The Germs - GI rough mixes

The extent to which L.A. hardcore punk legends The Germs have been revered, eulogized, and storied is nothing short of bewildering. Perhaps not so much the band, rather the man, "Darby Crash" (aka Jan Paul Beahm) to be more precise.

It's long been espoused that a band is as only as good as their live show, and going solely on that basis, The Germs were rather rank. Their chaotic and cacophonous performances may have done the Germs image (not to mention their genre) justice, but certainly not their songs. Yet Darby and company indeed deserve their fabled fifteen minutes in the spotlight, if only for fantastically pulling things together in the studio in the late '70s, with Joan Jett as producer no less! A-melodic and intimidating as it was, the Germs lone lp, GI, bristling in it's caustic intensity, somehow revealed everything their concerts could have been, with a little more patience and practice.That in mind, the prospect of a bootleg of unmixed tracks for the GI album was more promising than even the crispest of live Germs recordings you could ever lay on these ears. In the grand scheme of things these tracks aren't particularly revelatory, but there's a certain ambiance to these versions that tickles my fancy, whether it be the feedback of guitar cords being plugged into hot amps, Don Bolles drumstick count-offs, or even the copious cassette hiss. Like I said folks, ambiance. "Lexicon Devil," perhaps the Germs signature song, is for some reason not represented here. At any rate, if you couldn't get enough of the Germs GI, you'll want to get this.

01. Caught In My Eye
02. Communist Eyes
03. Land of Treason
04. Dragon Lady
05. American Leather
06. Our Way
07. Richie Dagger's Crime
08. Let's Pretend
09. Strange Notes
10. Manimal
11. What We Do is Secret
12. Media Blitz/The Slave
13. Shutdown (Annihilation Man)

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