
I must tell you, my collection isn't exactly littered with Ralph Records releases. I used to have a few of the Residents singles but, I got rid of them long ago. This however is a
definite keeper. I love the choppy guitar work on Someday You'll be king. The B side really
doesn't do anything for me. But, you can judge for yourself. Go check out their website. They have music for sale. Originally known as
MX-80 Sound, this US
avant rock band was formed in
Bloomington, Indiana, by Bruce Anderson (guitar/vocals), Dale
Sophiea (bass) and Jeff Armour (drums). In late 1975 they were joined by Rich
Stim (vocals/saxophone/guitar) and Dave
Mahoney (drums). A single and
EP on a local label were followed by their debut Hard Attack for
Island Records. By this time they were based in San Francisco. Hard Attack achieved considerable attention; the avowed experimentation of the group (
Captain Beefheart and
Frank Zappa were often cited by critics) was matched by a lyrical subject matter that fitted into the "new wave' ethos of the period. The sound quality was also suitably murky. Signed to Ralph, the label run by the
Residents, they produced two more albums (1980"s Out Of The Tunnel and the following year's Crowd Control, the latter recorded without Armour) and appeared on several compilations, but their career tailed off in the early 80s.
Stim entered law school and nothing further was heard except for Anderson's appearance in the
Henry Kaiser Band. A clutch of tapes under a variety of names (the truncated
MX-80, Gizzards, Half-Life, O-Type) appeared in the late 80s and early 90s, apparently the work of
Sophiea and Anderson, on the
former's Quadruped label. These two, plus
Stim and drummer Marc
Weinstein, constituted an
MX-80 for the 90s, returning to the studio to complete a new album, I've Seen Enough. Another decade passed before
MX-80 reunited in the studio to complete 2005's We're An American Band.
.
REFERENCES -
NME ONLINE MAGAZINE
http://www.nme.com/artists/mx80 Official
MX-80 Website
http://www.mx-80.com/.
RALPH RECORDS 1980
.
1. SOME DAY YOU'LL BE KING
2. WHITE NIGHT
.
***DOWNLOAD***
2 comments:
Excellent tracks. "Someday" is my favorite track by them. THANKS!
Thanks for the comment glomag.
Post a Comment