Tooth and Nail (various artists album)

Tooth and Nail
Compilation album by
various artists
ReleasedMid-1979
Studio
  • Program Recorders
  • Mental Ward
Genre
Length35:41
LanguageEnglish
LabelUpsetter
Producer

Tooth and Nail is a seminal compilation album[1] featuring six early Californian punk rock bands: the Controllers, the Flesh Eaters, U.X.A., Negative Trend, Middle Class, and the Germs.[2][3][4]

Production

Except for Negative Trend and the Germs, all bands on Tooth and Nail were co-produced by the Flesh Eaters frontman Chris Desjardins[2] and Judith Bell.

The Controllers, U.X.A., Middle Class, and the Germs were recorded at Program Recorders Studios in Hollywood, California. The Flesh Eaters' songs "The Word Goes Flesh" and "Pony Dress" were recorded at Mental Ward Studios.

With the exceptions of "Version Nation", "Mercenaries" and "I Got Power", all tracks were mixed by Michael Hamilton at Kitchen Sync Studios in Hollywood. "Version Nation" is Desjardins' remixed version of his song "Disintegration Nation",[2][5] originally produced and engineered by Randy Stodola at Alleycat House[nb 1] for the 7-inch EP Flesh Eaters[nb 2][nb 3][2][6] released in 1978; whereas "Mercenaries" and "I Got Power"[nb 4] are Desjardins and Rik L Rik's remixes[nb 5][8] of demo recordings done by the third lineup of Negative Trend in November 1978,[8][9] in a session produced by Robbie Fields from Posh Boy Records at Media Art Studio in Hermosa Beach, California.

Tooth and Nail was mastered by Larry Boden in May 1979 at MCA Whitney Recording Studios in Glendale, California.[nb 6]

Release

Featuring only previously unreleased material, Tooth and Nail was originally issued in mid-1979 on Upsetter Records, in 12-inch LP format.[nb 7][2][3][8][10] The record was also the debut release for U.X.A.

Reissues

In 1989, 10 years after its debut, Upsetter repressed Tooth and Nail.[nb 7][11] Since then, the album has remained out of print, although most of its tracks were later re-released separately.

The Controllers' songs were included on their eponymous compilation,[nb 8][12] released in 2000 on Bacchus Archives, a sublabel of Dionysus Records.

In 2004, the Flesh Eaters' three contributions to the album were re-released as bonus tracks on the Atavistic Records' remastered CD reissue[nb 9][13] of their first studio album No Questions Asked,[nb 10] originally released in 1980 on Upsetter.

Middle Class' "Love Is Just a Tool" and "Above Suspicion" were featured on their compilation album A Blueprint for Joy: 1978-1980,[nb 11] issued on CD by Velvetone Records in 1995. They were also included on their early recordings collection Out of Vogue: The Early Material,[14] released on vinyl[nb 12] and CD[nb 13] by Frontier Records in 2008. "Archetype", an outtake from the Tooth and Nail recording sessions, was featured on both compilations.

In November 2011, Posh Boy issued the two Negative Trend tracks on Tooth and Nail, along with their five cuts, credited to Rik L Rik, on the compilation album Beach Blvd, as a downloadable digital collection titled November 1978.

Re-recordings

The Flesh Eaters' "Pony Dress" was re-recorded for the 1982 punk rock compilation American Youth Report,[nb 14] a vinyl LP issued on Invasion Records, a sublabel of Bomp! Records.

A shorter version of U.X.A.'s eponymous song was recorded for their first album, Illusions of Grandeur,[nb 15] released by Posh Boy Records in 1981, on vinyl[nb 16] and cassette tape;[nb 17] while their song "Social Circle" was re-recorded by a reformed U.X.A., still fronted by De De Troit, for their album Tree Punks at Real School,[nb 18] issued on CD by the Belgian label Payola Records in 1997.

The three Germs songs on Tooth and Nail are early versions of the best known tracks of the same titles featured on (GI),[nb 19] the band's first and only studio album, released later in the same year.

Track listing

Where it is necessary, songwriting credits are listed in the format lyrics/music.

Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)ArtistLength
1."Another Day"Kidd Spike/Mad Dog, Spike, StingrayThe Controllers2:23
2."Electric Church"Spike/Mad Dog, Spike, StingrayThe Controllers3:07
3."Jezebel" (Wayne Shanklin cover)W. R. ShanklinThe Controllers3:00
4."The Word Goes Flesh"Desjardins/Bonebrake, Desjardins, Doe, GarrettThe Flesh Eaters2:31
5."Pony Dress"Chris DesjardinsThe Flesh Eaters2:20
6."Version Nation"DesjardinsThe Flesh Eaters1:52
7."Social Circle"De De Troit/Billy SouthardU.X.A.2:40
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)ArtistLength
1."U.X.A." (United Experiments of America)Kowalski, Troit/PiscioneriU.X.A.3:11
2."I Got Power"Rik L Rik/Craig GrayNegative Trend1:31
3."Mercenaries"Will Shatter/GrayNegative Trend2:36
4."Love Is Just a Tool"Middle ClassMiddle Class1:10
5."Above Suspicion"Middle ClassMiddle Class3:21
6."Manimal" (early version)Darby Crash/The GermsGerms2:15
7."Dragon Lady" (early version)Crash/The GermsGerms1:48
8."Strange Notes" (early version)Crash/The GermsGerms1:56
Total length:35:41

Personnel

Notes

  1. ^ Stodola's four-track home studio.[6]
  2. ^ Upsetter #UPSET 8
  3. ^ a b c d At the time of their debut release, the Flesh Eaters consisted solely of their founder, Chris Desjardins (pka Chris D.), backed by the members of the pioneering punk rock band the Flyboys;[2][4][7] who by that time had become a power trio because of the death of David Wilson (aka David Way) in a car accident in early 1978.
  4. ^ Overdubbed with new vocals by Rik L Rik.
  5. ^ Done at Media Art Studio in Hermosa Beach, California.
  6. ^ The mastering company and engineer, and the date of production, uncredited on the cover art, can be identified via the run-out groove etchings onto the original vinyl pressings, which reads as follows: "UP-J-1 MCA/LB" (first pressing's side A), and "WR-C-2 MCA/LB 5-29-79 ♡" (side B).
  7. ^ a b Upsetter #UP WR 1&2
  8. ^ Bacchus Archives #BA1148
  9. ^ Atavistic #ALP143CD
  10. ^ Upsetter #UPCJ 34
  11. ^ Velvetone #VLT 002
  12. ^ Frontier #31078-1
  13. ^ Frontier #31078-1
  14. ^ Invasion #INV-1
  15. ^ A 10-track version of Illusions of Grandeur, mixed by Alec Murphy, was put in circulation as a pre-release (without any cover art) in 1980. It was replaced, the following year, by the definitive 12-track edition mixed by David Hines (keeping the same catalog number).
  16. ^ Posh Boy #PBS 104
  17. ^ Posh Boy #PBC 104
  18. ^ Payola #CD-001
  19. ^ Slash #SR-103

References

  1. ^ TKO Records (November 19, 2011). "Chris D. of the Flesh Eaters Pizza Party". TKO Records. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Hinman, Jay (January, 2001). "The Flesh Eaters: Heavy Punk Thunder from the Lake of Burning Fire" Archived 2001-04-20 at the Wayback Machine. furious.com/perfect. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  3. ^ a b Morris, Chris (October 16, 1999). "Declarations of Independents: Flag waving". Billboard 111 (42): 73.
  4. ^ a b Neff, Joseph (July 24, 2014). "Graded on a Curve: The Flesh Eaters, A Minute to Pray, A Second to Die". thevinyldistrict.com. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  5. ^ Jelly, Kames (July 27, 2009). "L.A. Punk Vol. 3- The Flesh Eaters". New Jersey Noise. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  6. ^ a b Bernadicou, August (January 8, 2015). "Just an Alley Cat: Randy Stodola Speaks!". teenagenewszine.wordpress.com. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  7. ^ Young, Jon; Sprague, David. "Flesh Eaters". Trouser Press. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  8. ^ a b c "Negative Trend Three". negativetrend.net. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  9. ^ Rabid, Jack. "F-Word". Trouser Press. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  10. ^ Tooth and Nail, 1979 LP cover art Archived 2016-10-20 at the Wayback Machine. recordcollectorsoftheworldunite.com. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  11. ^ Tooth and Nail, 1989 LP reissue cover art. recordcollectorsoftheworldunite.com. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  12. ^ The Controllers. allmusic.com. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
  13. ^ The Flesh Eaters, No Questions Asked, 2004 reissue. allmusic.com. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  14. ^ Forget, Tom. "Out of Vogue: The Early Material Review by Tom Forget". allmusic.com. Retrieved July 15, 2015.