Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Another Fine Mess

(Image courtesy of trixondrums)

Finding a new ally in Billy Childish's crew, not to mention another new band name, Wreckless Eric got back to basics; low-fidelity and high volume. At one extreme, on songs such as "Sophie", The Len Bright Combo's two 1986 albums (both are on this out-of-print CD) turn into a mass of buzzing, roaring and squealing - like a fleet of Harleys gunning their engines in a cramped slaughterhouse. In other spots Eric's heart is back on his sleeve, ready to be picked at in such finely-written, almost country-ish songs, as "Someone Must've Nailed us Together and "Shirt Without a Heart". Then running down the line between those extremes is the blazing punk track, "The Golden Hour of Harry Secombe". It's a smart, caustic mix of garage-punk energy and experimental noise-mongering, occasionally reminiscent of where Northwest bands like Mudhoney would later dare to trod.



If there's a track here that in twenty years, rom-com's and bands seeking novel covers will exhume it's the sing-along, "Someone Must've Nailed Us Together", which sounds like an older and wiser yet defiant take on the romanticism heard in "Whole Wide World".






{Attention MRML readers: Do you want more out-of-print Wreckless Eric? Hit that comments button and type a message right now or forever hold your peace.}

Download Len Bright Combo

Speaking of the man's ongoing pursuit of Wrecklessness, here's Eric indulging his troubadour side on Belgian TV.





18 comments:

  1. Nice to have ol´Wreckless. Nice to know somebody still remembers that loveable drunakrd (he´s stone cold sober now, I´m told). Keep ´em coming. He´s a brilliant songwriter and a wonderful performancer. And a nice guy too. Cheers, Mooneyrooney

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  2. I saw Eric live in NYC about 3 or 4 years ago. He was still great. Keep 'em coming!! thanks

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  3. Yes please! More Wreckless Eric!

    (oh, and a seriously belated thanks for that Sloppy Seconds/ Screeching Weasel post, that was all kinds of awesome.)

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  4. Thanks for this one. I personally would to find Le Beat Group Electrique to hear the original of Just For You - I've been loving that performance on the video for ages.

    Again thanks, I'll be coming back to this blog!

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  5. Nice post, I've been enjoying his stuff for 30 years. These two lps are great, I recommend them to anyone who loves rock and roll!

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  6. Glorious, noisy feedback!

    Mooney

    WE is a neglected treasure,I'm glad to see his new work with Amy Rigby is getting noticed.

    Kevin
    Lucky man, one day I'll get see him live.

    Hap
    Glad to see there's an audience who can appreciate both WE and Sloppy Seconds - that's kinda heartening.

    Skarpi
    LBGE is forthcoming

    Planckzoo

    I have the Stiff "Big Smash" re-issue with the bonus disc and it's amazing.

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  7. Thank you, and Please more Wreckless Eric!

    "Someone Must've Nailed Us Together" is every bit of the classic that is "Whole Wide World".

    If you're taking requests, "At the Shop" or "Karaoke" would be great to see! I've never heard them.

    Or, for those who haven't heard it, it would be a real service to put up the brilliant "Donovan of Trash"

    Thanks again!

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  8. Anoymous

    We'll go to Le Beat Group Electrique and then Hitsville House Band and yes "Karaoke".

    I'm trying to make sure I don't post anything that's in print (which isn't too much).

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  9. The world need more people like Wreckless Eric..... :-D

    Best wishes from Sweden

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  10. Artsider

    I promise to keep yapping about those grizzled vets who refuse to surrender in the face of commercial oblivion for a while to come

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  11. I have been listening to this mess all day long with a big smile on my face! Thank you so much for posting this. It's excellent!

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  12. Alphish

    And here I thought I was ruining people's days!

    Here's hoping tomorrow's dose of Wrecklessness bring further joy.

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  13. Awesome! I lost track of Eric after "Big Smash", then saw him in a tiny club around '06. He was still incredible, maybe even more intense than ever. There's a fair number of obscure Eric releases I've never even seen - love it if they showed up here!

    thx!

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  14. Young, upwardly mobile and stupid - yah! I had this on a tape (ask your grandfather) of the sadly missed Andy Kershaw programme on the BBC. Great to get it again.

    Joe in Dublin.

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  15. Roy

    Loveto hear those stoeis about seeing WE

    And don't worry the obscurities are not done yet.

    Joe

    Yeah, I still have two boxes of old cassette tapes that I dredge up periodically to find "new" stuff to rip.

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  16. i've been looking for this for a while. you (and eric) are the men. i saw him back in the stiff days and also a couple of years ago at lakeside lounge, a tiny place in nyc. he was fantastic and had perhaps one of the the great one liners of recent vintage, when talking about the police (the band) said 'oh sting, where is thy death'.

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  17. Hot damn, that is the nastiest slam ever.

    I've been quoting that one all week (though I forgot to put it into the last WE post.)

    Thanks for the awesomeness

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