Negative Approach - Friends of No One (Taang!)

I have to confess that though I love Negative Approach, I’m disappointed with the release. First off, the cover is absolutely atrocious. Second and more importantly, this is basically a practice tape that was remastered and cleaned up and thus the recording quality doesn’t approach either their 7” or Tied Down. By this point, singer JOHN BRANNON had already started his now standard practice of not fully enunciating his vocals, thus (to me, at least) lessening the songs’ impact though on the surface sounding scarier and what not. Furthermore, the classic lineup of Brannon, guitarist ROB MCCULLOCH, bassist GRAHAM MCCULLOCH and drummer OP MOORE (who along with Brannon plays in the current version of Negative Approach) fell apart in 1983 and the lineup found on these recordings is (aside from Brannon) completely different and not quite the same.

The songs are “Kiss Me Kill Me,” “Genocide”, a cover of IGGY AND THE STOOGES‘ “I Got a Right” (all of which appear as live versions on Total Recall, Touch and Go’s anthology of the band) as well as three I’d never heard before (“Friends of No One,” “Obsession” and “Cargo Cult”). The newly heard songs are OK and the songs that were already on Total Recall are much better here since it’s not quite as screechy and the vocals are more audible. However, I’d say that while hardcore Negative Approach fans should get it, everyone else can skip it.

On the plus side, a 100 song box set containing more 1984 recordings as well as alternate studio and live versions of their more well known material is in the works and my hope is that the rest of what will be unearthed will be more enjoyable than this.