previous update was on jan 11th '06
3 more songs of the CORPSE GRINDERS reviewed below
rare photos of the BRATS
the BRATS
this band was led by former N.Y. DOLL RICK RIVETS on guitar and vocals, he had played with the DOLLS for over a year from sometime in ' 70 - ' 71 when they were in their garage stage and were called ACTRESS, ( those reviews are on the page 21 links of the 70s invasion ), ACTRESS had some great songs, when JOHANSEN came along eventually RIVETS left.......the BRATS ended up opening some shows for the DOLLS in early ' 73 and were successful in the n.y. underground , their sound is very much like the DOLLS, elsewhere they sound like the STONES, lots of guitar breaks, crashing drums, and a basic raw rock-n-roll sound, when the band disbanded sometime in ' 76 ( or was it '78 ? )RICK RIVETS got together with his old friend from the DOLLS - ARTHUR KANE, to form the Fabulous CORPSE GRINDERS, and they cut some SUPER demos in that very early year of Punk.........here is our review for 'CRIMINAL GUITAR' that u can obtain from RAVE UP Records, their lp review follows.........
1 ' KEEP DOIN' WHAT YOUR DOIN' ' 76
STONESY glam with crash-bang drums, and electric riffs,.........' PASSING BY AND SHE CAUGHT MY EYE I SAID OOOHH SHE SURE LOOKS FINE, VENE WHEN I PASS AGAIN I SAID I'M...............' SHE SAID KEEP DOIN' WHAT YOUR DOIN' , KEEP DOIN' WHAT YOUR DOIN' , KEEP DOIN' WHAT YOUR DOIN' TO ME......TOOK HER OUT AND WITHOUT A DOUBT I SAID THIS IS WHAT I'D BEEN WAITIN FOR'......
2 ' IF U CAN' T ROCK ' ' 76
obviously influnced by the STONES again, afterall they have a GREAT song called 'IF U CAN' T ROCK ME' from ' 74, this one is played a bit FuNkY..........' I HAD TO LOOK AROUND CAUSE YOUR GETTIN' DOWN, GOT THE RIGHT TO SING TO GET ME ON MY KNEES, WELL MY HEAD IS GREY AND I SEEN BETTER DAYS, WELL THATS FOR ME.................(later)...........' I GOT MY PLATFORM SHOES I READ THE UNDERGROUND NEWS, I EVEN BOOGALOO, NO BABY'.................these 2 weer released as singles....the next 4 came out on an ep in '75 ~
3 'BE A MAN' ' 75
guess this one was one of the BRATS signature tunes, this is some COOL glam, u can' t get any closer to the DOLLS sounds than this really, very enthusiatic with bubbling bass lines and an overall raunchy 'teenage' sound, .........'EVERYBODY HAS A MOTHER, AND HASN' T SHE BEEN GOOD TO U,....................JUST HIS MOTHER COMIN' OPN THRU, AREN' T U GLAD, SAY AREN'T U GLAD U GOT A MOTHER'...................', AND I'LL BE A MAN IF I COULD, BUT I'M NOT JUST A BOY AND THATS GOOD'..........................' JUST COULDN' T BE A MAN, JUST COULDN'T BE A MAN........this song is for those who are coming of age, leaving their teens behind and becoming an adult, well sort of.............:)
4 'QUAALUDE QUEEN' '75
DOLLS-type rock with quick-bang niosy guitar, sounding a bit like JOHNNY THUNDERS himself, this number is about a groupie girlfriend whose strung out on quaaludes, isn' t that nice ?.........'QUAALUDE QUEEN FROM ABSEENE, GOT MORE PILLS THAN U EVER SEEN, WITH HER RED TO BEAT YOUR HEAD, WAIT TILL THE GIRL GETS U IN YOUR BED, SHE's OBSCENE, SHE'LL MAKE U CREAM'............'NEVER MET A GIRL THATS ANY SLICKER, SHE's A ONE NIGHT JIGGLER, I NEVER MET A GIRL'..........' ALL NIGHT QUEEN DRUG ABUSER, DON' T U TRY AND WIN HER CAUSE YOU'LL JUST LOSE HER'
5 'CRIMINAL GUITAR' ' 75
the DOLLS had the wonderful 'LONELY PLANET BOY' as the ballad for their first lp, so it would be fitting that the BRATS came up with one too, and this one is a real STANDOUT.......very slow ,melodic city ballad, yet strong with a little upbeat rock parts.......sings RIVETS ....'IT's A TEENAGE NIGHTMARE, and ROCK-N-ROLL's AGAINST THE LAW'..............and.............'AND EVER SINCE THE TRAIN's STOPPED RUNNIN, WE BEEN LIVIN' IN A SUBWAY CAR, LOOKIN' IN THE UNDERGROUND'........later the song speeds up into MelOdiC rock and RIVETS sings............ ' THEY WANTED TO BLOW OUR HEADS OFF, BUT THEY'..................' YEA AND WHEN THAT ROCK-N-ROLL REVOLUTION IS ( ? )............WERE GONNA BUST OUR WAY THRU THE STREET..............THE TOMMOROW REVOLUTION IS THE ONLY WAY WHEN U CAN' T GET IN MELODY MAKER, IT's TIME TO CALL MURRAY THE K '..............
