New Model Army — The Ghost of Cain

• Artist: New Model Army
• Title: The Ghost of Cain
• Year: 1986
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 6
• Owner: Mary
• Acquired: 1986 – When she worked at Plan 9 Records in Richmond, VA.
• Keeper: Yes

I liked this New Model Army record more than I remember. Lotsa energy, and you can feel the anger. I don’t know much about the band, but I always thought frontman Slade The Leveller was too intense to be taken seriously. If there was a “hit” on “The Ghost of Cain” I think it must’ve been “51st State”, or at least I remember a video. Mary got to see them live in Richmond. My favorite song is “Lights Go Out.”

Here’s an article about the band at Wikipedia.

Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds — Your Funeral… My Trial

• Artist: Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds
• Title: Your Funeral… My Trial
• Year: 1986
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 10
• Owner: Mary
• Acquired: 1986 – I have to go with Plan 9 Records and Tapes (tapes, hee hee) based on the release year. I always buy Nick Cave music ASAP.
• Keeper: Yes

Yesterday when Tracy was playing this LP he let the word “boring” slip from his lips. I knew then that he was not up to the task of blogging Nick Cave. I am not as talented a writer as Tracy, but I own all the Bad Seeds LPs (and CDs). So, I’ll practice on these.

This is not the first Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds album after the break up of The Birthday Party. Three EPs preceed “Your Funeral… My Trial” and they are all a bit louder. With this double EP the music calms down, but it isn’t boring. “The Carney” is surely the most memorable. It reminds me of a gory movie scene I would watch with one eye peeking between my fingers. I don’t want to see it, but I can’t stop watching it. I’m not the only one who can’t let that song go, “The Carney” reappears on “The Best of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds” CD. “Stranger Than Kindness” is another song I’ll be humming the next few days and also makes the cut on the “Best Of” CD. I also really like the title track and “She Fell Away.” Well, I really like the entire double ep. And a double ep? Why not just one album? But the packaging is clever! It’s always two things playing off one another. Your funeral / my trial, eyes closed on the front cover / open on the back, right side up / upside down, and virgin / whore illustrations on the two liners.

Rating this is hard. When I compare it to all the Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds material, it’s a 9. However, if there is ever a fire in the Sigler house, the entire Nick Cave discography will be saved right after the dog.

Read more about Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds at Wikipedia and check out the offical band site.

ABC — Vanity Kills

• Artist: ABC
• Title: Vanity Kills
• Year: 1986
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 6
• Owner: Mary
• Acquired: 1986 – Bought it when she was working at Plan 9 Records in Richmond, VA.
• Keeper: Yes

I like to say that ABC was the greatest pop band ever. But this isn’t the greatest 12 inch remix ever. Side 1 has “Vanity Kills (U.S.A. Remix)” and side 2 “ABC Megamix.” The song “Vanity Kills” is solid, if not my favorite ABC track, and the mix is decent. The flipside is less interesting, and not very “mega.”

D.C.3 — You’re Only as Blind as Your Mind Can Be

• Artist: D.C.3
• Title: You’re Only as Blind as Your Mind Can Be
• Year: 1986
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 6
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1986 – Probably when I was working at Mother’s Records in Hampton, VA.
• Keeper: Maybe

D.C.3 put out “You’re Only as Blind as Your Mind Can Be” in the same year as “The Good Hex.” I think they should have taken a longer break. To me, this one just isn’t as exciting. I mentioned when I logged “Hex” that it didn’t sound too jammy despite a lot of guitar soloing. Well, this record crosses the line. I was playing it while Mary and I were packing for our big move to Asheville, and she walked in the room and said “What the?!? When does this song end?” I’ll have to admit that I too was feeling pretty jammed out by the time that song ended. That said, there are a few dittys here that totally rock out and make me want to keep it. And though much of it sounds retro, even for 1986, especially in 1986 I was happy to get my hands on anything that felt like rock and roll.

Peter Case — Peter Case (Promo Cover)

• Artist: Peter Case
• Title: Peter Case (Promo Cover)
• Year: 1986
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 5
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1986 – Got it when I worked at Mother’s Records in Hampton, VA.
• Keeper: No

This Peter Case record isn’t bad, but it isn’t my kind of music, which is a roundabout way of saying it’s boring. I would describe this as a singer-songwriter mash-up of most major forms of American music. The cover is interesting is some ways though. Certainly there’s nothing exciting about the graphic design, but a promo copy that displays Mr. Case’s ratings, reviews, rankings and scores from music critics should be of interest to a fan. Too bad I’m not, although I did like his previous band The Plimsouls.

