ALL! On A Major Label? Part One

It's definitely been said in this blog before that The Descendents/ALL are my favorite band and have been since I heard their song “80's Girl” aired on Towson State's radio station when I was about 15 years old. What may have not been stated is that I had been listening to both bands for about a year or so before even realizing they were essentially the same band. This may sound ridiculous but keep in mind it was 1988 the internet was not readily available and serious fanzines were hard to come by in the suburb of Columbia, MD. 

Plus even though the formats of their albums were kind of similar, the bands were on different record labels. The Descendents releases were on SST Records while ALL's were on Cruz Records. Matching up of band members, on every case card only listed by the first name, was a pretty difficult task since The Descendents had so many different members. Even though ALL's band members had remained constant, at this point ALL was up to their second singer. 

Full disclosure: The same thing happened to me with The Misfits and Samhain. Probably even longer since it would still be a couple years until I really got into The Misfits. 

  

  

Around 1990 when Allroy's Revenge was released I eventually figured it out and The Descendents and ALL became my favorite BAND. A couple years later ALL would secretly move on to their third singer Chad Price for 1993's Breaking Things album. In 1994 ALL was set to release their sixth album, second with Chad, named  Pummel. I was anxiously anticipating its release. 

Around this time the local “alternative” radio station WHFS had a show called “Now Hear

This”, focused on upcoming new releases. The show also had local bands perform in its closing section “Dave's Garage”. Offhand Washington DC's Frodus is the only “Dave's Garage" band I can remember. On the night I am passively listening to a Sunday night episode of “Now Hear This” when I heard Dave say, “Next we have a song from the new album by the punk band ALL”. 

Did I hear that right? Although the show did have some lesser-known bands in the past, most were still "modern rock” sounding bands on major labels or larger indies. Not melodic punk like ALL on small independent labels like Cruz Records. 

After the commercial Dave came back on announced the song. It was called “Stalker” and I was instantly floored. It was so loud. The song had Stephen Egerton's signature guitar but it sounded so much eviler. Karl Alvarez's bass sounded like it was plodding along much more distorted than anything I had heard him play before. Drummer Bill Stevenson sounded like he was beating his drums even harder than he usually does. But the most shocking aspect of the song was singer Chad's voice. He still sounded like himself but his voice sounded more growly and angry as he sang “I hear footsteps down the hall, I've been waiting right behind your door, No one will hear. Don't you worry my dear”? When he sings “It's your eyes, your smile, It's your hair, your face It's your life” he has reached almost demonic death metal style vocals, while guitarist Stephen Egerton plays Slayer-Esque riffs to close out the song. 

       When the song was over DJ Dave announced that the song was off their forthcoming album Pummel, still three months away from being released. But this time it would not be on Cruz. This one was coming out on Interscope. A major label. 

    

  Before you think I am going to go on a "corporate rock still sucks" rant about punk or underground bands signing to major labels I've never felt there was anything wrong with it, It was always my belief if you worked hard, paid your dues, etc, which The Descendents/ALL definitely had done, good for you. Plus like I said in my Dear You entry, the independent labels were pretty hard to find in the suburbs, often resulting in not being able to obtain a copy for a while after its release. With Pummel coming out on a major I knew it would be able to be picked up the day it drops. 

  

No, I never get upset or anything when band signs with a major label with only one catch: They don't change their sound. After hearing Stalker premiered on that February night I feared that may have been the case with ALL. It would still be a couple months until Pummel would be released and I could find out 

  

The Golden Age of Tribute Albums: The Bridge: A Tribute to Neil Young

The late 80s into the early ’90s tribute albums were always a great way to learn about new underground bands as well as the artists they are paying tribute to. A few posts here and there I want to focus on a few for me pretty vital ones.

 Sometimes the artist being paid homage are bands you know and like and you want to hear newer band's interpretations of their music. Sometimes the artists being paid tributes are classic bands or artists you the listener may not be familiar with and hearing a band you know to do their songs serves as a good introduction to the artists.  

