Here's a 1987 LP by Canada's SONS OF ISHMAEL. While this is not a really a classic by any means I figured it's worth sharing and some people may be interested.
I picked up this LP by these Meaford thrashers for real cheap and it's easy to get; they're not particularly popular or widely known but this is a pretty good record nonetheless, although fatally flawed. Sidenote: my copy was issued by British label MANIC EARS RECORDS, who also put out RIPCORD, SORE THROAT etc...
SON OF ISHMAEL's first (and best) 7" 'Hayseed Hardcore' seems to have been more widely heard than this LP and it's understandable why... it just doesn't SOUND good, and is generally regarded as a letdown after the great initial EP. As you probably know from my previous posts, raw production doesn't bother me when it comes to hardcore and can often add to a record's greatness, but this just sounds shit, not unlike PSYCHO: 'Hosebags From Hell'...limp and lifeless with a weak guitar sound and annoyingly quiet vocals. Just listen to songs from 'Hayseed Hardcore' here and note the difference in sound. Saying that, it's not so bad it's unlistenable and the bands energy shines through...just about. It's a shame really that the songs suffer so much from the weak sound. Still, the fast songs are better than the slower mid paced ones and there's enough of them to make it a good listen. It's worth the download alone just for the hardcore version of 'Stairway To Heaven'...
A cool thing about this band is that they were playing a style of fast hardcore at a time when it wasn't popular or particularly cool to do so. When many of their contemporaries were either broken up, playing heavy metal or college rock, SONS OF ISHMAEL kept on playing fast DRI-influenced hardcore punk, from 1985 to their break up in 1991. Listening to this record you'd think it was from 1982 rather than 1987, they seemed trapped in some timewarp oblivious to everything going on around them. Sure it's generic, but they didn't care, they were just playing simple youthful hardcore, not attempting to win any prizes for pushing the envelope or receiving a pat on the back for following whatever trends were going on at the time...The fact that they listened to the shitty mix of this record and thought "yeah this sounds good, let's get it pressed!" is a testament to their simple charm... Their record after this, 'Sings Generic Crap', is definitely a stronger listen and I'll post that too sometime in the future.
A cool thing about this band is that they were playing a style of fast hardcore at a time when it wasn't popular or particularly cool to do so. When many of their contemporaries were either broken up, playing heavy metal or college rock, SONS OF ISHMAEL kept on playing fast DRI-influenced hardcore punk, from 1985 to their break up in 1991. Listening to this record you'd think it was from 1982 rather than 1987, they seemed trapped in some timewarp oblivious to everything going on around them. Sure it's generic, but they didn't care, they were just playing simple youthful hardcore, not attempting to win any prizes for pushing the envelope or receiving a pat on the back for following whatever trends were going on at the time...The fact that they listened to the shitty mix of this record and thought "yeah this sounds good, let's get it pressed!" is a testament to their simple charm... Their record after this, 'Sings Generic Crap', is definitely a stronger listen and I'll post that too sometime in the future.
DEAD YOUTH
We've got reason to be cynical, look what they've done to our world
Adults as role models are teachin greed and predjudice
Is it any wonder life is disillusioning
Burnt out kids are turning into sour faced adults?
Sit in classes for 5 hours a day
Told to act the Proper Way
"Competition and Self-Centred motives
are the keys to success in our world today"
Parents and Teachers plot to pull you their way
So you fight it off with drugs and alcohol
At a time when you think you're doing lots to rebel
You're stumbling around like a derelict adult
Then go to your job for eight hours a day
You hate it but you're getting paid
There is nothing left to do but drown
In your middle class cesspool of a life
Photo from the band's myspace
6 comments:
this fuckin blog i need to add.. awesome post.cheers!
Im definitely way more into the first 7" than this, this LP coulda made a good 7" but theres just a bit to much fluff on this LP. Probably why i bought it for $10 and have never been able to sell it on haha. I love the total kiddy thrash vibe of Hayseed Hardcore though, especially the way the songs bleed into one another (on the first press anyway).
I agree, there is a fair bit of filler on this record: take the 2nd song for example, and every other slow/mid-paced track that doesn't go anywhere. A shame really.
T. Freeborn once told me the shit sound of this record was the fault of the band members who didn't bother to rent/borrow decent gear for the recording session.
That's interesting. Saying that, it sounds as if it's a mastering/mixing problem more than anything else... I'll try and track down a band member, either Tim Freeborn or someone else, and get the full story
That's reminded me, I'm gonna upload their last record
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