Dead Kennedys – Mutiny On The Bay Decay / PHD

Following the recent acrimonious court case that Jello Biafra and Alternative Tentacles guilty of under paying royalties to band members and for failing to promote Dead Kennedys back catalogue, the rights to all DK recordings are now owned by the Decay Music co-operative , the back catalogue is all due to be re-released.

The first new release to appear is the live album, ‘Mutiny On The Bay’, which is surprisingly their first live album. The first thing you notice about the release, is the absence of a Winston Smith cover, or even a controversial photo. All you get is a poor live shot. For a band famous for their inserts and thought provoking, the booklet consists of a series of photos, no imagery or lyrics and virtually no information. The back cover is even worse, a full colour blurred photo of Biafra mid-riff. I own Dead Kennedys’ bootlegs with better packaging than this release.

So to the music. Of the 15 tracks. 5 are from 1982 and 10 from 1986, yet surprisingly none are from their 1986 final album ‘Bedtime For Democracy’ nor any from their 1981 masterpiece ‘In God We Trust’. The quality of the recordings is excellent, and intensity of their live performance which hinged on Biafra’s energetic onstage antics and spontaneous diatribes is present, but not captured as well as on their ‘Live In San Francisco 1984’ video. Biafra’s tirades about Reagan and Feinstein make the recordings seem dated, but the message in songs such as ‘MTV – Get Off The Air’ and ‘Police Truck’ are as relevant today as they always were.

Let us not forget the Dead Kennedys were probably America’s most important punk band. They were the missing link between punk and hardcore – inspiring a generation of young musicians. They released some of the best pink albums, started the Alternative Tentacles label, played countless benefit gigs and stood up for free speech when the establishment tried to crush them. Also in Jello Biafra, a charismatic individual the likes of which we see perhaps once in a generation.

Sadly their reputation now lies in tatters and there is worst to come as the litigation seems set to continue. One victim in this seems to be the back catalogue that is not being treat with the respect it deserves, in the rush to get the dollars to pay lawyer fees. the sooner that this sorry saga is over the better. Until then let’s hope that there are no more sub-standard releases. A greatest hits anyone?

Music 8.8/10

Release 2/10

Rotten Johnny