THE HITMEN (Re-issue) - The Hitmen (Savage Beat/Shock)
IT IS WHAT IT IS (Re-issue) - The Hitmen (Savage Beat/Shock)
Some time in the far distant future, historians will look back on a time when Western consumer society had an obsession with raking over old musical coals. Carbon-dated piles of discarded vinyl will show their forefathers (that'd be us) were slaves to and endless march of new formats.Many sets of eyes grew misty on the day when the gods of digital re-vamps discovered these two artifacts underneath some faintly glowing embers. Verily, the original black platters were exhumed, re-mastered, blessed with loads of bonus tracks, pressed onto little silver aluminum discs and handed down from a mountain.
The day the Hitmen'sfirst LP hit the racks is still clear in my mind's eye. It was crunchingly loud guitar rock full of bravado and swathed in tough guy leather. The lyrical nonsequitirs onlyadded a dash of mystery. There was also a large chunk of humour involved that led right back to the Dictators, as it turned out. That the whole shebang was emerging from the shadow of Radio Birdman (two of them were on board, plus MC and back-up singer Johnny Kannis) only added to the allure.Live, they came across like the cast of "Apocalypse Now" after they'd found the Cambodian extras had drunk the rider they'd been saving for the wrap party. The Hitmen also had the air of missionaries about them, tirelessly peddling their own tunes (and those of other people) to pubs and clubs the lengths and breadth of this Wide Brown Land. The term Punk Rock Jukebox might have been employed derisively by some but it became a compliment in many circles.
(The creak of a rocking chair is heard): The '80s were great. Ask anyone (someone?) who can remember them. Bands in pubs on every corner and radio that bothered to be different. The Hitmen effectively cast themselves adrift from the inner-city clique from whence they came and set about giving a damn fine musical education to the suburban masses. But you knew that. It's all in the liner notes.
Australian Rolling Stone had No Fucking Idea what to make of "The Hitmen" when it came out, comparing it to Iggy Pop Slop and saying even he didn't sound like this in '81. (No, he did not but that isn't a good thing. "Party", anyone?) How times have changed. The same self-important fashion rag is now raving about the re-ishes. And so they should. The songs have dated well and the production on the first album is fairly timeless.
Value? You betcha. "The Hitmen" album, the singles and a dozen live songs from an on-fire 2JJJ-FM live-to-air. Then a second disc with the '79 "Didn't Tell The Man" debut single and its flip, plus pre-production demo's. Here's a jewel-encrusted centre: "Wings of Steel" and "Cold December" were up there with the songs that made it to the LP proper. Then another 14 live songs from three gigs that'll sit you on your arse.
You get the full spread of sharp and sometimes criminally unreleased originals with a generous helping of covers. The Hitmen had a knack of making other people's songs their own and witness the studio version of "Shake Some Action" and live renditions of "TPBR Combo", "King of the Surf", "The Red and The Black" and "Kill City" for evidence of greatness.
Why "Hitmen" never sold was, and is still, beyond me. A quarter of a century later it's still a killer record, made only more desirable by the heady crop of bonuses.
"It It What It Is" was the Difficult Second Album. Working with an ill-suited production team that was foisted onto them, an already feisty band effectively decided the planets were against them...and the solar system could therefore go fuck itself. Poor production and tracking squandered some of their (then) best songs. Disappointment hung heavy in the air.
All's not lost. Klondike Masuak had the good grace to get into a studio with the offending album tapes in hand. His 1991 re-mix on Rattlesnake made considerable amends for the botched job the enforced producers did the first time out. The 2007 deluxe double CD re-issue, with its further re-mastering job and generous whack of extras, goes that extra mile.
The demo's - more pre-production and for another '82 session - again rule, with the former giving an air of grittiness to those great songs that totally evaded the Brown-and-Dunlop (BAD - geddit?) production team. Cock an ear to "Rocket On The Elevator Up", the original "Go Rin No Sho" and the unadorned version of the title tune if you don't believe me.
Compiler Dave Laing's track-by-track for both sets is acerbic and to the point. This was clearly a labour of love with the ear of a true fan-atic involved. The balance of the chunky booklets are taken up by a detailed biographical history of the band - and even this seems to make sense in the cold light of day.
A risque faux pax on the original "It Is What It Is" cover photo has bowed to the heinous hand of censorship, via a touch-up job for a patch on drummer Mark Kingsmill's pants, but that's life in the 00's.
I am biased (and had some peripheral involvement in these discs), but to my mind both packages are two of THE essential purchases any fan of the Good Stuff needs to make.
– The Barman
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