6 ' 17 ' '75
well after all that glam decadence comes a very whimsical song, which is kinda a throwback to the OLD days, ( think the 1950's ) DOLLS influenced but this is really a pop song, complete with horns for the added ambiance, this ones pure camp ~.... ' 17, 17, SHE's A STAR AT 17, OLD ENOUGH TO DANCE AND SING, OLD ENOUGH TO GET THAT SWING, AT 16 SHE's JUST BEEN KISSED................' ' THE KIND OF LOVE U CAN' T RESIST, ..........17, SHE's A QUEEN, PRETTIEST GIRL U EVER SEEN'.................NOW SLOPPY SHIRT, DIRTY JEANS.....we found out that this song was originally performed by a 50s rock band BOYD BENNETT and HIS ROCKETS, says it was the first rock song written for teenage girls, check out their site on this link here -
http://www.boydbennett.com/
1 'BE A MAN'
similiar version to the take above with the lyrics a bit different, this one was one of the BRATS signature tunes, this is some COOL glam, u can' t get any closer to the DOLLS sounds than this really, very enthusiatic with bubbling bass lines and an overall raunchy 'teenage' sound, .........'EVERYBOY HAS A MOTHER, AND THERE's A LITTLE ( ? ) HURRY U............SO WHEN U SEE A BIG BOY LOOKING SO COY, THERE's A MOTHER COMIN' ON THRU, TELL ME AREN' T U GLAD, AREN' T U GLAD U GOT A MOTHER TOO, BE A MAN, BE A MAN, I JUST COULDN' T BE A MAN,.........AND DON' T U REALLY LOVE YOUR MOTHER AND HASN' T SHE BEEN GOOD TO U.............SO DON' T DENY HER EXISTENCE..........BE A MAN, I TRIED, TRIED TO BE A MAN, AND I'LL BE A MAN IF I COULD, BUT I'M NOT JUST A BOY AND THATS GOOD'..........................' JUST COULDN' T BE A MAN, JUST COULDN'T BE A MAN........this song is for those who are coming of age, leaving their teens behind and becoming an adult, well sort of.............:)
2 'QUAALUDE QUEEN'
DOLLS-type rock with quick-bang niosy guitar, sounding a bit like JOHNNY THUNDERS himself, this number is about a groupie girlfriend whose strung out on quaaludes, isn' t that nice ?.........'QUAALUDE QUEEN FROM ABALEENE, GOT MORE PILLS THAN U EVER SEEN, WITH HER RED TO BEAT YOUR HEAD, WAIT TILL THE GIRL GETS U IN YOUR BED, SHE's OBSCENE, SHE'LL MAKE U CREAM'............'NEVER MET A GIRL THATS ANY SLICKER, SHE's A ONE NIGHT JIGGLER, I NEVER MET A GIRL'..........' ALL NIGHT QUEEN DRUG ABUSER, DON' T U TRY AND WIN HER CAUSE YOU'LL JUST LOSE HER'
3 ' TAKE WHAT I CAN'
here the singer sounds like JAGGER bit with the 'glam' styled vocals over harsh sounding pre-punk music......later the CORPSE GRINDERS did a version too.......' I AIN' T GOT ( ? ) AN ELEGEANT WALK AND I NEVER DID LEARN THE RIGHT WAY TO TALK, AND I NEVER TAKE A..............I DON' T GIVE A DAMN I JUST TAKE WHAT I CAN
4 ' HOG RIDING FOOLS'
with a title like this u can just tell it was aimed at the biker scene who were often hanging around the music scene back in the 70s, u can even call this one 'biker rock', but the vocals are a bit mumbled a hard to figure.......niosy guitars with good guitar solo,.... crash drums..........
