Junkyard – Put It On Ten And Pull The Knobs Off!
JUNKYARD
PUT IT ON TEN AND PULL THE KNOBS OFF!
Released 2008 (Anyone Music)
Track List:
01. Life Sentence
02. Hot Rod
03. Long Way Home
04. Can’t Hold Back
05. Blooze
06. Take Me Home
07. Hollywood
08. Can’t Pin That On Me
09. Misery Loves Company
10. Shot In the Dark
11. Simple Man
12. Texas
13. Hands Off
14. Ain’t Dead Yet
15. Lost In The City
16. Hallelujah, I Love Her So
17. Mississippi Queen
18. One Of The Boys
19. Riot In Cell Block #9
Band:
David Roach – vocals
Chris Gates – guitar
Clay Anthony – bass
Pat Muzingo – drums
Additional Musicians:
Max Gotlieb – guitar (4,7,8,10 & 13)
Production:
Produced by Chris Gates and Matt Wallace.
Review:
Junkyard‘s newest release is billed as ‘odds & sodds from before the beginning’. In other words it is a collection of early demos from 1987, songs that helped the band land their major label recording contract. Personally I’ve always enjoyed Junkyard‘s unique brand of southern sleaze, and even if the majority of these demos don’t differ much from what appeared on their self-titled debut, it is still interesting to hear the band in its infancy.
I’m not convinced every song on Put It On Ten is actually from 1987 though. Every song from the 1989 debut is included, but what about “Misery Loves Company” and “Lost In The City” from 1991’s Seven, Sixes & Nines? Maybe they sat in the vaults a few years, but songs such as “Take Me Home”, “Can’t Pin That On Me” and “Hallelujah, I Love Her So” are all suspect seeing as the were released much later in the band’s career.
None of that really matters though, it’s always about the music and for twenty year old demos these songs sound damn good. The sound of the disc is recorded pretty low (compared to newer CDs), but that is a minor complaint which is quickly fixed by twisting the volume knob on your stereo.
The less known tracks on this CD, the ones that may attract more than just the hardcore fans and completists, are hit and miss. “Ain’t Dead Yet”, which was previously released as a Choreboy (a Chris Gates band) song, is a crunchy tune with a killer beat and fits Junkyard‘s vibe perfectly. The cover of “Riot In Cell Block #9” kicks all sorts of ass as well. On the other end of the spectrum is “Mississippi Queen”, a good song that sounds kinda uninspired here and “One Of The Boys” which I don’t care for much at all.
If you’ve always been a Junkyard fanatic like myself you’ll want to grab this release. But if you are more of a casual fan you’d be better off picking up the XXX and The Joker CDs that are also available on their website.
www.junkyardblooze.com
Reviewed by Skid for Sleaze Roxx, May 2008.
Buy The CD:
Purchase at eBay.com