GOLDEN
BLACK - Guitar Wolf (Ki-hoon/Infidelity
Records)
When
Guitar Wolf bassist Billy “Bass” Wolf died of a heart attack earlier
this year it seemed that Guitar Wolf had come to its logical conclusion. For
over 15 years the band has played its Japenglish brand of rock’n’roll
with a level of intensity difficult to articulate in simple words. And as
happens
with practitioners of intensity, something gives out, and tragedy strikes.
The "Golden Black" compilation was conceived in the aftermath of
Billy’s death. The songs were selected on the basis of an on-line poll
of Guitar Wolf fans; the result is 26 tracks that represent accurately Guitar
Wolf’s high octane, manic interpretation of the rock’n’roll
spirit. It draws a line under the Bass Wolf era of the band, and ushers in
the Guitar Wolf era (with new bassist Ug Wolf).
Guitar Wolf are one of only a few exhilarating live bands able to achieve
a studio sound that gives the listener a genuine indication of the band’s
live sound. While other bands may pride themselves on turning their amps to
11 for maximum effect Guitar Wolf have only an on and off switch, with no
shades of grey.
Guitar Wolf are in some respects less a garage band than an extreme rock band
– the flavour of the early 1950s rock style epitomised by Elvis and
Chuck Berry comes through in "Can-nana Fever", "Sky Star Jet"
and "Shinkansen High Tension".
That said, Missile Me is the arguably amongst the purest garage rock ever
recorded, and Wild Zero is – to paraphrase a famous description of the
Guitar Wolf sound – a garage rendered in white noise. Seiji’s
guitar packs a pretty nasty riff (see "Lightning’s Melody"
amongst many notable examples), Billy’s bass resonates through your
skull like the after effects of a night on the turps while Toru’s methodical
drumming is straight down the line yet still leaves an indelible mark in your
brain.
Even when you think you’re prepared for the band’s sonic style
you’re hit with white hot musical sparks – such as Seiji’s
fingers-on-blackboard shouting “all through the night buttabose”
in the track of the same name, or even the high pitched feedback that leads
into "Jet Generation". The aptly titled "Rock’n’Roll
Etiquette" – these guys know rock’n’roll etiquette
so well it’s not just second hand, it’s a way of life –
has the pace of the Ramones and the same simple but effective aesthetic approach.
Guitar Wolf are nothing if not consistent in their lyrical themes –
there’s fast driving, leather, jet aircraft, rock’n’roll
as spiritual and emotional advisor, beer, more rock’n’roll and
occasional UFO and other astronomical sightings. And then there’s the
band’s unique self-referential brand of rock’n’roll iconography
– best illustrated by "Jet 13" (“13 is my number/Appointed
by myself/Just wanna be cool/Wearin’ the Devil’s Number”).
There’s also one cover on the album – Eddie Cochrane’s timeless
anthem of holiday angst "Summertime Blues"; given the band’s
love of the original rock’n’roll spirit, it’s a fitting
end to the album.
If you want – or need – your rock’n’roll loud, uncomprosing
and thrust into your face then you need a healthy dose of Guitar Wolf. Bass
Wolf may have departed this earth but Guitar Wolf will live on forever.-
Patrick Emery
LOVEROCK
- Guitar Wolf (Ki-hoon/Infidelity
Records)
I began
writing this review in a state of increasingly manic anticipation. Recently
signed to Bruce Milne's Infidelity label, the first local release
of a Guitar Wolf album, an Australian tour (including a show at Melbourne's
Tote Hotel) ... it was all building up to something beyond mere mortal rock'n'roll.
The Tote line-up even included Rocket Science in an unannounced support ...
this was a potentially orgasmic musical experience.
Then came the awful, tragic, shocking news of Bass Wolf's untimely death.
There's some salutary commentary available here, here and here, and I'll leave
it to people who actually knew Bass Wolf personally to pay tribute to his
personality, his music and his legacy.
So in the wake of the awful news of 31 March 2005, what's there left to say?
I don't really know, but whatever it is, it's all contained on their most
recent album, Love Rock ("Why Love Rock? Because we love rock!").
This album encapsulates and elicits everything that is potent and beautiful
about the contemporary rock form. It makes The Stooges sound like a Pat Boone
cover band, The Ramones punk family ethos like The Partridge Family and the
Radio Birdman us-against-them politico-rock ethos seem like the half baked
ramblings of a collection of quasi-committed student slackers.
The influences are as glaring as the intensity of the sound – Radio
Birdman (especially "Hit 'Em Again") can be heard in "Universe
Youth", while The Saints sound permeates songs such as "Shinkansen
High Tension". And from the opening 1-2-3-4 of "Loverock",
to the 1 minute 30 second hyperpaced frenzy of "Only That Girl",
you know The Ramones legacy is in very good hands.
The choppy guitar riff that fuels "Katsumiya Tobacco City" is vaguely
reminiscent of The Divinyls' "Hey Little Boy", but with a brutal
delivery that leaves you burnt by the band's white hot energy. The spirit
of Johnny Thunders lives on in "Fire Joe", with valuable love and
attention courtesy of the MC5 at their musical and ideological peak. And in
a fitting throbbing finale, "Black Rock'n'Roll" salutes the band's
love of motorcycles with an intro promulgated into action by the sound of
a revving motorcycle.
The album's production is so rough and ready it's almost frightening, allowing
the band to create an industrial strength wall of white punk noise that's
all but impenetrable. Songs like "Blood Splashed" are permeated
by metallic sounds and dischordant solos that disturb the senses in a way
that bands like The Hunches can only dream of.
The lyrics (expressed in Guitar Wolf's unique rock Japenglish dialect, and
translated in the liner notes) are pure rock'n'roll banality. The only message
is a simple, straight forward, easy to understand mantra – get out there
and rock hard until you can rock no more. The band celebrates its outsider
status – in "Jet13" Guitar Wolf sings (and I use that term
in its broadest possible sense) "13 is my number/appointed by myself/just
wanna be Cool/wearin' the Devil's number", while in "Demon Card"
we get "radioactivity twinkles/gettin' my head high/let's go get some
fun/the end of the world is/FUCK YOU!".
Unfortunately I have never seen Guitar Wolf live (their previous Australian
tour occurred while I lived in the very unrock'n'roll Australian national
capital of Canberra), but everything written and spoken about this iconic
says volumes of blood, sweat and beers about its intensity and adherence to
the rock'n'roll tradition. Given that it's not apparent if Guitar Wolf will
be seen again, all we have at this time is the band's recorded output and
the combined memories of fans. -
Patrick Emery
(and more if you're up to it)