Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Misfits Famous Misfits of FilmLand


First off, this isn't my copy, I found this image on the web, so don't ask me anything about it being signed.

That being said, this is a great little 7". I found this bootleg in a shop in Tuscan, AZ. Toxic Ranch Records a few years ago. It was one of the first records I ever bought, before that it was just my dads LPs and Disney records my sister found at the Goodwill. First off, lets talk about the packaging. Its pretty basic, no where does it say the names of the bands, or the year it was released or anything like that, just a pretty generic cover, and the on the back a picture of Vampira. This boot ws released on Scatterbrainchild Records and is limited to 500 copies. It was pressed twice, which means that there are about 1000 copies floating about. The first pressing was in 1988, and the B-Side matrix etching reads "Glen, See You In Hell" on the next pressing in 1992, no such etching is prescient.

On the back of the package it says "From the forth coming album 'Lucifer's Penis Rising'" which of course wasn't a real album and never released. The track listing is also incorrect. Side B starts with Skulls and ends with Ghouls Night Out, not the other way around.

The first song on on the 7inch is Where Eagles Dare, this recording coming from a session in 1979 and sounds pretty good. Some folks say this song is about the 1969 movie of the same name, but if you listen to the lyrics, its pretty obvious that it isn't. "An omelet of disease awaits your noon time meal." Doesn't sound like Clint Eastwood to me. Bobby Steele, and Joey Image appear on this recording on guitar and drums respectively.

The next few songs were probably recorded around 1980. Vampira, an odd punk rock anthem about the cult icon sounds different then most of the Misfits catalog. Much like Return of the Fly, the song follows a traditional rock n' roll outline, but outfitted with more noise and dissonance. Ghouls Night Out and Skulls are both very much in the vain of music to come from the Misfits. Horror themed songs, with the punk/hardcore ethic that was growing all around them. I'm not sure, but I think Doyle's guitar work maybe on both tracks because it was recording around a transitional time between Doyle and Bobby Steele. Arthur Googy plays the drums for both these tracks.

I recommend you pick this up if you see it around, its a great little compilation of songs, and the packaging is a lot of fun too. Great for any casual or hardcore fan of the Misfits.








Skulls:


Vampira '83:


An Interview:



Personnel:
Glenn Danzig (Glenn Anzalone) – vocals
Bobby Steele – guitar (Where Eagles Dare)
Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein (Paul Caiafa) – guitar
Jerry Only (Gerald Caiafa) - bass guitar, vocals
Arthur Googy (Joseph McGuckin) – drums
Joey Image (Joey Poole) – drums (Where Eagles Dare)

Track Listing:
Side A
1. Where Eagles Dare
2. Vampira

Side B
1. Ghouls Night Out
2. Skulls

Most of my info was from Misfits Central.