V.A. White Dopes on Punk: 50 Punk & New Wave Rarities [2005]

The world needs a '77-era punk version of Nuggets series, one that focuses on the lesser-knowns of the era rather than the same old names ad nauseum. However, rather then break new (old) ground by doing their own version of Killed By Death, re-issue mavens like Rhino Records make do with re-capitulations of the obvious like No Thanks.





Castle Music's 2005 collection White Dopes on Punk limits the obvious choices (Sham 69, Damned, Adverts, UK Subs, Eater, Slaughter & the Dogs do make it on) but mostly features more obscure bands. To be fair,  it's a bit of a mess. In the 51 [!] tracks herein you get KBD bands like Cyanide, Genocide, Powerpearls bands bands like the Distractions, Tin Openers and The Out, more Messthetics entries like John Cooper Clarke, Gyro not mention a few entries that are more so tangentially related to punk rock (Deaf School, The Fabulous Poodles, Dead Fingers) plus quite a few punxsploitation 'bands' like Jilted John, The Water Pistols and The Punkettes. All in all, it's a pretty glorious mess.

CD1:
01. The Damned - New Rose
02. The Adverts - One Chord Wonders (Live)
03. Sham 69 - (There's Gonna Be A) Borstal Breakout
04. Sister Ray - Suicide
05. John Cooper Clarke - Innocents
06. Eddie Mooney & The Grave - I Bought Three Eggs
07. The Distractions - It Doesn't Bother Me
08. Tin Openers - Set Me Free
09. The Out - Who Is Innocent?
10. Cyanide - I'm a Boy
11. Toy Dolls - Tommy Kowey's Car
12. Gyro - Central Detention Centre
13. Genocide - Renegade
14. Speed - She's All There
15. V2 - Man in a Box
16. Victim - Why Are Fire Engines Red?
17. I.Q. Zero - She's So Rare
18. Frantic Elevators - Voice in the Dark
19. Deaf School - All Queued Up
20. Dead Fingers Talk - Can't Think Straight
21. Slaughter & The Dogs - Cranked Up Really High
22. The Freshies - Yesterday / Tomorrow
23. Chelsea - Right to Work
24. The Teardrops - Seeing Double
25. Alberto y Los Trios Paranoias - Anarchy in the UK





CD2:
01. The Nosebleeds - Ain't Bin to No Music School
02. The Water Pistols - Gimme That Punk Junk
03. The Punkettes - Goin' Out Wiv a Punk
04. Eater - 15 (Live)
05. Cyanide - Do It
06. Steroid Kiddies - Seaside Teaser
07. Horrorcomic - I'm All Hung Up on Pierrepoint
08. Frantic Elevators - Hunchback of Notre Dame
09. U.K. Subs - I Live in a Car (Live)
10. Norman & The Hooligans - I'm a Punk
11. Matt Black & The Doodlebugs - Punky Xmas
12. Jilted John - Jilted John
13. Ed Banger - Kinnel Tommy
14. Pathetix - Love in Decay
15. Private Sector - Just Wanna Stay Free
16. Public Zone - Naive
17. The Fabulous Poodles - Convent Girls
18. Toy Dolls - She Goes to Finos
19. Lucy - Really Got Me Goin'
20. The Teardrops - Colours
21. Chris Sievey - Baiser
22. Direct Hits - Back to the Sixties
23. Public Skool - Walking the Rat
24. The Damned - Help
25. Ritchie Hale & the Stormers - Punkski
26. Alberto y Los Trios Paranoias - Fuck You

 
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Dylan, Clarke and Bragg

John Cooper Clarke's moment of fame came in the thick of the punk era, though at the time he said, "My relationship with rock is like Lenny Bruce's with modern jazz - I like the clothes and attitude." While Clarke owed a massive sartorial debt to Bob Dylan (and some attitude debt to Bruce) his oeuvre is pure, amphetamine beat poetry with accompaniment ("I try to talk in tune" he once said), eschewing the vintage folk, blues and gospel which power Dylan's work.



In contrast, Billy Bragg gained little fame during his tenure as leader of '77 punk band Riff Raff but when he returned from driving tanks for the British army to take up arms against Spandau Ballet in the mid eighties he grabbed his nation by the throat. Bragg, to commit an over-simplification, mixed up musical and lyrical elements of the Clash and Bob Dylan till you couldn't tell which was which. Now here, in the midst of his 2009 Canadian tour, he tries that mash-up trick with John Cooper Clarke and Bob Dylan, trying to do Clarke's "Evidently Chickentown" (with the original lyrics) in a Bob Dylan (circa "Desolation Row") style. There's almost four minutes of chit-chatting to begin with but the end result is fascinating.



Fittingly, Bragg praises Clarke as a poet and as Dylan has said, "Everyone admires the poet, no matter if he's a lumberjack, a football player or a car thief. If he's a poet, he'll be admired and respected." Of course this was also the man who said, "I don't call myself a poet because I don't like the word. I'm a trapeze artist." For proof of that statement, here's Dylan working without a net.



P.S Those intrigued by Clarke shouldn't miss his beat-punk cum hip-hop, "Health Fanatic" from Urgh: A Music War.


A big thank you to regular reader/commenter Biopunk without whom this post would never have happened (though he is not to be held responsible for the rambling herein).