That was Now, This is Then
(V.M.L.)
by Scott Hefflon
Details, details… So what if this came out in ’97, I never got a chance to review it and can’t let this go unwritten. The concept of having punk bands in ’97 cover their favorite song from ’77, the year most agree punk officially began, is a risky one. I mean, are people going to recognize all the originals? Will they be offended that these youngsters had the audacity to tamper with classics? Luckily, Joey Vindictive has good judgment and this theme comp will teach everyone a little something about punk. Today’s bands really rose to the occasion, and while there are fewer “name brand” bands than you might expect (both from then and now), every song and every band deserves to be here. And as the liner notes state, many classics thought to be from ’77 were actually from ’78, thus making a follow up inevitable. The notes are also kind enough to provide the cover bands’ info and display some pictures of the original bands with a brief synopsis. Again practically no one will know all the originals as well as all the current bands, and even if they do, most of these songs have yet to appear elsewhere. Basically, all this fawning means “get this.” Here’s what’s here to hear: The Crumbs cover Radio Birdman’s “New Race,” Showcase Showdown cover The Killjoys’ “Johnny Won’t Go To Heaven,” Violent Society cover Eaters’ “Room for One,” Sloppy Seconds cover Mick Farren & the Deviants’ “Let’s Loot the Supermarket Again Like We Did Last Summer,” Bil McRackin covers The Vibrators’ “Baby Baby,” Hickey cover Avengers’ “The American in Me,” Dillenger 4 cover Dils’ “You’re Not Blank,” The Teen Idols cover Eddie & the Hot Rods’ “Teenage Depression,” the Nobodys cover The Real Kids’ “All Kinds of Girls,” the Migraines cover The Damned’s “Neat, Neat, Neat,” Quincy Punx cover Weirdos’ “We Got the Neutron Bomb,” The Geezers cover Wayne County & the Electric Chairs’ “Stuck on You,” Less Than Jake cover The Jam’s “This is the Modern World,” The Chinese Millionaires cover The Only Ones’ “Oh No!,” Boris the Sprinkler cover The Saints’ “Do the Robot,” and Moral Krux cover The Clash’s “1977,” but update it to “1977(1997).”
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