5 'I'M SO CRUEL'
this song is similiar to # 4 and the most routine sounding song here, meaning all the others are better.........'U KNOW I FOUND HER, UNLESS I GET MY WAY U BETTER BE AROUND LOVE, TILL U WHISPER WHIPS AND CHAINS,......................I'M SO CRUEL, LOST MY SHOES AND U AND U..........
- side 2 -
6 'BANG, BANG BULLET'
wow ! what a surprise to find such a rare cover here, only the most dedicated of 70s glam rock fans would even know that this is a cover of a STREAK single, the band only had 2 singles around ' 73 - ' 74 in the u.k., theirs in fact is a GREAT N.Y. DOLLS-type rave up, as is the BRATS version ,for a review of STREAK see page 4, and see page 5 for a writeup sent in by ALAN MERRILL on STREAK who were actually the pre-ARROWS band, ok hope this is not all too confusing...........'BANG, BANG BULLET, SHE SAID PUSH IT DON' T PULL IT, U WANT LOOK WHERE U GOT IT, AND I BEEN LOOKING AT U ALLNIGHT ! LONG HAIR LASHES, U WANNA KNOW WHERE THE CASH IS, SWEATY LADIES KEEP BOPPING, AND I'M GONNA MAKE IT WITH U TONITE, BANG, BANG I AIN' T GONNA STOP, BANG BANG SHE's GONNA GET SHOT !
7 'HOT LIPS'
STRONG #, like early punk with raw guitars and bass ' HOT LIPS AND FINGERTIPS THERE AIN' T NOTHING THAT SHE WOULDN' T DO, HOT LIPS AND FINGERTIPS THERE AIN' T NOTHING THAT SHE WOULDN' T DO, SHE's THE........
8 'SAT NITE'
these last 3 songs are LIVE AND WERE RECORDED AT NEW YEAR'S EVE, this ones from the gutter and has an explosive sound with LOUD drums.......( spoken; ' ladies and gentlemen for new year's eve he's allready hot, here comes the brat, )( crowd cheers )......'GONNA JUMP DOWN BLOW MY TOP, MOVE IT TO THE LEFT, MOVE IT TO THE RIGHT, I'M GOING TO TELL MY BABY IT'LL BE ALLRIGHT..........HOLD TIGHT, EVERYTHING's GONNA BE ALLRIGHT, SAT. NITE, SAT. NITE............GONNA SEE MY BABY IN TIGHT BLUE JEANS'........
9 ' U GOT A LOVER'
STONES/JOHNNY THUNDERS rock, slower than the others, has that certain swagger, u know the kind, herion induced.........'I SAW U WALKIN' TALKIN' DOWN THE STREET WITH SOMEONE NEW, U NEVER TOLD ME U NEVER SAID WERE THRU, U DIDN' T..........DON' T U HEAR ME CALLIN' YOUR NAME ? ! .............WELL IF U LISTEN TO MY PLEA, I'LL GET DOWN ON ABANDONES KNEE, DON' T U HEAR ME CALLIN' YOUR NAME'......
10 'PERFECT STRANGER'
well to close the lp the BRATS wanted to do something different, quite a few glam bands choose a song for the icing on the cake that ends up sounding different than the rest of the lp, SHADY LADY whose lp like the BRATS was unreleased in the 70s did ' RAVING MAD' as their closer, PANDORA who too had an unreleased lp chose 'LEATHER BOYS' as their ending song and both of them sound very different than the rest of the lp and fit very nicely, here too the BRATS show wisdom beyond their years and come up with a gem of a song, it's actually pop-rock with perfect bass and singing ( the singer talks a bit here about how band member tv gotto is a big tv fan and has to watch Guy Lombardo all the time )..........' I FELL IN LOVE WITH A PERFECT STRANGER, SHE SAID IT's NO DANGER....................PERFECT STRANGER............I STILL LOVE ( more to come , are notes got damaged a bit ).............anyways this is the 'Perfect ending', order your copy from RAVE UP records today !
