We Went and Recorded it Anyway (2009-  Bruterian)   

    This is a true “blast from the past” CD that was recently released by Brutarian out of Philadelphia.  It brings together a bunch of punk/new wave bands that recorded back in the 1977-1984 time frame.  In many ways, this era produced some of the most ground-breaking and original music of what later out would be called “Punk”.  The definition of “punk” and its more presentable cousin “new wave” was very nebulous in those days and would change substantially over the years into what we call punk now.   Another great highlight of those years was the fact that you would see bands playing vastly different types of music on the same bill.  In New York, the Ramones, Blondie and Talking Heads could share the same stage and in Detroit we could be treated with a Sillies/Pigs/Coldcock type of a bill.  Anything that was different from the “classic rock” format that was played on the radio would be slapped with the “punk” label and could be seen at Bookies.  Another hilarious facet of that early scene was the wide range of clothing and hairstyles you would see at these shows.  This was the era long before mohawks and slam dancing became the norm and you would often see people in punk t-shirts and leather mixed in with long-haired hippie refugees from the 1960s.  But those days also didn’t see any of the harassment and violence that made its appearance later.

     This CD has 20 songs by a collection of different bands from across the country and it manages to catch that “anything goes” era perfectly.   We’re treated to everything from rip-roaring 3-chord punk to a bunch of different eclectic styles that would fit in on any stage in those days.  The collection includes 4 bands from the underappreciated Detroit punk scene of the era that revolved around the legendary Bookies’s Club 870.  These are the Cadillac Kidz, Leisure Class, Seatbelts, Denizens and the Sillies.  Most of the Detroit music that was released in those days is still only available on some beloved 45s and compilations put out by the fine people at Tremor Records, but this CD is a good start to bringing this music into the digital age.

     The Sillies are the best-known of the group, and were already featured on their own (LP/enhanced CD) retrospective entitled “America’s Most Wanton” back in 2002 on Nebula Records.  The back cover provides an excellent history of the band and lists the comings and goings of the many members the Sillies had over the years.  The latest version of the band has been playing around Detroit till very recent times.  In many ways, the Sillies represent that time perfectly – their style and personnel would change from song to song and from show to show.  Here they are close out the CD with a version of “Love You to Death” – one of their better-known songs.  My pet peeve with both these releases is that my favorite Sillies tune “Is There Lunch after Death?” (released as a single back in 1979) was not included on either the Sillies retrospective or on this CD.

     The Denizens were nowhere near as long-lasting as the Sillies, but they managed to accomplish something akin to Haley’s comet returning every 76 years; the Denizens played and recorded a single back in 1978 and managed to have it released in 2004.  They were a staple of Detroit’s punk/new wave scene back in the late 1970’s, but managed to give all us of thrill by reuniting back in 2004 for a legendary show.  Along with the 3 songs that are available on the single from Young Rebel Soul records in Detroit, the Denizens also contribute one of their coolest and catchiest tunes “Abracadabra” for this compilation.  There is plenty more where these came from and I hope that more Denizens material will appear without making us wait for another 26 years.

     The Seat Belts (from Detroit, of course) also had a quick and trip through the Detroit scene of the late 1970s.  Their one recorded legacy was a single from 1982 with Girl Off the Street/International on Seatbelt Records from Detroit.  Somehow I wound up with an autographed picture sleeve of this record, (Ebay is wonderful for record geeks like me) and was overjoyed to see that another Seatbelts song “American Bandstand” has found its way to this CD.  I can only hope that there is a secret cache of other Seatbelt songs that will find their way into circulation.

 The last two bands from our beloved Motor City were Mr. Unique and the Leisure Class (aka "Leisure Class") and the Cadillac Kids.  They are also represented on this find CD (actually Leisure Class sent me an email about the CD) and both present another slice of life from the 70s.  The aptly-titled "Weekend Punk" by the Leisure Class spoke about those annoying people (like me) who just popped up when there was a cool show going on.  Compared to our brethren in the UK, who were all on the dole and were fighting a class war, we wore mostly college students who were working to support ourselves, so I have to admit that I too was a weekend punk.  The Cadillac Kids were one of those high-energy bands that Detroit spewed out with assembly precision and could find themselves equally at home before a punk and a rock & roll audience.  

There were many other bands in Detroit at that time that were part of this initial outpouring of music - they ranged from the power-poppish Romantics and Reruns to the hard-driving punk of Coldcock and the stripped-down folksy Pigs.

 The rest of the CD provides a glimpse of what the late 70s were like… a mixture of punk, new wave and just good old-fashioned rock & roll.  The best way to remember those days is just to read the band names and song titles on the back.   We've got everything from the Terminal Sunglasses  doing "Fear of People Who Look Insane" (probably an original) to Benedict Arnold and the Traitors doing the timely "Kill the Hostages".  The "most offensive punk band name" here was "Sharon Tate's Baby", but this was just a precursor to the what would follow later.  This CD only costs $10 and along with the "out of print" Tremor LP  releases of this time - it presents the best picture of what it meant to be a punk rocker in those early days.... or at least till somebody puts out the definite Bookie's Boxed Set.