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Greetings everyone. Thanks for giving us a look this week. We’re into November now and the holiday season, although I hope you all had a great Halloween weekend. As predicted, my night was on the quiet side. I stayed in and watched movies, some horror but also a fun one with Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff in a comedy that was cool. This week on the eve of the special elections here in the States, I had to watch some war movies and see Nazis getting their asses handed to them, including one of my favorites that I watch at least once a year, Where Eagles Dare with Richard Burton. Classic.
Musically, the soundtrack over Halloween weekend included a couple of plays of the tape Jeff wrote about so eloquently in last week’s newsletter. If you haven’t checked out The Ancient Pulse yet, get on it. We still have a couple copies left for sale here. I was really impressed by this one, and for me it’s in the mix for release of the year. Great job fellows.
As for this week and my pick for you? Well, it’s an old one from the mid-1970s that some will love and others will hate or, if that’s too strong a word, be indifferent to. I’ll admit that when I first heard this record, it wasn’t for me, but over the years, I have come to appreciate it. I’m talking about the self-titled album by Debris’. Released in 1976 in a run of 1000 on their own Static Disposal label. The label name later being confused with the band name by folks discovering the record years later. Indeed, the first reissues in the late 90s and early 00s referred to the band as Static Disposal. Even now, if you look on Discogs, the Static Disposal moniker is still used. From what I have read, that isn’t the band name nor the album title, but it seems that time has other ideas and that’s just how some will still refer to it.
Debris’ were from that hotbed of punk and underground sounds that was Chickasha, Oklahoma. They formed as a trio in 1975 and took advantage of a local studio's package deal of ten hours of studio time and 1000 pressed and sleeved records. They went in rehearsed and caught each song in one take, and in April 1976 their album was released to the world. It must be noted that the sleeve design depicting a girl tied up in cables and shown as a purple-hued photographic negative image with the band’s name across her eyes is quite striking and cool looking. Musically, the band sounds like a mix of Roxy Music with Eno, Sparks, The Velvet Underground, Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart. It’s art rock with a punk attitude filtered through a 1970s Midwest LSD and reefer fueled teenage wasteland. Sort of. Maybe not an easy listen for some. There is a stray saxophone that rears its head in a couple of spots, so those of you like Jeff here at Sorry State who have an aversion to that take note. LoL. A couple of other friend musicians of the band add some organ, percussion and vocals, and there’s even a credit for an 8” circular saw.
There weren’t many bands making these types of records back then, and of course Debris’ went largely underappreciated and unheard for many years. Critical reviews at the time were few and far between and mostly unfavorable. Locally, the redneck normies certainly didn’t get what they were doing, but apparently folks in New York liked them and an offer was made for the band to play at CBGBs and Max’s Kansas City. Unfortunately, these offers came too late, and the band had disbanded. However, the reputation of the record spread throughout the underground and record collecting circles, gaining a sort of cult status over the years. Original copies have always been hard to find and expensive and would certainly command three figures of some sort for a nice copy, if they pop up for sale. The album has seen CD and vinyl reissues over the last couple of decades, and more recently the reissue label Superior Viaduct has put out a nice version. The CDs also contain demos for the album that were recorded in 1975, the year before original release. The band also take on The Stooges and cover “Real Cool Time.” The current vinyl pressing from Superior Viaduct is a straight reissue and does not contain any bonus cuts. I’m fine with that, as those rehearsals and demos are available elsewhere. My only gripe might be that it would have been nice if they could have included an insert or small booklet with additional information and photos etc. Especially as that information is out there now. Small complaint. We have the internet don’t we? It’s the music that counts, and honestly, I prefer a straight reissue over big heavy releases with additional discs. For the most part.
If you aren’t familiar with the album, click here for a listen, and if you end up liking it, snag the current pressing and save yourself a few hundred dollars.
Okay, that’s my lot for this week. Thanks for reading and your support, and happy listening.
Cheers - Dom