Sunday, July 28, 2013

Legionaire's Disease Band "Rather See You Dead (Than With Wool on Your Head)""Downtown"

(Cheap Rewards) Renowned for being the wildest band in Bloodstains Across Texas, for helping launch Verbal Abuse, and for lead singer Jerry Anomie faking his death and showing up for the subsequent gig in a real casket, LDB's real legacy may be that they represented a truer vision of punk rock in 1979 than most of the bands on the scene. An ex military/ex-con in his 30s, Anomie decided to start a band not for political or trendy or angsty reasons but because he saw what Iggy and Stiv could do and he wanted to be a part of it, resulting in nasty, style-free, wild, raucous, hard-assed rock 'n' roll that is more its own thing than a part of any trend. The lead track here has its lyrics spewed and barked by Anomie with such fury and chaos that I have no idea what he's saying, yet the guttural "baaaaa" sounds seem to imply this is more anti-sheep than racist. The guitar attack b-side is not a Pet Clark cover but rather one of the catchiest slices of ugly-rock ever recorded. This record is better than what its legend purports it's supposed to be. And worse! We live in a glorious era when ridiculous rarities like this are reissued in their original format! God bless the USA!

1 comment:

  1. Hottest damn band I ever saw. Anything might happen and frequently did. Riots, brawls, LDB made the most out of the least I've ever seen or heard. The only concert I ever saw that had more electricity and a feeling of danger was the Sex Pistol's.

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