Note: reading an old copy of SNIFFIN' GLUE the early u.k. punk fanzine that began in '76 author MARK PERRY says he got a hold of a demo tape of a show on 5-12-75 that had a couple of songs not mentioned here one was called 'EMPTY LOVE AFFAIR', and the other is the one that surfaced on the MAX's cmop called 'FIRST ROCK STAR ON THE MOON', allthough we here have never heard these 2 songs, see below for some recent links that surfaced since we made this page a few yrs ago.....seems the BRATS covered the old glam number from STREAK 'BANG,BANG,BULLET'
CORPSE GRINDERS
the CORPSE GRINDERS
after the BRATS broke up somewhere in ' 76, RIVETS got together with his old pal ARTHUR KANE and 2 others and formed this super punk band in ' 78 and they recorded an single with 2 tracks, before they ever formed the DOLLS the pair had lived in holland for a year playing different kinds of music, but eventually came back to the states and formed ACTRESS with some other future DOLLS, u can see these reviews on our page 21 links, the DOLLS history is well known after 2 EXCELLENT lps and many sold out concerts the band folded in ' 75, ARTHUR formed the KILLER KANE BAND in '76, then played bass on the first 4 recorded tracks of the CORPSE GRINDERS in '78 , ARTHUR did a GREAT job of playing bass on these very early punk tracks........some lyrics mention nazis and so forth, not sure if the band were kidding or not ????
1 ' RHITES FOR WHITES' ' 78
this opener is pure DEAD BOYS meets RAMONES head on for a GREAT rave up with the whole band giving their all.......' WENT DOWN TO MY ( ?? west l.a. ?? ), THE BLACK MAN TOLD ME GO GET LAID......................I AIN' T GONNA WALK WITH THAT...........TOLD ME GO TAKE A WALK.............BABY I AIN 'T GONNA TALK U TELL ME YOUR PART OF THAT WELFARE SCHEME, AND U THINK YOUR ON YOUR OWN, I HEAR U TALK ALL U DO IS MOAN................I DON' T LIKE IT, NO !, I DON' T LIKE IT, NO !, I DON' T LIKE IT, SAID NO ! , THE WORLD OWES ME NOTHING, NOTHING !!!!!!!!!!!!.........( interlude with handclaps and guitar solo ).......DEAD BOY CHEETAH CHROME loved this band, after listening to this number one can see why.........
2 'MENTAL MORON' ' 78
GRINDING guitars, not nearly as good as the opener, but fun nonetheless......' DON' T KNOW HOW TO READ OR MULTIPLY, U SAID I'M STUPID AND I WANTED TO CRY, RAZOR BLADES ARE GETTING IN THE WAY, I SIT AT HOME AND WATCH THE KIDS SCREAM, YEA MISTER CAN U TELL ME WHEN THEY'RE GONNA CUT ME DOWN...........?.........CAUSE I'M YOUR MENTAL MORON'.........'Rhites for Whites/Mental Moron' was a single released by BOMP records in '78.....the next one was a demo that was never released.....
3 ' TAKE WHAT I CAN ' '78
bulldozer punk, harsh and LOUD with piano :)......... ' I AIN' T GOT ( ? ) ELEGANT WALK AND I NEVER DID LEARN THE RIGHT WAY TO TALK..............DON' T GIVE A DAMN, I TAKE WHAT I CAN..........I'LL EAT YOUR EYES AND SLASH YOUR THROAT'.............
4 ' BULLDOG ' '78
like another viewer says they steal the riff from the DOLLS 'MYSTERY GIRLS' track, not as good, but a fun song...........electric guitars with piano.......'DON' T U WANNA KNOW THE REASON WHY I GOT GUILT BURN IN MY HEART, EVERYTIME I ( ? ) THEY CHASE ME THRU THE PARK, IT MAKES ME FEEL SO STRONG LIKE I DON' T KNOW RIGHT FROM WRONG'
5 'CITY ROCKER'
Strong rock, 1,2,3,4, w/ grinding guitar.......'DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AND U WERE GONE...............SUN WAS BEATING ON MY BROW, MY HEAD WAS FILLED WITH WINE, LISTENING TO THE RADIO.................THAT SHIT, HEARD IT ALL,.........WAS BRON A CITY ROCKER.........
6 'FROZEN ALIVE'
parts of the vocals in this song reminded us of the REAL KIDS 'BETTER BE GOOD' for some reason, really just in the vocal harmonies, this phrasing was probably as harmonious as the band got because most of their tunes have the sledgehammer effect, check out the humor on these lyrics............'BUT U KNOW I CAN' T FEEL MY FEET, I'M FROZEN ALIVE, I ASKED MY PREACHER WON' T U PLEASE BE MY FRIEND, HE SAID NO ! :)
'FORGOT TO TAKE MY BABY'
harsh punk with cool sounding DOLLS-like guitars were the notees are really grounded out !.........' WELL I WAS ( ? ) DOWN AT THE LOCAL GYM PHIL, IN WALKS ANN AND JOE LIKE A ( ? ) , AND THEY WAS LOOKIN' LIKE HE WAS READY TO KILL'...............' I GOTTA TAKE MY BABY TO THE SHOW WOOAA, WOOAA, WOOAA, WOOAA........
