2CD - Dirty Water: The Birth Of Punk Attitude

There have been many punk collections over the years, and former ZigZag fanzine editor Kris Needs possesses most of them; so, when it came to compiling his own, he decided to avoid the predictable, except where totally warranted. Although featuring names without whom such a compilation should never be, the set also highlights less-likely candidates through their influence, attitude or sheer courage in the face of adversity. After starting with two quintessential garage-punk bands, The Standells and The Seeds, the album approaches the punk spirit as a way of making music or conveying a message by any means necessary, which makes Harlem's Last Poets prime candidates for laying a hip-hop template in 1970 with their first album. Around the same time, downtown in Washington Square Park, David Peel & The Lower East Side were delivering stoner street anthems which could only be captured by a live recording. Kris' lifelong New York obsession continues with the untouchable New York Dolls, senses-shattering electronic punks Suicide, plus two of their influences in Silver Apples and vocal group The Silhouettes. The Dictators show how their degenerate raunch influenced The Ramones. The Deviants were at the forefront of the UK's 1967 countercultural revolution, like the UK's answer to America's Fugs, MC5 or Mothers Of Invention when it came to forging a new society and playing free concerts, before handing the baton to Pink Fairies. 1970s UK proto-punk is represented by Jook, Third World War and The Sensational Alex Harvey Band's sinister, cinematic missives, while the rarest tune (on CD for the first time) is the Hollywood Brats' storming treatment of The Kinks' "I Need You." The oldest track has to be "Blue Jean Bop" by Gene Vincent, the original black leather man. Other artists include: Mott The Hoople, Dr. Feelgood, Peter Hammill, Can, T. Rex, The Stooges, The Up, Death, Sun Ra, Red Krayola, Rocket From The Tombs, The Saints, Flamin' Groovies, Zolar X, The Monks, and Culture. The set is accompanied by extensive liner notes from Needs in a 76-page book.

Track Listing:

Disc 1
01	The Standells	Dirty Water	02:49
02.	The Seeds	Evil Hoodoo	05:19
03.	The Deviants	Garbage	05:39
04.	Pink Fairies	Do It	03:04
05.	Gene Vincent	Bluejean Bop	02:26
06.	Flamin' Groovies	Teenage Head	02:54
07.	T. Rex	Elemental Child (Live)	08:57
08.	The Monks	I Hate You	03:37
09.	Jook	Oo Oo Rudi	03:34
10.	Mott The Hoople	Moon Upstairs	05:05
11.	Zolar X	Space Age Love	03:22
12.	Sun Ra	Rocket Number Nine	02:55
13.	MC5	Rocket Reducer No. 62 (Rama Lama Fa Fa Fa) (Live)	06:12
14.	The Up	Sisters Sisters (Sisters Rising) (Live)	02:50
15.	Death	Politicians In My Eyes	05:51
16.	The Stooges	Do You Want My Love? (Live)	11:58
Disc 2
CD2:
01.	David Peel & The Lower East Side	Up Against The Wall	01:49
02.	Silver Apples	Confusion	03:35
03.	The Silhouettes	Get A Job	02:49
04.	Suicide	Do It Nice	05:28
05.	New York Dolls	Subway Train	04:23
06.	The Last Poets	On The Subway	01:35
07.	The Sensational Alex Harvey Band	The Hot City Symphony Part 1 [Vambo]	05:04
08.	Third World War	A Little Bit Of Urban Rock	04:18
09.	Dr. Feelgood	Roxette	02:59
10.	Peter Hammill	Nadir's Big Chance	03:33
11.	Can	Outside My Door	04:13
12.	Red Krayola	Hurricane Fighter Plane (CD-only)	03:41
13.	Rocket From The Tombs	I'm Never Gonna Kill Myself Again	02:11
14.	The Dictators	Teengenerate	03:28
15.	VThe Hollywood Brats	I Need You	02:23
16.	The Saints	I'm Stranded	03:36
17.	Culture	Two Sevens Clash	03:34