Released
1997
Label
Vaccination Records
Reviewed by
Michael C. Lund
Contact
PO Box 20931
Oakland, CA 94611
USA
Visit
Last Edit/Update
04 June, 1998
V/A
Vaccination Records
OH GOD! MOTHER BLOOD!
(A Sampler De Musica Fantastico 1996-1997)
Track Listing
1. Charming
Hostess -- Dali Tzerni
2. Idiot Flesh -- Teen Devil Worshipper
3. Rube Waddell -- Six Feet Down
4. Giant Ant Farm -- The Clapper
5. Frank Pahl w. Brian Poole -- The Value Of Slacks
6. Mumble And Peg -- Breathing
7. Nine Wood -- Bone Dirge
8. Frank Pahl w. Immigrant Suns -- Wisconsin
9. Ebola Soup -- Blubber
10. Nine Wood -- New Can Of Ice
11. Charming Hostess -- Laws Of Physics
12. Mumble And Peg -- Castle Talk
13. Giant Ant Farm -- Poor Little Man
14. Poxy Boggards -- Santa Dog
15. Rube Waddell -- Friends
16. Idiot Flesh -- The Idiot Song
17. Ebola Soup -- (Part of) The Future
18. Heavy Vegetable -- Time's Up
19. Ebola Soup -- Son Of Blubber
20. Rube Waddell -- Go To Satan
21. Big Butter -- Their Early Years
The California based label Vaccination Records has
released a generous sampler (De Musica Fantastico), bringing together selected tracks by
all of their artists. There are elements of folk on many of the CD's 21 songs, quite a few
has a punk edge, and, in general, the various bands are not afraid to smile -- if not
laugh out loud. Vaccination's roster of musicians are a truly versatile
and eclectic gathering that are not easily brought together under the umbrella of any one
genre definition, yet, they feel oddly at home together on this compilation.
Oh God! Mother
Blood! opens with a fast-paced ethnically inspired folk-rock tune by Charming
Hostess. Wind and string instruments figure on prominently on "Dali
Tzerni," along with strong, up-beat percussions, and female vocals performed in a
language unknown to this writer. Charming Hostess' other track --
"Laws of Physics" -- on the compilation bears little resemblance to the opening
song, but, instead recalls elements of the Boston sound of the late 80s -- specifically The
Throwing Muses.
Nine Wood's
"New Can Of Ice" likewise conjures up Throwing Muses
associations, with its fast guitar riffs and melodic female vocals. This band's other
contribution "Bone Dirge" tips its hat to Pixies with regards
to lyrical content and arrangement of the song, while the overall sound and delivery is
more eerie, and decidedly Nine Wood's own.
The debt of some of these artists
to Pixies and Throwing Muses is confirmed by Giant
Ant Farm's good humored stab at covering Pixies at the beginning
of "The Clapper." The song soon leaves Pixies behind, however,
and wanders into a folk-inspired musical landscape far removed from the New England
underground. Giant Ant Farm's second song "Poor Little Man" is
eaually unpredictable and difficult to pin down. Accordions and brass instruments are used
in a very straight forward punk manner, although the mind of the band here seems to be
buried in folk music.
Closest to the alternative
mainstream of the nineties is perhaps Mumble And Peg, whose reliance on
mellow, ballad-like segments of vocals, shattered by moments of heavy guitar riffs on
"Breathing," unavoidably calls to mind the Seattle sound. "Castle
Talk" -- their other song presented here -- is a much more original effort. This
track still has the dynamic guitars of "Breathing," but otherwise harks back to
70s rock for musical inspiration.
With Rube Waddell
and Frank Pahl the musical terrain of the CD once more completely changes
character. As the titles of Rube Waddell's songs suggest, his are
morbidly funny songs from the dirtiest corners of the old Western frontier. . . with a
modern spin. "Six Feet Down" and "Go To Satan" find Waddell
singing in a gruff, whiskey-induced voice, while the instruments used range from good old
harmonica to electric guitars. "Friends" conjures up a nice freakshow
atmosphere, with Waddell ghoulishly braying the good old: "Nobody
likes me, everybody hates me, I'm gonna eat some worms..." Also in a Western mode are
the selections by Frank Pahl, although his songs are less gritty than Wadell's,
and his humour more whimsical. Musically, Pahl is very much on the joyful
side, especially on the instrumental pioneer dance tune "Wisconsin," with its
gay fiddles and banjo mingling in an unencumbered, fun loving fashion.
Idiot Flesh lead
the way into the truly weird and zany, which is so richly represented on this CD. With a
powerful sound that combines elements of punk, blues, fun-rock and 'carnival', the band
spins a couple of crazy and hilarious tunes focusing on teenage devil worship and idiocy.
Of an even greater lunacy are Ebola Soup's free-for-all one-minute
musical marathons. "Blubber," "Son Of Blubber" and "(part of) The
Future" all mold every known type of popular music into brief, catastophic montages
of guitar, bass, drums, horns and frantic vocals.
If any label could ever pull off a Residents
cover album, Vaccination would be it, so naturally they did, and the
result Eyesore is represented with three tracks by Poxy Boggards, Heavy
Vegetable and Big Butter. Poxy Boggards'
contribution is a short tongue-in-cheek christmas tune with rattles, chimes, acoustic
guitar a la campfire and moments
of traditional a capella song; Heavy Vegetable delivers an equally
demented lullaby; and Big Butter presents a morbid little narrative that
strolls past what sounds like the scene of a roadkill.
Oh God! Mother Blood! is a
nice collection of weird and obscure music that will cheer up even the saddest punk on a
rainy day; as Vaccination Records themselves like to phrase it: "The
greatest music you have never heard." For those unable to find this and other fine Vaccination
releases at the local music outlet, Vaccination and Skin Graft
Records both offer them through their mail order services.