'PRICE OF MEAT'
1,2,3,4 straight ahead punk, and fast !.......' I WALK THINKING I WATCH HIM DIE, HIS SKIN IS ( ? ), KEEP U SATISFIED, HE SCREAMED ABOUT MONEY, BUT HONEY.............UP BABY UP, UP, THE PRICE OF MEAT, THE PRICE OF MEAT, THE PRICE OF MEAT,......SHE WAILS ALL THE TIME, KEEP U SATISFYING'........
'SCAM'
HEAVY PUNK ! mostly incomprehensible lyrics with the guitars turned up ........has what the listener now understands is the signature C Grinders sound ( which sounds like a BULLDOZER ).......'IN MOTION EVERYBODY COMES BACKWARD THINKING I'LL BE LOOKING AT YOUR LIFE TODAY'..............'I THINK I WANNA BE A MILLIONAIRE'.....has melodic background vocals....
'INFILTRATION'
different sounding number compared to the rest of their output, this one has more melody in the vocal, and background vocals , 1,2,3,4, sound with low budget drums.....' WOOAA I'M A ( ? ) WITH A CAMEL BUT U NEVER SEE MY FACE, I'VE GOT MY BIRD, AND SHOOTING EVERY PLATE ON THE SLATE, I WON' T STOP AT NOTHING'..........'MY OH MY, I GOT NO SHAME, WELL WE'VE BEEN TRAINED........INFILTRATION, LA,LA,LA,LA,
'EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU'
'EVERYTHING ABOUT U IT's ON MY NERVES, ALL OF YOUR JEALOUSY AND YOUR ENDLESS WORDS, U THINK U GOT SO MUCH MORE THAN U DESERVE'......this part is slow and melodic rock, and now up to this point u think the band are showing their pop side like the BRATS did with 'perfect stranger', then all of a sudden guitars and drums begin to crunch all over the place, the song ends up sounding like a dinosaur stomping over mountains :)
read a funny story of the Corpse Grinders, when they used to rehearse in an n.y. studio in the late 70s, and they'd find SID VICIOUS passed out on the floor, and NANCY kicking him to get him to wake up, this story is at the RICK RIVETS site....
'ANYTHING GOES'
Cool punk, kinetic percussion, excellent guitar playing, kinda a jagged rockabilly riff carried out to extreme, '......BUT U KNOW YOUR GONNA GO TO AN EARLY GRAVE, DON' T TRY TO HIDE IT BABE...........TIME FOR YOU TO FINISH TO BEGIN, DON' T OWE ANYTHING TO ANYONE, DON' T TRY TO HIDE IT BABY'.......
'CLINCALLY DEAD'
( Live )...RAW music paired with even rawer vocals, buzz chainsaw guitar, slower grinding punk...beginning lyrics hard to decipher.............later.........'I FEEL HIS WAY IN THE VALLEY OF FEAR..................IN THE VALLEY OF FEAR, U NEVER SAY.........'....(spoken 'hope it never happens to you' )
'CHILD OF THE 4th REICH'
fast, RAMONES speed, stomping bass, lyrics sung fast too allthough indecipherable, great ending for this tape, sings RIVETS....' I'M A CHILD OF THE 4th REICH'....
The future depends on what we do in the present. Mahatma Gandhi
In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It goes on. Robert Frost
excert from NEWS OF THE WIERD Dec 9th '04
in October, the federal appeals court in San Francisco dismissed a lawsuit against the Navy, filed in the name of marine mammals, claiming that naval sonar disrupted their underwater communication; the court said federal environmental laws can be challenged only by people (or legal entities), NOT WHALES . [The Australian, 10-28-04] [San Francisco Chronicle-AP, 10-20-04]
http://www.petrosh.it/raveup/
BRATS Myspace link
http://www.myspace.com/thebratsnyc
CORPSE GRINDERS Myspace link
http://www.myspace.com/corpsegrindersrickrivets
70s invasion home ~
https://www.angelfire.com/vt2/70sinvasion/