So this one is a goner. Part of the reason of going through and playing every record is to trim some fat, but also to renew our relationships with some old favorites. I just finished packing most of the records today in preparation for our move in a couple weeks. Over 800 pounds of vinyl!

Nervous Eaters — Hot Steel And Acid

• Artist: Nervous Eaters
• Title: Hot Steel And Acid
• Year: 1986
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 7
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1986 – Bought it when I worked at Mother’s Records in Hampton, VA.
• Keeper: Yes

How many times have you said to yourself “I feel like hearing some Nervous Eaters”? Never? Seriously? OK, I admit I kinda forget they exist, but almost every time I see “Hot Steel And Acid” in the collection I give it a spin. The Nervous Eaters are hard, fast rock and roll with dashes of punk and blues. I didn’t know anything about the band when I bought this and I still don’t. I think the cool die-cut album cover and the fact that they were on the label Ace Of Hearts with other good bands like the Lyres prompted me to check it out. (UPDATE: NervousEaters.com no seems to be owned by the band.)

Game Theory — The Big Shot Chronicles

• Artist: Game Theory
• Title: The Big Shot Chronicles
• Year: 1986
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 6
• Owner: Mary
• Acquired: 1986 – Mary bought it when she was working at Plan 9 Records in Richmond, VA.
• Keeper: Yes

OK, I’m logging Game Theory’s first album second since the their second album was first due to ongoing alphabetizing challenges. Never let the movers move your records. It takes years to undo their mess.

I just can’t get into this band. Lately I’ve been stuck on this Buddy Guy record from the 1960s and I’ve been playing it every day for the last couple weeks. So, I guess I’m not being fair. No buncha white kids playing arty pop can follow that. Anyhow, Mary rates “The Big Shot Chronicles” a 6.

D.C. 3 — The Good Hex

• Artist: D.C. 3
• Title: The Good Hex
• Year: 1986
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 7
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1986 – Bought it for myself when I worked at Mother’s Records in Hampton, VA.
• Keeper: Yes

Dez Cadena is the D.C. in D.C. 3. He has been in a number of bands, but I’m guessing most people who have any idea who he is remember him as the pre-Rollins singer of Black Flag. He also played guitar on “Damaged”, which was Rollins’ debut and Black Flag’s first record to get a lot of attention.

I’m not sure how I got into D.C. 3, but I really liked this record when it came out in 1986. It’s pretty heavy rock and though there is a lot of guitar noodling it doesn’t sound too much like jam music. Some might even describe it as “classic rock”, but there is definitely something more happening here. I was surprised to read that Cadena was only 25 when they made this record.

There’s a note from Dez on the back cover that ends:

To those who ask what the difference is between the music I play now and what I used to play, I would say that there is no difference. — D.C.

My favorite song is a high speed, almost metal track that kicks off side two called “No One But Yourself To Blame.” Even the lyrics are cool.

You can never… never… blame anyone but yourself.
You can… but you’re playin’… a loooooosing game.
You’ve got no one but yourself to blame.

Or something close to that. Hard rockin’ words to live by if you ask me.

P.S. Keith, say what you will about downloaded digital music, but you can’t flip it over, there is no side two, and you can’t even take a picture of it. So what’s the point? Rock and roll is not about convenience.

Painted Willie — Live From Van Nuys

• Artist: Painted Willie
• Title: Live From Van Nuys
• Year: 1986
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 5
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1986 – Bought it when I was working at Mother’s Records in Hampton, VA.
• Keeper: Maybe

“Live From Van Nuys With A Kiss And A Grapefruit” is etched into the vinyl margin on the side first. I have no idea what that means, but on most indie labels it’s worth taking a second to peak. Often there are little notes there, sometimes they’re funny.

Again, this was in the era when I would buy anything SST put out. I probably bought this because look like a heavy rock/metal band and I needed something with crunch. For the most part they deliver, but it’s little more punk than I expected, not a bad thing. I like the first song “Crossed Fingers” a lot. Doubt it’s a keeper though.

The Eastern Dark — Long Live The New Flesh!

• Artist: The Eastern Dark
• Title: Long Live The New Flesh!
• Year: 1986
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 7
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1986 – Unicorn Records in Portsmouth, VA, I think.
• Keeper: Yes

This is a great garage/rock/punk/power-pop EP. The frontman James Darroch died earlier in the year it was released, 1986. I believe it was vehicular thing. Before Eastern Dark he played bass with Celibate Rifles. I’m not sure why exactly, but I have a lot of music from Australian garage rockers. Maybe I should move there.