickest slabs of vinyl that anyone had ever heard.  The riffs sound absolutely evil, and vocalist Killjoy’s delivery still sounds scarier than any of the growlers and screamers that have come along since.  Pretty much all the gore soaked elements that would eventually become cliché are in evidence here.

Sky Cries Mary – ‘A Return to the Inner Experience’.  A great band that never caught on.  The music has the feel of really good stoned sex, thanks in no small part to the vocals of Anisa Romero.  This band blended retro psychedelia with modern electronic and rock elements for a truly unique sound.  In addition to several great originals they also turn in amazing versions of the Rolling Stones “2000 Light Years from Home” and The Stooges “We Will Fall”.  Chances are you can find this, or one of the band’s other releases, for a buck.  It’s well worth the small investment.

Warrior Soul – ‘Drugs, God, and the New Republic’.  This, along with every other album this band released, is pretty much a dollar bin staple.  Warrior Soul had a slight bit of commercial success with their first album, ‘Last Decade, Dead Century’, but never really took off.  At times they sounded like a mix between Janes Addiction, Guns ‘n’ Roses, and Black Sabbath.  Lyrically they would jump from serious social and political topics to songs about getting drunk and/or getting laid.  It was a strange mix, and no doubt that contributed to their lack of success.  Of their five releases, this, their second, is my favorite.  Check it out, chances are it’s sitting at a store near you collecting dust.