Friday, August 13, 2010

Meet Ricky Rebel: "Rock 'n' Roll Is A Drag" 60-Minute Cassette


Is anybody listening to these? Admittedly, the descriptions of the earlier two cassettes I posted don't make them sound too promising. This one is different, however, recorded in Seattle in 1996. "Rock 'n' Roll is a Drag" is much more sophisticated, featuring electric guitar, keyboards, drum machine, and even some double-tracked vocals. Now, when I say this tape is "more sophisticated," don't take that to mean that it is, in fact, sophisticated: technical issues abound, the instruments are overmodulated, etc. Still, it's quite a step up from his San Diego recordings.

And it's a lot of fun! There are 22 songs, and it really rocks. Two songs, "Coma" and "Satan's in My Underwear," are as good as anything produced in the 90s. Other titles include "You Bitch-Slapped Me Real Hard," "Killing the Spirit of Jim Morrison," "I Still Love You, You Fuckin' Jerk," and not one, but two songs about stalking Eddie Van Halen. It starts getting repetitive at the halfway mark, but if you are curious at all about Ricky's music, this is the one to check out. Here's the inside cover:


Here's the front of the song list (click both for bigger):


And the back:


Again, I really recommend this tape! The mp3 files weigh in at 173mb and are zipped up and available for download here.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Listening and enjoying,but speechless.Rockin' on Satan's Doorstep is kind of new for me. Some of the greatest song titles this side of Hades!

Fran said...

I will have to listen. The photos - he is adorable. And that artwork, I am in love with that big time.

Play loud!

splevninCrew said...

some of it has a nice Virgin Prunes vibe; like the beginning of Trash. over all classic punk we have to say. Us cassette fans love this!

Philip said...

It's great to hear this, particularly because it does not feature the clock that was on the Haselhoff tape. Even though it worked as percussion surprisingly often, that clock almost drove me nuts.

My personal favorites are Satan's in My Underwear, Stuck-Up Daddy Bear and the wonderfully poppy Hipster Boy. Oh, and Joan's Purple Teddy once it gets going, which needs to be counted as a third EVH stalking song.

Peteykins said...

Haw, the clock is maddening, and is featured in other RR tapes.

Anonymous said...

Thought you'd like to know the Star Hotel hasn't gone upscale since you left:

http://goo.gl/maps/WuoZ

The colorful smokers from the Star Club who are usually standing out front don't appear in this photo, so it must have been early morning.