RYP, I've been encoding some of my obscure stuff lately. Here are two extremely rare albums by the Reverb Motherfuckers (tomorrow: "12 Swinging Signs of the Zodiac"). They were borrowed albums that I put on cassette in the late 1980,s. - Don K.
With a name like Reverb Motherfuckers (often shortened to RMF), New York's self-proclaimed scum rockers were clearly hoping to attract a little attention -- even negative attention (as with the Butthole Surfers before them) -- to their sample-heavy noise rock. And that they did -- both attract and repel -- with their debut, Route 666, with its silk-screened Day-Glo cover (a psychedelic portrait of a motorcycle speeding past a twisty N.Y.C. skyline). Only a few years later, however, Wild Man, 4Skins, and Bubble -- the nicknames listed on the cover for Roy Edroso, Ray Sage, and John Terhorst -- would be forgotten. Meanwhile, at least one of their brothers in noise, Jon Spencer (Pussy Galore, JSBE), only became better-known once the '90s hit (partly by moving away from his noise rock origins). Although fairly headache-inducing when taken as a whole, Route 666 is, if nothing else, a pretty adventurous release. Rather than just another mound of indistinguishable sludge, each song has something different going on: bizarre lyrics, treated vocals, subversive humor, a diverse array of samples, and so on. Pretty much everything appears to be fair game, which means that some tracks are just silly, others downright irritating -- kind of like a cross between Frank Zappa and Killdozer (and it makes sense that the Honeymoon Killers' Jerry Teel gets a name check, as there's some crossover with that grungy garage unit as well). The best song is the Funhouse-influenced "Dr. Bloodmoney," whereas the opposite end of the spectrum includes "Joe of Arc," which sounds more like a reject from The Rocky Horror Picture Show (see, there really is something for everyone here). "Suspicious Minds" is a throwaway cover of the schmaltzy Elvis hit and "Peace Man" (an original composition) was recorded live at CBGB. ~ Kathleen C. Fennessy, All Music Guide
These links provide the most information I can find on this band:
http://www.alicubi.com/articles/reverb.html
http://www.alicubi.com/articles/reverb2.html
http://alicubi.com/articles/reverb3.html
http://alicubi.com/articles/reverb4.html
http://www.sleazegrinder.com/flashmetalReverbMotherfuckers.htm
trax:
1. Highway To Hojos 2. Joan Collins Always 3. Thrill Seekers 4. Backwards 5. Who Got The Crack 6. Action Bots 7. Want Girl 8. Dr. Bloodmoney 9. Parents 10. Peaceman 11. Joe Of Arc 12. Parmesan 13. Suspicious Minds 14. Time 15. Harmonic Convergence
...served by Don K...
.JPG)
