Amidst claims that I only own records by artists beginning with ‘D’ I have dropped my planned discussions of Dio, D:Ream, Dollar and Daniel O’Donnell and will instead be taking a look at The Jesus Lizard in anticipation of their new release on Record Store Day.
2009 is the year of The Jesus Lizard! To celebrate the reissuing of their remastered back catalogue the band have reformed for the first time in 10 years to play a string of dates this summer across the U.S. and Europe.
The first batch of reissues (Pure, Head and Goat: all remastered by original ‘producer’ Steve Albini and Bob Weston of Shellac fame) are due on 22nd September on Touch and Go Records. But, to tide us over until then and to commemorate Record Store Day 2009 Touch and Go are releasing something of a wet dream for this TJL-and-7”-single-loving fan: Inch. Inch is a collection of nine 7” singles, which have all been out of print for years now, all remastered by Bob Weston and presented in a clear vinyl display pack that allows the whole thing to be hung on a wall and frottaged (or just folded up and put away in a box). Here is an artist’s impression:
2009 is the year of The Jesus Lizard! To celebrate the reissuing of their remastered back catalogue the band have reformed for the first time in 10 years to play a string of dates this summer across the U.S. and Europe.
The first batch of reissues (Pure, Head and Goat: all remastered by original ‘producer’ Steve Albini and Bob Weston of Shellac fame) are due on 22nd September on Touch and Go Records. But, to tide us over until then and to commemorate Record Store Day 2009 Touch and Go are releasing something of a wet dream for this TJL-and-7”-single-loving fan: Inch. Inch is a collection of nine 7” singles, which have all been out of print for years now, all remastered by Bob Weston and presented in a clear vinyl display pack that allows the whole thing to be hung on a wall and frottaged (or just folded up and put away in a box). Here is an artist’s impression:
The downside is there’s only going to be 2000 copies. God knows how many of those will be distributed outside of the U.S. But if there’s a copy to be had, I’ll do my damnedest to get my hands on it. Check out some of the cool stuff in there: the super-rare ‘Gladiator’ single! The overly-long Lash EP! Love The Jesus Lizard, but balk at the idea of owning a Nirvana record? Then you’ll love the split single they released with Nirvana…now with the Nirvana side mysteriously removed! Hurrah! I still can’t believe that The Jesus Lizard scored a #12 hit single with this in the UK charts. I would LOVE to have a copy of Bruno Brooks or Dr. Fox or whoever running down the top 40 and having to introduce/apologise for that one! Also in there is possibly my favourite single that I own; ‘Wheelchair Epidemic.’
One of my favourite bands + truly unpleasant yet catchy song + truly unpleasant yet beautifully rendered artwork = one hot slab of plastic.
The A-side is a cover of a pretty nasty, cruel and completely un-PC song by Texan punk band The Dicks, sung in goading fashion by the irrepressible Mr. David Yow, most convincingly deranged front man on the planet? To justify getting a kick out this, I must say that it goes beyond offensive, tipping into the tastelessly cartoonish and then into comical. I suppose that were it not for the music chugging away in such rocking fashion it would be teetering on the brink of ‘novelty’ and that is not a good place to be!
The artwork is similarly crude and offensive, as if to emphasise the cartoonish, over-the-top nature of the track. So, the cover may not be much to look at, but check out the back:
What warped mind could be responsible for such lurid imagery? Surely not the same man who penned the lines, “there’s a girl playing the piano while her mother gives her an enema,” and “the dead princess lay silent and her cunt’s ripped?”
The B-side is a little tamer lyrically; just some stuff about being fucked up the arse by the personification of misery and illness. The track is ‘Dancing Naked Ladies,’ presented here in an even slower, queasier and more churning form than its album version.
Well, I almost wore this thing out before the singles CD compilation Bang came out and saved my record from a fate similar to Nirvana’s side of the ‘Puss’ single. Get yourself a copy of Bang or grab one of these on eBay but do not, do NOT buy a copy of Inch. At least not until I’ve got one in the bag.
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