Richard Hell – Time (Matador)
The godfather of punk, Richard Hell has yet another retrospective detailing many of the more interesting aspects of his short yet influential career.
Most of the recordings on this double disc were available on the Roir ‘R.I.P’ release. although a few other gems have been unearthed including the previously unreleased 1979 Voidoids track ‘Funhunt’ and radio broadcast from CBGBs featuring a young Elvis Costello singing ‘You Gotta Lose’.
The remainder comprises of Heartbreakers and Voidoids demos, some live material from the ‘Destiny Street’ era and a full gig from the Music Machine in 1977, The quality is dog rough, but for raw energy and spirit this recording is a must. It even includes Jonny Rotten goading the audience into giving them an encore.
If you have the essential Hell debut album ‘Blank Generation’ you’ll need this to complete your collection. As Robert Palmer said, rarely has a rocker been so influential with such a small body of work. 9/10
Rotten Johnny
Disc One: “R.I.P.” [1984 R.I.P. expanded and remastered]
Heartbreakers (Hell, Thunders, Nolan, Lure) demos 1975
1. Love Comes In Spurts
2. Chinese Rocks (not on original R.I.P.)
3. Can’t Keep My Eyes On You
4. Hurt Me
Voidoids (Hell, Robert Quine, Ivan Julian, Marc Bell) studio outtakes 1977
5. I’m Your Man
6. Betrayal Takes Two
Voidoids (Hell, Quine, Julian, Xavier, Morrison) five demos 1979
7. Crack Of Dawn
8. Ignore That Door
9. I Live My Life
10. Time (not on original R.I.P.)
11. Going Going Gone
[same band, same year, live:]
12. Funhunt (not on original R.I.P.)
Voidoids (Hell, Paumgardhen, Freeman, Wood) live in Atlanta 1983
13. I Can Only Give You Everything
Hell in New Orleans (Hell, Sanzenbach, LeBon, McCollam, Modeliste) R.I.P. sessions 1984
14. I Been Sleepin’ On It
15. Cruel Way To go Drown
16. The Hunter Was Drowned
17. Hey Sweetheart
Disc Two: “LIVE” (previously unreleased live recordings)
Hell & The Voidoids (Hell, Quine, Julian, Bell) at Music Machine, London, 1977
1. Intro
2. Love Comes In Spurts
3. Liars Beware
4. You Gotta Lose
5. Lose Yourself
6. New Pleasure
7. Walking On the Water
8. The Plan
9 . Blank Generation
10. I Wanna Be Your Dog
11. Vacancy
12. Ventilator Blues
Hell & The Voidoids (Hell, Quine, Julian, Mauro, Antonius, Costello) at CBGB, 1978
13. Kid With The Replaceable Head
14. Don’t Die
15. You Gotta Lose (with Elvis Costello)
16. Shattered