THE WEIRDOS
We Got The Neutron Bomb: Weird World Vol. Two
(Frontier)
Reviewed by Alan Wright

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Well, it took 'em ten years to compile a follow up to Vol. One, but it's a welcome addition to their discography. The Weirdos, Hollywood's class of '77 punksters created hyper-charged music that was equal parts '60s garage sensibilities and snotty punk bravado, with elements of rockabilly, glam and artiness, though the artiness extended mostly towards their bizarre fashion sense. Musically, the Weirdos cranked out some of the most infectious, rocking, amped-up punk rock, fueled by often hilarious yet socially conscious lyrics. Strangely this CD starts with their most recent stuff and works backwards. So, it kicks off with two of the better (and remixed) songs from their patchy 1990 reunion CD Condor, and a great cover of Love's "7&7 Is." Then there's a weird 1981 recording using a drum machine that sounds kinda weird, but actually works. About half the songs on here are unreleased, including such unheard gems as "What Will You Do?," "I Want What I Want" and "I'm Not Like You," rehearsal session covers of Link Wray's "Fatback" and Hank Mizell's "Jungle Rock," as well as better fidelity versions of songs heard on bootlegs like "Barbaric Americans" and "It Means Nothing." There's some oddities like the fairly annoying John and Dix Denney single b-side "Skateboards To Hell," and a strange and somewhat unnecessary experimental song that is thankfully pretty short called "Hey Big Oil" from their lone LP, Warhead. Those dips in quality aside, you do get the original single mix of the title track, which has never been reissued on CD since both Vol. One of this and the Dangerhouse CD collection use alternate takes/mixes. Lastly, there's a couple of my fave Weirdos tunes: a remixed version of "The Hideout," and the killer 1977 Bomp! single "Destroy All Music." A great collection!

© 2003 - Alan Wright