CERTAIN GENERAL: An Introduction To War

Certain General

An Introduction To War

© 2002 SourMash USA (800314020127)

CD permanently out of stock. Sorry!

Classic underground 80's NYC rock - postpunk, post-no-wave, post Velvets psychedelic/blues garage rock

tracks

1 Uptight
2 Keys In the Carpet
3 Johnny (Love Only Me)
4 Nowhere
5 Strange Fruit
6 In A Bad Way
7 Guts
8 Hiding Place
9 Real Bad Right Now
10 Dead Rabbit Gang
11 Steamy
12 Shelter the Girl
13 That's Where I Hang (The Rain)
14 Stripping the Blues
15 Announcement
16 At Peace
17 Living In A Trench
18 Sell Out
19 Enigma
20 BbC2
21 Certain Generals
22 Party Line
23 Leader Out
24 Party In My Brain
25 Red Ledge
26 Dachau Now
27 Touch
28 Water
29 Desert
30 Inna Gadda da Vida
31 Bedpan
32 Propaganda
33 I Want To Live Alone
34 Kickback
35 Holiday of Love
36 Gun Flower
37 Ancient Toys
38 She Can Fly
39 Fly Me To Berlin
40 World of Her Own
41 Kill and Take
42 Certain Generals

notes

We admit to a certain bias, but will put forth and stand by the claim, that, for a brief period at least (1983-85), and probably a bit longer, Certain General were, simply put, the best independent rock band in the United States. And this is 2-½ hour, all previously unreleased-document backs that up claim. Comprised of two complete-in-themselves albums, CD1 is a studio document entitled "DEAD RABBIT GANG" These sessions comprise what should have been Certain General's follow-up to "November's Heat", itself named record of the year by several noted publications and a smash hit in France. Dead Rabbit Gang easily stands up to the best work of bands such as the Bad Seeds, Gun Club, Echo & the Bunnymen, Dream Syndicate and itself contains the seeds of what would become the vocabulary of much of the late 80's American underground scene – i.e. Flaming Lips, Camper Van Beethovan, Meat Puppets, Screaming Trees, Swell, et. al. Fans of any and all of those bands owe it to themselves to check this music out. CD2 of the set, "SAVAGE YOUNG GENERALS" showcases an earlier Certain General – recorded live at various clubs in the NYC region during their formative days in 1981-83. Clearly showing the band's roots coming out of the No Wave scene, the disc also highlights the incredible mixture of No Wave/funk/pop/garage psychedelia all mixed with an instrumental virtuosity that belies the fact that this is a band just starting out. The material here mostly precedes November's Heat and catalogs almost the entirety of the band's repertoire in those days. An amazing document from an incredibly active, innovative, and prolific band.

Sample Press for Certain General:

'desperately beautiful' Liberation 1985
'the bridge between television and radiohead' Rolk&Folk Magazine 1999
'one of the greatest voices of this young century' Guitar Parts Magazine 2001
'Faulkner's and Jarmusch's America' Telerama 2000
'excellent new album (closer to the sun)' Village Voice 2001
'a revved-up dance engine with juggernaut possibilities' Melody Maker 1985
'the haunted crooner' Time Out Magazine 2001
'for all the teenage devils of the world' Trouser Press 1983
'the American Brel and matinee Iggy!' Figaro 1998
5-Star Albums (November's Heat) NME 1985, Sounds 1985, Liberation 1985
(These are the Days,Cabin Fever, Jacklighter) Liberation; Le Monde; Inrockuntibles 1985,1988, 1990
(Signals from the Source) EarShot Magazine 1999
(closer to the sun) Liberation 2001; Le Monde 2001
'The Cult Group' Le Monde 2000

France's Band of the year and Album (November's Heat) of the year 1985
'November's Heat' is one of the most important albums made between 1965-1995 Rock and Folk Magazine
'Lose Myself' one of 10 best singles of the year 1988 Liberation 1988, Le Monde 1988

reviews

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  • The mark of a band at their absolute peak
    author: Rob Devlin

    Certain General, "An Introduction To War" Certain General were a living contradiction of a band. They were both ahead of their time and perfect for the time they were a band. They had punk rock energy for a post-punk alternative sound. And, as this collection shows, they were at the top of their game even when it seemed like it was all falling apart. "An Introduction To War," available at the Sourmash Records USA website, is a 2CD deluxe set featuring completely unreleased Certain General material. The first CD, "Dead Rabbit Gang," would have been the band's second album, culled from recording sessions that took place upon their return from a successful UK tour. This material was prevented from release by internal band turmoil, as the liner notes state, but you couldn't tell by listening to it. All fourteen tracks pulse and crack with raw energy: the mark of a band at their absolute peak. There's so much to hear in these tracks to prove what an affect Certain General had on the musical landscape of the time. You hear elements in these tracks that definitely reveal the Generals' influences, such as the Velvet Underground-esque melodies and basslines, but there's so much more in what influence the Generals had on bands of that timeframe. It's in the vocal delivery tried by just about every 80s band, and the power in the drums, and the wailing guitar. These bands may not be trying to rip off Certain General, per se, but after hearing this collection in comparison to other bands, it's hard to deny that they at least heard the music and appreciated it. It would have been a fine proper album at the time, and now it's a timeless classic heard finally. The second disc, "Savage Young Generals," captures the band live on tape at several shows at CBGB and City Gardens over a 13 month period. If the raw energy present on the studio material doesn't grab you, the live album will definitely blow you away. The showmanship on display for these recordings is the kind most bands would die to have. Sixteen of these songs have never been released in any format, and it's good to hear them alongside the odd cover and the traditional but higher energy interpretations of the songs off their releases. 77 minutes of pure sonic delight. Taken together, these two discs represent a fine document of a, as their website puts it, "criminally overlooked" band. Try out the sound samples if you don't believe the hype, but anyone would be impressed by what they'd find here. - Rob Devlin

  • The missing link between garage and avante-garde
    author: Jacques Ball

    The missing link between garage and avant-garde, October 6, 2002 Reviewer: Jacques BALL (see more about me) from PARIS , France Here is another stunner like some beauty anyone would like to meet one day. Those of you who are familiar with the music of Certain General will be delighted to finally discover what the band sounded like before and after "November's Heat". This is some lost classic, like the second album which never made it, and it better stands for this title than "These are the Days .. " (1998-Fantastica). "An Introduction to War" contains two CDs: "Savage Young Generals" is the band live during 1981/82 and the whole set is there, the music is incredible, raw and is like some crazy electrosurfpsyche-music. Phil Gammage produces great surf licks with tons of reverb and still stays very modern in his guitar playing. All those songs have never been released before and it is amazing to see the inspiration Parker Dulany was floating on. The other CD entitled "Dead Rabbit Gang" is that lost second album though "Killer in the House" does not appear here unfortunately. But "In a Bad Way", "The Rain", "Nowhere" and other favorites are truly there in their first renditions which are easily the best ones I have heard.. The introduction song "Uptight" inspired by the reading of the Velvet Underground's biography with that title could have been as successful as "Maximum G", had it been released regularly. Here is a new chance to hear that lost nugget. Then "Keys in the carpet" opens by a dedication to Patti Smith, and Edgar A. Poe among others and they truly are good relays to Certain General works. There are even covers on those cds, and not the most predictable ones, "White Rabbit" and "In-a Gadda-da-Vida" revisited in the shrieking surfy Certain General mould. From old modern writing to new one, from garage music to electronics, Certain General is the initiator of "Avant-garde Garage music" !!! Listen !!

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