The Dead Boys - Young, Loud and Snotty
An offshoot of the crazed Cincinnati group, Rocket from the Tombs (not to be confused with the band who ripped off their name, Rocket From the Crypt – real original guys!), the Dead Boys (whose name came from a RFTT song) moved to New York under the tutelage of the Ramones (after hosting them in Ohio) and became stars of the second wave of punk rock.
Retaining several songs as well as many of the influences of the previous band, the Dead Boys still had hard rock tendencies and came off as an updated version of Iggy and the Stooges – especially with singer Stiv Bators’ on-stage antics.
But they really did have great songs. Some truly dark edges and moody lyrics, these cats set themselves apart from most of the other punk bands. Cheetah Crome was an original and noisy lead guitarist, who could also play some nice melodies. Starting out without a bass player, rhythm guitarist Jimmy Zero and drummer Johnny Blitz created a tight backup for the tunes. This was further augmented when bassist Jeff Magnum joined. Sure, they could be sloppy live, but they were a real rock’n’roll band and did know how to play.
The band seemed destined to follow in the footsteps of bands like the MC5 and Dictators – putting out a great first album and when that didn’t hit, they went overboard trying to clean up their act on the second record. We Have Come For Your Children failed as a pop record despite the painfully clean sound (weak guitars have no place on a Dead Boys album!) and failed as a punk record due to a number of weak songs (though there were still a few gems). The band was dropped and broke up shortly after the failure of WHCFYC. A pity – it would have been interesting to see what they would have come up with on a third outing.
But Young Loud and Snotty is considered a classic punk album for good reason – hell, just the anthemic “Sonic Reducer” only would garner this honor – if only for being one of the most covered punk songs of all time!
But, the whole record is f’k’ing great! “All This and More”, “What Love Is” (with nice, well-sung harmonies!), “Ain’t Nothing to Do”, “Caught With the Meat in Your Mouth” – all real songs with tons of intensity and attitude. The lyrics have a tendency to misogyny but I always thought that was tongue-in-cheek, though I could be wrong!
They also poured on the moodiness with tunes like “Not Anymore”. This may be a little over-dramatic, but it does sound desperate! Interestingly enough, the rough mixes of this album was released on Bomp! Records and Cheetah plays some excellent harmony leads on this number – odd the Genya Raven removed those from the final mix. “High Tension Wire” continues in this vein, as well. I always dug this heavy-darkness balancing out some of the outright goofiness of a few of the other songs.
Their mid-west garage roots are displayed in their cover of “Hey Little Girl”, recorded live – showing the close roots between 60’s punk and 70’s punk.
There’s an ode to then-groupie Lydia Lunch in “I Need Lunch”, the aforementioned “High Tension Wire” and then closing with a new take on a RFTT’s song, “Down in Flames”, which is where the band name came from. This is true high-energy, uproarious madness and a fantastic ending to the album!
I actually find it hard to believe that anyone who loves wild r’n’r does not already have this record, but if you don’t – get it now! The “Younger, Louder, Snottier” rough mix CD is more than worth it, as well!
Retaining several songs as well as many of the influences of the previous band, the Dead Boys still had hard rock tendencies and came off as an updated version of Iggy and the Stooges – especially with singer Stiv Bators’ on-stage antics.
But they really did have great songs. Some truly dark edges and moody lyrics, these cats set themselves apart from most of the other punk bands. Cheetah Crome was an original and noisy lead guitarist, who could also play some nice melodies. Starting out without a bass player, rhythm guitarist Jimmy Zero and drummer Johnny Blitz created a tight backup for the tunes. This was further augmented when bassist Jeff Magnum joined. Sure, they could be sloppy live, but they were a real rock’n’roll band and did know how to play.
The band seemed destined to follow in the footsteps of bands like the MC5 and Dictators – putting out a great first album and when that didn’t hit, they went overboard trying to clean up their act on the second record. We Have Come For Your Children failed as a pop record despite the painfully clean sound (weak guitars have no place on a Dead Boys album!) and failed as a punk record due to a number of weak songs (though there were still a few gems). The band was dropped and broke up shortly after the failure of WHCFYC. A pity – it would have been interesting to see what they would have come up with on a third outing.
But Young Loud and Snotty is considered a classic punk album for good reason – hell, just the anthemic “Sonic Reducer” only would garner this honor – if only for being one of the most covered punk songs of all time!
But, the whole record is f’k’ing great! “All This and More”, “What Love Is” (with nice, well-sung harmonies!), “Ain’t Nothing to Do”, “Caught With the Meat in Your Mouth” – all real songs with tons of intensity and attitude. The lyrics have a tendency to misogyny but I always thought that was tongue-in-cheek, though I could be wrong!
They also poured on the moodiness with tunes like “Not Anymore”. This may be a little over-dramatic, but it does sound desperate! Interestingly enough, the rough mixes of this album was released on Bomp! Records and Cheetah plays some excellent harmony leads on this number – odd the Genya Raven removed those from the final mix. “High Tension Wire” continues in this vein, as well. I always dug this heavy-darkness balancing out some of the outright goofiness of a few of the other songs.
Their mid-west garage roots are displayed in their cover of “Hey Little Girl”, recorded live – showing the close roots between 60’s punk and 70’s punk.
There’s an ode to then-groupie Lydia Lunch in “I Need Lunch”, the aforementioned “High Tension Wire” and then closing with a new take on a RFTT’s song, “Down in Flames”, which is where the band name came from. This is true high-energy, uproarious madness and a fantastic ending to the album!
I actually find it hard to believe that anyone who loves wild r’n’r does not already have this record, but if you don’t – get it now! The “Younger, Louder, Snottier” rough mix CD is more than worth it, as well!
posted by rich @ 9:39 AM
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