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The Gruesomes - Jack The Ripper (Fuzz Overdose)

18 August 2010

This blast from the past was preciously gifted to me recently by John Davis of The Gruesomes . A limited edition 7” EP of one of the “Tyrants of Teen Trash”’s best known tunes, it’s a searing and snarly cover of the campy and chilling freakbeat classic by Screaming Lord Sutch & The Savages , recently reissued as a small run of 800 on Fuzz Overdose, a garage label out of Athens, Greece.

The Gruesomes blew up on the mid-80s Canadian scene, almost single handedly rekindling the 2nd wave garage revival with their teen beat striped sweater stomp that spliced the fuzz with some ragingly caustic punk maneuvers. The moptopped quartet became garage legends in their day, surpassing their Og records patrons Deja Voodoo as the wildest Canadian rock n roll exports, drawing huge audiences around North America and especially in Europe. Their foundation came from Bobby Beaton , John Davis and Gerry Alvarez ’ obsessive and encyclopedic knowledge of early soul, garage, freakbeat and frat rock. Combine this base with incredible and dedicated musicianship and it’s small wonder they rose above the poseurs. I mean they could PLAY! Garnish all this with Bobby Beaton’s instantly recognizable brattily whined vocals and you’ve got a party that remains listenable for decades.

Side A is devoted to their hit cover “Jack The Ripper Parts 1&2”, complete with campy 50’s horror movie sfx and a nod to the proto-surf gnarl of Link Wray . All the energy and propulsion of Lord Sutch’s original is maintained, yet the extra shot of punk energy updates it and carries the song forward with extra sauce of garage fuzz. The flip offers “Things She Does To Me” a driving and earnest rocker lead-sung by Gerry Alvarez and ends with the the nasty, fill heavy exhortation of “No More Lies” , showcasing Bobby Beaton’s totally gone vocals and guitar wail.

Though The Gruesomes rarely play live anymore, John and Bobby’s new project Fuad & The Feztones continue to release albums and tour. In Canada you can catch them at Le Divan Orange in Montreal September 18th, and then they’ll be on tour throughout Germany in late October.

http://www.myspace.com/thegruesomes
http://www.myspace.com/fuadandthefeztones

 

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