Singles Going Single #26 - Painted Willie 7" (1984, Spinhead)

In reference to the title of this single's lead-off cut, Painted Willie were a ragged army indeed, and the band's ramshackle debut 7" is a stumbling-block-to-stepping-stone chestnut for the ages. Released on what would appear to be a tiny, local imprint, Spinhead Records, this record would lead to greater things, more specifically being ushered under the wing of the burgeoning SST Records for a number of LPs during the Reagan era. Painted Willie's quasi-minimalist post-punk, was unabashedly nascent and shambolic at the time of this release, but endearing in it's own rite. The curiously esoteric subject matter disclosed in "Ragged Army" exemplifies this aesthetic the best, while it's flipside, "Kill It," packs a serious, metallic bite, that's the yin to "Army's" playful yang. Two of the three songs here also appear in the "jukebox" portion of their Myspace page, but these particular rips were extracted directly from my own copy of the single, tattered sleeve and all. Enjoy (or not).

A1. Ragged Army
A2. Paper Tiger
B. Kill It

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