Teenage Hate (Plus Two Early Cassettes)
Double LP/CD Reissue
Goner Records
“I guess that’s part of being a teenager—“ writes Jay Reatard in the liner notes of Goner’s deluxe reissue of Teenage Hate, “—boredom, frustration, hope, and hopelessness co-existing within the same moment.” As Jay’s band tears through one fierce rocker after another, though, it sounds like he’s having more fun than anything else. It’s release through raw rock n’ roll, loud and sincere.
Until his untimely death in January of last year, Jimmy “Jay Reatard” Lindsey was a prolific musician, producer, and rock n’ roll wild man. The Reatards were his first band, and the double LP contains their debut on Goner, an eponymous cassette and the Fuck Elvis Here’s the Reatards cassette, delivering a total of 39 fast, aggressive tracks. Jay’s career took him in and out of garage punk – this reissue puts his emotional rock n’ roll roots in the forefront.
I could reprint the liner notes to show you an angry, depressed and misunderstood teen, but the songs don’t sound like that. From the bashed four chords of “I’m So Gone” ‘til the end of the disc, Jay’s screaming guitar and vocals convey all the exuberance that only a real rock n’ roll record can. The most direct influences here are Jay’s heroes/mentors/producers, The Oblivians (Greg is featured on Fuck Elvis, and Eric released the record), but it’s clear that Jay also istened to a lot of older albums. His voice breaks with energy and honesty that recalls Memphis signers from an earlier generation, and a little bit of Moanin’ at Midnight, while his guitar leads riff-check Chuck Berry, Johnny Thunders, and even Dick Dale (listen for the slide on “It Ain’t Me”). If the style isn’t proof enough of that influence, the Reatards throw in the classic punk hits from FEAR and the Dead Boys, a Buddy Holly tune and even a cover of the most rock n’ roll song that the Beatles ever wrote. Sure, some of the tracks are angry (“When I Get Mad”), but just as many are playful and maybe even clever (“I Gotta Rock ‘n’ Roll,” “Out of My Head, Into my Bed”). Jay shouts and howls his way through them all, and the rhythm section fills it out. In the middle of our contemporary diluted indie/garge rock revival, the Teenage Hate reissue is a refreshing slap in the face.
Jay didn’t mind talking about death, and now that’s gone, his liner notes seem like a lot more than just teenage angst. He mentions death, but what really stands out is this: “rock and roll is my salvation,” he writes. “…it’ll set me free whatever that means.” That’s the noise that makes Teenage Hate great. The record has held up remarkably well in the thirteen years since it’s original release. It sounds like it could have been recorded last week on your Tascam 4-Track, or at Dangerhouse in the late ‘70s. Timed as it is with Jay’s death, this repressing could go a long way towards adding another Christ-figure to the rock n’ roll canon.
Reviewed by Gabe Karabell
1 Comment(s)
Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
A review by Gabe Karabell. Written awhile back, but due to the blog transition it never made it to the apop website.