1989's The Bridge: A Tribute to Neil Young for me fell on the latter. 

 A few of the artists on the album were new to me. At this point, I had never heard of Flaming Lips, Nikki Sudden, and the French Revolution or his many bands, as well as the vital Swell Maps he and his brother, were in. 

Loop, Psychic TV, and had barely heard Nick Cave. Originally I owned the album cassette, so I did not hear B.A.L.L.’s “Out of the Blue” until years later when I upgraded to the CD 

 

Some bands do the covers in their own style, Soul Asylum, and the Pixies, two of the bands who made me seek out the tribute, do this at the beginning of each side of the tape.  Soul Asylum’s “Barstool Blues” would have been right at home on their album Hangtime from the year before. The Pixies “Winterlong” at home on Doolittle.  

For a long time, I thought Sonic Youth’s version of “Computer Age” was adapted to their style. Years later when I finally heard the original Neil Young version of his “experimental” album Trans, the Sonic Youth version was very true to the original. In retrospect, though I am very glad Sonic Youth decided not to use the computerized effects on the vocals of the chorus like Neil did in his version. Neil actually used the vocoder on a few songs on that album, something I've read many fans were not happy with.

 

Some bands totally changed the song, which most of the time I would not find out until years later. Nikki Sudden and his band at the time The French Revolution did a fully electric and rockin' version of the more subdued folky acoustic version of “Captain Kennedy” of Neil Young’s album.  

 

The UK’s droney band Loop did not have to adapt too much. I would say Neil's song “Cinnamon Girl” was almost written for the band if I had not come out years before.  

Nick Cave has the real showstopper in his take on “Helpless”. Accompanying slide

Loop

 guitar by Kid Congo Powers with The Bad Seed's Mick Harvey on the bass and drums. It was a pretty blown-away experience. I think at that point I had only really heard Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' song “Mercy Seat”, a much louder but equally intense song. I picked up a few Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds albums shortly after. 

I’m also pretty sure this may have been the first time I knowingly heard the Flaming Lips. Sounds shocking now but at this point, the band had only released three albums. The Awesome In A Priest Driven Ambulance, the band's "masterpiece", as well as the only album I really love by the band., would not be released until a year later.  

 

A couple experimental songs. New York City band Bongwater, featuring Shimmy Disc Records owner Kramer on bass and actress/performance artist Anne Magnuson on vocals makes “Mr. Soul”, a song originally by Neil Young’s early band Buffalo Springfield, even more, psychedelic than the already very psychedelic song.  

The late Geneses P. Orridge’s band Psychic TV does a pretty stripped-down version of “Only Love Can

Psychic TV

Break Your Heart” with guitars, guitar, drums, and some strings. I’d file this under the experimental side of the spectrum since in their own Psychic TV material would have so much more noise and effects going on. This would soon be found out when I picked up some of the earlier stuff a little after hearing them on this album. But Psychic TV fans please don’t get too let down. The band does add some of what sounds like a theremin in the end.  

Dinosaur Jr, probably the most Neil Young-influenced band on the tribute, totally makes “Lotta Love” off Young's Comes A Time a whole new animal. J and Lou attack their instruments while “Special guest vocalist” Artie “Are You Ready” Sinatra screams the lyrics along. To me, it kind of sounds like Neil Young covering “Don’t” off of Dinosaur Jr’s Bug Album.  

 

Musician Henry Kaiser closes out the LP/Tape with a medley of “Needle and the Damage Done” and

Dinosaur Jr circa 1989

“Tonight's the Night”. The medley is rockn'. Also, straightforward sounding. A bit odd for a musician I would later find out is mostly known for his “sonic diversity” 

The only song on the album I usually skip over is Victoria Williams's version of "Don't Let It Get You Down". This isn't because it's a bad song or Neil's original or Victoria's cover. I am just not a fan of Victoria's voice. 

The album is out of print but you can listen to it on youtube or even download it right here:https://www14.zippyshare.com/v/D3xZv7tR/file.html