Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction — Back-Seat Education

Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction -- Back-Seat Education

• Artist: Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction
• Title: Back-Seat Education
• Year: 1987
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 6
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1987 – I probably got it when I was working at Mother’s Records in Hampton, VA.
• Keeper: Maybe

With titles like “Back-Seat Education”, “Whore of Babylon”, “Lager Woman from Hell”, and “Messin’ With My Best Friend’s Girl” if you can’t guess that this is another Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction record then you’ve probably never heard of the band. On this 12 inch single these kings of sleaze rock stay true to form, lyrically and otherwise. The main track, “Back-Seat Education”, is by far the slickest with big time production and even a horn section. It’s full of the usual Zodiac hard rock hooks. The other three, for the most part, sound like the silly dashed off ditties destined for B-sides that they are.

What’s probably most interesting is the packaging. If you look closely at the picture you’ll see that the cover is a heavy vinyl material with ridges, like you might find in the back seat of an older car

The New Christs — Detritus

• Artist: The New Christs
• Title: Detritus
• Year: 1987
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 5
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1987 ? – Probably bought it when I was working at Mother’s Records in Hampton, VA.
• Keeper: Maybe

Yesterday was one of the longer days of my life. The movers finally finished loading our stuff sometime after 5 PM and then we hit the road. We’re touring through the South visiting parents/grandparents for a few more days and plan to hit our new town, Asheville, NC, on Monday. With the cartop carrier loaded and our jumbo dog in the wagon wayback we feel like the Beverly Hillbillies!

This “Detritus” record by The New Christs is a four song EP. It’s very listenable Australian garage rock, but for some reason I just don’t get excited about it. That said, the first song, “Born Out of Time”, has been stuck in my head since I played it, again, a few days ago. Maybe it’s better than I think…

Joe Jackson — Will Power

• Artist: Joe Jackson
• Title: Will Power
• Year: 1987
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 8
• Owner: Mary
• Acquired: 1987 – Promo Mary got when she worked at Plan 9 Records in Richmond, VA.
• Keeper: Yes

The first time I played Joe Jackson’s instrumental album “Will Power” the other day I didn’t quite get it. And I couldn’t help thinking it was going to take some will power to play it again. Since then I’ve played it a number of times and like most good, but challenging, music it has grown on me. I don’t know if I’m sophisticated enough to describe it accurately. This isn’t The Joe Jackson Band; he’s working with a full orchestra here. Let’s call it “symphonic.”

I think the original album artwork was just the pattern of red and blue circles on fabric, but at some point the label must have insisted on that circular sticker with his name on it. Or, maybe it’s just that way on the promo since they don’t usually come with shrink wrap.

More about Joe Jackson at Wikipedia.

Pailhead — I Will Refuse

• Artist: Pailhead
• Title: I Will Refuse
• Year: 1987
• Format: Vinyl 7 in.
• Rating (1-10): 8
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1987 – Bought it for myself when I worked Mother’s Records in Hampton, VA.
• Keeper: Yes

Yay! More industrial punk weirdness. This is the second Pailhead record logged here, but “I Will Refuse” came out first. With Ian MacKaye of Minor Threat fame on vocals with Al Jourgensen and Al Barker of Ministry it’s bound to turn out pretty good. I like this 7 inch more than the four song EP, “Trait”, that came next, but both are great. I have no idea what “I Will Refuse” and the flipside “No Bunny” are about but both still sound fresh, original and intense. Not many songs with “Bunny” in the title can be described as “intense.”

Ignition — Sinker

• Artist: Ignition
• Title: Sinker
• Year: 1987
• Format: Vinyl 7 in.
• Rating (1-10): 6
• Owner: Mary
• Acquired: 1987 – “Probably at a show”
• Keeper: Maybe

I was trying to figure this record out when I did a search and found this. That guy’s site probably will tell you more than you ever wanted to know about Ignition. I agree with him that the bass is way loud. It’s like the bass player sneaked back into the studio after everyone left and made a few “adjustments.” Anyhow, I was surprised it was self-produced and not on Dischord until I read the piece linked to above. I only got to see the band once or twice and I didn’t buy any records. Mary must’ve seen a better performance. And why is there an illustration of a distributor, cap and rotor on the back? Oh right, “Ignition.”

Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction — Prime Mover

Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction -- Prime Mover

• Artist: Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction
• Title: Prime Mover
• Year: 1987
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 6
• Owner: Tracy / Mary – Both had copies.
• Acquired: 1987 – Bought it when I worked at Mother’s Records in Hampton, VA.
• Keeper: Yes

Another Zodiac Mindwarp 12 inch. “Prime Mover” like some other singles would eventually end up on their first full LP. “Prime Mover” is fun single with the usual silly/funny/stupid lyrics and a rocking mid-tempo riff perfect for the dance floor. The flipside has a couple throw-away cuts that aren’t worthy of description, but the back cover artwork is cool. For some reason despite a couple rounds of purging our dupes we still have two copies of this one. I probably wouldn’t keep either, but I do have somewhat of a Zodiac collection going.

Dwight Yoakam — Hillbilly Deluxe

Dwight Yoakam -- Hillbilly Deluxe

• Artist: Dwight Yoakam
• Title: Hillbilly Deluxe
• Year: 1987
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 10
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1987 – Bought it when I worked at Mother’s Records in Hampton, VA.
• Keeper: Yes

Uh… Why didn’t I keep up with Dwight Yoakam’s music career? “Hillbilly Deluxe” is an excellent album, country music the way it should be. Great lyrics and stories, stripped down and naked production, excellent musicianship, and catchy songs filled with memorable vocal and instrumental hooks. I need to start looking for the back catalog on Dwight.

T.S.O.L. — Hit And Run

T.S.O.L. -- Hit And Run

• Artist: T.S.O.L.
• Title: Hit And Run
• Year: 1987
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 4
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1987 – We all make mistakes, but at least I got an employee discount at Mother’s Records.
• Keeper: No

This album is not as bad as it looks, which is not saying much. On this record T.S.O.L. sound like a smarter version of Motley Crue, which is not saying much. At least Motley Crue are a genuine bunch of moron rock stars who can’t help themselves whereas T.S.O.L. come off as a sell out, starting with the album cover. Which brings me to my last point since I don’t want to waste too many keystrokes on this. I usually only include the back cover if there is something really of interest there. What’s interesting to me is that they didn’t think the front cover portrait was enough. There was even a third one on the liner notes. Yes, I admit it, I had to play Priest again right after this.

Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction — Wild Child

Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction -- Wild Child

• Artist: Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction
• Title: Wild Child
• Year: 1987 ? No year listed anywhere.
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 5
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1987 – Bought it when I worked at Mother’s Records in Hampton, VA.
• Keeper: Maybe

House hunting across the USA is not always fun. I got home at 2 AM after 8 hours of driving with my brother and his wife. We were checking out Asheville, NC, and it was definitely cool. After talking over some options with Mary I called my realtor to get an offer going on a house we really liked. He called me back with the bad news that someone had made an offer a couple hours before and the buyers had accepted it. What the hell?

Anyhow… this is a 12 inch single. I’m not really a completist, but I do have tons of Zodiac records. The only reason I may keep this mediocre disk is just because it’s part of the collection. Maybe I’m being hard on this record because of my mood, but I listened to it before I left so I don’t think so. It’s dance hall mixes of sleaze rock and there are some fun moments but overall it’s just dull. And Mark Manning/Zodiac Mindwarp’s picture on the cover is a bit much don’t you think? Still a fan, but damn.

Tom Waits — Franks Wild Years

Tom Waits -- Franks Wild Years

• Artist: Tom Waits
• Title: Franks Wild Years
• Year: 1987
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 6
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1987 – Bought when I worked at Mother’s Records in Hampton, VA.
• Keeper: Yes

You would think there would be an apostrophe before the “s” in Franks, but no.

Mary’s favorite music artist is Nick Cave. As we listened to this I was teasing her that Tom Waits is what Nick will sound like when he’s 20 years older. Except this record was made almost 20 years ago, and Tom is only 8 years older than Nick, I checked. And I’m old, but both of these guys are ooooold.

I don’t know why I bought this record. I think at the time I thought he was someone I should know more about, but I still don’t know much about the man or his music. “Franks Wild Years” is the only Tom Waits album I own. Sometimes for fringe music you need a mentor to lead you into it and get you really engaged. I don’t think I’ve ever met that person for Tom Waits.

I do like soundtracks, and this record pretty much is one even if there isn’t a movie to go with it. Of course, he is an important artist, right? So, I guess I should keep the one record I have.