Mekons "I Have Been to Heaven and Back: Hen's Teeth" rarities CD

Description: Here we have an absolutely crucial CD for serious fans of the sinnin' and swingin' MEKONS: I Have Been to Heaven and Back: Hen's Teeth and Other Lost Fragments of Popular Culture, Vol. 1, a 23-track collection of rarities and oddities from the band's copious vaults, released by the Quarterstick label in 1999, now long out of print. This disc features material recorded over nearly two decades of the Mekons' existence (and they've put in more than another two since then!), yet it holds together wondrously, as if they'd cut the whole thing on a week-long bender. Among it's many highlights are a sizzling outtake from their Rock 'n' Roll album that was blocked by timid label execs, their abortion rights anthem "Born to Choose," the raucous "This Funeral is for the Wrong Corpse," Langford's reaction to the fall of socialism ("This is my testimony, a dinosaur's confession: how can something really be dead when it hasn't ever happened?") a 1981 instrumental featuring members of The Raincoats and Gang of Four, and a ragged-but-oh-so-right cover of Rod Stewart's "You Wear it Well." But every track is at least good, and the great ones are downright transcendent. The booklet features striking photos plus witty and informative comments on each track. I Have Been to Heaven and Back is a true labor of love that NO fan of this wondrous band should be without. Sadly, this title has been out or print for nearly twenty years, and was never issued on vinyl at all. This copy is SEALED and mint. Track listing (the "Untitled" tracks are spoken bits) 1. I Have Been To Heaven And Back 2. The Ballad Of Sally 3. This Funeral is for the Wrong Corpse 4. Untitled 5. Oranges And Lemons 6. Ring O'Roses 7. Gill & Vicky 8. Untitled 9. Now We Have The Bomb 10. Untitled 11. You Wear It Well 12. Betrayal 13. Orpheus 14. Roger Troutman 15. Untitled 16. Circle City (Mekons Vs. Peace Love Hooligans) 17. Untitled 18. Cowboy Boots 19. Lucky Star 20. Axcerpt 21. Untitled 22. Born To Choose 23. Unknown Song "The onstage mayhem depicted on the cover of I Have Been To Heaven And Back illustrates why, 14 years after I first took in a Mekons show, I keep coming back. Their's wildness and foolishness, sex and silliness, big rock gestures enacted with simultaneous mockery and faith. And given how many of the Mekons' singles are missing in action, the disc's title gave me momentary hope that the whole world would finally be able to get ahold of their brilliant early seven-inchers and great EPs like The English Dancing Master. "But this is no mere live record or singles collection; the former would be quixotic (their's no way any record is going to import that chaos into your living room) and the latter too obvious. Instead it's a troll through the band's vaults which covers their history from 1981 (represented by a brittle instrumental that features members of the Gang of Four and the Raincoats) to the present (live radio performances of songs from the unjustly overlooked book/CD Untitled). In between are rerecordings of songs lost in major label limbo, outtakes, live tracks, compilation contributions, and soccer chants in a myriad of styles; disco, drunken country, glistening pop, and bruising rock and roll. "The Mekons are old and smart enough to know better than to believe that music can change a thing, and defiant enough to do it anyway. This collection is a stirring overview of the work of one group that's always fought the good fight "against the tide of rotten patriarchy, tide of tricks and greed and lies" ("Orpheus") with honor and intelligence, but is also capable of playing drunken Rod Stewart covers. So buy it, and then write the Mekons a letter demanding that singles compilation." ~Inkblot

Price: 20 USD

Location: Brentwood, California

End Time: 2024-12-03T21:18:21.000Z

Shipping Cost: 5 USD