Released around 1995 (if the accounts of the drug addicts and liars involved in its creation can be believed) to coincide with a joint Stiffs/JFE road trip, today's exhibit finds both bands engaged in fairly important breakthroughs. Th' Stiffs had just been snatched up in the clutches of a dreaded Major Label Deal (with American Recordings, who were signing barely-viable indie bands like it was going out of style... which, to be honest, it WAS) and Jonathan Fire*Eater were transitioning from the awkward Birthday Party-isms of their first album (which I can post if you guys are really gluttons for punishment) into the swaggering goth-glam stomp that made them such a (temporarily) hot commodity (if a two-and-a-half star review in Rolling Stone and ZERO SALES equal "heat"). Both bands had Stunning Masterpieces in their future, but that's a Story For Another Day.
Anyway. Stiffs, Inc. turn in a scorching cover of "One Chord Wonders" by The Adverts, as well as "Engineering 2," a drone-y and mutated version of a song off the Major Label Debut Album, Nix Nought Nothing. The "original" version is more of the pop(eqsue) punk that dominates the album, but is s'posed to be more in line with their initial vision for the song. It also provides a very useful indication of the MASSIVE shift they would go through on Album 2, Electric Chair Theatre, which saw them ditching the Pop-punk sound for a deeply bizarre art-punk-prog sort of... something. Something pretty goddamn great, frankly. Did I mentioned that they dressed like Edward Gorey Chimney Sweeps and would stage Goth/Victorian Performance Art Pieces when they played live? Amazing.
Jonathan Fire*Eater give us a cover of "The City That Never Sleeps" by Nancy Sinatra with new lyrics about making "A date with New York City" and how they are "gonna take her pants off". The 60's garage guitars keep this thing from getting too circus-y (the organ having not exactly found "the pocket" yet), and the youthful exuberance of the whole thing made this my "getting ready to go out theme" for a couple of years. It never really helped me with pants removal, but I did end up happily married, so... thanks, maybe? Anyway, these guys had a little bit of a hike ahead before hitting their stride (the Tremble Under Boomlights EP being the peak, and yes, I'll hook you guys up with a single or three from that era... soon) and then label pressure (thanks, Dreamworks) and "Creative Differences" (thanks, Heroin) strangled the band in the crib, if I may mix metaphors for a bit. They then sacked their singer and reformed as The Walkmen, recorded one decent album, and turned to Dylan-inflected horseshit. More on these fine combos will be forthcoming, as well as a post about a THIRD band with odd links to both them. I hope that's what you people want, 'cos it's damn sure what yr getting.
Whee!
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