"The contemporary understanding of 'punk' is quite different form the reality that is illustrated on this record" (liner notes). Re-release of a previously ultra-rare document of early undefinable punk/art-punk/psyche tracks laid by LA bands, many of which went on to infamy. All recorded to 4track, some of these are the first recordings ever by such bands as The Gun Club, Meat Puppets, Leaving Trains. The rawness, the intensity of this stuff is indescribable and makes this one of the most unique albums ever. Originally released in 1981 as a rather brief 12" on Happy Squid records, this is the product of the Urinal's drummer having purchased a 4 track and setting it up in whatever living room they could find and letting the tape roll. The first 9 tracks of the CD constituted the original record and the next 9 are previously unreleased ones from the same sessions. The remainder are tracks originally released on a Happy Squid sampler, a 7" of which 500 copies were made. Theres something for everyone on the original release, from the rather chill proto experimental Human Hands, to the smoking insane punk mess of the Meat Puppets, the undeniable rockin Leaving Trains (very first song) "Virginia City" and the Gun Club's first recording ever, a truly inspired take on "Devil in the Woods". Liner notes include excellent history and explanations, reading like a Who's Who of seminal LA music. Don't miss out.

1) Earwigs: sci-fi circus psyche synth lead melody to simple funk rock, replete with 7th and 9th chords
2) Toxic Shock: FCC- low fi, very old school "pre-formula punk", "commercial girl you wanna fuck" easily editable
3) S Squad: more carnival organ, strange urgent punky psyche
4) Gun Club: best ever recording by this band, Pierce's finest moment
5) Meat Puppets: captured in their early days, years before they got pretty lame, this smokes
6) The Leaving Trains: this rocks so hard in a subltley psyche manner it'll wax your butt crack
7) Tunneltones: cool art punk, driving, urgent w/ sax and cool "bass solo", sloppy and straight from the art
8) Human Hands: nice low fi experimental w/ strange voiceover
9) 100 Flowers: driving dirty grimey punky

Bonus Tracks:
10) low fi proto pop
11) driving low end, trashy, dirty
12) upbeat low fi psychy surfy rock
13) wow! Gun Club: great version of Preachin the Blues, crazy upbeat punk/blues/cowpunk like nobody else ever did it or ever will
14) Meat Puppets: swingy swampy fucked up Neil Young cover
15) driving simply punky
16) smarmy sax, heavy bass, driving spy feel somehow
17) instrumental- vaguely tribal drums, post punky guits
18) protopunk w/ tinkling bells

Happy Squid 7” Sampler:
19) upbeat proto hardcore, fast delivery thrashy, very brief
20) early jangly psyche indie
21) noise synth tones, cool early avante noise punk
22) cool LA proto hardcore, nice Boss flanger tones, upbeat, supercool
23) really cool twisted early synth, brief